NEW TH-230-U-238 AND C-14 AGE-DETERMINATIONS FROM PITON DES NEIGES VOLCANO, REUNION - A REVISED CHRONOLOGY FOR THE DIFFERENTIATED SERIES

Th-230-U-238 measurements were carried out on 18 samples of lava from Piton des Neiges. These lavas range from basalts to trachytes. The ages extend from 270,000 to 12,000 a B.P. and cover most of the period in which Differentiated Series magmas were erupted. New C-14 ages on charcoal sampled in young pyroclastic deposits are also presented. The late-stage evolution of the volcano is discussed in the light of these new ages and a chronology of the explosive activity is given. The oldest pyroclastic flow (Ste. Suzanne) is more than 220,000 a; other pyroclastic units were emitted between 220,000 and 110,000 a. There were at least two episodes of caldera formation: the first episode is inferred to have occurred about 190,000 a ago; the last occurred between 190,000 and 110,000 a. Although the most recent lava activity was mainly concentrated on the eastern flank of the volcano and around the summit area, it also occurred, about 70,000 a ago, in the southwestern part of the massif. The youngest explosive activity (about 50,000 to 20,000 a) on the eastern flank of the volcano has now been dated by three different methods (C-14 and Th-U ages on block- and ash-flow tuffs, K-Ar ages on associated domes). Youthful explosive activity (about 35,000 to 12,000 a) on the western flank of the volcano is also demonstrated by C-14 dating on charcoal and by a Th-U age of 12,000 a on a trachytic nuee ardente deposit. This last age indicates that activity may have persisted later than previously supposed and implies a high rate of erosion for the Cirque de Mafate.