Research paper
Hydrothermal clay mineral formation of East Pacific rise and Bauer Basin sediments

https://doi.org/10.1016/0009-2541(81)90143-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Samples of surface metalliferous sediment recovered from the crest of the East Pacific Rise at 6°S and 10°S latitudes and from the adjacent Bauer Basin are characterized by an authigenically formed, Fe-rich montmorillonite that dominates the non-carbonate mineralogy of the clay fraction (< 2 μm). Oxygen-isotopic formation temperatures indicate that the Fe-montmorillonites are created by low-temperature, hydrothermal processes (30°–50°C) in the 10°S region of the East Pacific Rise and Bauer Basin, possibly as a result of cooling and oxidation of unstable, high-temperature (380° ± 30°C) sulfide assemblages or as a result of the percolation of hydrothermally altered seawater solutions through underlying basalt and sediments. The widespread sedimentation of the clay mineral is suggested to be caused by colloidal transport, possibly as a result of erosion of hydrothermal mounds by bottom currents. Hydrothermal Fe-montmorillonite-nontronite formation may act as a direct and significant oceanic sink for Si and Fe released by the high-temperature, hydrothermal alteration of basalt at ocean spreading centers.

References (50)

  • J.J. Griffin et al.

    The distribution of clay minerals in the World Ocean

    Deep-Sea Res.

    (1968)
  • H. Harder

    Nontronite synthesis at low temperatures

    Chem. Geol.

    (1976)
  • K. Mopper et al.

    Oxygen isotope fractionation between biogenic silica and ocean water

    Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta

    (1971)
  • D.Z. Piper

    Origin of metalliferous sediments from the East Pacific Rise

    Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

    (1973)
  • H. Rydell et al.

    Postdepositional injections of uranium-rich solutions into East Pacific Rise sediments

    Mar. Geol.

    (1974)
  • F.L. Sayles et al.

    Ferromanganoan sediments in the equatorial East Pacific

    Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.

    (1973)
  • G. Arrhenius

    Sedimentary record of long-period phenomena

  • J.L. Bischoff

    A ferroan nontronite from the Red Sea geothermal system

    Clays Clay Miner.

    (1972)
  • E. Bonatti et al.

    Deep-sea iron deposit from the South Pacific

    Science

    (1966)
  • K. Boström et al.

    Origin of pH variations and inorganic carbonates in pelagic sediments

    Geol. Fören. Stockholm Förh.

    (1972)
  • K. Boström et al.

    Precipitates from hydrothermal exhalations on the East Pacific Rise

    Econ. Geol.

    (1966)
  • T.M. Church

    Marine barite

  • R.N. Clayton et al.

    Oxygen isotope abundance in quartz from Pacific pelagic sediments

    J. Geophys. Res.

    (1972)
  • H.E. Cook et al.

    Methods of sample preparation and X-ray diffraction data analysis, X-ray mineralogy laboratory

  • J.B. Corliss et al.

    Submarine thermal springs on the Galapagos Rift

    Science

    (1979)
  • Cited by (69)

    • Submarine hydrothermal mineralization processes and insular mineralization in the Hellenic Volcanic Arc system: A review

      2020, Ore Geology Reviews
      Citation Excerpt :

      It was supported that nontronite precipitates directly from hydrothermal fluids but other processes were proposed. Among those are the replacement of pelagic muds at the sediment water interface, precipitation from Fe and Mn-bearing minerals at the seawater – basalt zone (McMurtry and Yeh, 1981). However, Dill et al. (1994) argued that Mn in nontronites is low to be considered as indicative of the proximity to hydrothermal vents.

    • Transformation of boehmite into 2:1 type layered aluminosilicates with different layer charges under hydrothermal conditions

      2019, Applied Clay Science
      Citation Excerpt :

      Meanwhile, an inverse conversion process, the transformation of gibbsite or bayerite into 2:1 type LA, was also achievable under hydrothermal condition (Granquist and Pollack, 1967; Granquist et al., 1972). Such formation mechanism for clay minerals was also found in nature (Mcmurtry and Yeh, 1981; Marumo and Hattori, 1999; Mas et al., 2006). This means that, when aluminum minerals encounter with silicon-rich geological fluids and undergo hydrothermal alteration, they can be transformed into clay minerals in geological processes, namely, ‘resilicification’ of aluminum minerals.

    • Reduction of structural Fe(III) in nontronite by thermophilic microbial consortia enriched from hot springs in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, China

      2018, Chemical Geology
      Citation Excerpt :

      In geothermal ecosystems, microbially mediated Fe reduction is an important process because of abundant Fe available in hydrothermal fluids (Pester et al., 2014; Wu et al., 2013), limited O2 solubility, and abundance of reduced gases (Kashefi et al., 2004; Vargas et al., 1998). High temperature fluids are effective in altering primary Fe-bearing silicates into secondary clay minerals, which usually develop into clay belts along fluid channels or around spring pools (McMurtry and Yeh, 1981; Zhu and Tong, 1987). These secondary clay minerals represent an important Fe(III) source for thermophiles in these ecosystems.

    • Electron microscopy investigation of the genetic link between Fe oxides/oxyhydroxides and nontronite in submarine hydrothermal fields

      2018, Marine Geology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Consequently, the substitution of these particles by nontronite would require a significant loss of Mn and sometimes of Mg and/or Al and thus these particles do not fit well within a path of gradual in situ replacement of FeO + FeOOH by nontronite. It is clear that in the East Pacific Rise sediments the Fe-Mn-Si-Mg-Al composition of the silicate and FeOOH particles is more heterogeneous than in the Atlantis II Deep, implying perhaps the presence of particles of basalt or sediments indicated by Singer et al. (1984) and McMurtry and Yeh (1981) (particles with Fe/Mg + Al < 1 and Si/Fe + Mn + Mg + Al < 0.7 in Fig. 5c) besides that of oxides with a range of Fe-Mn composition (Fig. 4). In our investigation, vermicular/globular habits exist in particles with a wide range of composition (Fig. 6), including Fe/Si ratios from 0.5 to 20, and thus consisting mainly of nontronite or FeO + FeOOH, respectively.

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Contribution No. 1132 and California Institute of Technology Contribution No. 3596.

    ∗2

    Present address: Department of Oceanography, Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Honolulu, HI 96822, U.S.A.

    ∗3

    Present address: Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, Honolulu, HI 96822, U.S.A.

    View full text