• Economic and Environmental Geology
• /
• v.43 no.2
• /
• pp.163-176
• /
• 2010

We report twenty data for early lavas erupted during the initial period of formation of Jeju Island on the basis of review on 539 data of whole-rock greochemistry and $^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$ age dating out of mainly core samples from 69 boreholes drilled in the lower land since 2001 and 66 outcrop sites. Out of 69 boreholes, the early lava flow units are identified from samples collected from Beophocheon (EL 235 m, 210 m deep), Donnaeko (EL 240 m, 230 deep), Donghong-S (EL 187 m, 340 m deep), 05Donghong (EL. 187.6 m, 340 m deep), Dosoon (EL 305 m, 287 m deep), Sangye (EL 230 m, 260 m deep), Mureung-1 (EL 10.2 m, 160 m deep), and Gapa (EL 17.5 m, 92 m deep), which are located in the southern and southwestern portion of Jeju Island. While, the well-known outcrops from Sanbangsan, Wolrabong, Wonmansa, and Kagsubawi are also reconfirmed. $^{40}Ar/^{39}Ar$ age dating results of these lavas range from 1 Ma to 0.7 Ma, indicating that the data can be useful to constrain on age and geochemical characteristics of early lava effusion period in the formation of Jeju Island. Especially, samples with trachybasalt in composition collected from 143 m to 137 m, and from 135 m to 123 m below ground surface at 05Donghong hole have the oldest ages, $992\pm21$ Ka and $988\pm38$ Ka, respectively. This study suggests that in Jeju Island the first lava with trachybasalt in composition may have effused around 1 Ma ago, and the effusion style and chemical compositions of lavas must have changed to the formation of lava domes with trachyte-trachyandesite-basaltic trachyandesite and the eruption of lavas with alkali basalt and trachybasalt intermittently during the period from 0.9 Ma to 0.7 Ma ago. It also indicates that the initial lava flows below the ground are intercalated with or underlain by the Seoguipo Formation except for several exposed domal structure areas such as Sanbangsan and Kagsubawi, implying that the early lava effusion may have intermittently and sporadically occurred with nearby hydrovolcanism and sedimentation.