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Possible contribution of a metal-rich magmatic fluid to a sea-floor hydrothermal system

Nature volume 383, pages 420–423 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

THE source of the hydrothermal fluids vented in active volcanic areas on the sea floor1–3 has been a matter of some debate4–7; they may arise purely from the interaction of circulating sea water with the hot rocks through which it passes1,3,8, or there may be an admixture of a fluid escaping from magma at depth, as is seen in subaerial geothermal systems9. The answer to this question also bears on the origin of the sulphide ores deposited by sea-floor hydrothermal systems, and their ancient analogues8,10,11 preserved on land. Here we present direct evidence for the presence of magmatic fluid in the lavas that host an actively forming massive sulphide deposit in the eastern Manus back-arc basin. We find high concentrations of chlorides and sulphides of ore-forming metals such as copper, zinc and iron in CO2-rich gaseous bubbles found both in melt inclusions trapped in the phenocrysts of the volcanic rocks, and in the matrix glass. We conclude that a metal-rich fluid was present in the magma before eruption, and probably exsolved as the pressure decreased. This finding suggests the possibility for the contribution of large quantities of ore-forming metals to a sea-floor hydrothermal system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Scotiabank Marine Geology Research Laboratory, Department of Geology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, M5S 3B1

    Kaihui Yang & Steven D. Scott

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  1. Kaihui Yang
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  2. Steven D. Scott
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Yang, K., Scott, S. Possible contribution of a metal-rich magmatic fluid to a sea-floor hydrothermal system. Nature 383, 420–423 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1038/383420a0

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