Major elements oxides and mineralogy of primary minerals in ODP Hole 195-1201D basalts

The basement cored at Site 1201 (west Philippine Basin) during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 195 consists of a 91-m-thick sequence of basalts, mostly pillow lavas and perhaps one sheet lava flow, with a few intercalations of hyaloclastite and interpillow sedimentary material. Hydrothermal alteration pervasively affected the basalt sequence, giving rise to a variety of secondary minerals such as K-Fe-Mg-clay minerals, oxyhydroxides and clay minerals mixtures, natrolite group zeolites, analcite, alkali feldspar, and carbonate. The primary minerals of pillow and sheet basalts that survived the intense hydrothermal alteration were investigated by electron microprobe with the aim of characterizing their chemical composition and variability. The primary minerals are mostly plagioclase, ranging in composition from bytownite through labradorite to andesine, chromian-magnesian-diopside, and spinels, both Ti magnetite (partially maghemitized) and chromian spinel. Overall, the chemical features of the primary minerals of Site 1201 basalts correspond to the primitive character of the bulk rocks, suggesting that the parent magma of these basalts was a mafic tholeiitic magma that most likely only suffered limited fractional crystallization and crystallized at high temperatures (slightly below 1200°C) and under increasing fO2 conditions. The major element composition of clinopyroxene suggests a backarc affinity of the mantle source of Site 1201 basement.

Mineral content, major oxides and trace elements concentrations in clay from different IODP Holes of 331-C0013, 331-C0017, East China sea shelf and different Taiwan rivers

The Okinawa Trough (OT) in the East Asian continental margin is characterized by thick terrigenous sediment and ubiquitous volcanic-hydrothermal activities. In this study, the clays collected during IODP Expedition 331 to the middle OT (Iheya North Knoll) were analyzed for mineralogical and geochemical compositions. By comparing with the clays from the East China Sea shelf and surrounding rivers, we examine different clay origins. The hydrothermal field in the mid-OT is dominated by Mg-rich chlorite, while the recharge zone has clay mineral assemblages similar to the shelf and rivers, showing high content of illite, subordinate chlorite and kaolinite and scarce smectite. Compared to the terrigenous clays, the hydrothermal clays in the OT have high concentrations of Mg, Mn and Zr but low Fe, Na, K, Ca, Ba, Sr, P, Sc and Ti, while the hydrothermal clays in the mid-ocean ridge are relatively enriched in Fe and V and depleted in Al, Mg, Zr, Sc and Ti. Different fractionation patterns of rare earth elements also register in the terrigenous and hydrothermal clays, diagnostic of variable clay origins. We infer that the OT hydrothermal clay was primarily formed by the chemical alteration of detrital sediments subject to the hydrothermal fluids. The remarkably different compositions of hydrothermal clays between the sediment-rich back arc basin like OT and the sediment-starved ocean ridge suggest different physical and chemical processes of hydrothermal fluids and fluid-rock/sediment reactions under various geologic settings.

Natural oxides, elements and remanent magnetization intensities and directions at DSDP Hole 93-603B

Dark green spherules occur in the lower part of a turbidite in Section 603B-22-3, at the 70 cm level. In all probability these spherules originally consisted of massive glass, but now appear to have become completely altered into smectite. The presence of numerous microscopic fissures in the spherules probably mediated in the alteration process. Judging by the presence of similar spherules at the Cretaceous/Tertiary (K/T) boundary in DSDP Hole 390B, the green spherules are thought to represent diagenetically altered impact ejecta from one large or several smaller extraterrestrial objects at the end of the Cretaceous. The presence of anomalously high concentrations of Ni, Co, and As higher up in the turbidite are in agreement with an expected enrichment of these elements in the K/T boundary clay. However, precise Ir analyses are necessary in order to confirm this.