BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Oxidizing fluids associated with detachment hosted hydrothermal systems: Example from the Suye hydrothermal field on the ultraslow-spreading Southwest Indian Ridge

Participants in the publication
Shili Liao (Author)
Chunhui Tao (Author)
John W. Jamieson (Author)
Jia Liu (Author)
Chuanwei Zhu (Author)
Fernando J.A.S. Barriga (Author)
Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749–016, Lisboa, Portugal
IDL
Wei Li (Author)
Jin Liang (Author)
Weifang Yang (Author)
Jianping Zhou (Author)
Xianming Deng (Author)
Junyu Yu (Author)

Summary
The redox state of hydrothermal fluids on mid-ocean ridges, which is indirectly affected by the depth of hydrothermal circulation and crustal permeability, plays an important role on the diversity of hydrothermal precipitates and associated ecosystems. Primary hydrothermal fluids that circulate along detachment faults are generally reducing as a result of the serpentinization of ultramafic rocks, while significant seawater infiltration may shift the redox state from reducing to oxidizing. However, the depth of penetration of oxidizing fluids into detachment related systems remain unclear, largely because current observations are based primarily on hydrothermal products that precipitated at the seafloor. Here, we report the first observations of oxidizing mineral assemblages in stockwork samples from the Suye hydrothermal field on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. This field is hosted by mafic lithologies, while the low As, high Ni and Co contents, and high Au/As, Ag/As, and Ni/As ratios in pyrite from the stockwork samples indicate that the fluids reacted with both mafic and ultramafic rocks in the subseafloor. The high δ34S values (average of 9.8‰) indicate a high proportion (up to 50%) of seawater derived reduced sulfur involved in the stockwork zone formation. The high homogenization temperatures (∼320 °C) and salinity (∼12 wt.% NaCl) of fluid inclusions indicate that the stockwork zone of Suye was formed by a fluid that underwent phase separation deeper in the system that was subsequently diluted by 4–5 times subsurface seawater. The deep penetration of seawater is facilitated by the unique tectonic setting of the Suye hydrothermal field, which occurs between the two stage detachment faults that creates high permeability. Our findings demonstrate that hydrothermal fluid associated with detachment faults could be oxidized below the subsurface stockwork zone, and that deep-rooted detachment faults at ultraslow-spreading ridges can sustain both reducing and oxidizing hydrothermal systems in the same fault system. These results call for a reevaluation of the fate of base metal in ultramafic hosted hydrothermal fields.


Where published
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta

Publication Identifiers
ISSN - 0016-7037

Publisher
Elsevier BV



Document Identifiers
DOI - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2022.04.025
URL - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gca.2022.04.025

Rankings
SCIMAGO Q1 (2021) - 2283 - Geochemistry and Petrology
Web Of Science Q1 (2021) - 5.921 - GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS - SCIE
SCOPUS Q1 (2021) - 9.2 - Geochemistry and Petrology

Keywords
Stockwork mineralization Oxidizing fluid S isotope Suye hydrothermal field Southwest Indian Ridge