Hydrothermal deposition on the East Pacific rise at 21°N
Abstract
In the spring of 1979, 350°C springs precipitating hydrothermal sulphides and sulphates directly on to the sea-floor were discovered on the crest of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) at 21°N by the astonished scientific party of the RISE submersible expedition. These hot springs are within a linear field of active and inactive hydrothermal vents extending 6 km along the rise axis. Typically the mineral deposits at EPR, 21°N consist of basal sulphide mounds surmounted by mineralized sulphide-sulphate edifices, or "chimneys", reaching heights up to 13 m above the sea floor. The mounds rest directly on fresh basalt and cover areas up to 450 m 2. Chimneys atop mounds may be active or dead. The hottest active chimneys (350°C) spew forth fluids blackened by fine-grained sulphide precipitates, dominantly hexagonal pyrrhotite and iron-rich sphalerite. These "black smokers" are distinguished from cooler "white smoker" chimneys which are encrusted by worm tubes and emit milky fluids bearing amorphous silica, barite, and pyrite.
- Publication:
-
Journal of Geochemical Exploration
- Pub Date:
- 1983
- DOI:
- 10.1016/0375-6742(83)90040-7
- Bibcode:
- 1983JCExp..19..493H