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Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life

Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life
Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life

The subduction of seamounts and ridge features at convergent plate boundaries plays an important role in the deformation of the overriding plate and influences geochemical cycling and associated biological processes. Active serpentinization of forearc mantle and serpentinite mud volcanism on the Mariana forearc (between the trench and active volcanic arc) provides windows on subduction processes. Here, we present (1) the first observation of an extensive exposure of an undeformed Cretaceous seamount currently being subducted at the Mariana Trench inner slope; (2) vertical deformation of the forearc region related to subduction of Pacific Plate seamounts and thickened crust; (3) recovered Ocean Drilling Program and International Ocean Discovery Program cores of serpentinite mudflows that confirm exhumation of various Pacific Plate lithologies, including subducted reef limestone; (4) petrologic, geochemical and paleontological data from the cores that show that Pacific Plate seamount exhumation covers greater spatial and temporal extents; (5) the inference that microbial communities associated with serpentinite mud volcanism may also be exhumed from the subducted plate seafloor and/or seamounts; and (6) the implications for effects of these processes with regard to evolution of life. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Serpentine in the Earth system’.

Evolution of life, Exhumed microbes, Mariana trench, Serpentinite mud volcanism, Subducted cretaceous seamounts
1364-503X
1-28
Fryer, Patricia
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Wheat, C. Geoffrey
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Williams, Trevor
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Kelley, Christopher
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Kurz, Walter
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Shervais, John
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Albers, Elmar
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Bekins, Barbara
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Debret, Baptiste
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Deng, Jianghong
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Dong, Yanhui
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Eickenbusch, Philip
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Frery, Emanuelle
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Ichiyama, Yuji
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Johnston, Raymond
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Kevorkian, Richard
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Magalhaes, Vitor
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Mantovanelli, Simone
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Menapace, Walter
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Menzies, Catriona
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Michibayashi, Katsuyoshi
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Moyer, Craig
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Sissmann, Olivier
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Glickson, Deborah
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Pomponi, Shirley
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Fryer, Patricia
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Johnson, Kevin
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Kurz, Walter
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Shervais, John
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Albers, Elmar
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Kevorkian, Richard
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Moyer, Craig
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Walter, Bastien
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Zhang, Rui
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Amon, Diva
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Glickson, Deborah
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Pomponi, Shirley
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Fryer, Patricia, Wheat, C. Geoffrey, Williams, Trevor, Kelley, Christopher, Johnson, Kevin, Ryan, Jeffrey, Kurz, Walter, Shervais, John, Albers, Elmar, Bekins, Barbara, Debret, Baptiste, Deng, Jianghong, Dong, Yanhui, Eickenbusch, Philip, Frery, Emanuelle, Ichiyama, Yuji, Johnston, Raymond, Kevorkian, Richard, Magalhaes, Vitor, Mantovanelli, Simone, Menapace, Walter, Menzies, Catriona, Michibayashi, Katsuyoshi, Moyer, Craig, Mullane, Kelli, Park, Jung-woo, Price, Roy, Sissmann, Olivier, Suzuki, Shino, Takai, Ken, Walter, Bastien, Zhang, Rui, Amon, Diva, Glickson, Deborah and Pomponi, Shirley (2020) Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 378 (2165), 1-28, [20180425]. (doi:10.1098/rsta.2018.0425).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The subduction of seamounts and ridge features at convergent plate boundaries plays an important role in the deformation of the overriding plate and influences geochemical cycling and associated biological processes. Active serpentinization of forearc mantle and serpentinite mud volcanism on the Mariana forearc (between the trench and active volcanic arc) provides windows on subduction processes. Here, we present (1) the first observation of an extensive exposure of an undeformed Cretaceous seamount currently being subducted at the Mariana Trench inner slope; (2) vertical deformation of the forearc region related to subduction of Pacific Plate seamounts and thickened crust; (3) recovered Ocean Drilling Program and International Ocean Discovery Program cores of serpentinite mudflows that confirm exhumation of various Pacific Plate lithologies, including subducted reef limestone; (4) petrologic, geochemical and paleontological data from the cores that show that Pacific Plate seamount exhumation covers greater spatial and temporal extents; (5) the inference that microbial communities associated with serpentinite mud volcanism may also be exhumed from the subducted plate seafloor and/or seamounts; and (6) the implications for effects of these processes with regard to evolution of life. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Serpentine in the Earth system’.

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Accepted/In Press date: 18 November 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 January 2020
Published date: 21 February 2020
Additional Information: Funding Information: We thank the participants in the Royal Society ?Serpentine in the Earth system? discussion meeting in November 2018 for stimulating discussions on serpentinization in a wide variety of geologic settings, which motivated us to offer this summary of recent Mariana convergent plate margin discoveries and our interpretation of their implications for an alternative to a hydrothermal-vent origin of life on Earth. We are indebted to the conveners of the meeting for inviting this manuscript. Steven Stanley, Geology and Geophysics Department, University of Hawaii at Manoa, confirmed the presence of rudist fossils in video from the NOAA OER Deep Discoverer ROV Dives 4 and 16 and Andrew Lonero, Department of Geology, Utah State University, USA, provided the ICPMS trace element analysis of the metabasites from IODP Sites U1496 and U1498. We thank F. Klein, I.P. Savov and A. McCabe for helpful reviews of the manuscript, and the Captain, crew, and the ROV and science technicians on the R/V Okeanos Explorer for their help and participation on Leg 3 of the NOAA OER ?Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas Expedition,? and the Captain, crew, science technicians, and drilling crew of the D/V JOIDES Resolution for their assistance and participation during IODP Expedition 366. Support for lead scientists? participation on NOAA?s Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas was derived from the NOAA OER. IODP provided support for IODP Expedition 366 shipboard participants. Publisher Copyright: © 2020 The Authors. Published by the Royal Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/, which permits unrestricted use, provided the original author and source are credited.
Keywords: Evolution of life, Exhumed microbes, Mariana trench, Serpentinite mud volcanism, Subducted cretaceous seamounts

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 437896
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/437896
ISSN: 1364-503X
PURE UUID: 2993d2c7-0331-4624-b089-95b9317ae514

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Date deposited: 21 Feb 2020 17:31
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:28

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Contributors

Author: Patricia Fryer
Author: C. Geoffrey Wheat
Author: Trevor Williams
Author: Christopher Kelley
Author: Kevin Johnson
Author: Jeffrey Ryan
Author: Walter Kurz
Author: John Shervais
Author: Elmar Albers
Author: Barbara Bekins
Author: Baptiste Debret
Author: Jianghong Deng
Author: Yanhui Dong
Author: Philip Eickenbusch
Author: Emanuelle Frery
Author: Yuji Ichiyama
Author: Raymond Johnston
Author: Richard Kevorkian
Author: Vitor Magalhaes
Author: Simone Mantovanelli
Author: Walter Menapace
Author: Catriona Menzies
Author: Katsuyoshi Michibayashi
Author: Craig Moyer
Author: Kelli Mullane
Author: Jung-woo Park
Author: Roy Price
Author: Olivier Sissmann
Author: Shino Suzuki
Author: Ken Takai
Author: Bastien Walter
Author: Rui Zhang
Author: Diva Amon
Author: Deborah Glickson
Author: Shirley Pomponi

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