Deep high-temperature hydrothermal circulation in a detachment faulting system on the ultra-slow spreading ridge.

Coupled magmatic and tectonic activity plays an important role in high-temperature hydrothermal circulation at mid-ocean ridges. The circulation patterns for such systems have been elucidated by microearthquakes and geochemical data over a broad spectrum of spreading rates, but such data have not been generally available for ultra-slow spreading ridges. Here we report new geophysical and fluid geochemical data for high-temperature active hydrothermal venting at Dragon Horn area (49.7°E) on the Southwest Indian Ridge. Twin detachment faults penetrating to the depth of 13 ± 2 km below the seafloor were identified based on the microearthquakes. The geochemical composition of the hydrothermal fluids suggests a long reaction path involving both mafic and ultramafic lithologies. Combined with numerical simulations, our results demonstrate that these hydrothermal fluids could circulate ~ 6 km deeper than the Moho boundary and to much greater depths than those at Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse and Logachev-1 hydrothermal fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Dike injection and the formation of megaplumes at ocean ridges.

A simple hydrologic model of seawater circulation at ocean ridge axes implies that the transient occurrence of large volumes of buoyant, heated water in the oceanic water column (megaplumes) can be attributed to the emplacement of dikes in oceanic crust. For dikes to generate megaplume flow, the permeability of both the recharge areas and the upflow zone must be greater than that required for ordinary black smokers. An increase in permeability in the upflow zone by several orders of magnitude results from dike emplacement, and megaplume discharge ceases as the dike cools. Vigorous black smoker venting may not persist very long at a megaplume site after the event occurs.

Silica precipitation in fractures and the evolution of permeability in hydrothermal upflow zones.

Analytical models are used to compare the rates at which an isolated fracture and vertical, parallel fracture sets in hydrothermal upflow zones can be closed by silica precipitation and thermoelastic stress. Thermoelastic sealing is an order of magnitude faster than sealing by silica precipitation. In vertical fracture sets, both the amount of silica precipitation resulting from cooling and the total thermal expansion of the country rock may be insufficient to seal cracks at depth. These crack systems may ultimately close because the pressure dependence of silica solubility maintains precipitation during upflow even after the temperature gradient vanishes.

Percolation Theory, Thermoelasticity, and Discrete Hydrothermal Venting in the Earth's Crust.

As hydrothermal fluid ascends through a network of cracks into cooler crust, heat is transferred from the fluid to the adjacent rock. The thermal stresses caused by this heating close cracks that are more or less vertical. This heating may affect network connections and destroy the permeable crack network. Thermoelastic stresses caused by a temperature difference of approximately 1000 degrees C can decrease the interconnectivity of a crack network to the percolation threshold. If the temperature is slightly less, thermoelastic stresses may focus the discharge in hydrothermal systems into discrete vents.