Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Recent Advances in Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Microbiology

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Global warming and sustainable technological development are in governments’ agendas as challenges for the coming years in terms of climate resilience and energy transition. Seabed minerals, under the jurisdiction of coastal states and in international waters, may provide an alternative sustainable resource to land-based mineral deposits supporting climate actions and growth strategies. In recent years, the research and exploration of marine minerals have increased exponentially due to the mounting demand for strategic and critical metals in the so-called high-tech and new green economy, including batteries, electric automobiles, mobiles, laptops or renewable energy. These current and expected future demands present a pressing challenge in international research, technological innovation, environmental management and protection, marine spatial planning and social license. Currently, little is still known about our oceans, which cover more than 70% of the planet’s surface. Yet, only a small part of this knowledge refers to seabed hydrothermal systems, discovered in the 1970s. Hydrothermal systems are mostly located along mid-ocean ridges, but also in arc and back-arc areas and are associated with hotspot volcanoes. They encompass a wide diversity of environments (shallow and deep seated, high and low temperature, ultramafic to felsic or sediment hosted) and resource styles (SMS, SEDEX). Seafloor hydrothermal systems are potentially promising new frontiers for the research and exploration of minerals, typically exhibiting a polymetallic mineralization that includes strategic and critical metals such as copper, zinc, indium, bismuth, tellurium, gallium and germanium. They are also a hotspot for unique biological activity and microbial organisms (free living and in symbiosis with larger fauna) that occupy an important position in the biomineralization and bioaccumulation of these minerals. Those microbe–rock interactions as well as the overall microbial landscape impact on specific element budgets (e.g., sulfur, iron, carbon) and the extent of mineral weathering. Furthermore, hydrothermal systems are of great interest due to their resemblance to early life conditions. This topic has a multidisciplinary approach and invites contributions that deal with research on submarine hydrothermal systems, including geological and biological studies in distinct tectonic settings with hydrothermal activity, from shallow waters to the deep sea. We welcome contributions describing seafloor and subseafloor exploration techniques and cutting-edge technologies for the characterization and mapping of mineral hydrothermal deposits around the world, including contributions to exploration and protection issues within hydrothermal systems in national or international programs and organizations, such as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) or InterRidge. We are inviting contributions on high-resolution imaging and new techniques to explore and characterize the mineralogy and geochemistry of strategic and critical metals, like energy-critical elements concentrated in marine hydrothermal deposits. Contributions on genetic/evolutionary models of mineral deposits, their forming fluids and associated extremophile ecosystems are also welcome. In the same way, we invite contributions on the role of microorganisms in shaping these ecosystems, including the precipitation, biomineralization, bioaccumulation and formation of (new) submarine minerals. We look forward to hearing from you.

Dr. Francisco J. González
Dr. A. Filipa A. Marques
Dr. Blanca Rincón-Tomás
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Minerals minerals	2.2	4.1	2011	18 Days	CHF 2400
Geosciences geosciences	2.4	5.3	2011	26.2 Days	CHF 1800
Microorganisms microorganisms	4.1	7.4	2013	13.4 Days	CHF 2700
Mining mining	-	2.8	2021	19.6 Days	CHF 1000
Oceans oceans	1.5	3.1	2020	32.2 Days	CHF 1600

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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All Minerals Geosciences Microorganisms Mining Oceans

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33 pages, 25776 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Mass-Transfer and Fluid Flow along Extensional Detachment Faults in Hyperextended Rift Systems: The Examples of Tasna in the Alps, Mauléon in the Pyrenees, and Hobby High Offshore Iberia

by Victor Hugo Guimarães Pinto, Gianreto Manatschal, Anne Marie Karpoff, Emmanuel Masini, Rodolfo Araújo Victor, Adriano Roessler Viana and Marc Ulrich

Geosciences 2023, 13(12), 374; https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences13120374 - 8 Dec 2023

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Abstract

Hyperextended rift systems are characterized by extreme crustal thinning and mantle exhumation associated with extensional detachment faults. These faults cut through thinned continental crust, reaching the underlying mantle and allowing for seawater to infiltrate and react with the crustal and mantle rocks. Hydrothermal [...] Read more.

Hyperextended rift systems are characterized by extreme crustal thinning and mantle exhumation associated with extensional detachment faults. These faults cut through thinned continental crust, reaching the underlying mantle and allowing for seawater to infiltrate and react with the crustal and mantle rocks. Hydrothermal fluid systems linked to detachment faults result in fluid–rock reactions occurring along the detachments, resulting in the breakdown and alteration of minerals, loss of elements and strain weakening in both mantle and crustal rocks. We present new geological observations and geochemical data from the modern Iberia and fossil Alpine Tethys Ocean Continent Transition and the West Pyrenean Mauléon hyperextended rift basin. We show evidence for a km-scale fluid flow along detachment faults and discuss the conditions under which fluid flow and mass transfer occurred. Convective fluid systems are of major importance for mass transfer between the mantle, crustal and marine reservoirs. We identified gains in Si, Mg, Fe, Mn, Ca, Ni, Cr and V along extensional detachment faults that we relate to channelized, hydrothermal crust- and mantle-reacted fluid systems migrating along detachments in the hyperextended continental crust. The observation that fault rocks of extensional detachment and syn-extensional sedimentary rocks are enriched in mantle-derived elements such as Cr, Ni and V enables us to define the pathways of fluids, as well as to estimate their age relative to detachment faulting and sedimentation. Because all three examples show a similar mass transport of elements along detachment systems at km-scale, we conclude that these examples are linked to convective fluid systems that may affect the thermal state of the lithosphere, as well as the rheology and chemistry of rocks in hyperextended systems, and may have implications for ore mineral exploration in hyperextended rift systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Recent Advances in Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Microbiology)

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18 pages, 7079 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Geochemical Characteristics of Iron in a Sediment Core at 63°40′ E, Eastern Southwest Indian Ridge: Implications on Regional Hydrothermal Activities and Source Origin

by P. Linsy, L. Surya Prakash, Parijat Roy, Muhammad Shuhail and P. John Kurian

Minerals 2023, 13(2), 209; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13020209 - 31 Jan 2023

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Abstract

Iron is a limiting nutrient in the marine biogeochemical cycle, and hydrothermal processes at mid-ocean ridges are well-known as one of its sources to the water column. However, a major portion of the hydrothermal iron is precipitated near the source and plays an [...] Read more.

Iron is a limiting nutrient in the marine biogeochemical cycle, and hydrothermal processes at mid-ocean ridges are well-known as one of its sources to the water column. However, a major portion of the hydrothermal iron is precipitated near the source and plays an essential role in oceanic elemental cycling. Here, we carried out a detailed study on the geochemical characteristics of Fe, using a sequential chemical extraction protocol, in a short sediment core collected from the eastern Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR) to understand the iron association in individual mineral phases. Major and trace and rare-earth element concentrations, positive europium anomaly, and rare-earth fractionation show that the source components in the sediment core are composed of biogenic, local mafic, ultramafic, and hydrothermal origin. Solid-phase Fe speciation results indicate that >60% of Fe is associated with the Fe-oxides phase and indicate the hydrothermal plume particulates settled from the water column. A relatively low concentration of Fe associated with the pyrite and silicate (Fe_Res) phase suggests an erosion of sulphide and silicate minerals from the nearby vent field. The down-core variation reflects the transformation of primary ferrihydrite to more stable oxide mineral goethite/hematite and, to some extent, the formation of silicate minerals. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Recent Advances in Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Microbiology)

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14 pages, 3618 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Basalt from the Extinct Spreading Center in the West Philippine Basin: New Geochemical Results and Their Petrologic and Tectonic Implications

by Zhengxin Yin, Weiping Wang, Liang Chen, Zhengyuan Li, Qiang Liu and Anyuan Xie

Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1277; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11111277 - 18 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3180

Abstract

We present geological, bulk-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data for mafic rocks from the West Philippine Basin (WPB). These mafic rocks comprise pillow basalts characterized by a vesicular structure. The mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-normalized trace element patterns of basalts from the study area [...] Read more.

We present geological, bulk-rock geochemical and Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic data for mafic rocks from the West Philippine Basin (WPB). These mafic rocks comprise pillow basalts characterized by a vesicular structure. The mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB)-normalized trace element patterns of basalts from the study area display depletions in Nb. In addition, the chondrite-normalized lanthanide patterns of basalts from the WPB are characterized by significant depletions in the light lanthanides and nearly flat Eu to Lu segments. The investigated rocks have initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr(i)) of 0.703339–0.703455 and high ε_Nd(t) values (8.0 to 8.7). Furthermore, basalts from the WPB have ¹⁷⁶Hf/¹⁷⁷Hf ratios that range from 0.28318 to 0.28321 and high ε_Hf(t) from 15.2 to 16.3. Semi-quantitative modeling demonstrates that the parental melts of basalts from the study area were derived by ~20% adiabatic decompression melting of a rising spinel-bearing peridotite source. The Sr–Nd–Hf isotopic compositions of basalts from the WPB indicate that their parental magmas were derived from an upper mantle reservoir possessing the so-called Indian-type isotopic anomaly. Interpretation of the isotopic data suggests that the inferred mantle source was most likely influenced by minor inputs of a sediment melt derived from a downgoing lithospheric slab. Collectively, the petrographic and geochemical characteristics of basalts from the study area are analogous to those of mafic rocks with a back-arc basin (BAB)-like affinity. As such, the petrogenesis of basalts from the WPB can be linked to upwelling of an Indian-type mantle source due to lithospheric slab subduction that was followed by back-arc spreading. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Recent Advances in Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Microbiology)

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36 pages, 9819 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Mineralogy, Fluid Inclusions, and Isotopic Study of the Kargah Cu-Pb Polymetallic Vein-Type Deposit, Kohistan Island Arc, Northern Pakistan: Implication for Ore Genesis

by Zahid Hussain, Chunhui Tao, Chun-Feng Li, Shili Liao, Masroor Alam, Muhammad Farhan, Huichao Zhang and Amjad Hussain

Minerals 2021, 11(11), 1266; https://doi.org/10.3390/min11111266 - 14 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4085

Abstract

The Kargah Cu-Pb polymetallic deposit is a newly discovered ore deposit from the Gilgit-Baltistan region, located in the Kohistan Island Arc, northern Pakistan. However, this area is poorly researched on the ore genesis, and its origin and the evolution of its magmatic-hydrothermal system [...] Read more.

The Kargah Cu-Pb polymetallic deposit is a newly discovered ore deposit from the Gilgit-Baltistan region, located in the Kohistan Island Arc, northern Pakistan. However, this area is poorly researched on the ore genesis, and its origin and the evolution of its magmatic-hydrothermal system remain unclear. Three stages of mineralization were identified, including quartz-pyrite, quartz-sulfide, and carbonate representing early, middle, and late stages, respectively. The major ore minerals are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, and zincian tetrahedrite with minor native silver, and native gold mainly distributed in pyrite. Here, we present a systematic study on ore geology, hydrothermal alterations, trace element composition of pyrite, fluid inclusions, and isotopes (S and Pb) characteristics to gain insights into the nature of the ore-forming fluids, types of unknown deposits, and hydrothermal fluid evolution. The high Co/Ni ratio (1.3–16.4) and Co content (average 1201 ppm), the low Mo/Ni ratio (0.43–0.94) and Mo contents (average 108 ppm) of both Py-I and Py-II suggest a mafic source for the mineralization. The Au-Ni plots, Co-As-Ni correlation, and the δ³⁴S values range from −2.8 to 6.4‰ (average of 3.4‰) indicating the affiliation of the mineralization with a mantle-derived magmatic-hydrothermal provenance. The Pb isotope data showing the narrow variations in ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb values suggest a single lead source from crustal-derived materials. The microthermometry data suggest that the dominant mechanisms are fluid boiling and mixing for mineral precipitation at temperatures ranging between 155 and 555 °C, and represent an intrusion-related magmatic-hydrothermal environment for the Kargah Cu-Pb polymetallic deposit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Seafloor Hydrothermal Systems: Recent Advances in Mineralogy, Geochemistry and Microbiology)

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