Global Hydrogen Production During High-Pressure Serpentinization of Subducting Slabs

Abstract

Serpentinization is among the most important, and ubiquitous, geological processes in crustal–upper mantle conditions (<6 GPa, <600°C), altering the rheology of rocks and producing H2 that can sustain life. While observations are available to quantify serpentinization in terrestrial and mid-ocean ridge environments, measurements within subduction zone environments are far more sparse. To overcome this difficulty, we design a methodology to quantify and offer a first-order estimate of the magnitude of “slab-serpentinization” that has occurred over the last 5 Ma within the world's subduction zones by coupling four discrete tectonic and geophysical datasets—(a) raster grids of relic abyssal peridotite (peridotite exhumed from slow spreading mid-ocean ridges but unaffected by pre-subduction serpentinization) within ocean basins, (b) slab geometry, (c) thermal profiles and a (d) plate-tectonic model. Averaged per year, our results suggest that 4.2–24 • 107 kg of H2 per annum could be generated from “slab-serpentinization” within a subduction zone. Our estimate is 3–4 orders of magnitude lower than what is thought to be produced at mid-ocean ridges, and 1–2 orders of magnitude lower than what could occur through serpentinization at trench flexure and when including possible mantle wedge serpentinization. Higher hydrogen production is correlated most strongly with the spreading history of ocean basins, underlaying the importance of the tectonic history of a slab prior to subduction.