mineral and gas chemistry of hydrothermal fluids on an ultrafast spreading ridge east pacific rise 17 to 19 s naudur cruise 1993 phase separation processes controlled by volcanic and tectonic activity during the naudur cruise in december 1993 23 dives using the french submersible nautile were conducted on the axis of the east pacific rise between 17 and 19 s where the spreading rate is among the fastest in the ocean 14 to 16 cm yr twenty hydrothermal fluids located at the topographic high of each segment in the axial domain were collected between 2573 and 2669 m depth on three segments centered respectively at 17 25 s 18 15 s and 18 26 s the fluids exhibit a very wide range of temperature chemical and gas compositions on the 17 25 s and 18 26 s segments fluids have quite uniform compositions low chlorinities are gas enriched and are low in dissolved metals relative to fluids from the 18 15 s segment which show high chlorinities are less gas enriched and show high metal concentrations chloride and metal depletion associated with gas enrichment is consistent with phase separation whereas ch 4 end members show large variations between sites the 13 ch 4 data are very similar with 13 c values in a narrow range 22 0 to 23 9 versus pee dee belemnite pdb 13 co 2 measured in fluids within the 18 15 s and 18 26 s segments are respectively 7 9 and 5 8 versus pdb similar to 13 c of co 2 trapped in mid oceanic ridge basalts suggesting a magmatic origin the variability in fluid composition is linked to the variability of the accretion process observed on the three segments the uniform venting of low chlorinity fluids in the 17 25 s and 18 26 s segments is connected with volcanic activity which causes boiling with preferential venting of vapor enriched fluids high salinity fluids are emitted on the 18 15 s segment where the ridge is tectonics dominated and subseafloor circulation controlled by faults phase separated effluents induced by volcanic and tectonic activity are delivered to the deep ocean in this area as previously observed on the juan de fuca ridge or in the north fiji basin ridge

quartz cemented breccias from the mid atlantic ridge samples of a high salinity hydrothermal upflow zone textural mineralogical chemical and fluid inclusion studies on a suite of quartz rich sulfide bearing greenstone breccias indicate that high salinity high fluid flow systems were recently active on the mid atlantic ridge south of the kane fracture zone these systems involved fluids with temperatures close to 300 c and salinities almost 3 times that of seawater rounded pebblelike fragments enclosed within a matrix of euhedral quartz crystals appear to have been cemented by quartz deposition from a moving fluid which attained velocities in excess of 1 m s homogenization temperatures and freezing point depression effects in fluid inclusions from texturally early and late quartz crystals indicate temporal evolution of fluid temperatures and nacl equivalent salinities from 290 c and 10 wt to 200 c and 4 7 wt during alteration and cementation of the breccias highly variable cobalt concentrations in the evolving hydrothermal solutions are indicated by fine scale oscillatory zoning in euhedral pyrite within the breccias a continuous supply of the high salinity fluids may be generated either by supercritical two phase separation at depths well below the level of inclusion entrapment or by retrograde dissolution of hydroxy chloride phases in the deeper portions of the hydrothermal system either model requires the initial temperature of the deeply circulating fluids to have been distinctly higher than 415 c and the fluid to have been cooled by conduction or by mixing with lower temperature seawater prior to entrapment within the inclusions

geochemistry of some gases in hydrothermal fluids from the southern juan de fuca ridge five samples of hydrothermal fluids from two vent areas on the southern juan de fuca ridge were analyzed for dissolved gases concentrations in the end member hydrothermal fluid of h2 270 527 mol kg ch4 82 118 mol kg and co2 3920 4460 mol kg are well above values in ambient seawater and are similar to concentrations reported for other ridge crest hydrothermal systems the carbon isotopic ratios of the ch4 13c 17 8 to 20 8 and co2 13c 3 6 to 4 7 suggest that at least some of the ch4 and co2 in the fluids is basalt derived the range of 13c values for the basalt derived co2 is 6 8 to 9 7 calculated by assuming conservation of recharge co2 during hydrothermal circulation apparent temperatures of equilibration between the ch4 and the basalt derived co2 range from 640 c to 750 c small amounts of ethane c2h6 ch4 0 9 10 3 2 2 10 3 propane and butane detected in the samples may also have formed in the basalt one sample of almost pure 95 5 hydrothermal fluid contained a significant fraction up to 63 and 74 respectively of the recharge ar and n2 this suggests that the fluid has not undergone extensive vapor liquid phase separation

consequences of phase separation on the distribution of hydrothermal fluids at ashes vent field axial volcano juan de fuca ridge recent studies of hydrothermal fluid chemistry at the axial seamount hydrothermal emissions study ashes vent field of axial volcano indicate separation of liquid and vapor phases during the migration of fluids to the seafloor the brine phase liquid emanates from discrete sulfide chimneys while fluid which has been through vapor phase separation flows diffusely from fissures in the surrounding basalt one possible mechanism to explain this spatial segregation of the fluid phases is based on the relative permeability terms in the equations of two phase flow a qualitative model for the distribution of fluids observed at ashes is postulated in which brine phase fluids are confined within flow conduits by a surrounding relative permeability barrier while vapor phase fluids flow diffusely into the surrounding host rock

analysis of fluid inclusions in seafloor hydrothermal precipitates testing and application of an integrated gc ic technique the principal research objective was to test an integrated gas gc and ion chromatographic ic technique for analysis of trapped fluids in seafloor hydrothermal precipitates and to compare the results with independently analyzed vent fluids twenty three samples of chalcopyrite pyrite sphalerite barite and anhydrite from hydrothermal chimneys from four seafloor sites axial seamount juan de fuca ridge the vai lili vent field lau basin the tag hydrothermal field mid atlantic ridge and the 21 n vent field east pacific rise as well as of pyrite marcasite and quartz from the tag mound were analyzed a new type of blank for sulphides and sulphates was also developed water contents obtained by gc analysis are in agreement with known compositions of seafloor hydrothermal solutions also the volatiles occur in the same order of abundance as in vent fluids co2 n2 co ar o2 ch4 cos c2 c3 hydrocarbons for all analyzed hydrothermal fluids the mean cl concentrations are similar to those for the respective measured vent fluid compositions furthermore the gc ic results are directly comparable to salinity data determined by microthermometric methods nh4 can be enriched and is most probably formed by decomposition of organic matter volatile concentrations in fluid inclusions and data from vent fluids differ significantly for some of the investigated sites furthermore the gc data indicate systematic variations regarding the volatile contents of trapped fluids from different active seafloor hydrothermal systems fluid inclusion volatile data of samples from the ashes vent field at axial seamount define an inclined array consistent with phase separation

a method for measuring the development of surface cracks in soils application to crack development after lowland rice abstract surface cracks develop in many clay soils as they dry since they are difficult to adequately sample in most volumetric samples it is useful to measure them so that volumetric measurements of water content for example can be corrected a method for measuring cracks in soils is described a transect consisting of six linked semi circles each of 1 m diameter is used to count intercepts with the cracks which allows estimation of the length of cracks per unit area la the semi circular shape avoids any bias due to preferred orientation of the cracks to minimise the effort required to achieve the greatest accuracy which depends on the number of cracks counted and not the transect length 50 intercepts are counted per replicate transect after which any remaining intercepts with the current semi circle are counted in addition crack depth and surface width are measured at a total of 60 intercepts over all replicate transects this allows calculation of means for depth and width mean vertical cross sectional area and the volume of crack per unit area can be calculated by assuming a rectangular triangular or square root shape model for the crack cross section the depth functions of la and vv crack volume per unit volume can also be calculated although the latter requires assumptions about crack shape the method is illustrated by application to two soils puddled for rice during the first four week drying after field drainage

iron isotopes in hot springs along the juan de fuca ridge we present fe isotope data for high temperature hydrothermal fluids sulfides and basalts from the juan de fuca ridge usgs basalt standard bcr 2 and the canyon diablo iron meteorite the fe isotopic compositions of all samples fall within a range of 1 however there is a small but statistically significant isotopic variation between fe dissolved in hydrothermal fluids and fe in canyon diablo specifically the hydrothermal fluids are lighter compared to canyon diablo yielding 56fe 56fe 54fe sample 56fe 54fe canyon diablo 1 1000 values from 0 30 to 0 77 in contrast the bcr 2 basalt and canyon diablo are isotopically indistinguishable measurements of 56fe in juan de fuca ridge basalts and sulfides suggest that fe isotopes are fractionated in hydrothermal systems however the data do not exclude the possibility of small 56fe differences between the rocks from which fluid fe is derived and other igneous fe in which case fractionation in igneous systems is indicated regardless these results are evidence of non biological mass fractionation of fe isotopes in nature further venting of hydrothermal fluids into the overlying water column could provide a source of isotopically light fe to the deep oceans contributing to fe isotopic variations observed in deep sea sediments

hydrothermal alteration of hemi pelagic sediments experimental evaluation of geochemical processes in shallow subduction zones abstract laboratory hydrothermal experiments provide unique information regarding the fate of volatile and or incompatibles e g b li and as during oceanic crust subduction examination of chemical redistribution between the subducted slab mantle wedge arc volcanics and overlying ocean water during subduction is critical to gain further insight into arc volcanism and chemical oceanic budgets for instance efficient mobilization of b at shallow depths may be a key aspect of its oceanic budget and can help to explain the systematics of b 11b and b 10be in arc lavas fluid rock interactions at elevated temperatures and pressures in accretionary prisms were studied using a rocking autoclave hydrothermal apparatus to monitor sediment porewater interaction over the range of 25 to 350 c at 800 bars clay rich hemi pelagic sediments from the decollement zone of ocean drilling program site 808 nankai trough were reacted with nacl cacl2 solutions at water rock ratios of 3 5 to 1 5 w w to mimic alteration processes in the shallow subduction zone fluids were extracted at 25 50 c intervals and were analyzed for major and trace chemical constituents the fluid chemistry changed significantly during the course of these experiments but there was generally only minor modification of the solid phase only b li as br and pb are significantly depleted during the heating cycle dissolved na mg and so4 decreased sharply and nh4 sio2 k b and li increased at t 300 c calcium drops gradually at low temperatures but concentrations rise sharply at t 300 c decomposition of organic matter so42 depletion and mg fixation dominate at low temperatures however albitization of calcic plagioclase leads to marked na depletions and ca enrichments at t 300 c dissolved sio2 remained below saturation with respect to quartz and amorphous silica throughout the entire experiment b and li mobilization with large isotopic fractionations occurred at low temperature exchangeable b 11b 15 is completely leached before reaching 150 c substantial o2 exchange between fluids and the solid phase occurred at t 200 c in the spiked experiment where 18o varies more than 100 in the fluids during retrograde cooling dissolved mg so4 ca si k and sr are released as a result of carbonate or anhydrite dissolution and marked b re adsorption occurred at temperatures below 60 c

hillslope run off thresholds with shrink swell clay soils irrigation experiments on 12 instrumented field plots were used to assess the impact of dynamic soil crack networks on infiltration and run off during applications of intensity similar to a heavy rainstorm water was seen being preferentially delivered within the soil profile however run off was not observed until soil water content of the profile reached field capacity and the apertures of surface connected cracks had closed 60 electrical resistivity measurements suggested that subsurface cracks persisted and enhanced lateral transport even in wet conditions likewise single ring infiltration measurements taken before and after irrigation indicated that infiltration remained an important component of the water budget at high soil water content values despite apparent surface sealing overall although the wetting and sealing of the soil profile showed considerable complexity an emergent property at the hillslope scale was observed all of the plots demonstrated a strikingly similar threshold run off response to the cumulative precipitation amount copyright 2014 john wiley sons ltd

a search for hydroacoustic signals associated with the 2 june 1988 temperature anomaly at axial seamount data from the wake island hydrophone array is examined for signals possibly associated with sudden decreases in bottom temperature at axial seamount which is located on the juan de fuca ridge in spite of the extreme sensitivity of the wake hydrophones to small explosive charges and unreported shallow focus earthquakes along the juan de fuca ridge and to unreported episodes of submarine volcanism no sustained signals were found which appear to be related to the observed temperature anomalies because of intermittent recording problems some hydroacoustic signals of extremely short duration possibly associated with the temperature anomalies could have escaped detection in the eight hours subsequent to the occurrence of these anomalies however no such signals could have escaped detection during an eight hour period prior to the onset of the observed anomalies since the recording system was working properly the absence of signals indicates that sustained teleacoustically detectable submarine volcanism was not associated with the 2 june 1988 temperature anomaly

chloride depletions and enrichments in seafloor hydrothermal fluids constraints from experimental basalt alteration studies na k ca cl fluid was reacted with diabase at 400 and 425 c 400 bars and fluidrock mass ratio of 0 5 to assess the relative mobility of dissolved cl fluids from the present experiments reveal relatively large time and temperature dependent decreases in cl temperature increase enhances cl removal whereas reaction progress has the opposite effect these changes are not due to boiling and or phase separation at 400 and 425 c 400 bars cl removal from solution is accompanied by ca and na fixation respectively both experiments produced mixed layer chlorite smectite clinozoisite and albite olivine was not detected by x ray diffraction or petrographic analysis of run products from either experiment however we propose that the time dependent changes in dissolved cl result from olivine replacement by an fe hydroxy chloride phase followed by hydration effects quenched and washed alteration products however did not reveal anomalous cl which suggests that the cl bearing phase is characterized by retrograde solubility this is consistent with the relative magnitude of cl fixation observed for experiments at both temperatures and from results of an isobaric cooling experiment the experiments provide evidence for the non conservative behavior of cl during hydrothermal alteration of basalt the data are particularly important in light of the cl depleted nature of some ridge crest hot spring fluids and suggest temperatures of formation for these fluids of approximately 410 c assuming sub seafloor pressure of 400 bars in addition the retrograde solubility of the cl bearing phase responsible for cl fixation during high temperature basalt alteration may help to explain cl enrichment in hot spring fluids which have conductively cooled below 350 c

methane rich fluids in the oceanic crust analyses of fluid inclusions in plutonic rocks recovered from the slow spreading southwest indian ridge swir record ch4 concentrations of 15 40 times those of hydrothermal vent fluids and of basalt hosted volcanic gases and provide the first direct sampling of co2 ch4 h2o h2 c bearing fluids in the oceanic crust compositional thermal and spatial analyses of these fluids are used to model the evolution of volatiles during the crystallization and cooling of mid ocean ridge magma chambers and to assess the potential importance of carbon bearing fluids in geochemical processes in the lower crustal component of hydrothermal systems results from these analyses show that the earliest fluids to be exsolved from the melts are dominated by co2 rich vapors which with progressive fractionation evolved to more h2o rich compositions these later fluids were most likely exsolved under immiscible conditions and involved the development of co2 h2o rich vapors and co2 h2o nacl brines that were trapped during mineral growth as well as during later high temperature fracturing events co2 ch4 h2o rich fluids in olivine and plagioclase minerals that contain up to 30 50 mol co2 and 33 mol ch4 may reflect respeciation of magmatic co2 during cooling and attendant graphite precipitation phase equilibria suggest that these fluids reequilibrated at 500 600 c and at fo2 s 3 log units below to close to qfm conditions alternatively the inclusions may record respeciation of magmatic fluids attendant with the inward diffusion of h2 into the inclusions and reduction of entrapped co2 during degassing and cooling of the gabbros throughout the subsolidus regime subsequent seawater reaction at minimum temperatures of 400 c with mafic rich layers within the gabbroic rocks or with ultramafic material that underlies the plutonic sequence resulted in the formation of ch4 h2o fluids that contain up to 40 mol ch4 molecular h2 and graphite daughter minerals these data provide strong evidence that the ch4 h2o rich fluids produced during serpentinization reactions were trapped under equilibrium conditions in the presence of graphite at very near to qfm conditions the ubiquitous occurrence of ch4 rich fluids in oceanic crustal layer 3 rocks from the swir indicates that these fluids may be a significant and previously unrecognized source for these volatile species in some hydrothermal systems venting on the seafloor and that the deep seated fluids most likely play an important role in the transfer of carbon from the lithosphere to the hydrosphere

supercritical two phase separation of hydrothermal fluids in the troodos ophiolite the hot 350 c black smoker springs of the ocean floor are the vents of hydrothermal systems in which cold seawater descends below the ocean floor is heated reacts with the host rock and is transformed into metal bearing brine the salinity of these brines varies between vents from 0 7 to 2 0 times seawater salinity1 4 this variation has been ascribed to crustal hydration5 crystallization of chloride bearing minerals6 or two phase separation of seawater into components of differing salinity4 7 12 here we present fluid inclusion evidence for two phase separation in the ancient troodos sulphide forming systems of cyprus and discuss with the nacl h2o system as a model how this process could explain observed salinity variations in hydrothermal fluids

high resolution studies of the summit of axial volcano sea beam bathymetry sea marc i side scan 30 khz towed camera and submersible data from axial volcano juan de fuca ridge jdfr have been integrated to produce detailed maps of the volcano s summit region in order to elucidate its volcanic and tectonic evolution the proximity of axial volcano the youngest edifice of the cobb eickelberg seamount chain to the jdfr superposes a hotspot derived radial stress pattern onto the linear stress field of a mid ocean ridge spreading center the morphology of the summit of axial volcano reflects the differing eruptive styles produced from this superposition long rift zones begin at the edges of the caldera and extend as much as 75 km to the north and south axial volcano has a distinct summit plateau similar to those found on many other submarine volcanos the process by which summit plateaus are constructed is illustrated by the lava flows originating from the south rift zone which have partially filled the southern half of the caldera and have smoothed the flanks the summit plateau contains penetrative ne sw fracturing that is approximately parallel to the jdfr the unusual rectangular caldera is 3 8 km in size and its trend is about 160 three possible mechanisms are discussed for the caldera s formation 1 canary island type trapdoor formation 2 overlapping spreading center interaction and 3 magma source migration although none of these models is fully compatible with the present data base the overlapping spreading center model is preferred postcaldera volcanism probably began with the formation of the central caldera eruptive complex which was characterized by relatively low volume high viscosity flows the most recent volcanism has apparently taken place along the northern and southern rift zones which have erupted more fluid lavas resulting in areally extensive flows covering up to 60 of the caldera floor extensive low temperature venting and areas of high temperature venting near the northern and southern rift zones and caldera walls suggest a shallow magmatic source beneath the summit of axial volcano

venting of a separate co2 rich gas phase from submarine arc volcanoes examples from the mariana and tonga kermadec arcs submersible dives on 22 active submarine volcanoes on the mariana and tonga kermadec arcs have discovered systems on six of these volcanoes that in addition to discharging hot vent fluid are also venting a separate co2 rich phase either in the form of gas bubbles or liquid co2 droplets one of the most impressive is the champagne vent site on nw eifuku in the northern mariana arc which is discharging cold droplets of liquid co2 at an estimated rate of 23 mol co2 s about 0 1 of the global mid ocean ridge mor carbon flux three other mariana arc submarine volcanoes nw rota 1 nikko and daikoku and two volcanoes on the tonga kermadec arc giggenbach and volcano 1 also have vent fields discharging co2 rich gas bubbles the vent fluids at these volcanoes have very high co2 concentrations and elevated c 3he and 13c co2 ratios compared to mor systems indicating a contribution to the carbon flux from subducted marine carbonates and organic material analysis of the co2 concentrations shows that most of the fluids are undersaturated with co2 this deviation from equilibrium would not be expected for pressure release degassing of an ascending fluid saturated with co2 mechanisms to produce a separate co2 rich gas phase at the seafloor require direct injection of magmatic co2 rich gas the ascending co2 rich gas could then partially dissolve into seawater circulating within the volcano edifice without reaching equilibrium alternatively an ascending high temperature co2 rich aqueous fluid could boil to produce a co2 rich gas phase and a co2 depleted liquid these findings indicate that carbon fluxes from submarine arcs may be higher than previously estimated and that experiments to estimate carbon fluxes at submarine arc volcanoes are merited hydrothermal sites such as these with a separate gas phase are valuable natural laboratories for studying the effects of high co2 concentrations on marine ecosystems

flow rates and reaction rates in the galapagos rise spreading center hydrothermal system as inferred from 228ra 226ra in vesicomyid clam shells abstract the 228ra 226ra ratios in a previously dated vesicomyid clam shell were used to determine that seawater was in contact with mid oceanic ridge basalt glass for 22 45 years prior to arrival to the surface at 350 c at the galapagos rise spreading center the minimum rate of reaction for the 45 year sojourn time based on a water rock ratio of 2 8 derived from 226ra concentrations is 8 g of basalt altered per kg of seawater per year

low ph waters discharging from submarine vents at panarea island aeolian islands southern italy after the 2002 gas blast origin of hydrothermal fluids and implications for volcanic surveillance abstract a geochemical survey of thermal waters collected from submarine vents at panarea island aeolian islands southern italy was carried out from december 2002 to march 2007 in order to investigate i the geochemical processes controlling the chemical composition of the hydrothermal fluids and ii the possible relations between the chemical features of the hydrothermal reservoir and the activity of the magmatic system compositional data of the thermal water samples were integrated in a hydrological conceptual model which describes the formation of the vent fluid by mixing of seawater seawater concentrated by boiling and a deep highly saline end member whose composition is regulated by water rock interactions at relatively high temperature and shows clear clues of magmatic related inputs the chemical composition of concentrated seawater was assumed to be represented by that of the water sample having the highest mg content the composition of the deep end member was instead calculated by extrapolation assuming a zero mg end member the na k ca geothermometer when applied to the thermal end member composition indicated an equilibrium temperature of approximately 300 c a temperature in agreement with the results obtained by gas geothermometry

first observations of high temperature submarine hydrothermal vents and massive anhydrite deposits off the north coast of iceland high temperature 250 c hydrothermal vents and massive anhydrite deposits have been found in a shallow water sediment filled graben near 66 36 n in the tjornes fracture zone north of iceland the site is located about 30 km offshore near the small island of grimsey the main vent field occurs at a depth of 400 m and consists of about 20 large diameter up to 10 m mounds and 1 3 m chimneys and spires of anhydrite and talc a north south alignment of the mounds over a 1 km strike length of the valley floor suggests that their distribution is controlled by a buried fault widespread shimmering water and extensive white patches of anhydrite in the sediment between the mounds indicates that the entire 1 km2 area occupied by the vents is thermally active a 2 man research submersible jago was used to map the area and to sample vent waters gases and chimneys actively boiling hydrothermal vents occur on most of the mounds and extensive two phase venting indicates that the field is underlain by a large boiling zone 200 300 m the presence of boiling fluids in shallow aquifers beneath the deposits was confirmed by sediment coring the highest temperature pore fluids were encountered in talc and anhydrite rich sedimentary layers that occur up to 7 m below the mounds baked muds underlie the talc and anhydrite layers and pyrite is common in stockwork like fractures and veins in the hydrothermally altered sediments however massive sulfides pyrite marcasite crusts were found in only one relict mound subseafloor boiling has likely affected the metal carrying capacity of the hydrothermal fluids and deposition of sulfides may be occurring at greater depth although the mounds and chimneys at grimsey resemble other deposits at sedimented ridges e g middle valley escanaba trough guaymas basin the shallow water setting and extensive boiling of the hydrothermal fluids represent a distinctive new type of seafloor hydrothermal system

evidence for hydrothermal venting and sediment volcanism discharged after recent short lived volcanic eruptions at deception island bransfield strait antarctica abstract the results of a combined geophysical and geochemical research programme on deception island an active volcano at 62 43 s 60 57 w in bransfield strait antarctica are presented ultrahigh resolution acoustic data obtained with a topas topographic parameter sonar system and multibeam bathymetry simrad em1000 allow a detailed analysis of submarine vents in port foster the submerged caldera of deception island the data show three different types of seafloor structures low relief mounds high relief mounds wasp nest like and spire like structures we interpret these structures as products of sediment volcanism and seeps caused by heating and boiling of pore fluids in gas charged sediments and related to recent short lived volcanic events possibly those that occurred in 1967 1969 and 1970 in addition subsurface vertical disturbed zones formed by increased amplitude and phase inverse reflectors beneath the mounds suggest the presence of fluidised and brecciated sediments within hydrofracture systems a key finding of this study is that there appears to be a close relationship between the submarine mounds detected by our ultrahigh resolution seismic study geochemical haloes fault pathways and present day thermal anomalies in surface waters we suggest that seafloor hydrofracture systems and subsurface pipes can be re used as fluid migration pathways resulting in hydrothermal seeps and vents on the seafloor possibly up to decades after coeval volcanic eruptions

systematics of and postulated controls on submarine hydrothermal solution chemistry the chemical compositions of seafloor hydrothermal solutions from the galapagos spreading center 21 n and 13 n on the east pacific rise the southern juan de fuca ridge and the guaymas basin gulf of california are examined for systematic variations several elemental ratios elemental products and empirical geothermometers show much consistency among the various areas in spite of large absolute differences in elemental concentrations the results suggest that most of the major cations in these solutions are solubility controlled with respect to a similar phase assemblage at all of the sites examination of the solution chemistry in conjunction with experimental results and seafloor rock alteration data permits identification of phases which may be important in controlling the solution chemistry as potassium appears to be solubility controlled its use to calculate water rock ratios is inappropriate lithium appears to be a better element to use in these calculations a model to explain the observed solution chemistries as a result of three component mixing is discussed all of the solutions are postulated to be either the result of mixing between a seawater hydrothermal solution which has not undergone a phase separation and is hence gas containing a gas rich vapor phase and a gas poor brine phase or any one of these individual components alone the vapor and brine phases are the result of phase separation which may have occurred at some time in the past essentially all of the reported data fall within the field defined by these three components the solutions apparently have had sufficient time after the mixing event s to reequilibrate with the rock this is true for quartz as well as other chemical components the best test of this model is chloride together with gas and isotropic data as the model predicts that solutions with elevated chlorinities will be depleted in gases and enriched in 18 o and low chlorinity solutions will have elevated gas contents and lower 18 o

submarine venting of phase separated hydrothermal fluids at axial volcano juan de fuca ridge since the discovery of high temperature venting on the east pacific rise in 19791 it has been expected2 3 because of the physical properties of sea water at pressures and temperatures encountered during submarine hydrothermal circulation4 5 that phase separated fluids would discharge from ridgecrest vents although this notion is supported by the reported large deviations in vent fluid chlorinity relative to that of sea water 40 200 6 7 by observations of venting at p t conditions clearly within the two phase region 220 bar and 420 c 8 and by fluid inclusion data9 10 unequivocal identification11 of phase separated venting fluids has remained elusive here we report observations of chloride and metal depleted gas enriched fluids from a shallow vent field on the juan de fuca ridge which confirm the expectation that phase separated effluents are delivered to the deep ocean from some sea floor venting systems

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

mineralogy and mineral chemistry of the metamorphosed and precious metal bearing ming deposit canada abstract the ming deposit in the northwestern canadian appalachians is a metamorphosed bimodal mafic precious metal au ag bearing and cu rich volcanogenic massive sulfide vms deposit consisting of several spatially proximal lenses in a sericite to chlorite altered rhyodacitic footwall the various lenses 1807 zone 1806 zone ming south up plunge ming south down plunge and the lower footwall zone have variations in cu au ag and zn grades that reflect varying physico chemical conditions of ore formation this study describes the complex ore mineralogy of the orebodies and constrains the genesis of the deposit using field methods mineralogy whole rock sulfide geochemistry and micro analytical methods the orebodies are predominantly pyrite chalcopyrite with lesser sphalerite pyrrhotite and trace galena and arsenopyrite with the exception of the lower footwall zone which consists of a high temperature 320 c chalcopyrite pyrrhotite pyrite cubanite assemblage the other orebodies 1806 1807 ming south up plunge and down plunge contain trace amounts of tellurides hessite altaite tsumoite unnamed bismuthtelluride sulfosalts ag poor and ag rich tennantite tetrahedrite meneghinite agsb phases stannite and precious metal phases electrum aghg au alloys the 1807 zone is enriched in te bi and se whereas the 1806 zone is telluride free and contains as sb hg au and ag mineral chemistry of sphalerite shows strong variations in fe content 1 12 11 04 wt intermediate fe 4 33 6 33 wt fe and fe rich 7 327 11 04 wt fe sphalerite are common in all orebodies whereas fe poor sphalerite 1 12 3 57 wt fe occurs exclusively in the 1807 and 1806 zones tennantite tetrahedrite is typically ag poor 0 25 2 19 wt in the 1807 zone but is significantly enriched in ag up to 29 3 wt in the 1806 zone galena in the 1807 zone and ming south orebodies is commonly myrmekitically intergrown with tellurides and has high concentrations of te bi se and ag in contrast galena in the 1806 zone is less enriched in te bi and se but high in ag variations in mineralogy epithermal elements as bi hg sb se sn te and precious metal ag au content and mineral chemistry between the different orebodies indicate that they were formed from predominantly reduced acidic hydrothermal fluids with varying te2 s2 se2 s2 and mbi msb ratios as temperatures steadily decreased from 300 c to

mobility of au and related elements during the hydrothermal alteration of the oceanic crust implications for the sources of metals in vms deposits volcanogenic massive sulphide vms deposits are commonly enriched in cu zn and pb and can also be variably enriched in au as sb se and te the behaviour of these elements during hydrothermal alteration of the oceanic crust is not well known ocean drilling program odp hole 1256d penetrates a complete in situ section of the upper oceanic crust providing a unique sample suite to investigate the behaviour of metals during hydrothermal alteration a representative suite of samples was analysed for au as sb se and te using low detection limit methods and a mass balance of metal mobility has been carried out through comparison with a fresh mid oceanic ridge basalt morb glass database the mass balance shows that au as se sb s cu zn and pb are depleted in the sheeted dyke and plutonic complexes by 46 12 27 5 2 5 0 5 27 6 8 4 0 7 9 6 1 6 7 9 0 5 and 44 6 respectively arsenic and sb are enriched in the volcanic section due to seawater derived fluid circulation calculations suggest that large quantities of metal are mobilised from the oceanic crust but only a small proportion is eventually trapped as vms mineralisation the quantity of au mobilised and the ratio of au to base metals are similar to those of mafic vms and ten times enrichment of au would be needed to form a au rich vms the cu rich affinity of mafic vms deposits could be explained by base metal fractionation both in the upper sheeted dykes and during vms deposit formation

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

chemical controls on the composition of vent fluids at 13 11 n and 21 n east pacific rise six vent fields sampled at 13 11 n east pacific rise epr in may 1984 exhibit large interfield variations and a much wider range of chemical compositions than previously observed at 21 n measured ph at 25 c are acidic ranging from 3 1 to 3 7 sodium and chloride vary from 40 lower to 30 higher than seawater iron concentrations range from 2 to 10 mmol kg compared with 0 7 2 5 mmol kg at 21 n other sulfide forming metals cu zn cd and pb are generally lower at 11 13 n than at 21 n reliable temperature measurements were obtained at only two of the six vents and both were 350 5 c the vent fields at 21 n epr were resampled in august 1985 thus extending to almost 6 years the time period over which they have been monitored previous expeditions were made in november 1979 and november 1981 campbell et al this issue have shown that the chemistry of the hydrothermal fluids from these fields has been very stable over the period of repeated observation equilibrium calculations for the fluids from the fields at 13 n and 21 n using a greatly improved thermodynamic data base are described in this report they indicate that the chemistry is rock buffered and that the stability of these systems over time is a result of equilibrium control with respect to a greenschist type mineral assemblage at depth calculated high temperature ph of the fluids range from 4 1 to 4 7 with those from 13 11 n at the more acidic end of the range calculated affinities show that the fluids are close to or at saturation with respect to quartz albite muscovite smectite chlorite epidote and pyrrhotite the computations imply that lower temperature vents such as national geographic smoker ngs 273 c may have their silica concentrations controlled by equilibrium with respect to a phase other than quartz a comparison of fluid chemistry between ngs and vent 5 at 11 n suggests that the latter vent may also have a temperature 300 c while the fluid chemistry of a given field is compositionally stable the compositions themselves are unique for a particular field and cover a wide range between fields the processes controlling this variability probably include the depth of reaction i e pressure which is difficult to treat thermodynamically at present in addition increasing depth in the crust may be accompanied by decreasing permeability and hence a probable decrease in the water rock ratio it may be difficult to separate these two effects if the age differences between the fields at present unknown are of the order of decades then their temporal histories may have an important influence on their particular chemistries

the critical point and two phase boundary of seawater 200 500 c abstract the two phase boundary of seawater was determined by isothermal decompression of fully condensed seawater in the range of 200 500 c the pressure at which phase separation occurred for each isotherm was determined by a comparison of the refractive index of fluid removed from the top and bottom of the reaction vessel the critical point was determined to be in the range of 403 406 c 285 302 bar and was located by the inflection in the two phase boundary and by the relative volume of fluid and vapor as a function of temperature the two phase boundary of 3 2 nacl solution was found to coincide exactly with that of seawater over the range tested in the present study the boundary for both is described by a single seventh order polynomial equation the two phase boundary defines the maximum temperature of seawater circulating at depth in the oceanic crust thus the boundary puts a limit of about 390 c for seawater circulating near the seafloor at active ocean ridges 2 5 km water depth and about 465 c at the top of a magma chamber occurring at 2 km below the seafloor

three hawaiian calderas an origin through loading by shallow intrusions the calderas of kilauea and mauna loa are highly dynamic structures and in the 200 year historic period have varied in volume by a factor of 2 and gained or lost 1 km3 per century the deeply eroded caldera of the extinct koolau volcano in oahu is wider than active hawaiian calderas and its lavas have a strong centripetal dip and funnel structure not evident at kilauea or mauna loa the differences can be attributed to the different erosion depths and the time integrated subsidence profile of kilauea is also a stepped funnel having its apex at halemaumau koolau caldera is the focus of an extraordinarily intense dike complex and an intriguing feature is the great diminution in dike concentration into the caldera it is thought that dike injection in any part of the complex generally continued until it reached 50 to 65 in outer parts of the caldera the complex was maintained at or rebuilt to this value despite subsidence in the center of the caldera where the positive bouguer anomaly is centered subsidence evidently greatly outpaced the capacity of dike injections to rebuild the complex assuming the same dike injection rate as kilauea and mauna loa yields a volumetric subsidence rate in koolau caldera exceeding 1 km3 per century hawaiian calderas are much more dynamic than calderas of silicic volcanoes shaped by frequent small events instead of a few great ones the temporal and volumetric correspondence of historical subsidence events with eruptions is poor and this and the high subsidence rates argue for a caldera forming mechanism that consumes the subsided rocks it is suggested that subsidence is caused by the great localized excess load of intrusive rocks carrying the center of the volcano into the thermally weakened lithosphere above the hawaiian hot spot it is envisaged that under steady state conditions the magma chamber rises as the injection of intrusions causes the level of neutral buoyancy at which the chamber is located to ascend and keeps pace with subsidence

geochemistry of high h2 and ch4 vent fluids issuing from ultramafic rocks at the rainbow hydrothermal field 36 14 n mar the flores diving cruise was part of the mast iii amores 1995 1998 program funded by the european union one of the major achievements of the flores cruise was the discovery of the rainbow hydrothermal field hosted in ultramafic rocks south of the amar segment on the mid atlantic ridge mar the rainbow hydrothermal fluids exhibit temperatures of 365 c ph of 2 8 high chlorinity 750 mmol kg and low silica 6 9 mmol kg the uniformity in endmember major minor trace element concentrations and gas contents suggests that all rainbow fluids originate from the same deep source although h2s content is relatively low 1 20 mmol kg all vent fluids show extraordinary high h2 16 mmol kg ch4 2 5 mmol kg and co 5 mol kg endmember concentrations compared to fluids collected from other vent sites along the mar hydrogen represents more than 40 of the total gas volume extracted from the fluids at rainbow h2 production is likely associated with alteration of olivine and orthopyroxene minerals during serpentinization given that exposures of ultramafic rock may be common particularly along slow spreading ridges the production of h2 may have important implications for microbial activity at and beneath the seafloor

variability in the microbial communities and hydrothermal fluid chemistry at the newly discovered mariner hydrothermal field southern lau basin 1 a newly discovered hydrothermal field called the mariner field on the valu fa ridge in the southern lau basin was explored and characterized with geochemical and microbiological analyses the hydrothermal fluid discharging from the most vigorous vent snow chimney maximum discharge temperature 365 c was boiling at the seafloor at a depth of 1908 m and two distinct end member hydrothermal fluids were identified the fluid chemistry of the typical cl enriched and cl depleted hydrothermal fluids was analyzed as was the mineralogy of the host chimney structures the variability in the fluid chemistry was potentially controlled by the subseafloor phase separation vapor loss process and the microbial community activities microbial community structures in three chimney structures were investigated using culture dependent and independent techniques the small subunit ssu rrna gene clone analysis revealed that both bacterial and archaeal rrna gene communities on the chimney surfaces differed among three chimneys cultivation analysis demonstrated significant variation in the culturability of various microbial components among the chimneys particularly of thermophilic h2 oxidizing and s oxidizing chemolithoautotrophs such as the genera aquifex and persephonella the physical and chemical environments of chimney surface habitats are still unresolved and do not directly extrapolate the environments of possible subseafloor habitats however the variability in microbial community found in the chimneys also provides an insight into the different biogeochemical interactions potentially affected by the phase separation of the hydrothermal fluids in the subseafloor hydrothermal habitats in addition comparison with other deep sea hydrothermal systems revealed that the mariner field microbial communities have unusual characteristics

rare earth elements as indicators of hydrothermal processes within the east scotia subduction zone system the east scotia subduction zone located in the atlantic sector of the southern ocean hosts a number of hydrothermal sites in both back arc and island arc settings high temperature 348 c black smoker vents have been sampled at three locations along segments e2 and e9 of the east scotia back arc spreading ridge as well as white smoker 212 c and diffuse 28 c hydrothermal fluids from within the caldera of the kemp submarine volcano the composition of the endmember fluids mg 0 mmol kg is markedly different with ph ranging from 1 to 3 4 cl from 90 to 536 mm h2s from 6 7 to 200 mm and f from 35 to 1000 m all of the vent sites are basalt to basaltic andesite hosted providing an ideal opportunity for investigating the geochemical controls on rare earth element ree behaviour endmember hydrothermal fluids from e2 and e9 have total ree concentrations ranging from 7 3 to 123 nmol kg and chondrite normalised distribution patterns are either light ree enriched lacn ybcn 12 8 30 0 with a positive europium anomaly eucn eu cn 3 45 59 5 or mid ree enriched lacn ndcn 0 61 with a negative eu anomaly eucn eu cn 0 59 by contrast fluids from the kemp caldera have almost flat ree patterns lacn ybcn 2 1 2 2 eucn eu cn 1 2 2 2 we demonstrate that the ree geochemistry of fluids from the east scotia back arc spreading ridge is variably influenced by ion exchange with host minerals phase separation competitive complexation with ligands and anhydrite deposition whereas fluids from the kemp submarine volcano are also affected by the injection of magmatic volatiles which enhances the solubility of all the rees we also show that the ree patterns of anhydrite deposits from kemp differ from those of the present day fluids potentially providing critical information about the nature of hydrothermal activity in the past where access to hydrothermal fluids is precluded

direct observation of the evolution of a seafloor black smoker from vapor to brine a single hydrothermal vent f vent occurring on very young crust at 9 16 8 n east pacific rise was sampled in 1991 and 1994 in 1991 at the measured temperature of 388 c and seafloor pressure of 258 bar the fluids from this vent were on the two phase curve for seawater these fluids were very low in chlorinity and other dissolved species and high in gases compared to seawater and most sampled seafloor hydrothermal vent fluids in 1994 when this vent was next sampled it had cooled to 351 c and was venting fluids 1 5 times seawater chlorinity this is the first reported example of a single seafloor hydrothermal vent evolving from vapor to brine the 1991 and 1994 fluids sampled from this vent are compositionally conjugate pairs to one another these results support the hypothesis that vapor phase fluids vent in the early period following a volcanic eruption and that the liquid phase brines are stored within the oceanic crust and vent at a later time in this case 3 years these results demonstrate that the venting of brines can occur in the same location in fact from the same sulfide edifice where the vapor phase fluids vented previously

volcanic eruption of the mid ocean ridge along the east pacific rise crest at 9 45 52 n direct submersible observations of seafloor phenomena associated with an eruption event in april 1991 in april 1991 we witnessed from the submersible alvin a suite of previously undocumented seafloor phenomena accompanying an in progress eruption of the mid ocean ridge on the east pacific rise crest at 9 45 n 52 n the volume of the eruption could not be precisely determined although comparison of pre and post eruption seabeam bathymetry indicate that any changes in ridge crest morphology resulting from the eruption were 10 m high effects of the eruption included 1 increased abundance and redistribution of hydrothermal vents disappearance of numerous vent communities and changes in characteristics of vent fauna and mineral deposits within the eruption area since december 1989 2 murkiness of bottom waters up to tens of meters above the seafloor due to high densities of suspended mineral and biogenic particulates 3 destruction of a vent community by lava flows mass wasting and possible hydrovolcanic explosion at a site known as tubeworm barbecue in the axial summit caldera asc at 9 50 6 n 4 near critical temperatures of hydrothermal vent fluids ranging up to 403 c 5 temporal variations over a 2 week interval in both temperatures and chemical isotopic compositions of hydrothermal fluids 6 unusual compositions of end member vent fluids with ph values ranging to a record low of 2 5 salinities ranging as low as 0 3 wt nacl one twelfth that of seawater and dissolved gases reaching high concentrations 65 mmol l for both co2 and h2s 7 venting at temperatures above 380 c of visually detectable white vapor that transformed to plumes of gray smoke a few centimeters above vent orifices 8 disorganized venting of both high temperature fluids black and gray smoke and large volumes of cooler diffuse hydrothermal fluids directly from the basaltic seafloor rather than from hydrothermal mineral constructions 9 rapid and extensive growth of flocculent white bacterial mats species unknown on and under the seafloor in areas experiencing widespread venting of diffuse hydrothermal fluid and 10 subseafloor downslope migration of magma normal to the ridge axis in a network of small scale 1 5 m diameter lava tubes and channels to distances at least 100 200 m outside the asc we suggest that in april 1991 intrusion of dikes in the eruption area to 200 m beneath the asc floor resulted in phase separation of fluids near the tops of the dikes and a large flux of vapor rich hydrothermal fluids through the overlying rubbly cavernous lavas low salinities and gas rich compositions of hydrothermal fluids sampled in the eruption area are appropriate for a vapor phase in a seawater system undergoing subcritical liquid vapor phase separation boiling and phase segregation hydrothermal fluids streamed directly from fissures and pits that may have been loci of lava drainback and or hydrovolcanic explosions these fissures and pits were lined with white mats of a unique fast growing bacteria that was the only life associated with the brand new vents the prolific bacteria which covered thousands of square meters on the ridge crest and were also abundant in subseafloor voids may thrive on high levels of gases in the vapor rich hydrothermal fluids initially escaping the hydrothermal system white bacterial particulates swept from the seafloor by hydrothermal vents swirled in an unprecedented biogenic blizzard up to 50 m above the bottom the bacterial proliferation of april 1991 is likely to be a transient bloom that will be checked quickly either by decline of dissolved gas concentrations in the fluids as rapid heat loss brings about cessation of boiling and or by grazing as other organisms are re established in the biologically devastated area

geochemistry of hydrothermal fluids from axial seamount hydrothermal emissions study vent field juan de fuca ridge subseafloor boiling and subsequent fluid rock interaction hydrothermal fluids collected from the ashes vent field in 1986 1987 and 1988 exhibit a very wide range of chemical composition over a small area 60 m in diameter compositions range from a 300 c gas enriched 285 mmol kg co2 low chlorinity 33 of seawater fluid to a 328 c relatively gas depleted 50 mmol kg co2 high chlorinity 116 of seawater fluid the entire range of measured compositions at ashes is best explained by a single hydrothermal fluid undergoing phase separation while rising through the ocean crust followed by partial segregation of the vapor and brine phases other mechanisms proposed to produce chlorinity variations in hydrothermal fluids precipitation dissolution of a chloride bearing mineral or crustal hydration cannot produce the covariation of chlorinity and gas content observed at ashes there is good agreement of the measured fluid compositions with compositions generated by a simple model of phase separation in which gases are partitioned according to henry s law and all salt remains in the liquid phase significant enrichments in silica lithium and boron in the low chlorinity fluids over levels predicted by the model are attributed to fluid rock interaction in the upflow zone depletions in iron and calcium suggest that these elements have been removed by iron sulfide and anhydrite precipitation at some time in the history of the low chlorinity fluids the distribution of low and high chlorinity venting is consistent with mechanisms of phase segregation based on differential buoyancy or relative permeability the relatively shallow depth of the seafloor 1540 m and the observed chemistry of ashes fluids are consistent with phase separation in the sub critical or near critical region

shallow water stratigraphy at the mount chalmers volcanic hosted massive sulfide deposit queensland australia mapping of the permian stratigraphy at the mount chalmers massive sulfide footwall stockwork cu au orebody has revealed shallow water body fossils trace fossils and nonwelded to partly welded pyroclastic units within the fiat lying host sequence the massive sulfide bearing lower chalmers sediment and the upper chalmers sediment are each 20 to 40 m thick and comprise fossiliferous tuffaceous mudstone and wacke they are separated by the north star pumice breccia the breccia is 50 m thick at the mine and comprises watertransformed pyroclastic fiow deposits but 2 km to the south and southwest it is 120 m thick and includes probable nonwelded ignimbrite the upper chalmers sediment is overlain by a dacitic tuff which has a 5 m thick blocky to columnar jointed interval near the base termed the chalmers welded tuff the tuff contains strongly spherulitic pumice lenses within a weakly spherulitic matrix with relict fine banding it extends at least 450 m north and 300 m west from the mine the upper chalmers sediment has yielded an assemblage of brachiopods gastropods bivalves and bryozoans from five localities 1 to 2 km north and south of the mine these body fossils show limited reworking and are typical of a shallow marine shelf setting near or below wave base although seawater depths of 50 to 300 m are possible a range of 100 to 200 m depth is considered most likely the upper and lower chalmers sediments contain trace fossils typical of the cruziana ichnofacies below and above the ore position also suggesting shelf sedimentation below the effective wave base these consistent estimates suggest that seawater depths of 200 to 300 m prevailed during deposition of the massive sulfide contrary to the 1 000 m seawater depth usually regarded as necessary to form vhms ore deposits the shallow depth would have allowed the ascending ore forming fluids to boil prior to reaching the sea floor unless prevented by channel constrictions boiling may account for the strong cu rich footwall stringer zone and elevated fluid inclusion salinities at mount chalmers large and both 1980 the duplication of these features at other deposits suggests that mount chalmers is not an isolated case the relatively shallow water depths have also

lateral water flow in a clayey agricultural field with cracks abstract it is known well that macropores such as shrinkage cracks give effective pathways for water movement in agricultural fields however models for such phenomena have not been completely successful as yet in this paper a quantitative description of water movement towards a drain pipe in a clayey agricultural field including shrinkage cracks is discussed in order to evaluate the role of cracks on water movement in the evaluation cracks are treated as a network spreading widely in the entire field and characteristics of water flow through the crack network in the whole field are estimated from hydrological properties of pipe drainage from the field drain flow resulting from flow of water through a crack network can be well described by equations derived from darcy s law hydraulic conductivities of the field with cracks are estimated to be of the order of 10 4 m s in spite of very low permeability of soil matrix of the field 10 8 to 10 9 m s

alteration of the oceanic crust implications for geochemical cycles of lithium and boron abstract fresh tholeiitic basalt glass has been reacted with seawater at 150 c water rock mass ratio of 10 and fresh diabase has been reacted with a na k ca cl fluid at 375 c water rock mass ratios of 1 2 and 5 to understand better the role of temperature basalt composition and water rock mass ratio on the direction and magnitude of b and li exchange during basalt alteration at 150 c slight but nevertheless significant amounts of b and li were removed from seawater and incorporated into a dominantly smectite alteration phase at 375 c however b and li were leached from basalt b behaved as a soluble element and attained concentrations in solution limited only by the b concentration in basalt and the water rock mass ratio li however was less mobile for example at water rock mass ratios of 1 2 and 5 the percent of li leached from basalt was 58 70 and 92 respectively this suggests some mineralogic control on li mobility during hydrothermal alteration of basalt especially at low water rock mass ratios in general these results as well as those for b are consistent with the temperature dependent chemistry of altered seafloor basalt and the chemistry of ridge crest hydrothermal fluids based on the distribution and chemistry of products of seafloor weathering low 150 c and high temperature hydrothermal alteration of basalt and the chemistry of ridge crest hydrothermal fluids it was estimated that alteration of the oceanic crust is a li source for seawater this is not true for b however since the hot spring flux estimated for b is balanced by low temperature basalt alteration these data coupled with b and li flux estimates for other processes e g continental weathering clay mineral adsorption authigenic silicate formation and formation of siliceous skeletal material yield new insight into the b and li geochemical cycles calculations performed here indicate relatively good agreement between the magnitude of b and li sources and sinks the geochemical cycle of b however may be affected by serpentinization of mantle derived peridotite in oceanic fracture zones serpentinites are conspicuously enriched in b and if the b source for these rocks is seawater then an additional b sink exists which must be integrated into the b geochemical cycle however until more data are available in terms of areal extent of serpentinization serpentite chemistry and isotopic composition the importance of b in these rocks with respect to the b geochemical cycle remains speculative at best

subseafloor phase equilibria in high temperature hydrothermal fluids of the lucky strike seamount mid atlantic ridge 37 17 n abstract as part of an integrated study conducted at the lucky strike seamount mid atlantic ridge 37 17 n in 2008 gas tight sampling devices were used to collect high temperature 300 c hydrothermal fluids issuing from sulfide structures distributed throughout the vent field located in the summit depression compared with previous observations from 1993 to 1997 the most substantial changes in vent fluid compositions are dramatically increased co2 concentrations 5 up to 133 mmol l and the observation of vent fluids enriched in dissolved chloride relative to seawater combined with an increase in 13 c co 2 values by 4 in 2008 the elevated co2 indicates replenishment of the magmatic heat source and may be indicative of a recent magmatic event the additional supporting fluid chemistry is however similar to that of the previous sampling intervals necessitating a reassessment of the subseafloor controls on vent fluid chemistry at lucky strike in the context of recently obtained geophysical data that provides the depth extent of a steady state magma chamber two phase behavior is indicated by the chloride variability in the vent fluids and comparison with experimental data for the associated chloride dependent partitioning of minor trace elements suggests the possibility of a similar source fluid for all the vent structures while limiting the likelihood of shallow phase separation and subseafloor mixing for the hydrothermal end members a recently calibrated fe mn geothermometer indicates minimum subseafloor equilibration temperatures of 350 385 c however constraints imposed by dissolved si cl in conjunction with geophysical observations are consistent with peak reaction conditions at temperatures of 430 475 c and pressures near the top of the axial magma chamber 410 480 bars where magmatic co2 becomes entrained in the circulating fluids the distance between the magma chamber and the seafloor at lucky strike is substantially greater than at most faster spreading ridges and we propose the resulting increased residence time in the up flow zone leads to the re equilibration of temperature sensitive transition metals at conditions less extreme than those associated with peak reaction agreement between experimental data thermodynamic model calculations and dissolved concentrations of fe cu zn h2 and h2s in the lucky strike fluids reinforce the hypothesis of ph redox equilibria for transition metals at relatively oxidizing conditions and temperatures predicted by the empirical fe mn geothermometer in situ ph measurements of the high temperature fluids exiting the seafloor are also consistent with the model calculations

the 1998 eruption of axial seamount new insights on submarine lava flow emplacement from high resolution mapping 1 axial seamount an active submarine volcano on the juan de fuca ridge at 46 n 130 w erupted in january 1998 along 11 km of its upper south rift zone we use ship based multibeam sonar high resolution 1 m bathymetry sidescan sonar imagery and submersible dive observations to map four separate 1998 lava flows that were fed from 11 eruptive fissures these new mapping results give an eruption volume of 31 106 m3 70 of which was in the northern most flow 23 in the southern most flow and 7 in two smaller flows in between we introduce the concept of map scale submarine lava flow morphology observed at a scale of hundreds of meters as revealed by the high resolution bathymetry and an interpretive model in which two map scale morphologies are produced by high effusion rate eruptions inflated lobate flows are formed near eruptive vents and where they drain downslope more than 0 5 1 0 km they transition to inflated pillow flows these two morphologies are observed on the 1998 lava flows at axial a third map scale flow morphology that was not produced during this eruption pillow mounds is formed by low effusion rate eruptions in which pillow lava piles up directly over the eruptive vents axial seamount erupted again in april 2011 and there are remarkable similarities between the 1998 and 2011 eruptions particularly the locations of eruptive vents and lava flow morphologies because the 2011 eruption reused most of the same eruptive fissures 58 of the area of the 1998 lava flows is now covered by 2011 lava

response of two phase fluids to fracture configurations within submarine hydrothermal systems submarine hydrothermal systems at mid ocean ridges evolve within a region of brittle deformation overlying a region of ductile deformation the interplay between brittle and ductile modes of deformation and the geometry of fracture systems within the brittle zone can exert a significant influence on fluid flow especially under conditions leading to aqueous two phase separation within the brittle region fractures vary between large conduits directly open to the seafloor and small veins and microcracks with constricted or indirect connections to the seafloor in the ductile region fluids may be trapped under near lithostatic pressure while fluids within throughgoing veins in the brittle region will experience hydrostatic pressure in a narrow transition zone between these two extremes a steep pore fluid pressure gradient must exist in the brittle region itself fluid pressures will vary between lithostatic and hydrostatic as fluid occupies interstices varying from isolated pores through tortuous microcracks to channels directly connected to the main upflow conduits a hydrostatic gradient modified by the decreased density of hot fluid and the effects of the flow itself should be applicable in major conduits open to the seafloor fluctuating pressure conditions in the transition zone may induce phase changes in a fluid remaining at constant depth as a result of the large volume increase that accompanies two phase separation a two phase fluid must either accelerate upward or exert an increased pressure on its surroundings possibly leading to enhanced fracturing the fracture configuration will also affect the behavior of the mixed fluid after phase separation a two phase fluid experiencing rapid turbulent flow in a large open conduit is more likely to remain a well mixed suspension of vapor and liquid whereas a two phase mixture in a constricted branching series of channels moving more slowly in a laminar flow regime is more likely to undergo physical isolation of the phases leading to venting of a vapor phase and retention of a saline brine phase at depth we propose a possible configuration for the fracture pattern within a submarine hydrothermal system consisting of a feeder zone comprised of anastomozing microcracks and veinlets progressively increasing in diameter and decreasing in abundance feeding into a main upflow stockwork zone in which flow directly to the surface takes place in relatively large unconstricted conduits fluid movement within a feeder zone may be modified by capillary flow tortuous channelways disconnected fractures blocking of cracks by mineral deposition and opening of new fractures

paleozoic sanweishan arc in the northern dunhuang region nw china the dunhuang block is a phanerozoic orogen not a precambrian block abstract the dunhuang region is located to the south of the central asian orogenic belt and connecting the tarim craton westerly and north china craton easterly respectively it is an important position for understanding the geodynamics and tectonic framework of central asia however the issue about whether it is a phanerozoic orogen or a precambrian block is still controversial magmatic arcs are the most prominent and laterally persistent structural elements of orogenic belts and used to reconstruct now disrupted orogenic belts this paper concerns the petrogenesis and tectonic setting of andesitic dacitic rhyolitic volcaniclastic rocks and dacitic porphyries in the sanweishan area northern dunhuang region volcaniclastic rocks overlie the metasedimentary rocks by fault and dacitic porphyries intrude into the metasedimentary rocks the calc alkaline signature and relative enrichment of large ion lithophile elements of volcaniclastic rocks and dacitic porphyries seemingly favor a subduction setting zircon u pb dating results reveal the deposition at 424 414 ma for volcaniclastic rocks and emplacement at ca 364 ma for dacitic porphyries the coeval granitoid plutons in the sanweishan area show arc geochemical signature and are originated from partial melting of the subducted sediments based on the available data paleozoic volcanic subvolcanic rocks and plutons in this area probably represent a magmatic arc developed on the accretionary complex resembling the arc magmatic rocks formed in the nankai complex sw japanese island arc our results provide constraints on the existence of the paleozoic magmatic arc in the northern dunhuang region and suggest the so called dunhuang block is virtually a phanerozoic orogen rather than a precambrian block

the interplay of evolved seawater and magmatic hydrothermal fluids in the 3 24 ga panorama volcanic hosted massive sulfide hydrothermal system north pilbara craton western australia the 3240 ma panorama volcanic hosted massive sulfide vhms district is unusual for its high degree of exposure and low degree of postdepositional modification in addition to typical seafloor vhms deposits this district contains greisen and vein hosted mo cu zn sn mineral occurrences that are contemporaneous with vhms orebodies and are hosted by the strelley granite complex which also drove vhms circulation hence the panorama district is a natural laboratory to investigate the role of magmatic hydrothermal fluids in vhms hydrothermal systems regional and proximal high temperature alteration zones in volcanic rocks underlying the vhms deposits are dominated by chlorite quartz albite assemblages with lesser low temperature sericite quartz k feldspar assemblages these assemblages are typical of vhms hydrothermal systems in contrast the alteration assemblages associated with granite hosted greisens and veins include quartz topaz muscovite fluorite and quartz muscovite sericite chlorite ankerite these vein systems generally do not extend into the overlying volcanic pile fluid inclusion and stable isotope studies suggest that the greisens were produced by high temperature 590 c high salinity 38 56 wt nacl equiv fluids with high densities 1 3 g cm3 and high 18o 9 3 0 6 these fluids are compatible with the measured characteristics of magmatic fluids evolved from the strelley granite complex in contrast fluids in the volcanic pile including the vhms ore forming fluids were of lower temperature 90 270 c lower salinity 5 0 11 2 wt nacl equiv with lower densities 0 88 1 01 g cm3 and lower 18o 0 8 2 6 these fluids are compatible with evolved paleoarchean seawater fluids that formed the quartz chalcopyrite sphalerite cassiterite veins which are present within the granite complex near the contact with the volcanic pile were intermediate in temperature and isotopic composition between the greisen and volcanic pile fluids t 240 315 c 18o 4 3 1 5 and are interpreted to indicate mixing between the two end member fluids evidence of mixing between evolved seawater and magmatic hydrothermal fluid within the granite complex together with the lack of evidence for a magmatic component in fluids from the volcanic pile suggest partitioning of magmatic hydrothermal from evolved seawater hydrothermal systems in the panorama vhms system this separation is interpreted to result from either the swamping of a relatively small magmatic hydro thermal system by evolved seawater or density contrasts precluding movement of magmatic hydrothermal fluids into the volcanic pile variability in the salinity of fluids in the volcanic pile combined with evidence for mixing of low and high salinity fluids in the massive sulfide lens is interpreted to indicate that phase separation occurred within the panorama hydrothermal system although we consider this phase separation to have most likely occurred at depth within the system as has been documented in modern vhms systems the data do not allow the location of the inferred phase separation to be determined

loihi seamount hawaii a mid plate volcano with a distinctive hydrothermal system the initial discovery of deep sea hydrothermal vents at the galapagos rift1 2 has resulted in a decade of exploration and experimentation subsequent discoveries in the pacific3 8 and atlantic9 ocean basins have established the importance of these features as sources of mantle derived gases and solutes10 2 and as loci for heat dissipation13 14 polymetallic sulphide mineral deposition15 16 and geochemical exchange17 19 the presence of dense communities of bacteria and specialized macrofauna20 22 has called into question the absolute role of sunlight as the principal energy source for marine organisms until recently these deep sea vents were known only at or near plate boundaries but recent dredging23 24 near bottom water sampling25 27 and sea floor camera survey28 programmes have indicated that hydrothermal vents are present at the summit of loihi seamount a mid plate hotspot submarine volcano at the southern end of the hawaiian island chain29 here we report results obtained from sampling two active vent fields the fluid chemistry especially high co2 and fe presence of alkalic lavas and iron depositing bacteria and absence of macrofauna suggest that mid plate vents may differ from the hydrothermal vents found at mid ocean ridges