Petrology and isotope characteristics of basalts from ODP Hole 111-504B

Petrography and isotope geochemical characteristics of H, O, S, Sr, and Nd have been described for basalts recovered from Hole 504B during Leg 111 of the Ocean Drilling Program. The petrographic and chemical features of the recovered basalts are similar to those obtained previously (DSDP Legs 69, 70, and 83); they can be divided into phyric (plagioclase-rich) and aphyric (Plagioclase- and clinopyroxene-rich) basalts and show low abundances of TiO2, Na2O, K2O, and Sr. This indicates that the basalts belong to Group D, comprising the majority of the upper section of the Hole 504B. The diopside-rich nature of the clinopyroxene phenocrysts and Ca-rich nature of the Plagioclase phenocrysts are also consistent with the preceding statement. The Sr and Nd isotope systematics (average 87Sr/86Sr = 0.70267 ± 0.00007 and average 143Nd/144Nd = 0.513157 ± 0.000041) indicate that the magma sources are isotopically heterogeneous, although the analyzed samples represent only the lowermost 200-m section of Hole 504B. The rocks were subjected to moderate hydrothermal alteration throughout the section recovered during Leg 111. Alteration is limited to interstices, microfractures, and grain boundaries of the primary minerals, forming chlorite, actinolite, talc, smectite, quartz, sphene, and pyrite. In harmony with the moderate alteration, the following alteration-sensitive parameters show rather limited ranges of variation: H2O = 1.1 ±0.2 wt%, dD = - 38 per mil ± 4 per mil, d180 = 5.4 per mil ± 0.3 per mil, total S = 562 ± 181 ppm, and d34S = 0.8 per mil ± 0.3 per mil. Based on these data, it was estimated that the hydrothermal fluids had dD and d180 values only slightly higher than those of seawater, the water/rock ratios were as low as 0.02-0.2, and the temperature of alteration was 300°-400°C. Sulfur exists predominantly as pyrite and in minor quantities as chalcopyrite. No primary monosulfide was detected. This and the d34S values of pyrite (d34S = 0.8 per mil) suggest that primary pyrrhotite was almost completely oxidized to pyrite by reaction with hydrothermal fluids containing very little sulfate.

Chemical composition of East Pacific Rise basal sediments

Analyses by atomic absorption spectrophotometry and spark-source mass spectrography of 25 basal metalliferous sediment units from widely spaced locations on the western flank of the East Pacific Rise show that the deposits are enriched relative to normal pelagic sediment in Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu, Pb, Zn, and many trace elements. The elements are partitioned differently between the various mineralogic constituents of the sediment, with Fe and Mn largely in separate phases and many of the remaining elements primarily associated with reducible ferromanganese oxide minerals but also with iron minerals and other phases. Most of the iron in the deposits is probably of volcanic origin, and much of the manganese and minor elements is derived from sea water. The bulk composition of the deposits varies with age; this is thought to be due to variations in the incidence of volcanic activity at the East Pacific Rise crest where the deposits were formed.

Chemical and mineral compositions of basalts and volcanic glasses from DSDP Sites 65-483 and 65-485

Major and rare earth element (REE) data for basalts from Holes 483, 483B, and 485A of DSDP Leg 65, East Pacific Rise, mouth of the Gulf of California, support a simple fractional crystallization model for the genesis of rocks from this suite. The petrography and mineral chemistry (presented in detail elsewhere) provide no evidence for magma mixing, but rather a simple multistage cooling process. Based on its lowest TiO2 content (0.88%), FeO*/MgO ratio (0.95 with total Fe as FeO), and Mg# (100 Mg/Mg + Fe" = 70), sample 483-17-2-(78-83) has been selected as the most primitive primary magma of the samples analyzed. This is supported by the REE data which show this sample has the lowest total REE content, a La/Sm_cn (chondrite-normalized) = 0.36, and Eu/Sm_cn = 1.05. Because other samples analyzed have higher SiO2, lower Mg#, and a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Sm_cn as low as 0.89), they are most likely derivative magmas. Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling support fractional crystallization of 14.1% plagioclase (An88), 6.7% olivine (Fo86), and 4.7% clinopyroxene (Wo41En49Fs10) from 483-17-2-(78-83) to form the least differentiated sample with Mg# = 63. The La/Sm_cn of this derivative magma is almost identical to the parent magma (0.35 to 0.36), but the other samples have higher La/Sm_cn (0.45 to 0.51), more total REE, and lower Mg# (60 to 56). Both Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling indicate that the primary magma chosen cannot produce these more evolved samples. For the major elements, the TiO2 and P2O5 are too low in the calculated versus the observed (1.38 to 1.90; 0.11 to 0.17, respectively, for example). Rayleigh fractionation calculates a lower La/Sm_cn and requires about 60% crystal removal versus 40% for the Wright-Doherty. These more evolved samples must be derived from a parent magma different from the one selected here and, unfortunately, not sampled in this study. A magma formed by a smaller degree of partial melting with slightly more residual clinopyroxene left in the mantle than for sample 483-17-2-(78-83) is required.