Agulhas Plateau large igneous province emplacement and carbonation constrained by in-situ U-Pb dating, Sr isotope geochemistry and clumped isotope thermometry of calcite veins in basaltic basement at IODP Site U1582

Continental breakup leads to formation of new oceanic gateways, evolution of ocean bathymetry, and, in many cases, emplacement of large igneous provinces (LIPs). Changes in ocean circulation, volcanic CO₂ emissions, and alteration of freshly emplaced ocean crust associated with these events were likely drivers of global-scale Cretaceous climate change. Yet, the precise timing and nature of Cretaceous continental rifting and submarine LIP eruptions remain largely unconstrained. The Agulhas Plateau (AP), along with Maud Rise (MR) and Northeast Georgia Rise (NEGR), are thought to constitute a once contiguous submarine LIP that was emplaced in the gateway between the incipient South Atlantic, Southern Ocean, and Indian Ocean basins during the breakup of Africa and East Antarctica. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 392 recovered sedimentary and igneous rocks from the Agulhas Plateau, southwest Indian Ocean, including basaltic pillow lavas at IODP Site U1582, located on the northernmost edge of the plateau. Calcite veins and infills hosted in pillow lavas can provide insights into the timing and chemical environment of post-magmatic fracturing, fluid circulation, submarine weathering and carbonation of the LIP. We present in-situ U/Pb ages (n=12) of the calcite veins determined via laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS), clumped isotope (Δ₄₇) compositions (n=6) and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios to investigate the timing and temperature of calcite precipitation. U/Pb geochronologic dates for vein calcite and infill are reproducible and yield Cenomanian to Turonian ages, consistent with shipboard nannofossil biostratigraphic age constraints for sediments intercalated between the pillows. Reproducible clumped isotopic paleotemperatures range from ~19 to 26°C, with a calculated δ¹⁸O value for precipitating fluids of ~-2 to +1‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water (VSMOW). The ranges of both these values are consistent with ambient mid-Cretaceous marine waters and, when combined with the age constraints for the basalt and sediments, support rapid weathering and carbonation of the submarine LIP following post-eruptive cooling. U/Pb geochronology of calcites at IODP Site U1582, refined by Sr isotope stratigraphy, provide a minimum age for the Agulhas Plateau. These data constrain the timing of the formation of a paleobathymetric restriction at the gateway between several incipient Cretaceous ocean basins, and have implications for geochemical interactions between mafic igneous rocks and seawater through the life cycle of a Cretaceous LIP.