Fluid inclusion petrography and microthermometry of the Cocos Ridge hydrothermal system, IODP Expedition 344 (CRISP 2), Site U1414

Abstract:

We present new data from microthermometric analyses of fluid inclusions entrapped in hydrothermal veins within lithified sediments and Cocos Ridge (CCR) basalt from IODP Expedition 344 site U1414 (Costa Rica) and concern on a primary task of Expedition 344, i.e. to evaluate fluid/rock interaction, the hydrologic system, and the geochemical processes (indicated by composition and volume of fluids) active within the incoming Cocos Plate. Mineralization of the veins and crosscutting relationships gives constraints for the different generation of veins. Calcium carbonate, commonly aragonite in the upper part and calcite in the lower part of the igneous basement, is usually present in veins as a late phase following the quartz precipitation and the clay minerals formation. The sequence of vein generations in the lithified sediments close to the contact within the CCR basalt is characterized by smaller veins filled by quartz, followed by massive intersecting calcite veins. A high fluid pressure can be concluded, due to wall rock fragments embedded within the filling and fractured mineral grains in the ground mass, which are close to the veins. This requires that the magmatic basement and the lithified sediments were covered by sequences of low permeability sediments forming a barrier that enabled build up elevated fluid pressure. The investigation of fluid inclusions in the lowest units of borehole 344-U1414, give clues about the source of the fluids and about the vein evolution within the incoming Cocos Plate close to Middle American Trench. The microthermometric analyses of the primary, almost aqueous, inclusions indicate a temperature range during entrapment between 200 and 420°C. The data indicate that seawater within the Cocos Ridge aquifer communicated with high-temperature fluids and/or were modified by heat advection. We consider the Galapagos hotspot and/ or the Cocos-Nazca spreading center as heat source. Fluids originated from mobilized sediment pore water and invaded seawater. Isotope and heat flow data indicate a deep fluid source within the Cocos Plate oceanic crust too.