Differential alteration of basaltic lava flows and hyaloclastites in Icelandic hydrothermal systems

Abstract

Geological field observations evidence that active and fossil Icelandic hydrothermal systems are typically embedded into an intercalation of almost completely altered and nearly unaltered volcanic rock layers. We investigated the reasons for this finding with help of geochemical reaction path calculations, by studying the mineralogical evolution of contrasting lithofacies–basalt flows and hyaloclastites at various temperatures and pressures, different recharge water composition, and gas content. From this study, we conclude that the initial porosity of protoliths and volume changes due to their transformation into secondary minerals are sufficient to explain the different extents of alteration as observed in field studies. In addition, we present a generalized kinetic model to estimate the alteration time of glassy fragments in hyaloclastite as a function of grain size, surface roughness, and temperature. This time was found to be rather short, ranging from a few hours to a few years.