Trace element and Sr-isotopic contents of hydrothermal clays and sulfides from the Snake Pit hydrothermal field: ODP Site 649

Abstract

Several meters of unconsolidated hydrothermal sediment were recovered from the Snake Pit hydrothermal field during ODP Leg 106. Polymetallic sulfides comprise most of the sediment with minor fragments of massive sulfide organic debris, clay minerals, and fresh glass shards. Trace element and Sr-isotopic contents of hydrothermal clays and sulfides from Holes 649B and 649G indicate that these minerals precipitated from a mixed hydrothermal fluid-seawater solution. Evaluation of the REE mineral data and the Snake Pit hydrothermal fluids indicates that hydrothermal fluids originating in the root-zone of the Snake Pit hydrothermal system may be modified by the precipitation of hydrothermal minerals, either in the shallow subsurface or within chimney structures. -from Authors