A new Holocene eruptive history of Erebus volcano, Antarctica, using cosmogenic 3He and 36Cl exposure ages

Helium-3 ages measured on clinopyroxene and olivine from the same samples are discordant, probably due in part to lower-than-expected 3He production rates in the Fe-rich olivine. Close agreement of multiple clinopyroxene 3He ages from each flow indicates that the effects of past snow coverage on the exposure ages have been minimal. The new cosmogenic ages differ considerably from published 40Ar/39Ar and 36Cl ages and reveal that the post-caldera flows were erupted during relatively brief periods of effusive activity spread over an interval of ~4 ka.

The average eruption rate over this interval is estimated to be 0.01 km3/ka. Because the last eruption was at least 4 ka ago, and the longest repose interval between the 10 youngest eruptions is ~1 ka, we consider the most recent period of effusive activity to have ended.