Volcanic contribution to emergence of Central Panama in the Early Miocene

Volcanic contribution to emergence of Central Panama in the Early Miocene

Formation of the Panama Isthmus, that had global oceanographic and biotic effects in the Neogene, is generally associated with tectonic uplift during collision of the Panama volcanic arc with South America. However, new field, geochemical and geochronological data from the Culebra Cut of the Panama...

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Published in:Scientific reports Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 1417
Main Authors: Buchs, David M., Irving, Derek, Coombs, Henry, Miranda, Roberto, Wang, Jian, Coronado, Maurylis, Arrocha, Rodrigo, Lacerda, Mauricio, Goff, Creed, Almengor, Eladio, Portugal, Enier, Franceschi, Pastora, Chichaco, Eric, Redwood, Stewart D.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 05-02-2019
Nature Publishing Group
Subjects:
704/2151/213
704/2151/598
Canals
Coastal environments
Geology
Humanities and Social Sciences
Miocene
multidisciplinary
Neogene
Rainforests
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Sediments
Terrestrial environments
Topography
Volcanic fields
Panama
Panama Canal
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Summary:Formation of the Panama Isthmus, that had global oceanographic and biotic effects in the Neogene, is generally associated with tectonic uplift during collision of the Panama volcanic arc with South America. However, new field, geochemical and geochronological data from the Culebra Cut of the Panama Canal suggest that volcanism also contributed to the Isthmus emergence in the Early Miocene. This volcanism is recorded in a newly-recognised Central Panama volcanic field that includes several phases of development. Early activity of this field along the Panama Canal was associated with proximal effusive to explosive felsic products during formation of subaerial stratovolcanoes and possible domes ca. 21 Ma. This was followed by a period of marine transgression ca. 21–18 Ma, with more distal volcanism documented by tuffs that deposited in marine to terrestrial environments. Finally, proximal mafic volcanism formed tephra cones in a monogenetic field ca. 18(-?) Ma. This was associated with phreatomagmatic processes in a coastal environment, with remarkable kilometre-wide subvolcanic peperitic intrusions. We propose based on these observations that formation of the Central Panama volcanic field was critical in shaping regional topography, and that this could have actively contributed to obstruction and closure of an interoceanic strait in Central Panama.
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ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-37790-2