Chemical composition of ocean floor tholeiites and MORB glasses from DSDP Hole 24-238

Seven well-documented and fresh glassy selvages from ocean floor basalt pillows were analyzed by radiochemical neutron activation analysis for Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Cd, Cs, Ge, In, Ir, Ni, Os, Pd, Rb, Re, Sb, Se, Te, Tl, U and Zn. The samples came from active spreading centers in the Indian and Atlantic Ocean. Glasses from DSDP Leg 24, site 238 (Indian Ocean) have a somewhat peculiar trace element pattern, but this is thought to reflect secondary processes operating at shallow depth, not an anomalous source region in the mantle. Our data rather indicate that heterogeneities in the mantle are confined to the highly incompatible lithophile elements. Chemical fractionations during petrogenesis of tholeiitic basalts are discussed in the light of literature data for primitive peridotitic upper mantle nodules. (Ir, Os), Au, Pd, Ni and Re are strongly fractionated from each other in igneous processes; the unfractionated chondritic mantle pattern thus imposes firm constraints on mantle evolution models. The potentially chalcophile elements Ag, Cd, In and Zn do not behave differently from lithophile elements of the same valency and comparable ionic radius. Residual sulfides are not abundant enough to efficiently control the partitioning of these elements during basalt petrogenesis. However, the poor coherence of Tl to Rb and U in ocean floor basalts could point to retention of Tl by residual sulfides during depletion of the MORB source regions. Sb is strongly depleted in the source regions of ocean ridge basalts; most likely, it was present as a highly incompatible Sb(5+) cation. The limited Rb/Cs fractionation in oceanic tholeiites, as opposed to continental tholeiites and acidic rocks, appears to reflect the low abundance of volatile constituents and hydrous silicates in normal ocean ridge basalts

Lithology, mineralogy and geochemistry of ODP Hole 118-735B and 176-735B respectively

Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Hole 735B, located on Atlantis Bank on the Southwest Indian Ridge, penetrated 1508 meters below seafloor with an average recovery of 87%, providing a nearly continuous sample of a significant part of oceanic Layer 3. Based on variations in texture and mineralogy, 12 major lithologic units are recognized in the section, ranging from 39.5 to 354 m thick. The principal lithologies include troctolite, troctolitic gabbro, olivine gabbro and microgabbro, gabbro, gabbronorite and Fe-Ti oxide gabbro, gabbronorite, and microgabbro. Highly deformed mylonites, cataclasites, and amphibole gneisses are locally present, as are small quantities of pyroxenite, anorthositic gabbro, and trondhjemite. Downhole variations in mineral composition, particularly for olivine and clinopyroxene, show a number of cyclic variations. Plagioclase compositions show the widest variations and correspond to different degrees of deformation and alteration as well as primary processes. Downhole chemical variations correspond reasonably well with variations in mineral compositions. Iron and titanium mainly reflect the presence of Fe-Ti oxide gabbros but show some cyclical variations in the lower part of the core where oxide gabbros are sparse. CaO is highly variable but shows a small but consistent increase downhole. MgO is more uniform than CaO and shows a very small downward increase. Sulfur and CO2 contents are generally low, but S shows significant enrichment in lithologic Unit IV, which consists of Fe-Ti oxide gabbro, reflecting the presence of sulfide minerals in the sequence. The lithologic, mineralogical, and geochemical data provided here will allow detailed comparisons with ophiolite sections as well as sections of in situ ocean crust drilled in the future