Hostname: page-component-7479d7b7d-m9pkr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-11T12:13:08.037Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Smectite Formation in Submarine Hydrothermal Sediments: Samples from the HMS Challenger Expedition (1872–1876)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Javier Cuadros ,
Vesselin M. Dekov ,
Xabier Arroyo  and
Fernando Nieto
Javier Cuadros*
Affiliation:
Department of Mineralogy, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
Vesselin M. Dekov
Affiliation:
Department of Geology and Paleontology, University of Sofia, 15 Tzar Osvoboditel Blvd., 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria
Xabier Arroyo
Affiliation:
Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología, Universidad del País Vasco, 48080 Bilbao, Spain Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología and IACT, Universidad de Granada-CSIC, 18002 Granada, Spain
Fernando Nieto
Affiliation:
Departamento de Mineralogía y Petrología and IACT, Universidad de Granada-CSIC, 18002 Granada, Spain
*
* E-mail address of corresponding author: j.cuadros@nhm.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Clay processes, mineral reactions, and element budgets in oceans continue to be important topics for scientific investigation, particularly with respect to understanding better the roles of chemistry, formation mechanism, and input from hydrothermal fluids, seawater, and non-hydrothermal mineral phases.To that end, the present study was undertaken.Thre e samples of submarine metalliferous sediments of hydrothermal origin were studied to investigate the formation of smectite, usually Fe-rich, which takes place in such environments.The samples are from the historical collection returned by the British HMS Challenger expedition (1872–1876) and kept at the Natural History Museum in London.The samples were collected from the vicinity of the Pacific–Antarctic Ridge and the Chile Ridge.The samples were analyzed by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), chemical analysis, scanning electron microscopyenergy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), infrared (IR), and transmission electron microscopyanalytical electron microscopy (TEM-AEM).After removal of biogenic calcite the samples appeared to consist mainly of two low-crystallinity phases mixed intimately: Fe/Mn (oxyhydr)oxides and a Si-Al-Mg- Fe phase of similar chemical characteristics to smectite and with variable proportions of the above elements, as indicated by XRD, IR, and SEM-EDX.In particular, analysis by XRD revealed the presence of highly disordered δ-MnO2.The TEM-AEM analysis showed that Fe/MnOOH particles have Fe/Mn ratios in the range 25–0.2 and textures changing from granular to veil-like as the proportion ofMn increased. The smectite-like material has the morphology and chemistry of smectite, as well as 10–15 Å lattice fringes. Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns indicated a very poorly crystalline material: in some cases distances between diffraction rings corresponded to d values of smectite.The smectite composition indicated a main Fe-rich dioctahedral component with a substantialMg-rich trioctahedral component (total octahedral occupancy between 2.02 and 2.51 atoms per O10[OH]2). The (proto-) smectite is interpreted to have formed within the metalliferous sediment, as a slow reaction between Fe/MnOOH, seawater (providing Mg), detrital silicates from the continent (providing Si and Al), and X-ray amorphous silica of hydrothermal origin that adsorbed on Fe/MnOOH phases and deposited with them.This material is possibly in the process of maturation into well crystallized smectite.

Keywords

HMS ChallengerMetalliferous SedimentsSmectite FormationTEM-AEM
Type
Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , April 2011 , pp. 147 - 164
Copyright
Copyright © The Clay Minerals Society 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Boström, K., 1973 The origin and fate of ferromanganoan active ridge sediments Stockholm Contributions in Geology 27 149–243.Google Scholar
Brown, G., 1980 Associated minerals Crystal Structure of Clay Minerals and Their X-ray Identification 5 361–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buatier, M.D. Guillaume, D. Wheat, C.G. Hervé, L. and Adatte, T., 2004 Mineralogical characterization and genesis of hydrothermal Mn oxides from the flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge American Mineralogist 89 1807–1815 10.2138/am-2004-11-1227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chamley, H., 1989 Metalliferous clay in deep sea Clay Sedimentology 259–290 10.1007/978-3-642-85916-8_12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cliff, G. and Lorimer, G.W., 1975 The quantitative analysis of thin specimens Journal of Microscopy 103 203–207 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1975.tb03895.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, T.G., 1983 Oxygen isotope geothermometry and origin of smectites in the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea Earth and Planetary Science Letters 66 166–176 10.1016/0012-821X(83)90134-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, T.G., 1985 Composition, oxygen isotope geochemistry and origin of smectite in the metalliferous sediments of the Bauer Deep, southeast Pacific Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 49 221–235 10.1016/0016-7037(85)90206-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, T.G., 1988 The nature and origin of smectite in the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea The Canadian Mineralogist 26 755–763.Google Scholar
Cole, T.G. and Shaw, H.F., 1983 The nature and origin of authigenic smectites in some recent marine sediments Clay Minerals 18 239–252 10.1180/claymin.1983.018.3.02.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekov, V.M. Kamenov, G.D. Stummeyer, J. Thiry, M. Savelli, C. Shanks, W C Fortin, D. Kuzmann, E. and Vertes, A., 2007 Hydrothermal nontronite formation at Eolo Seamount (Aeolian volcanic arc, Tyrrhenian Sea) Chemical Geology 245 103–119 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.08.006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekov, V.M. Cuadros, J. Shanks, W. and Koski, R.A., 2008 Deposition of talc-kerolite-smectite-smectite at seafloor hydrothermal vent fields: Evidence from mineralogical, geochemical and oxygen isotope studies Chemical Geology 247 171–194 10.1016/j.chemgeo.2007.10.022.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dekov, V.M. Cuadros, J. Kamenov, G.D. Weiss, D. Arnold, T. Basak, C. and Rochette, P., 2010 Metalliferous sediments from the H.M.S Challenger voyage (1872–1876). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 74 5019–5038 10.1016/j.gca.2010.06.001.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dymond, J. and Eklund, W., 1978 A microprobe study of metalliferous sediment components Earth and Planetary Science Letters 40 243–251 10.1016/0012-821X(78)90094-8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Froelich, P.N. Bender, M.L. and Heath, G.R., 1977 Phosphorous accumulation rates in metalliferous sediments on the East Pacific Rise Earth and Planetary Science Letters 34 351–359 10.1016/0012-821X(77)90044-9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gaboriaud, F. and Ehrhardt, J., 2003 Effects of different crystal faces on the surface charge of colloidal goethite (α-FeOOH) particles: An experimental and modeling study Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67 967–983 10.1016/S0016-7037(02)00988-2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gurvich, E.G., 2006 Metalliferous Sediments of World Ocean. Fundamental Theory of Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Sedimentation .Google Scholar
Heath, G.R. and Dymond, J., 1977 Genesis and transformation of metalliferous sediments from the East Pacific Rise, Bauer Deep, and Central Basin, northwest Nazca plate Geological Society of America Bulletin 88 723–733 10.1130/0016-7606(1977)88<723:GATOMS>2.0.CO;2.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huertas, F.J. Cuadros, J. Huertas, F. and Linares, J., 2000 Experimental study of the hydrothermal formation of smectite in the beidellite-saponite series American Journal of Science 300 504–527 10.2475/ajs.300.6.504.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huertas, F.J. Fiore, S. and Linares, J., 2004 In situ transformation of amorphous gels into spherical aggregates of kaolinite: An HRTEM study Clay Minerals 39 421–431 10.1180/0009855043940144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jürgensen, A. Widmeyer, J.R. Gordon, R. Bendell-Young, L.I. Moore, M.M. and Crozier, E.D., 2004 The structure of the manganese oxide on the sheath of the bacterium Leptothrix discophora: An XAFS study American Mineralogist 89 1110–1118 10.2138/am-2004-0724.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Köhler, B. Singer, A. and Stoffers, P., 1994 Biogenic nontronite from marine white smoker chimneys Clays and Clay Minerals 42 689–701 10.1346/CCMN.1994.0420605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonsdale, P., 1976 Abyssal circulation of the southeastern Pacific and some geological implications Journal of Geophysical Research 81 1163–1176 10.1029/JC081i006p01163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marienfeld, P. and Marchig, V., 1992 Indications of hydrothermal activity at the Chile Ridge spreading centre Marine Geology 105 241–252 10.1016/0025-3227(92)90191-J.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masuda, H., Sakai, H. and Nozaki, Y., 1995 Iron-rich smectite formation in the hydrothermal sediment of Iheya Basin, Okinawa Trough Biogeochemical Processes and Ocean Flux in the Western Pacific 509–521.Google Scholar
Mazer, J.J. Bates, J.K. Bradley, J.P. Bradley, C.R. and Stevenson, C.M., 1992 Alteration of tektites to form weathering products Nature 357 573–576 10.1038/357573a0.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McMurtry, G.M. and Yeh, H.W., 1981 Hydrothermal clay mineral formation of East Pacific rise and Bauer basin sediments Chemical Geology 32 189–205 10.1016/0009-2541(81)90143-1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, G. and Förstner, U., 1976 Primary nontronite from the Venezuelan Guyana: additional primary occurrences (Red Sea, Lake Malawi) American Mineralogist 61 500–501.Google Scholar
Murnane, R. and Clague, D.A., 1983 Nontronite from a lowtemperature hydrothermal system on the Juan de Fuca Ridge Earth and Planetary Science Letters 65 343–352 10.1016/0012-821X(83)90172-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, J. and Renard, A.F., 1891 Report on deep-sea deposits based on the specimens collected during the voyage of H.M.S. Challenger in the years 1872–1876 .Google Scholar
Newman, A.C.D. Brown, G., Newman, A.C.D., 1987 The chemical constitution of clays Chemistry of Clays and Clay Minerals 1–128.Google Scholar
Russell, J.D. Fraser, R., Wilson, M.J., 1994 Infrared methods Clay Mineralogy: Spectroscopic and Chemical Determinative Methods 11–67 10.1007/978-94-011-0727-3_2.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schwertmann, U. Friedl, J. Stanjek, H. Murad, E. and Bender Koch, C., 1998 Iron oxides and smectites in sediments from the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea European Journal of Mineralogy 10 953–967 10.1127/ejm/10/5/0953.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Setti, M. Marinoni, L. and López-Galindo, A., 2004 Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics (major, minor, trace elements and REE) of detrital and authigenic clay minerals in a Cenozoic sequence from Ross Sea, Antarctica Clay Minerals 39 405–421 10.1180/000985503540143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Severmann, S. Mills, R.A. Palmer, M.R. and Fallick, A.E., 2004 The origin of clay minerals in active and relict hydrothermal deposits Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 68 73–88 10.1016/S0016-7037(03)00235-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Singer, A. Stoffers, P. Heller-Kalai, L. and Szafranek, D., 1984 Nontronite in a deep-sea core from the South Pacific Clays and Clay Minerals 32 375–383 10.1346/CCMN.1984.0320505.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoffers, P. Lallier-Verges, E. Plüger, W. Schmitz, W. Bonnot-Courtois, C. and Hoffert, M., 1984 A “fossil” hydrothermal deposit in the South Pacific Marine Geology 62 133–151 10.1016/0025-3227(84)90058-6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stoffers, P. Worthington, T. Hekinian, R. Petersen, S. Hannington, M. Türkay, M. Ackermand, D. Borowski, C. Dankert, S. Fretzdorff, S. Haase, K. Hoppe, A. Jonasson, I. Kuhn, T. Lancaster, R. Monecke, T. Renno, A. Stecher, J. and Weiershäuser, L., 2002 Widespread silicic volcanism and hydrothermal activity on the northern Pacific-Antarctic Ridge InterRidge News 11 30–32.Google Scholar
Taitel-Goldman, N. and Singer, A., 2001 High-resolution transmission electron microscopy study of newly formed sediments in the Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea Clays and Clay Minerals 49 174–182 10.1346/CCMN.2001.0490207.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taitel-Goldman, N. and Singer, A., 2002 Metastable Si-Fe phases in hydrothermal sediments of Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea Clay Minerals 37 235–248 10.1180/0009855023720030.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taitel-Goldman, N. Singer, A. Stoffers, P., Kodama, H. Mermut, A.R. and Torrance, J.K., 1999 A new short-range ordered, Fe-Si phase in the Atlantis II Deep, Read Sea hydrothermal sediments Clays for Our Future 697–705.Google Scholar
Taylor, R.M., Newman, A.C.D., 1987 Non-silicate oxides and hydroxides Chemistry of Clays and Clay Minerals 129–201.Google Scholar
Tazaki, K. and Fyfe, WS d G ^SJ, 1989 Growth of clay minerals in natural and synthetic glasses Clays and Clay Minerals 37 348–354 10.1346/CCMN.1989.0370408.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, M. and Walsh, J.N., 2003 Handbook of Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrometry .Google Scholar
Williams, L.A. and Crerar, D., 1985 Silica diagenesis, II General mechanisms. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 55 312–321.Google Scholar
Von Damm, K.L., 1990 Seafloor hydrothermal activity: Black smoker chemistry and chimneys Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Science 18 173–204 10.1146/annurev.ea.18.050190.001133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zierenberg, R.A. and Shanks, WC I, 1983 Mineralogy and geochemistry of epigenetic features in metalliferous sediment, Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea Economic Geology 78 57–72 10.2113/gsecongeo.78.1.57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zierenberg, R.A. and Shanks, WC I, 1988 Isotopic studies of epigenetic features in metalliferous sediment, Atlantis II Deep, Red Sea The Canadian Mineralogist 26 737–753.Google Scholar