Fully carbonated peridotite (listvenite) from the Samail ophiolite, Oman

Extensive outcrops of listvenite--fully carbonated peridotite, with all Mg in carbonate minerals and all Si in quartz--occur along the basal thrust of the Samail Ophiolite in Oman. The presence of these listvenites demonstrates that peridotite carbonation reactions can proceed to completion on a large scale under natural conditions. Thus, understanding the conditions of listvenite formation can provide insights into the feasibility of achieving complete carbonation of peridotite through engineered approaches for carbon capture and storage. The Oman listvenites likely formed during emplacement of the ophiolite, as CO2-bearing fluids derived from underlying metasediments reacted with peridotite in the hanging wall. Listvenite outcrops occur within 500 meters of the basal thrust, where peridotite overlies carbonate-bearing metasediments. 87Sr/86Sr values in listvenite are higher than seawater values and consistent with values in these underlying metasediments. Carbon and oxygen stable isotope data are also consistent with values in some of the metasediments. An internal Rb-Sr isochron from one listvenite sample yields an age of 97 × 29 Ma, consistent with the timing of emplacement of the ophiolite. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry in listvenites yields temperatures around 100°C, and thermodynamically stable coexistence of antigorite, talc, and quartz in serpentinite along the margins of the listvenite would require reaction temperatures around 80°C, as calculated in THERMOCALC. While constraints on the pressure of listvenite formation are lacking, these moderate temperatures suggest that listvenites probably formed at relatively shallow depths, making release of carbonate-saturated pore-water due to compaction of subducted sediment or low-pressure phase transitions of hydrous minerals more probable sources of the CO2-bearing fluid than deeper metamorphic reactions without significant transport of fluids along the slab interface. Through EQ3/6 geochemical reaction path models of these processes over a range of pressures, temperatures, and water-rock ratios we explore the conditions under which listvenite could have formed.