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Geology; August, 2007; v. 35; no. 8; p. 679-682; DOI: 10.1130/G23797A.1
© 2007 Geological Society of America
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Dissolution of biogenic ooze over basement edifices in the equatorial Pacific with implications for hydrothermal ventilation of the oceanic crust

Barbara A. Bekins1, Arthur J. Spivack2, Earl E. Davis3 and Larry A. Mayer4

1 U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025, USA
2 University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography, Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882, USA
3 Geological Survey of Canada, Pacific Geoscience Centre, Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada
4 University of New Hampshire, Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, Durham, New Hampshire 03824, USA

Recent observations indicate that curious closed depressions in carbonate sediments overlying basement edifices are widespread in the equatorial Pacific. A possible mechanism for their creation is dissolution by fluids exiting basement vents from off-axis hydrothermal flow. Quantitative analysis based on the retrograde solubility of calcium carbonate and cooling of basement fluids during ascent provides an estimate for the dissolution capacity of the venting fluids. Comparison of the dissolution capacity and fluid flux with typical equatorial Pacific carbonate mass accumulation rates shows that this mechanism is feasible. By maintaining sediment-free basement outcrops, the process may promote widespread circulation of relatively unaltered seawater in the basement in an area where average sediment thicknesses are 300–500 m. The enhanced ventilation can explain several previously puzzling observations in this region, including anomalously low heat flux, relatively unaltered seawater in the basement, and aerobic and nitrate-reducing microbial activity at the base of the sediments.

Key Words: hydrothermal • vents • pelagic • sediments • carbonate • solubility




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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


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