A Simplified Approach to Modeling Two-phase Flow of Seawater Near a Dike

Magmatic dikes represent the fundamental unit of mass accretion and heat input into the oceanic crust. Dikes also drive hydrothermal circulation that may result in event plumes, but in any case the circulation will carry a pulse of mineral-laden hydrothermal fluids and heat to the seafloor. Two-phase flow and phase segregation are important aspects of hydrothermal circulation following dike emplacement. These processes are confined to narrow regions near the dike margins, and the duration of two-phase flow is brief. Nevertheless, sampling of hydrothermal fluids following dike emplacement has shown the early appearance of low chlorinity vapor phase fluids followed, in some cases (e.g., "F" vent at EPR 9° N), by the appearance of brines. We provide a simplified treatment of two-phase flow of seawater near a dike in an effort to quantify the thickness and duration of the two-phase zone, the amount of brine formed, and its distribution in the subsurface. We first estimate these parameters by considering simple conductive cooling of the dike. This approach shows that for a two-meter wide dike, the width of the two-phase zone is approximately 15 cm and that a zone of halite is deposited near the dike wall. After 10 days, the two-phase zone has disappeared at the base of the dike, and disappears everywhere else after about 15 days. We then use a simplified buoyancy driven convection model to quantify the degree of phase segregation and the distribution of brine. The results of this simplified model are compared with data from "F" vent. This approach provides semi-quantitative and conceptual constraints on numerical models for two-phase convection in NaCl-H₂O fluids.