ALBERT

Description: Nontronite, the main metalliferous phase of the Galapagos mounds, occurs at a subsurface depth of ~2–20 m; Mn-oxide material is limited to the upper 2 m of these mounds. The nontronite forms intervals of up to a few metres thickness, consisting essentially of 100% nontronite granules, which alternate with intervals of normal pelagic sediment. The metalliferous phases represent essentially authigenic precipitates, apparently formed in the presence of upwelling basement-derived hydrothermal solutions which dissolved pre-existent pelagic sediment. Electron microprobe analyses of nontronite granules from different core samples indicate that: (1) there is little difference in major-element composition between nontronitic material from varying locations within the mounds; and (2) adjacent granules from a given sample have very similar compositions and are internally homogeneous. This indicates that the granules are composed of a single mineral of essentially constant composition, consistent with relatively uniform conditions of solution Eh and composition during nontronite formation. The Pb-isotopic composition of the nontronite and Mn-oxide sediments indicates that they were formed from solutions which contained variable proportions of basaltic Pb, introduced into pore waters by basement-derived solutions, and of normal-seawater Pb. However, the Sr-isotopic composition of these sediments is essentially indistinguishable from the value for modern seawater. On the basis of 18O/16O ratios, formation temperatures of ~20–30°C have been estimated for the nontronites. By comparison, temperatures of up to 11.5°C at 9 m depth have been directly measured within the mounds and heat flow data suggest present basement-sediment interface temperatures of 15–25°C.

Description: Two consecutive drilling legs (Legs 59 and 60) were assigned to drill an east-west transect of sites along latitude 18°N, from the Mariana Basin of the Pacific Ocean to the oldest inactive island arcs and back-arc spreading basins of the Philippine Sea. The western (older, inactive) half of this transect (Philippine Sea, Palau-Kyushu Ridge, Parece Vela Basin, and the West Mariana Ridge-Sites 447-451) was drilled during Leg 59. The objective of Leg 60 was to sample the tectonically active eastern portion of the transect in a closely spaced series of holes across the presently opening back-arc basin (Mariana Trough, Site Survey Target SP-4: Sites 453-456), the Mariana arc itself (Site Survey Target SP-3b: Site 457), the Mariana fore-arc region (Site Survey Target SP-3, Sites 458 and 459), and deep within the Mariana Trench (Site Survey Target SP-2: Sites 460 and 461). In addition, one site (Site Survey Target SP-1: Site 452) was drilled on the Pacific plate seaward of the trench to obtain a reference section of sediments and oceanic crust being delivered to the trench.