40Ar/39Ar Radiometric Dating of Quaternary Basaltic Volcanism at the Kula Volcanic Province, Western Türkiye

During this research at the 40Ar-39Ar Geochronology Laboratory, CNR, Pisa, Italy, the analysis focused on 40Ar- 39Ar radiometric dating to investigate three distinct periods of volcanism from the Kula Volcanic Province in western Türkiye. This area is a monogenetic volcanic field (MVF) and exhibits three eruptive periods in the Quaternary Period. The three periods of volcanism are named the Burgaz (first stage), the Elikcitepe (second stage), and the DivilitTepe (third stage). This type of volcanism is poorly understood due to their small eruption size and limited material, lack of suitable datable material, and short eruption duration, with geological histories often poorly constrained.

The data publication includes data of four samples from the three different eruptive phases that were analysed, including one from the first stage, one from the second stage, and two from the third stage. The samples were successfully dated and gave ages as the Early Pleistocene (first stage), the Middle Pleistocene (second stage) and the Holocene (third stage). The data from this work will be used as part of a PhD thesis. The ages will be integrated into a more detailed geochemical analysis and facilitate a detailed examination of the temporal and spatial relationships for the evolution of the volcano, and insights into the mechanisms driving volcanic activity in the region.

Data was acquired by an ARGUS VI multi-collector noble gas mass spectrometer, using the step-heating process for all samples. Between 9.9 and 11.1 mg of groundmass material was analysed.