Geochemistry of felsic rocks and minerals of ODP Hole 135-841B

A felsic volcanic series (605-825 mbsf) overlain by upper Eocene shallow-water sediments (500-605 mbsf) and basalticandesitic sills that intruded into sediments of Holocene to Miocene age (0-500 mbsf) was drilled in the forearc region of the Lau Basin at a water depth of 4810 m. The volcanic sequence at Site 841 includes altered and mineralized calc-alkaline rhyolites and dacites, dacitic tuffs, lapilli tuffs, flow breccias, and welded tuffs. These rocks formed subaerially or in a very shallow-water environment suffering a subsidence of >5000 m since Eocene times. Calculations of gains and losses of the major components during alteration show most pronounced changes in the uppermost 70 m of the volcanic sequence. Here, Al, Fe, Mg, and K are enriched, whereas Si and Na are strongly depleted. Illite, vermiculite, chlorite, and hematite predominate in this part of the hole. Throughout the section, quartz, plagioclase, kaolinite, and calcite are present. Sulfide mineralization (up to 10 vol%) consisting mainly of disseminated pyrite (with minor pyrrhotite inclusions) and marcasite together with minor amounts of chalcopyrite is pervasive throughout. Locally, a few sulfide-bearing quartz-carbonate veins as well as Ti-amphibole replacement by rutile and then by pyrite were observed. Strong variations in the As content of sulfides (from 0 to 0.69 wt%) from the same depth interval and local enrichments of Co, Ni, and Cu in pyrite are interpreted to result from fluctuations in fluid composition. Calculations of oxygen and sulfur fugacities indicate that fO2 and fS2 were high at the top and lower at the bottom of the sequence. Sulfur isotope determinations on separated pyrite grains from two samples give d34S values of +6.4ë and +8.4ë, which are close to those reported from Kuroko and Okinawa Trough massive sulfide deposits and calc-alkaline volcanic rocks of the Japanese Ryukyu Island Arc. Calculated chlorite formation temperatures of 265°-290°C at the top of the sequence are consistent with minimum formation temperatures of fluid inclusions in secondary quartz, revealing a narrow range of 270°-297°C. Chlorite formation temperatures are constant downhole and do not exceed 300°C. The presence of marcasite and 4C-type pyrrhotite indicates a formation temperature of <= 250°C. At a later stage, illite was formed at the top of the volcanic series at temperatures well below 200°C

(Table 1) Determined and theoretical chemical composition of thaumasite of ODP Hole 135-841B

Hole 841B was drilled in the forearc region of the Lau Basin at a water depth of 4810 m. The hole penetrated a roughly 500-m-thick series of Miocene volcanic sediments with a number of basaltic to andesitic units (sills?) varying in thickness between 7 cm and 17 m. The volcanics are slightly to moderately altered and contain analcite, chabazite, natrolite-thompsonite, heulandite (?), prehnite, and quartz as secondary phases. In addition, thaumasite [Ca3Si(OH)6 * 12H2O](SO4)(CO3) was identified in the altered sequence. Sulfur isotope data of two thaumasite separates (+23.5 per mil and +21.1 per mil d34S) indicate a seawater origin of the sulfate sulfur. It is suggested that thaumasite is a product of low-temperature (<60 °C), seawater-derived CaCl2-rich fluids that were almost identical in composition to those presently circulating in the sub-seafloor

Sulfide composition and microthermometry of fluid inclusions in the Leg 111 sheeted dike section of Ocean Drilling Program Hole 504B, Costa Rica Rift

Hole 504B of the Ocean Drilling Program is dedicated to the study of crustal structure and hydrothermal processes in 5.9-m.y.-old oceanic basement. Continuing the work of previous legs, hole 504B was extended 212.3 m to a total depth of 1562.3 m below seafloor (bsf) during leg 111 in 1986. Quartz-sulfide veins occur at a depth of 1369–1388 m bsf in basalts of the sheeted dike complex. The ore minerals are predominantly pyrite, less chalcopyrite, rare Corich Cu-Fe-S phases, and a thiospinel (linnaeite/carrollite). Microprobe analyses yield a high Co content in zoned vein pyrites (>8 wt %) as well as in the Cu-Fe-S phases (>5 wt %). Up to 35.8 wt % Co was detected in the thiospinel. A Co/Ni ratio of >100 distinguishes the vein pyrite from pyrite in the basaltic wall rock and from pyrite formed as an alteration product of olivine (Co/Ni <5). The Co/Ni ratios correlate positively with Cu and negatively with As. Co-rich, nonstoichiometric Cu-Fe-S sulfides in chalcopyrite are interpreted as metastable phases which have been quenched at a high temperature and prohibited from exsolution of the stable products chalcopyrite and pyrite. Fluid inclusions in quartz from the quartz-sulfide veins are two-phase and vary from liquid- to vapor-dominated. Their salinities range from 4.2 to 7.2 wt % equivalent NaCl and average 5.5 wt %. Pressure (360 bars) corrected average filling temperatures vary from 271° to 408°C with a maximum of 486°C. This is consistent with calculated quartz formation temperatures for a single quartz separate (+4.2‰ δ18O) using oxygen isotope thermometry. The δ18O value of the hydrothermal fluid was determined to be +1.7‰. The temperature data indicate fluid alteration of the sheeted dikes at about 350° to 500°C. The maximum homogenization temperatures intersect the liquid/vapor two-phase boundary above the critical point of seawater. Thus phase separation could have occurred before or during the formation of the mineralized veins and the alteration of the sheeted dike sequence