ALBERT

Description: We have measured the 3He/4He and 20Ne/4He ratios of gases dissolved in the pore water in sediments at two sites in the Nankai Trough (Site 583) and the Japan Trench (Site 584). The 3He/4He and 20Ne/4He ratios vary from 0.215 * 10**-6 to 1.23 * 10**-6 and from 50 * 10**-3 to 2700 * 10**-3, respectively. These values can be explained by mixing two components, one from the atmosphere and one with a 3He/4He ratio of (0.2 to 0.3) * 10**-6. The latter component may be derived from the ocean crust near the subduction zone.

Description: We here report on specific chemical and microbial compositions observed at the Archaean hydrothermal site in the Southern Mariana backarc spreading center, which produces two remarkably different hydrothermal fluids. One was black smoker hydrothermal fluid at 340 °C containing a low concentration of methane with a relatively high carbon isotope ratio (d13C of methane relative to VPDB), -7.8 per mil, indicating that methane originated from a magmatic source; thus, this is a fairly ordinary hydrothermal fluid for basalt-hosted hydrothermal activity. In contrast, the other fluid was clear smoker hydrothermal fluid at 117 °C containing a high concentration of methane with a very low carbon isotope ratio (-49.7 per mil). The host rock of the Archaean hydrothermal site is basalt, and therefore Fischer-Tropsch-type reactions resulting from serpentinization of mantle rocks are not feasible as a source for the "light" carbon in methane. Additionally, the carbon isotope ratio of carbon dioxide demonstrated that the sources of CO2 and CH4 were not organic materials. The remaining possibility, biogenic methane, was confirmed by cultivation of hyperthermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing methanogens from both rocks covering the vent of clear smoker hydrothermal fluids and in situ cultivation systems. Although the dominance and abundance of methanogens were very low in this ecosystem, the number was consistent with the relationship between hydrogen concentration and methanogen abundance (Takai et al., 2015). These results suggest that phase separation led to concentration of hydrogen and subsequent persistence of a hyperthermophilic subsurface lithoautotrophic microbial ecosystem in both serpentine-hosted and basalt-hosted hydrothermal systems. This type of ecosystem may occur in similar settings elsewhere on modern earth; in addition, similar communities may have existed in other types of deep-sea hydrothermal systems in the geological past.

Description: Studies on He isotope ratios of gas and rock samples in various parts of the world have shown a close relation between the 3He/4He ratio and geotectonic features of the sampling area. Emission of primordial He is commonly found in gases and fluid in Cenozoic volcanic areas (mid-ocean ridges, hot spots, and subduction zones), whereas that of radiogenic He is predominant in continental areas. Thus, the 3He/4He ratio is considered a useful tool for evaluating a variety of geotectonic environments.