Mineralogical and Fluid Inclusion Studies on Seafloor Hydrothermal Vents at TA25 Caldera, Tonga Arc

Abstract:

 The extensive hydrothermal vent field was discovered at TA25("V18s-HR" in the SO-167 cruise) caldera in the Tonga arc, southwest Pacific. The TA25 caldera is a submarine volcano of dacitic composition and hosts the NE- and NW-trending hydrothermal vent on the western caldera wall. These active hydrothermal crusters are mostly small (chimney: <0.5m in tall; sulfide mound: <3m in diameter) and immature, and emit the transparent fluids of which temperature range from 150℃ to 242℃ (average = 203℃). The hydrothermal sulfide ores, recovered by ROV and/or TV-grab, are mainly composed of sphalerite, pyrite, marcasite, galena, chalcopyrite, covellite, tennantite, enargite and sulfates such as barite, gypsum/anhydrite. It is observed that three distinct mineralogical zonation from exterior to interior of the chimneys: (1) barite-gypsum/anhydrite-pyrite-sphalerite; (2) sphalerite-pyrite-galena±chalcopyrite; (3) sphaleirte-pyrite-chalcopyrite-enargite-tennantite±galena±covellite. FeS content in sphalerite increases from chimney exterior to interior. Chalcopyrite is more abundant in the mound than in the chimney, implying fluid temperatures in mound are greater than in the chimney. The enargite assemblage (pyrite-chalcopyrite-enargite-tennantite) is indicative of high-sulfidation epithermal deposits. Fluid inclusions on barite crystals from mound samples show mono-type inclusion (two-phase liquid-rich inclusions) which is less than 20㎛ in diameter. Homogenization temperatures and salinities from fluid inclusion study range from 148℃ to 341℃ (average = 213℃) and 0.4 to 3.6 equiv. wt.% NaCl, respectively. The main mineralization temperature in mound might be greater than 200℃ since barite on fluid inclusion is early stage mineral.