Numerical Modeling of Hydrothermal Circulation at the Longqi-1 Field: Southwest Indian Ridge

The Longqi-1(Dragon Flag) hydrothermal field is the first high-temperature hydrothermal system observed on the ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge. Hydrothermal vents with temperatures near 380 °C are localized by detachment faulting within which extensional deformation likely increases permeability to provide preferred pathways for hydrothermal discharge. To better understand the Longqi-1 circulation system, we construct a 2-D numerical simulations in a NaCl- H2O fluid constrained by key observational data, such as vent temperature and heat output, crust structure derived from seismic data, and fault zone geometry deduced from seismicity. Heat output from AUV surveys is estimated to be » 300 ± 100 MW, and this value, in conjunction with vent temperature was used with the single-pass modeling approach to obtain an average permeability of 10-13 m-2 within the fault zone. In analogy with other fault-controlled hydrothermal systems such as Logatchev-1 we assume a lower background permeability of 10-14 m-2. The top boundary of the system is permeable and maintained at constant seafloor pressure, which is divided into two parts by the detachment fault. The pressure of the southern part is lower than the northern part to simulate the effect of the seafloor topography. The top boundary is upstream weighted to allow high temperature fluid to exit, while recharging fluid is maintained at 10°C. The bottom boundary is impermeable and is given a fixed temperature distribution at a depth of 7 km below the seafloor. The highest value Tmax is maintained over a distance given lateral distance and decreases linearly towards two ends to 300 °C. The salinity is set to 3.2 wt. % NaCl, and the simulations are assumed to be single phase. The results show that with a 7 km deep circulation system, Tmax = 550 oC gives a reasonable temperature and heat output of venting plume.We infer that the observed high salinity results from serpentinization reactions. Assuming all salinity in excess of seawater comes from uptake of H2O during serpentinization, we can estimate the rate of reaction and heat release of serpentinezation based on a simplified reaction equation, observed heat output and salinity data. The estimated rate of heat release during serpentinization is 20 MW. This is approximately 10% of the heat output of Dragon Flag vent field.