mineralogy and chemistry of massive sulfide deposits from the juan de fuca ridge six hydrothermal vent sites and associated benthic communities were located in the axial valley of the southern juan de fuca ridge using transponder navigated bottom photography the hydrothermal deposits form ledges and shallow mounds within a central zone characterized by a linear bathymetric depression and numerous collapse features the flat valley floor adjacent to the central zone consists of ferrobasalt lobate flows and sheet flows sediment cover is minimal vent sites are characterized by concentrations of tube worms clams benthic siphonophores and several unidentified fauna two types of massive sulfide were dredged from one of the vent sites type a samples are angular slabs of dark gray zn rich sulfide with interlayers and a thin partly oxidized crust of fe sulfide these layered sulfide aggregates appear to be fragments of a sulfide wall enclosing an active hydrothermal vent the outer sulfide wall is composed mainly of colloform fe sulfide and fe poor sphalerite deposited under lower temperature conditions whereby sea water and hydrothermal fluid mix above the discharge point with continued sulfide deposition the wall inhibits mixing of sea water and hydrothermal fluid inside the wall the intensifying hydrothermal system deposits a higher temperature assemblage of granular fe rich sphalerite wurtzite pyrite and minor cu fe sulfide the zonation in wurtzite from fe rich cores to fe poor rims may result from a late stage cooling of the hydrothermal fluid and or a change in fluid chemistry the sulfide wall grows outward where a rupture in it permits the escape of high temperature fluid and then deposition of a secondary shell over the breakthrough point as temperature increases earlier formed minerals dissolve and zn fe and pb migrate toward the outer sulfide wall tube worms flourished in the outer wall of type a samples and abandoned tube structures served as conduits for the late stage hydrothermal fluids type b sulfide samples are subrounded spongy textured fragments composed almost entirely of dendritic aggregates of pale fe poor colloform sphalerite and opaline silica this type of sulfide is deposited in open space by moderate to low temperature fluid discharging at a slow but variable rate the fluid becomes increasingly oxidizing resulting in late stage deposition of hematite barite and sulfur type b samples show little evidence of burrowing animals this type of sulfide may be deposited in settings peripheral to sites of focused discharge

zinc copper and lead in mid ocean ridge basalts and the source rock control on zn pb in ocean ridge hydrothermal deposits the contents of zn cu and pb in mid ocean ridge basalts morb and the morb source rock control on zn pb in ocean ridge hydrothermal deposits are examined the values of zn cu and pb for submarine mid ocean ridge basalts morb are respectively in ppm average morb 75 75 and 0 7 west valley juan de fuca ridge jfr 87 64 and 0 5 southern jfr 120 and 0 5 and 21 n east pacific rise epr 73 78 and 0 5 values of zn pb range from about 100 240 and cu pb from 100 156 in this study zn is found to correlate positively with tio2 feo mean square of weighted deviates mswd of 1 6 for jfr basalt and inversely with mg number mswd of 3 5 therefore contrary to statements in the literature that zn should be compatible in morb zn is a mildly incompatible element and must be enriched in the glass phase relative to olivine as zn does not fit into the other major phenocryst phase plagioclase in the source of morb zn likely is most enriched in oxides spinel magnetite and titanomagnetite copper generally does not correlate well with other elements in most morb data examined when differentiation is dominated by olivine cu has a tendency to behave incompatibly e g at mg numbers 70 but overall cu shows some tendency towards being a compatible element particularly along the mid atlantic ridge a behavior presumably due to separation of sulfides in which cu but not zn is markedly enriched copper thus may be in dispersed sulfides in the source of morb ocean ridges provide important data on source rock controls for sulfide deposits because in sediment starved ridges much is known about the possible source rocks and mineralization is presently occurring in contrast to zn pb 5 in continental hot cl rich brines zn pb in the hottest sediment starved ridge black smoker hydrothermal fluids at 21 n epr is about 110 similar to local morb 145 but cu pb is closer to 30 possibly due to subsurface deposition of cu at the jfr the best value of zn pb in the hydrothermal fluids is about 175 again similar to local morb 240 but cu is very low in the fluids that are at temperatures less than 300 c the large morb like zn pb in the hottest black smoker fluids suggests a source rock control for the metals that prohibits significant galena in the black smoker deposits of sediment starved ridges in contrast exhalative deposits on sediment swamped ridges have significant galena its presence is suggestive of pb derivation from sediments an origin supported by pb isotope studies of lehuray and colleagues in 1988

hydrothermal sulfide and oxide deposits on seamounts near 21 n east pacific rise hydrothermal deposits were sampled by submersible from the calderas and summit benches of two seamounts 20 and 30 km west of the east pacific rise at 21 n the deposits document a wide variety of off axis hydrothermal activity including samples from the interiors of seafloor sulfide deposits in contrast to most mid ocean ridge deposits sulfide deposits on green seamount are rich in si fe and cu are poor in zn and contain abundant quartz sulfide chimneys grew by quenching of hydrothermal fluids and deposition of walls of colloform pyrite marcasite zn sulfide and minor galena whereas coarse grained pyrite and chalcopyrite were deposited at higher temperatures 250 c in chimney interiors as chimney walls grew outward into sea water increased temperatures in the inner walls resulted in recrystallization to pyrite and deposition of pyrite and chalcopyrite in pore space cooling in the outer portions of chimneys caused deposition of opal at temperatures of about 80 170 c as chimneys coalesced and opal rich material was heated in the interiors of sulfide edifices opal was recrystallized to chalcedony and quartz faulting has exposed the interiors of sulfide deposits where further recrystallization and deposition of chalcopyrite and quartz occurred at temperatures of 230 320 c clogging of chimneys changes in flow paths and cooling of the deposits led to the deposition of late mixed layer illite smectite iron sulfides fe poor sphalerite opal and barite the sulfide deposits formed over a time span of at least 140 000 to 70 000 yr ago probably coincident with caldera and pit crater formation the ages of the sulfide deposits provide constraints on the last volcanic and tectonic activity and they also suggest that it took a maximum of 260 000 yr for the seamount to reach its present height red seamount is presently hydrothermally active and deposits consisting predominantly of amorphous fe oxyhydroxide are forming on small pillow cones in the caldera at temperatures of 10 15 c hydrothermal nontronite deposits capped by mn oxide crusts cover much of the southern summit bench of red seamount and formed at temperatures of around 30 c iron rich talc and sulfide grains in nontronite provide evidence of former high temperature activity and suggest that a sulfide deposit is present nearby

on the interaction of tropical cyclone scale vortices i observations a detailed analysis is made of the observed behaviour in interaction tropical cyclone scale vortices in the western north pacific region it is found that all multiple vortex interactions can be broken down into a common model of binary interaction the classical fujiwhara model of converging cyclonic rotation about a centroid followed by merger is rarely followed capture tends to occur rapidly within several hours and is followed by a period of relatively stable cyclonic orbit cyclone merger occurs by one vortex experiencing a loss of convective organization followed by horizontal shearing and incorporation into the outer circulation of the other vortex however a substantial proportion of interacting cyclones escape from the interaction and the changeover from a stable orbiting configuration occurs rapidly a model of binary interaction is presented cases where swarms of mesoscale vortices are formed in convectively active regions without tropical cyclones are also documented these vortices have a much narrower range of influence a few hundred kilometres then that observed for tropical cyclones when groups of vortices come within this range they are observed to conform to the same interaction model as observed for tropical cyclones

comparative mineralogy and geochemistry of gold bearing sulfide deposits on the mid ocean ridges a comparative study of the mineralogy and geochemistry of sulfide deposits on mid ocean ridges in the northeast pacific and the mid atlantic reveals common characteristics associated with primary gold enrichment average gold contents of 0 8 to 5 ppm au occur in sulfides from southern explorer ridge and axial seamount northeast pacific and from the tag hydrothermal field and snakepit vent field mid atlantic ridge the enrichment of gold in these deposits is consistently related to a phase of late stage low temperature 1 ppm au occur exclusively in pyritic assemblages and commonly with abundant fe poor sphalerite and a suite of complex pb sb as sulfosalts amorphous silica and locally barite or carbonate are important constituents of the gold rich precipitates but do not contain gold themselves high temperature 350 c black smoker assemblages consisting dominantly of pyrite chalcopyrite pyrrhotite isocubanite and abundant anhydrite are uniformly gold poor 0 2 ppm au to the extent that individual sulfides can be mechanically separated chemical analyses by neutron activation indicate that gold is most abundant in sphalerite up to 5 7 ppm au but also occurs in pyrite and marcasite samples of sphalerite with abundant inclusions of fine grained sulfosalts locally contain up to 18 ppm au suggesting that sulfosalts may be repositories for gold no free gold has been observed at 4000 magnification of polished specimens indicating that the gold is present only as submicroscopic inclusions or as a chemical constituent within the sulfides samples from gold rich deposits in the northeast pacific and mid atlantic are compared with similar but relatively gold poor sulfides from the galapagos rift and 13 n on the east pacific rise epr and with barren sulfides from 11 n epr 21 n epr the endeavour ridge and the southern juan de fuca ridge trace element analyses of more than 170 samples show that gold enrichment in almost all of the deposits is associated with high concentrations of ag as sb pb and zn and locally with high cd hg tl and ga in contrast gold is typically depleted in samples with high co se and mo the close association of au with ag as sb and pb may reflect the common behavior of these metals as aqueous sulfur complexes e g au hs 2 at low temperatures similar mineralogical and geochemical associations are observed in sulfide deposits from modern back arc settings and in the ancient geologic record

chemical characteristics of hydrothermal fluids from the tag mound of the mid atlantic ridge in august 1994 implications for spatial and temporal variability of hydrothermal activity the tag hydrothermal mound on the mid atlantic ridge 26 08 n 44 50 w was revisited in august 1994 with the submersible shinkai 6500 in order to characterize time series fluid chemistry prior to the odp drilling fluid samples were taken from both black smokers and white smokers si ph alkalinity h 2 s major cations na k ca 2 mg 2 major anions cl so 4 2 and minor elements li sr b fe mn cu zn br as well as sr isotope ratios were measured we report the first br ci ratios for the tag hydrothermal fluids showing no fractionation between br and cl during the fluid rock interaction this study shows small changes in composition of the black smoker fluids from the 1990 data edmond et al 1995 changes of ph alkalinity fe k and 87 sr 86 sr values are suggestive of subsurface fes precipitation and a decrease of water rock ratio at a deeper reaction zone differences in chemical characteristics between the black and white smoker fluids were similarly observed as in 1990

geochemistry of north cleft segment vent fluids temporal changes in chlorinity and their possible relation to recent volcanism hydrothermal vent fluids from the north cleft segment of the juan de fuca ridge between 44 54 and 45 00 n were sampled in 1988 1990 1991 and 1992 in 1988 chloride depleted relative to seawater diffuse fluids with low dissolved metal concentrations relative to other mid ocean ridge mor fluids were sampled over a distance of 10 km along axis in 1990 and 1991 both high temperature 200 c and diffuse vents were consistently metal and chloride enriched the end member compositions of high temperature vents and nearby diffuse vents were very similar there were small but significant correlated changes in diffuse and high temperature composition from 1990 to 1991 the large scale but temporary venting of low chlorinity fluids over the entire north cleft segment provides a resolution to the apparent mass imbalance implied by observations of continuous venting of chloride enriched fluids it is possible that a volcanic event along the north cleft segment prior to 1987 for which there is firm geologic evidence initially caused a boiling event which resulted in the preferential venting of vapor enriched fluids through 1988 followed by a transition to brine enriched fluids by 1990 high iron low sodium and low sr ca ratios in the high chlorinity fluids suggest that the brine phase has continued to react and approach reequilibration with an alteration mineral assemblage after the phase separation event the absence of chloride depleted fluids from 1990 onward and the systematics of lithium boron and manganese with chloride in the high temperature fluids from north cleft suggest that the evolution toward lower chlorinity at monolith vent from 1990 to 1992 is caused by progressive dilution of a brine with hydrothermal seawater

the internal structure of an active sea floor massive sulphide deposit the hydrothermal circulation of sea water through permeable ocean crust results in rock water interactions that lead to the formation of massive sulphide deposits these are the modern analogues of many ancient ophiolite hosted deposits1 4 such as those exposed in cyprus here we report results obtained from drilling a series of holes into an actively forming sulphide deposit on the mid atlantic ridge a complex assemblage of sulphide anhydrite silica breccias provides striking evidence that such hydrothermal mounds do not grow simply by the accumulation of sulphides on the sea floor indeed the deposit grows largely as an in situ breccia pile as successive episodes of hydrothermal activity each form new hydrothermal precipitates and cement earlier deposits during inactive periods the collapse of sulphide chimneys dissolution of anhydrite and disruption by faulting cause brecciation of the deposit the abundance of anhydrite beneath the present region of focused hydrothermal venting reflects the high temperatures 150 c currently maintained within the mound and implies substantial entrainment of cold sea water into the interior of the deposit these observations demonstrate the important role of anhydrite in the growth of massive sulphide deposits despite its absence in those preserved on land

geological setting and mineralogical and geochemical investigations on sulfide deposits near 13 n on the east pacific rise geological mineralogical and geochemical investigations of hydrothermal deposits on one of the most studied segments of the east pacific rise near 13 n show that sulfides occur in four main tectonic settings these are 1 in the middle part of the central graben where active zones are located 2 at the top of the central graben where a second line of deposits is observed 3 on the marginal high which has sulfides both on its western tectonic side and at its top where a large deposit is located and 4 on the flank of the southeastern seamount which is the site of the most important deposit of the area the nature of the distribution of the samples through the area studied shows that hydrothermal activity has existed for more than 20 000 years mineral assemblages are dependent on the sample location the sulfide samples exhibit a wide range of mineralogical assemblages varying from high temperature hydrothermal cu fe rich chimneys black smokers which are characteristic structures of young edifices to mature cu fe rich massive sulfides similar to those found in the core of massive sulfide lenses mined on shore with respect to these observations a classification into nine types of sulfide assemblages is proposed hydrothermal activity at the axis is now increasing in intensity increase in temperature decrease in f s2 and f o2 the relative paucity of zn rich massive sulfides on the off axis structures is likely to be a consequence of the depletion of zn in the hydrothermal fluids r mode factor analysis applied to a population of nineteen representative bulk chemical analyses shows fractionation of the reduced sulfur fluid during the discharge into three main groups cu fe co se ca sr zn cd ag as pb and si ba displaying the principal types of sulfide samples collected in the 13 n area microprobe investigations conducted on sulfide minerals define the distribution of trace metal elements such as ag co se cd and as during the process of hydrothermal maturation of the deposits

volcanism and metallogenesis of axial and off axial structures on the east pacific rise near 13 degrees n a fast spreading segment 12 cm yr super 1 of the east pacific rise near 12 degrees 50 n explored in detail by surface ship and manned submersible displays intense hydrothermal activity the rise crest about 1 500 m in width with a regional depth of 2 600 m is occupied at its center by an axial graben 1 3 titania alkali enriched olivine ti k basalts with high tio 2 1 4 and high alkali content na 2 o 3 0 k 2 o 0 3 occur on the southeastern seamount the fractionated tholeiites are believed to have been derived from primitive melts during differentiation which took place within a magma reservoir asymmetrical with respect to the axis of the graben which supplied both axial and off axial lava flows the ti k enriched basalts are believed to have been produced from an alkali enriched magmatic source

gabbroic xenoliths and host ferrobasalt from the southern juan de fuca ridge rare isotropic gabbroic xenoliths occur in sheet and lobate flow fragments of nearly aphyric ferrobasalt collected along a 12 km section of the southern juan de fuca ridge xenoliths comprise 1 of the dredge contents and range in size from 1 cm3 glomerocryst to 240 cm3 the xenoliths have ophitic to intersertal texture with 5 50 interstitial glass of ferrobasaltic composition more evolved than the host lava on the basis of texture and mineralogy the xenoliths have been subdivided into three types type i plagioclase olivine glass type ii plagioclase augite glass olivine and type iii plagioclase augite olivine glass pigeonite partially inverted fe ti oxides mineral and glass inclusion compositions suggest a sequence of evolution for the three xenolith types in which type i is the least evolved and type iii is the most evolved application of a graphical pyroxene geothermometer to augite in xenolith types ii and iii yields crystallization temperatures of 1100 1200 c and to host lamellae pairs in inverted pigeonite yields subsolidus equilibrium temperatures of 1100 1150 c coexisting titanomagnetite ilmenite pairs in type iii xenoliths yield temperature estimates of 1000 1070 c and log f02 9 7 to 10 8 we infer that the xenoliths represent the partially crystalline mush boundary zone of a magma chamber based on the abundance of interstitial glass zonation of mineral grains in the most crystalline samples and coherence of chemical trends between interstitial glass glass inclusions and mineral phases the evolved composition of the xenoliths provides evidence for the presence of melts more fractionated than the host ferrobasalt in the magma chamber the erupted ferrobasalt is a hybrid lava formed by mixing these highly evolved melts with more primitive melts

the effect of temperature on metal mobility in subseafloor hydrothermal systems constraints from basalt alteration experiments abstract crystalline basalt was reacted with a na ca k cl fluid of seawater chlorinity at 400 350 and 300 c 400 bar and a fluid rock mass ratio of 1 to assess the effect of temperature on metal mobility in ridge crest hydrothermal systems basalt alteration at 400 c yielded a fluid chemistry characterized by high zn cu fe mn sio 2 h 2 s and h 2 concentrations lowering temperature to 350 and then to 300 c caused dissolved metal concentrations to decrease drastically black smoker vent fluids generally have measured temperatures 355 c the dissolved concentrations of zn cu fe and mn observed in these fluids however could only be achieved or exceeded during the 400 c phase of the experiment indicating that hot spring fluids have lost heat and possibly dissolved fe and base metals on ascent to the seafloor from a high temperature reaction zone the relative rates at which zn cu fe and mn achieve new steady state concentrations in response to temperature reduction during basalt alteration are cu fe zn mn thus dissolved zn and especially mn concentrations are more likely to record accurately temperatures characterizing subseafloor reaction zones while fe and cu which respond rapidly to changes in temperature are likely to precipitate along fluid flow paths especially in near seafloor locations this trend is confirmed by the relative abundance of dissolved metals in hot spring fluids variably influenced by heat loss processes calculations suggest that hot spring fluids may lose heat by conduction through sulfide mounds and chimney walls at flow rates observed for many vent systems since heat loss processes influence the chemistry especially dissolved metals as well as measured temperatures of axial hot springs fluids these effects must be taken into account to model accurately phase relations and fluid mineral equilibria in deeply seated subseafloor reaction zones

compositions growth mechanisms and temporal relations of hydrothermal sulfide sulfate silica chimneys at the northern cleft segment juan de fuca ridge three active hydrothermal vents forming sulfide mounds and chimneys monolith fountain and pipe organ and more widely distributed inactive chimneys are spatially related to a system of discontinuous fissures and young sheet flow lavas at the northern cleft segment juan de fuca ridge the formation of zoned tubular curich chimneys type i on the monolith sulfide mound is related to focused flow of high temperature to 328 c fluid bulbous chimneys type ii or beehives at the monolith and fountain vents are products of diffuse high temperature to 315 c discharge a broader zone of vigorous mixing between the hydrothermal fluid and seawater results in quench crystallization of anhydrite rich shells columnar zn sulfide rich chimneys with narrow channelways type iii are constructed where focused and relatively low temperature 261 c fluid vents directly from the basalt substrate the bulk chemistry low cu high pb ag and sio2 contents mineralogy pyrite marcasite wurtzite amorphous silica anglesite colloform and filamentous textures and oxygen isotope characteristics of inactive type iv chimneys indicate a low temperature 250 c origin involving diffuse and sluggish flow patterns and conductive cooling seafloor observations and 210pb data indicate that 1 type iv chimneys are products of an earlier period of hydrothermal activity that ended no more than 60 years ago but prior to the sheet flow eruption 2 the high temperature monolith and fountain vents are manifestations of the same heating event shallow emplacement of magma that led to the sheet flow eruption and recent megaplumes and 3 the pipe organ vent is in a very youthful stage of development and chimney deposition postdates the sheet flow eruption

evidence for volcanic eruption on the southern juan de fuca ridge between 1981 and 1987 the formation of new ocean crust at mid ocean ridges is known to be a discontinuous process in both space and time but little is known about the frequency and duration of eruptions along an active ridge segment here we present evidence from sea beam surveys and underwater photography for the eruption of lavas along a segment of the juan de fuca ridge between 1981 and 1987 although previous studies have inferred volcanic activity on ridges in areas where recent seismicity or young lava flows have been observed1 4 none has yet had direct evidence to date such a recent submarine eruption the temporal coincidence between this eruptive episode and the megaplumes huge sudden emissions of hot mineral laden water observed over this part of the ridge5 6 in 1986 and 1987 supports previous suggestions5 10 that megaplumes are caused by sea floor spreading events

chemical evolution of mid ocean ridge hot springs abstract chemical analyses yielding elemental concentrations of major and minor elements of four hot springs on the east pacific rise at 21 n and 10 hot springs from the southern trough of the guaymas basin gulf of california provide a basis for thermodynamic modeling of conductive cooling of the hydrothermal endmembers mixing of the hydrothermal endmember with seawater and reaction of an epr type fluid with sediment of bulk chemical composition corresponding to unaltered sediment from dsdp hole 477 in the guaymas basin results of the calculations indicate that conductive cooling of endmember fluids within closed chimneys and conduits accounts for the solution composition of one vent on the east pacific rise and several vents in guaymas basin mixing of the hydrothermal fluids with seawater yields a prediction of mineral assemblages closely approximating those observed in samples of chimneys from the east pacific rise and drill cores in guaymas basin the hypothesis that guaymas basin hydrothermal fluids result from interaction of an epr type fluid with sediment cover in guaymas basin is supported by calculations which predict an increase in ph to a value similar to guaymas basin fluids an order of magnitude decrease in metal concentrations and an excellent agreement between predicted mineral assemblages as a function of extent of interaction with sediment and observed mineral assemblage distribution with depth

new age data for mid atlantic ridge hydrothermal sites tag and snakepit chronology revisited the chronologies of tag and snakepit hydrothermal fields have been established using 210pb pb 230th 234u and 14c dating at the tag field a mn oxide record indicative of low temperature events began at least 125 000 years and possibly 140 000 years ago with maximum intensities at 15 000 7000 and 4000 years before present high temperature events giving rise to sulfide deposits began about 100 000 years ago and have been intermittent to the present day a presently active site has experienced intermittent pulses of activity every 4000 to 6000 years over the past 20 000 years decrease in activity is often marked by low temperature aragonite precipitation in chimney conduits at 4000 7000 and 9000 years ago after a period of quiescence lasting about 4000 years this site was reactivated about 50 years ago the snakepit field is much younger and no sulfides older than 4000 years have been recovered relict sulfide deposits are dated between 2000 and 4000 years old indicating this site was active during a quiescent period at tag reactivation of snakepit took place about 80 years ago and is presently concurrent with that of tag comparison with hydrothermal sites on the east pacific rise suggests that on slow spreading ridges the major fracture systems focussing the hydrothermal discharge can be reactivated at intervals and new deposits precipitated on top of older ones while on faster spreading ridges each pulse of activity is separated in space and time resulting in discrete deposits

chemistry of hydrothermal solutions from the southern juan de fuca ridge fluids from three vent fields on the southern juan de fuca ridge were sampled in september 1984 using the dsrv alvin the fluids are uniquely high in both chloride which ranges up to twice the seawater value and in metal content simple vapor liquid phase separation could not have produced both the high chlorinity and gas concentrations observed in these fluids the cause of the elevated chlorinity can not be uniquely identified but may be the result of either or a combination of two processes 1 subsurface formation of a degassed brine and subsequent mixing of a small amount of this brine with a hydrothermal seawater which has not undergone a phase separation and 2 dissolution of a chloride rich phase combined with a possible small loss of gas during sampling procedures although measured temperatures were all less than 300 sup 0 c quartz geothermometry suggests that the fluids have equilibrated at greater than 340 sup 0 c quartz geobarometry is also in agreement with geophysical estimates of depth to the local magma chamber copyright american geophysical union 1987

a three component mixing model for ridge crest hydrothermal fluids the hydrothermal fluid chemistry data set for sediment starved ridge axes is used to estimate endmember compositions and to constrain a three component mixing model based on that of von damm using numerical methods to estimate the endmember compositions the data set includes fe cl h2s na k ca and sr at 11 13 n and 21 n east pacific rise north and south cleft segment southern juan de fuca ridge tag and mark q mode factor analysis shows that the data can be explained 99 9 by 3 factors a constrained optimization of a weighted least squares algorithm assuming conservative mixing and with the constraints that all endmember concentrations and contributions are non negative and that fractional contributions sum to one is used to partition the data set into endmembers mixing of the calculated endmembers consistently found to be phase separated brine vapor and hydrothermally altered seawater reproduces the composition of the vent fluids the model is consistent with the presence of a convecting brine layer in the primary reaction zone at depth as suggested by bischoff and rosenbauer that transfers properties to the overlying circulating seawater by release of a vapor and by diffusion we suggest that future experimental work examine solubility controls in conjunction with and subsequent to phase separation and work with a wider range of fluid salinities

formation of massive sulfide deposits on oceanic ridge crests incremental reaction models for mixing between hydrothermal solutions and seawater equilibrium path calculations have been used to model mixing between hot 350 c hydrothermal solutions and ambient seawater in an attempt to simulate mineral precipitation at seafloor vents these calculations predict temperatures of precipitation paragenetic sequence of minerals and chemical composition of chimney deposits associated with vents on the seafloor at 21 n epr assuming sulfate sulfide disequilibrium during mixing the paragenetic sequence revealed is chalcopyrite anhydrite pyrrhotite pyrite sphalerite graphite and barite when sulfate sulfide equilibria is permitted during mixing however reduction of small amounts of sulfate results in early precipitation of pyrite and a sequence of cu rich sulfide minerals chalcopyrite bornite chalcocite covellite this sequence is analogous to that observed in thin chimney walls the calculations indicate that sulfide mineral precipitation occurs in response to both cooling and change in composition of the hydrothermal solutions as a result of mixing varying the amount of mixing with respect to temperature simulating conductive heating of seawater prior to mixing results in only minor variations in the sequence and abundance of precipitated phases anhydrite precipitation during mixing occurs early which is consistent with formation of an anhydrite leading edge of chimney structures similarly extrapolation of warm spring data from galapagos to zero so4 concentration suggests anhydrite formation due to mixing with seawater beneath the seafloor most likely below the level of reactive calcareous sediments subsequent interaction of the mixed hydrothermal solution with those sediments results in elevated and variable ca concentrations estimated for end member solutions from the galapagos precipitation of mg hydroxide sulfate hydrate in the walls of the vent chimneys at 21 n epr occurs as a result of conductive heating of ambient seawater with only very minor amounts of mixing in contrast precipitation of amorphous silica in the vents must be due to conductive cooling of the hydrothermal solutions thus incremental reaction calculations demonstrate that reactions occurring in and associated with venting ridge crest hydrothermal solutions can be effectively modeled using the thermodynamic data and reaction modeling codes available today departures from equilibrium required to accurately model the mixing process are easily accommodated and consistent with data from the vents and vent forming materials

pb sr and nd isotopes in basalts and sulfides from the juan de fuca ridge pb sr and nd isotopes of seven basalt glasses collected by the submersible alvin from the southern juan de fuca ridge sjfr are almost identical 206pb 204pb 18 45 207pb 204pb 15 47 208pb 204pb 37 81 87sr 86sr 0 70249 143nd 144nd 0 51315 whereas all basalts appear cogenetic four of the samples have uniform abundances of u th rb nd sm pb and sr indicating that they are also comagmatic two basalt glasses dredged previously at the sjfr have similiar isotopic compositions but higher concentrations of u th and pb the 206pb 204pb ratios are intermediate between generally less radiogenic ridge basalts from south of the juan de fuca ridge jfr and often more radiogenic basalts from the northern jfr and ne pacific seamounts sr and nd isotopic compositions closely resemble data of other ridge basalts from the northernmost east pacific rise and are intermediate between isotopically more diverse seamount basalts produced nearby eight sulfides collected from three hydrothermal vent sites at sjfr have very similar pb isotopic compositions to that of the associated basalts sr and nd isotopic ratios of a single sulfide sample lie on a mixing curve between seawater and basalt data indicating that the sulfide precipitated after mixing of hydrothermal solutions and ambient seawater

time series studies of vent fluids from the tag and mark sites 1986 1990 mid atlantic ridge a new solution chemistry model and a mechanism for cu zn zonation in massive sulphide orebodies

metals and isotopes in juan de fuca ridge hydrothermal fluids and their associated solid materials the 87sr 86sr ratio of the hydrothermal solution hts 0 7034 is larger than that of basalt 0 7025 at the southern vent field of the juan de fuca ridge sjfr both the sr isotopic ratio for hts and the water rock interaction ratio lie between those at two sites farther south on the east pacific rise 13 n and 21 n these parameters may be closely related to subsurface temperatures and rates of magma ascent and to extent of faulting and surface areas of the frameworks of the hydrothermal systems for these three pacific ocean sites there is no steady geographical progression of these measured parameters nor of reported spreading rate with increasing latitude northward pb and nd isotopic measurements are uniform for all samples from the sjfr ranging only from 18 43 to 18 58 for 206pb 204pb fluids and associated solids and centering near 0 5131 for 143nd 144nd only fluids measured values for basalts and sulfides from the site have similar values relatively high 206pb 204pb values at the sjfr suggest the potential for the existence of an anomalous radiogenic heat source in the underlying mantle material a nd sm mass ratio of about 5 suggests that the system of the sjfr like those at 13 n and 21 n may be light rare earth element enriched the availability of three types of solid material associated with each fluid sample has provided an opportunity to study chemical distribution between fluids and solids sr isotopic compositions provide strong evidence that at least two of the types of solids are precipitates from their individually associated fluids for most metals measured the masses in the fluids were greater than the masses in solid materials however some metals or the solids that contain them may not have been conserved fractions possibly being lost during sampling or earlier a sr isotopic method of determining extent of seawater dilution of the fluid samples yields different results from the traditionally used method based on mg concentrations perhaps due to differing degrees of precipitation of the two metals

comment on an alternative plate tectonic model for the palaeozoic early mesozoic palaeotethyan evolution of southeast asia northern thailand burma by o m ferrari c hochard g m stampfli tectonophysics 451 346 365 doi 10 1016 j tecto 2007 11 065 abstract ferrari et al ferrari o m hochard c stampfli g m 2008 an alternative plate tectonic model for the palaeozoic early mesozoic palaeotethyan evolution of southeast asia northern thailand burma tectonophysics 451 346 365 doi 10 1016 j tecto 2007 11 065 redefine the shan thai terrane in thailand as a cathaysian indochina derived terrane when this has traditionally been defined and used as a gondwana derived continental block hence introducing unnecessary confusion in their definition of shan thai they also inappropriately combine oceanic suture zone rocks the palaeo tethys inthanon suture and continental arc rocks sukhothai island arc system the mai yuam fault identified by ferrari et al 2008 as the palaeo tethys suture is in fact a cenozoic fault and the palaeo tethys suture zone is represented by the inthanon suture zone in thailand which is equivalent to the previously recognised inthanon zone the concept of derivation of orang laut terranes from south china indochina by back arc spreading is innovative but the proposed permo triassic back arc along the song da song ma zone in vietnam is less convincing there is little evidence to support the proposed southwards subduction of palaeo tethys beneath eastern gondwana in the permian

u th and pb isotopes in hot springs on the juan de fuca ridge the concentrations and isotopic compositions of u th and pb in three hydrothermal fluids from the juan de fuca ridge were determined the samples consisted of 10 2 57 6 of the pure hydrothermal end members based on mg contents the pb contents of the samples ranged from 34 to 87 ng g u from 1 3 to 3 0 ng g and th from 0 2 to 7 7 pg g these samples showed large enrichments of pb and th relative to deep sea water and some depletion of u they did not show coherent relationships with mg however indicating nonideal mixings between the hot hydrothermal fluids and cold ambient seawater particles filtered from these hydrothermal fluids contained significant amounts of th and pb which may effectively increase the concentration of these elements in the fluids when acidified the sup 234 u sup 238 u values in all samples show a sup 234 u enrichment relative to the equilibrium value and have a seawater signature the pb isotopic composition of the juan de fuca hydrothermal fluids resembles that of 21 sup 0 n east pacific rise and has a uniform mid ocean ridge basalt signature the hydrothermal systems at oceanic spreading ridges have circulated through a large volume of basalts therefore pb in these fluids may representmore the best average value of the local oceanic crust from the effects of u deposition from seawater to the crust and pb extraction from rock to the ocean the u pb ratio in the hydrothermally altered oceanic crust may be increased significantly copyright american geophysical union 1987 less

chemical and mineralogical influences on concentrations of trace metals in hydrothermal fluids abstract concentrations of trace metals in hydrothermal solutions from the southern juan de fuca ridge sjfr and the tag hydrothermal field on the mid atlantic ridge are influenced by the combined effects of source rock composition brine seawater mixing and complex interplay among various metals and minerals deposited and remineralized in vent mounds and chimneys copper mo and co show predicted sharp decreases in concentration for vent fluids as temperatures decrease below 350 c however concentrations of cu in 363 c fluids at the tag site are well above values determined from seawater basalt interactions due to subseafloor refining processes and remineralization of chalcopyrite concentrations of zn cd pb as and ga do not show any temperature dependence between 214 to 363 c however zn values do correlate well with cl on an area by area basis due to subseafloor mixing of brine with altered seawater zinc levels also correlate well with concentrations of cd pb and as for all vent fluid samples as well as with basalt and zn rich sulfides implying some continuity in behavior from source rock to vent fluid to sulfide minerals gallium values correlate with zn and cl levels for the sjfr but are high relative to zn at the tag site due to subseafloor refining processes concentrations of tl follow cl k and rb consistent with the behavior predicted for tl overall the cl and zn rich fluids from the sjfr are characteristic of a brine dominated system formed during recent volcanism in contrast high temperature fluids from the tag area are representative of a system that has evolved over the past 100 000 yr with high concentrations of cu co and ga that result from higher temperatures and complex refining processes within a large vent mound

gold and native copper in supergene sulphides from the mid atlantic ridge in 1985 black smokers and massive sulphide deposits were discovered in the tag hydrothermal field in the rift valley of the mid atlantic ridge near latitude 26 08 n ref 1 sulphide samples from chimneys and mounds were recovered by dredging at depths between 3 620 and 3 670 m mineralogical and chemical analyses of the samples reveal 1 primary unaltered zn fe cu sulphides containing 0 8 4 0 p p m au 0 02 0 12 oz per ton and 2 secondary cu rich sulphides with native copper formed by supergene alteration of primary cu fe sulphides containing up to 16 4 p p m au 0 48 oz per ton as free native gold this is the first reported occurrence of secondary enrichment of gold and copper in recent submarine sulphides the high gold grades and native copper associated with secondary cu sulphides resemble occurrences in some supergene gossans overlying ancient massive sulphide deposits on land2

trace metals in hydrothermal solutions from cleft segment on the southern juan de fuca ridge concentrations of trace metals in fe and cl rich hydrothermal solutions from the southern juan de fuca ridge sjfr have been determined and corrected for residual precipitates formed in the sampler precipitate corrections for ag cd cu mo pb sb and zn were variable contributing an average of 20 to total solution concentrations whereas corrections for co averaged less than 5 and essentially no corrections were required for fe and mn values for cu co and mo in these solutions showed a strong dependence on temperature with sharp decreases in concentrations as temperatures decreased to less than 320 c in addition and unlike most other metals studied all vent fluids from the sjfr were almost completely depleted in mo relative to seawater values of about 110 nmol kg 1 in contrast to the cu co mo group concentrations of ag cd sb and pb correlated well with those for zn and are presumed to follow a distribution that is influenced less by temperature over the 246 to 332 c range encountered in this study and more by the combined chemical processes that control zn levels along the transport pathway from the deep reaction zone to the vent orifice

mineralogy chemical composition and structure of the mir mound tag hydrothermal field the study of samples collected from the surface of the mir mound tag hydrothermal field by video controlled hydraulic grab allowed identification of a number of mineralogical types these include pyrite chalcopyrite py cp bornite chalcopyrite opaline bn cp op and sphalerite opaline sp op sulfide chimneys massive sulfides composed of pyrite py chalcopyrite pyrite cp py marcasite pyrite opaline mc py op sphalerite pyrite opaline sp py op and sphalerite chalcopyrite pyrite opaline sp cp py op as well as siliceous and fe mn oxide hydrothermal deposits most of the minor elements ag au cd ga hg sb and pb are associated with zn rich massive sulfides co bi pb and as with ferich ones while cu rich sulfides are depleted of trace metals cu enriched assemblages are concentrated in the northern part zn enriched in the center and siliceous rocks in the south of the mir mound according to paragenetic relations the development of the mound started with the formation of quartz originally opaline rocks and dendritic assemblages of melnikovite pyrite followed by deposition of chalcopyrite and recrystallization of primary pyrite subsequent generation of sphalerite rich assemblages and final deposition of opaline rocks the late renewal of hydrothermal activity led to local formation of cu rich chimneys enriched in au ag hg and pb probably due to their remobilization from inner parts of the deposit