Role of upwelling hydrothermal fluids in the development of alteration patterns at fast spreading ridges: Evidence from the sheeted dike complex at Pito Deep

[1] The escarpments that bound the Pito Deep Rift (northeastern Easter microplate) expose in situ upper oceanic crust that was accreted $3 Ma ago at the superfast spreading ($142 mm/a, full rate) southeast Pacific Rise (SEPR). Samples and images of these escarpments were taken during transects utilizing the human-occupied vehicle Alvin and remotely operated vehicle Jason II. The dive areas were mapped with a ''deformation intensity scale'' revealing that the sheeted dike complex and the base of the lavas contain approximately meter-wide fault zones surrounded by fractured ''damage zones.'' Fault zones are spaced several hundred meters apart, in places offset the base of the lavas, separate areas with differently oriented dikes, and are locally crosscut by (younger) dikes. Fault rocks are rich in interstitial amphibole, matrix and vein chlorite, prominent veins of quartz, and accessory grains of sulfides, oxides, and sphene. These phases form the fine-grained matrix materials for cataclasites and cements for breccias where they completely surround angular to subangular clasts of variably altered and deformed basalt. Bulk rock geochemical compositions of the fault rocks are largely governed by the abundance of quartz veins. When compositions are normalized to compensate for the excess silica, the fault rocks exhibit evidence for additional geochemical changes via hydrothermal alteration, including the loss of mobile elements and gain of some trace metals and magnesium. Microstructures and compositions suggest that the fault rocks developed over multiple increments of deformation and hydrothermal fluid flow in the subaxial environment of the SEPR; faults related to the opening of the Pito Deep Rift can be distinguished by their orientation and fault rock microstructure. Some subaxial deformation increments were likely linked with violent discharge events associated with fluid pressure fluctuations and mineral sealing within the fault zones. Other increments were linked with the influx of relatively fresh seawater. The spacing of the faults is consistent with fault localization occurring every 7000 to 14,000 years, with long-term slip rates of <3 mm/a. Once spread from the ridge axis, the faults were probably not active, and damage zones likely played a more significant role in axial flank and off-axis crustal permeability.

Section: Fault Rock Structure Microstructure and Mineralogymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fault Rock Structure Microstructure and Mineralogymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Operations and Regional Geologic Structurementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Map-scale Distribution Of Faults and Surrounding Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Map-scale Distribution Of Faults and Surrounding Deformationmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Crustal faults exposed in the Pito Deep Rift: Conduits for hydrothermal fluids on the southeast Pacific Rise

Hayman

Karson

2009

Elemental changes and alteration recorded by basaltic drill core samples recovered from in situ temperatures up to 345°C in the active, seawater‐recharged Reykjanes geothermal system, Iceland

Fowler

Zierenberg

2016

Hydrothermal activity results in element exchanges between seawater and oceanic crust that contribute to many aspects of ocean chemistry; therefore, improving knowledge of the associated chemical processes is of global significance. Hydrothermally altered basaltic drill core samples from the seawater‐recharged Reykjanes geothermal system in Iceland record elemental gains and losses similar to those observed in samples of hydrothermally altered oceanic crust. At Reykjanes, rocks originally emplaced on the seafloor were buried by continued volcanism and subsided to the current depths (>2250 m below surface). These rocks integrate temperature‐dependent elemental gains and losses from multiple stages of hydrothermal alteration that correspond to chemical exchanges observed in rocks from different crustal levels of submarine hydrothermal systems. Specifically, these lithologies have gained U, Mg, Zn, and Pb and have lost K, Rb, Ba, Cu, and light rare earth elements (La through Eu). Alteration and elemental gains and losses in lithologies emplaced on the seafloor can only be explained by a complex multistage hydrothermal alteration history. Reykjanes dolerite intrusions record alteration similar to that reported for the sheeted dike section of several examples of oceanic crust. Specifically, Reykjanes dolerites have lost K, Rb, Ba, and Pb, and gained Cu. The Reykjanes drill core samples provide a unique analog for seawater‐oceanic crust reactions actively occurring at high temperatures (275–345°C) beneath a seafloor hydrothermal system.

Pervasive silicification and hanging wall overplating along the 13°20′N oceanic detachment fault (Mid‐Atlantic Ridge)

Bonnemains

Escartı́n

Mével

et al. 2017

The corrugated detachment fault zone of the active 13°20′N oceanic core complex (Mid‐Atlantic Ridge) was investigated with a deep‐sea vehicle to assess the links between deformation, alteration, and magmatism at detachment fault zones. We present a study of 18 in situ fault rock samples from striated fault outcrops on the flanks of microbathymetric corrugations. All the samples are mafic breccias that are mostly derived from a diabase protolith, with two of them also showing mixing with ultramafic clasts. Breccias are cataclastic and display variable deformation textures, recording numerous slip events, and showing pervasive silicification throughout the fault zone. Deformation‐silicification relationships are also complex, showing both static and syntectonic quartz precipitation; undeformed quartz overprints the fault breccia textures, and reflective and striated fault surfaces cross‐cut silicified rocks. In situ detachment fault rocks are mainly fault breccias with almost exclusively basaltic clasts, with rare ultramafic ones, a lithology and texture never observed previously at other oceanic detachment fault zones. We propose the lower dyke complex in the hanging wall crust at the volcanic rift valley floor is the most plausible diabase source. Mechanical mixing of predominantly mafic and rare ultramafic clasts suggests an underlying ultramafic footwall and that mafic accretion operates in the shallowest crust (1–2 km), at the base of the dyke complex at temperatures >400°C. Silicification is produced by silica‐rich fluids syntectonically channeled along the fault zone, and likely derived from hydrothermal alteration of basaltic rocks, likely mixed with serpentinization‐derived fluids.