Serpentine alteration as source of high dissolved silicon and elevated δSi values to the marine Si cycle.

Serpentine alteration is recognized as an important process for element cycling, however, related silicon fluxes are unknown. Pore fluids from serpentinite seamounts sampled in the Mariana forearc region during IODP Expedition 366 were investigated for their Si, B, and Sr isotope signatures (δSi, δB, and Sr/Sr, respectively) to study serpentinization in the mantle wedge and shallow serpentine alteration to authigenic clays by seawater. While serpentinization in the mantle wedge caused no significant Si isotope fractionation, implying closed system conditions, serpentine alteration by seawater led to the formation of authigenic phyllosilicates, causing the highest natural fluid δSi values measured to date (up to +5.

Mariana serpentinite mud volcanism exhumes subducted seamount materials: implications for the origin of life.

The subduction of seamounts and ridge features at convergent plate boundaries plays an important role in the deformation of the overriding plate and influences geochemical cycling and associated biological processes. Active serpentinization of forearc mantle and serpentinite mud volcanism on the Mariana forearc (between the trench and active volcanic arc) provides windows on subduction processes.  Here, we present (1) the first observation of an extensive exposure of an undeformed Cretaceous seamount currently being subducted at the Mariana Trench inner slope; (2) vertical deformation of the forearc region related to subduction of Pacific Plate seamounts and thickened crust; (3) recovered Ocean Drilling Program and International Ocean Discovery Program cores of serpentinite mudflows that confirm exhumation of various Pacific Plate lithologies, including subducted reef limestone; (4) petrologic, geochemical and paleontological data from the cores that show that Pacific Plate seamount exhumation covers greater spatial and temporal extents; (5) the inference that microbial communities associated with serpentinite mud volcanism may also be exhumed from the subducted plate seafloor and/or seamounts; and (6) the implications for effects of these processes with regard to evolution of life.

Origin of Short-Chain Organic Acids in Serpentinite Mud Volcanoes of the Mariana Convergent Margin.

Serpentinitic systems are potential habitats for microbial life due to frequently high concentrations of microbial energy substrates, such as hydrogen (H), methane (CH), and short-chain organic acids (SCOAs). Yet, many serpentinitic systems are also physiologically challenging environments due to highly alkaline conditions (pH > 10) and elevated temperatures (>80°C). To elucidate the possibility of microbial life in deep serpentinitic crustal environments, International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 366 drilled into the Yinazao, Fantangisña, and Asùt Tesoru serpentinite mud volcanoes on the Mariana Forearc.

Extreme hydrothermal conditions at an active plate-bounding fault.

Temperature and fluid pressure conditions control rock deformation and mineralization on geological faults, and hence the distribution of earthquakes. Typical intraplate continental crust has hydrostatic fluid pressure and a near-surface thermal gradient of 31 ± 15 degrees Celsius per kilometre. At temperatures above 300-450 degrees Celsius, usually found at depths greater than 10-15 kilometres, the intra-crystalline plasticity of quartz and feldspar relieves stress by aseismic creep and earthquakes are infrequent.