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Chemistry of ore-forming fluids and mineral formation rates in an active hydrothermal sulfide deposit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Chemistry of ore-forming fluids and mineral formation rates in an active hydrothermal sulfide deposit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Chemistry of ore-forming fluids and mineral formation rates in an active hydrothermal sulfide deposit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
The chemical composition of diffuse effluent from the TAG hydrothermal mound, 26°N Mid-Atlantic Ridge, directly demonstrates that mixing of entrained seawater and high-temperature black smoker fluids leads to the precipitation of sulfides, silica, and anhydrite and to the zone refining of metals, including Cu, Zn, U, and the rare earth elements in an actively forming sulfide ore body. Rates of mineral formation deduced from these data are extremely rapid and are up to an order of magnitude greater for anhydrite (5–15 × 107 kg/yr) than for sulfides (106–107 kg/yr). Comparison with mineral inventories for TAG suggests that virtually all of the anhydrite in the TAG mound is contemporary, and confirms that the sulfide precipitated episodically during the history of mound growth and that much of it has been lost by oxidation and reworking.
0091-7613
1147-1150
James, Rachael H.
79aa1d5c-675d-4ba3-85be-fb20798c02f4
Elderfield, Henry
f16b0e78-6878-4cf8-8e48-a449f9b84879
James, Rachael H.
79aa1d5c-675d-4ba3-85be-fb20798c02f4
Elderfield, Henry
f16b0e78-6878-4cf8-8e48-a449f9b84879

James, Rachael H. and Elderfield, Henry (1996) Chemistry of ore-forming fluids and mineral formation rates in an active hydrothermal sulfide deposit on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Geology, 24 (12), 1147-1150. (doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1996)024<1147:COOFFA>2.3.CO;2).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The chemical composition of diffuse effluent from the TAG hydrothermal mound, 26°N Mid-Atlantic Ridge, directly demonstrates that mixing of entrained seawater and high-temperature black smoker fluids leads to the precipitation of sulfides, silica, and anhydrite and to the zone refining of metals, including Cu, Zn, U, and the rare earth elements in an actively forming sulfide ore body. Rates of mineral formation deduced from these data are extremely rapid and are up to an order of magnitude greater for anhydrite (5–15 × 107 kg/yr) than for sulfides (106–107 kg/yr). Comparison with mineral inventories for TAG suggests that virtually all of the anhydrite in the TAG mound is contemporary, and confirms that the sulfide precipitated episodically during the history of mound growth and that much of it has been lost by oxidation and reworking.

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Published date: 1996
Organisations: Marine Geoscience

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 210251
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/210251
ISSN: 0091-7613
PURE UUID: fcc068e8-4463-4f9b-b728-3f2777b63aaf
ORCID for Rachael H. James: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7402-2315

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Date deposited: 07 Feb 2012 12:01
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:30

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Author: Henry Elderfield

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