Magmatic volatiles episodically flush oceanic hydrothermal systems as recorded by zoned epidote

Stephen Fox, Yaron Katzir, Wolfgang Bach, Lucy Schlicht, Justin Glessner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Circulation of seawater at oceanic spreading centers extracts heat, drives rock alteration, and transports leached metals to shallower levels of the crust, where they may precipitate and form ore deposits. Crystallization of the lower crust, may exsolve and introduce magmatic volatiles into the seawater-dominant system. However, the role of magmatic volatiles added to the hydrothermal system, including pathways of these fluids are lesser known. Here we present coupled in-situ strontium isotope and rare earth element data of distinct domains in epidote, a common hydrothermal mineral throughout the Troodos ophiolite, to track magmatic fluid input and flow. Epidote crystal domains characterize three distinct strontium isotope-rare earth element signatures—suggesting sequential growth from magma-derived fluids (0.704, negative europium anomalies), rock-buffered fluids (0.7055, positive europium anomalies) and seawater-derived fluids (0.7065, negative cerium anomalies). Epidote records episodic fluxing of magmatic fluids from plagiogranites, through epidosites in the upflow zone and into metal ore deposits.

Original languageEnglish
Article number52
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalCommunications Earth & Environment
Volume1
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Nov 2020

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Earth and Planetary Sciences (all)
  • Environmental Science (all)

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Magmatic volatiles episodically flush oceanic hydrothermal systems as recorded by zoned epidote'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this