Chemistry of hydrothermal solutions from Pele's Vents, Loihi Seamount, Hawaii

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992 · Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(92)90159-G· OSTI ID:6962771

Sedwick, P N; McMurtry, G M ^[1]; Macdougall, J D ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Hawaii, Honolulu (United States)
2. Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA (United States)

Hydrothermal fluids were sampled from Pele's Vents on the summit of Loihi Seamount, an intraplate, hotspot volcano, on four occasions from February 1987 to September 1990. The warm ([le]31C) vent solutions are enriched in dissolved Si, CO[sub 2], H[sub 2]S, alkalinity, K[sup +], Li[sup +], Rb[sup +], Ca[sup 2+], Ba[sup 2+], Fe[sup 2+], Mn[sup 2+], NH[sup +][sub 4], and possibly Ni[sup 2+], and depleted in SO[sup 2-][sub 4], O[sub 2], Mg[sup 2+], [sup 87]Sr/[sup 86]Sr, NO[sup -][sub 3], and sometimes Cl[sup -] and Na[sup +] (calculated), relative to ambient seawater. Dissolved Si correlates linearly with sample temperature, suggesting that the solutions sampled from numerous vents in the [approximately]20 m diameter field have a common source and that Si can be used as a conservative tracer for mixing of the vent fluids with ambient seawater. These juvenile inputs likely reflect the shallow, hotspot setting of this hydrothermal system. A simple quantitative fluid-history model is considered and shown to be consistent with mass-balance constraints and saturation-state calculations, which suggest that the Si concentration of the fluids may be controlled by amorphous silica saturation at [approximately]31C. Observed temporal variations in fluid composition between expeditions - specifically, in Cl[sup -], A[sub T], C[sub T], Na[sup +] (calculated), Mg[sup 2+], Ca[sup 2+], Sr[sup 2+], [sup 87]Sr/[sup 86]Sr, Fe[sup 2+], Mn[sup 2+] and perhaps NH[sup +][sub 4], relative to Si - are, excepting Mg[sup 2+], [sup 87]Sr/[sup 86]Sr, and Mn[sup 2+], consistent with the effects of variable phase segregation at the proposed high-temperature endmember.

• OSTI ID: 6962771
• Journal Information: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States), Journal Name: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta; (United States) Vol. 56:10; ISSN GCACAK; ISSN 0016-7037
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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