Mineralogical and geochemical features of sulfide chimneys from the 49°39′E hydrothermal field on the Southwest Indian Ridge and their geological inferences  

作　　者：TAO ChunHui LI HuaiMing HUANG Wei HAN XiQiu WU GuangHai SU Xin ZHOU Ning LIN Jian HE YongHua ZHOU JianPing 

机构地区：[1]Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Hangzhou 310012, China [2]Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, China [3]China University ofGeosciences (Beijing), Beijing 100083, China [4]China Ocean Mineral Resources Research and DevelopmentAssociation, Beijing 100860, China [5]Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA

出　　处：《Chinese Science Bulletin》2011年第26期2828-2838,共11页

基　　金：supported by the China Ocean Min-eral Resources Research and Development Association Program (DY115- 02-1-01);the State Oceanic Administration Youth Science Fund (2010318)

摘　　要：During January–May in 2007,the Chinese research cruise DY115-19 discovered an active hydrothermal field at 49°39′E/37°47′S on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR).This was also the first active hydrothermal field found along an ultraslow-spreading ridge.We analyzed mineralogical,textural and geochemical compositions of the sulfide chimneys obtained from the 49°39′E field.Chimney samples show a concentric mineral zone around the fluid channel.The mineral assemblages of the interiors consist mainly of chalcopyrite,with pyrite and sphalerite as minor constitunets.In the intermediate portion,pyrite becomes the dominant mineral,with chalcopyrite and sphalerite as minor constitunets.For the outer wall,the majority of minerals are pyrite and sphalerite,with few chalcopyrite.Towards the outer margin of the chimney wall,the mineral grains become small and irregular in shape gradually,while minerals within interstices are abundant.These features are similar to those chimney edifices found on the East Pacific Rise and Mid-Atlantic Ridge.The average contents of Cu,Fe and Zn in our chimney samples were 2.83 wt%,45.6 wt% and 3.28 wt%,respectively.The average Au and Ag contents were up to 2.0 ppm and 70.2 ppm respectively,higher than the massive sulfides from most hydrothermal fields along mid-ocean ridge.The rare earth elements geochemistry of the sulfide chimneys show a pattern distinctive from the sulfides recovered from typical hydrothermal fields along sedimentstarved mid-ocean ridge,with the enrichment of light rare earth elements but the weak,mostly negative,Eu anomaly.This is attributed to the distinct mineralization environment or fluid compositions in this area.During January-May in 2007, the Chinese research cruise DY115-19 discovered an active hydrothermal field at 49°39′E/37°47′S on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge （SWIR）. This was also the first active hydrothermal field found along an ultraslow-spreading ridge. We analyzed mineralogical, textural and geochemical compositions of the sulfide chimneys obtained from the 49°39′E field. Chimney samples show a concentric mineral zone around the fluid channel. The mineral assemblages of the interiors consist mainly of chalcopyrite, with pyrite and sphalerite as minor constitunets. In the intermediate portion, pyrite becomes the dominant mineral, with chalcopyrite and sphalerite as minor constitunets. For the outer wall, the majority of minerals are pyrite and sphalerite, with few chalcopyrite. Towards the outer margin of the chimney wall, the mineral grains become small and irregular in shape gradually, while minerals within interstices are abundant. These features are similar to those chimney edirices found on the East Pacific Rise and Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The average contents of Cu, Fe and Zn in our chimney samples were 2.83 wt%, 45.6 wt% and 3.28 wt%, respectively. The average Au and Ag contents were up to 2.0 ppm and 70.2 ppm respectively, higher than the massive sulfides from most hydrothermal fields along mid-ocean ridge. The rare earth elements geochemistry of the sulfide chimneys show a pattern distinctive from the sulfides recovered from typical hydrothermal fields along sedimentstarved mid-ocean ridge, with the enrichment of light rare earth elements but the weak, mostly negative, Eu anomaly. This is attributed to the distinct mineralization environment or fluid compositions in this area.

关 键 词：块状硫化物 地球化学特征 南印度洋 热液场 矿物学 烟囱 大西洋中脊 稀土元素地球化学 

分 类 号：P574.2[天文地球—矿物学]