Karlis Muehlenbachs

The fingerprint of seawater circulation in a 500-meter section of ocean crust gabbros

A novel strip-sampling technique has been applied to the 500-m gabbroic section drilled at site 735 during Leg 118. Twenty-two continuous strips of 1.1- to 4.5-m length were cut longitudinally from the core, allowing for a more representative sampling of this section of the deep ocean crust. A full suite of trace element and isotopic (Sr, Nd, Pb, Os, δ18O) analyses were conducted on these strip samples; for comparison, analyses were conducted on a small suite of protolith samples, selected for their fresh and unaltered appearance. Amphibole, diopside, and plagioclase from 18 vein samples were also analyzed for Sr and Nd isotopes. Although the evidence for a seawater component in these gabbros is clear (87/86 Sr up to 0.70316; 206/204 Pb up to 19.3; δ18O down to 2.0‰; 187/188 Os up to 0.44), the trace element signatures are dominated by magmatic effects (infiltration and impregnation by late-stage melts derived locally or from deeper levels of the crust). The average upper 500 m 735B gabbro section is somewhat lower than average N-MORB in trace elements such as Ba (30%), Nb (50%), U (40%), and heavy REE (Yb and Lu, 30%), but somewhat enriched in others such as La (23%), Ce (24%), Pb (23%), and Sr (40%). Although the section is largely comprised of cumulate gabbros (Natland et al., 1991), and many of the strip samples show marked Sr and Eu anomalies (plagioclase cumulation), the average composition of the total 500 m section shows no Sr or Eu anomalies (<1%). This implies that there has been local separation of melt and solids, but no large scale removal of melts from this 500-m gabbro section.

Helium, oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic relationships in Icelandic volcanics

Abstract 3He/4He ratios have been obtained for basaltic, intermediate and acid volcanic glasses from Iceland. Basaltic glasses exhibit a wide range of 3He/4He ratios (4 3He/4He does not correlate with either 87Sr/86Sr or 143Nd/144Nd ratio and radiogenic components of He, Sr and Nd have apparently been decoupled. Interaction of Icelandic magmas with hydrothermally altered and older Icelandic crust is the preferred explanation for variable and often low δ18O values. It is suggested that primary 3He/4He ratios may have been modified by incorporation of radiogenic helium developed within the Icelandic crust to impose a larger range of 3He/4He ratios on the erupted products than was actually inherited from the mantle beneath Iceland. Intermediate and acid samples have all been severely contaminated by atmospheric helium, most probably at very shallow levels within the crust.

Isotopic evidence for geochemical decoupling between ancient epeiric seas and bordering oceans: Implications for secular curves

Isotopic analysis of conodonts and their host limestones sampled between two regionally extensive, altered volcanic ash layers in eastern Laurentia shows that a 454 Ma epeiric sea maintained large lateral differences in Nd and C isotope compositions. This is consistent with inferred temperature-salinity‐defined epicontinental water masses and restricted circulation between epicontinental and oceanic environments. Because the majority of old marine fossils and sedimentary rocks are known from epeiric seas, some isotope excursions in ancient marine strata may originate from expansion and contraction of geochemically distinct epicontinental water masses, rather than global-scale changes in the state of the earth-ocean system.

Microbes play an important role in the alteration of oceanic crust

Microbes have been identified within altered parts of the glass rims of pillow lavas in the upper oceanic crust, 237 m below the top of the volcanic basement of ODP Hole 896A at the Costa Rica Rift. Their presence is verified by spherical and vermicular microbodies containing DNA. The elemental composition of the microbially processed areas differ from the parent glass. Further, the microbially processed parts, showing different morphological forms also show different elemental composition. Extreme K-enrichment indicate that microbes are presently active in the alteration process. The carbon isotopic composition of disseminated carbonates within the basaltic section of the Hole 504B (1 km distance from Hole 896A) also give evidence for microbial activity during rock alteration. The σ13C values of most of these trace carbonates are very low, reflecting metabolic control of the carbon cycle in these rocks. Microbial alteration of basaltic glass, comprising a substantial volume and surface area of the upper oceanic crust, may thus play an important role in the element exchange between oceanic crust and seawater.

A Vestige of Earth's Oldest Ophiolite

A sheeted-dike complex within the ∼3.8-billion-year-old Isua supracrustal belt (ISB) in southwest Greenland provides the oldest evidence of oceanic crustal accretion by spreading. The geochemistry of the dikes and associated pillow lavas demonstrates an intraoceanic island arc and mid-ocean ridge–like setting, and their oxygen isotopes suggest a hydrothermal ocean-floor–type metamorphism. The pillows and dikes are associated with gabbroic and ultramafic rocks that together make up an ophiolitic association: the Paleoarchean Isua ophiolite complex. These sheeted dikes offer evidence for remnants of oceanic crust formed by sea-floor spreading of the earliest intact rocks on Earth.

Evidence for microbial activity at the glass-alteration interface in oceanic basalts

A detailed microbiological and geochemical study related to the alteration of basaltic glass of pillow lavas from the oceanic crust recovered from Hole 896A on the Costa Rica Rift (penetrating 290 m into the volcanic basement) has been carried out. A number of independent observations, pointing to the influence of microbes, may be summarized as follows: (1) Alteration textures are reminiscent of microbes in terms of form and shape. (2) Altered material contains appreciable amounts of C, N and K, and the N=C ratios are comparable to those of nitrogen-starved bacteria. (3) Samples stained with a dye (DAPI) that binds specifically to nucleic acids show the presence of DNA in the altered glass. Further, staining with fluorescent labeled oligonucleotide probes that hybridize specifically to 16S-ribosomal RNA of bacteria and archaea demonstrate their presence in the altered part of the glass. (4) Disseminated carbonate in the glassy margin of the majority of pillows shows d 13 C values, significantly lower than that of fresh basalt, also suggests biological activity. The majority of the samples have d 18 O values indicating temperatures of 20‐100oC, which is in the range of mesophilic and thermophilic micro-organisms.

An oxygen isotopic profile through the upper kilometer of the oceanic crust, DSDP hole 504B

DSDP Hole 504B is the deepest basement hole in the oceanic crust, penetrating through a 571.5 m pillow section, a 209 m lithologic transition zone, and 295 m into a sheeted dike complex. An oxygen isotopic profile through the upper crust at Site 504 is similar to that in many ophiolite complexes, where the extrusive section is enriched in18O relative to unaltered basalts, and the dike section is variably depleted and enriched. Basalts in the pillow section at Site 504 haveδ18O values generally ranging from +6.1 to +8.5‰ SMOW(mean= +7.0‰), although minor zeolite-rich samples range up to 12.7‰. Rocks depleted in18O appear abruptly at 624 m sub-basement in the lithologic transition from 100% pillows to 100% dikes, coinciding with the appearance of greenschist facies minerals in the rocks. Whole-rock values range to as low as +3.6‰, but the mean values for the lithologic transition zone and dike section are +5.8 and +5.4‰, respectively. Oxygen and carbon isotopic data for secondary vein minerals combined with the whole rock data provide evidence for the former presence of two distinct circulation systems separated by a relatively sharp boundary at the top of the lithologic transition zone. The pillow section reacted with seawater at low temperatures (near 0°C up to a maximum of around 150°C) and relatively high water/rock mass ratios (10–100); water/rock ratios were greater and conditions were more oxidizing during submarine weathering of the uppermost 320 m than deeper in the pillow section. The transition zone and dikes were altered at much higher temperatures (up to about 350°C) and generally low water/rock mass ratios (∼ 1), and hydrothermal fluids probably contained mantle-derived CO2. Mixing of axial hydrothermal fluids upwelling through the dike section with cooler seawater circulating in the overlying pillow section resulted in a steep temperature gradient (∼ 2.5°C/m) across a 70 m interval at the top of the lithologic transition zone. Progressive reaction during axial hydrothermal metamorphism and later off-axis alteration led to the formation of albite- and Ca-zeolite-rich alteration halos around fractures. This enhanced the effects of cooling and18O enrichment of fluids, resulting in local increases inδ18O of rocks which had been previously depleted in18O during prior axial metamorphism.

The oxygen isotopic composition of the oceans, sediments and the seafloor

The oxygen isotope history of seawater remains controversial despite decades of study. Isotopic data from fossils and chemical sediments generally indicate significantly 18O-depleted seas during the Paleozoic and earlier, whereas the isotopic composition of contemporaneous ophiolites imply an ocean indistinguishable from todays. Uncertainty in δ18O of seawater limits the usefulness of oxygen isotope geothermometry as well as challenges current paradigms of plate tectonics. This paper reviews the controversy and revises earlier estimates on the 18O-balance within the hydrosphere. The conclusion is that the δ18O of seawater is mainly buffered by hydrothermal and weathering processes at mid-ocean ridges to a δ18O value of about 0‰ (SMOW). At values other than 0±2‰, a large countervailing flux of 18O would return seawater to near 0‰. The δ18O of Paleozoic, Proterozoic and Archean ophiolites support the above model. The discrepancy in δ18O between most (but not all) post-Mississippian fossils and chemical sediments and ophiolites must be explained as a combination of: (1) loss of integrity of δ18O in sediments and fossils; (2) warmer paleoenvironments that lead to the precipitation of lower δ18O exogenic products; (3) isotopically distinct water masses in inland seas that host the fossils but which are not well mixed with the open ocean that alters the seafloor.

Oxygen and carbon isotope evidence for seawater-hydrothermal alteration of the Macquarie Island ophiolite

Abstract Rocks of the Miocene Macquarie Island ophiolite, south of New Zealand, have oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions comparable to those of seafloor rocks. Basalt glass and weathered basalts have δ18O values at 5.8–6.0‰ and 7.9–9.5‰, respectively, similar to drilled seafloor rocks including samples from the Leg 29 DSDP holes near Macquarie Island. Compared to the basalt glass, the greenschist to amphibolite facies metaintrusives are depleted in18O (δ18O=3.2–5.9‰) similar to dredged seafloor samples, whereas the metabasalts are enriched (δ18O=7.1–9.7‰). Although the gabbros are only slightly altered in thin-section they have exchanged oxygen with a hydrothermal fluid to a depth of at least 4.5 km. There is an approximate balance between18O depletion and enrichment in the exposed ophiolite section. The carbon isotopic composition of calcite in the weathered basalts (δ13C=1.0–2.0‰) is similar to those of drilled basalts, but the metamorphosed rocks have low δ13C values (−14.6 to 0.9‰). These data are compatible with two seawater circulation regimes. In the upper regime, basalts were weathered by cold seawater in a circulation system with high water/rock ratios (≫1.0). Based on calcite compositions weathering temperatures were less than 20°C and the carbon was derived from a predominantly inorganic marine source. As previously suggested for the Samail ophiolite, it is postulated that the lower hydrothermal regime consisted of two coupled parts. At the deeper levels, seawater circulating at low water/rock ratios (0.2–0.3) and high temperatures (300–600°C) gave rise to18O-depleted gabbro and sheeted dikes via open system exchange reactions. During reaction the seawater underwent a shift in oxygen isotopic composition (δ18O=1.0–5.0‰) and subsequently caused18O enrichment of the overlying metabasalts. In the shallower part of the hydrothermal regime the metabasalts were altered at relatively high water/rock ratios (1.0–10.0) and temperatures in the range 200–300°C. The relatively low water/rock ratios in the hydrothermal regime are supported by the low δ13C values of calcite, interpreted as evidence of juvenile carbon in contrast to the inorganic marine carbon found in the weathered basalts.

Dual origins of lode gold deposits in the Canadian Cordillera

From Late Jurassic to late Tertiary time, two geologically, geochemically, and genetically distinct gold mineralization processes were active in the Canadian Cordillera. One group of deposits can be characterized as epithermal because of its association with intermediate to felsic volcanics, regional caldera structures, low pH alteration zones, low Au/Ag values, and quartz-chalcedony-barite-fluorite gangue. The second group of deposits is mesothermal in character and has strong similarities to the Mother Lode deposits of California, being associated with transcurrent faults, intermediate pH alteration zones, and quartz ± carbonate, albite, mariposite, pyrite, arsenopyrite, scheelite gangue. Compared to epithermal deposits, mesothermal deposits have higher As, W, and Au/Ag values, higher CO2 content in fluid inclusions, and δ18O values of ore-forming fluids of +3‰ to +10‰ vs. −14‰ to −7‰ for epithermal deposits. Like the gold deposits in Nevada and Colorado, epithermal mineralization in the Canadian Cordillera formed from the shallow circulation of meteoric water in subaerial, intermediate to felsic volcanic complexes. In contrast, mesothermal gold deposits throughout the North American Cordillera are shown to be the product of deep circulation and evolution of meteoric water in structures associated with major, transcurrent fault zones. Similarities between Archean lode gold deposits and mesothermal deposits of the Cordillera suggest that Archean lode deposits may have been produced by processes similar to those involved in the formation of Cordilleran mesothermal deposits.