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G-Cubed: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems

 

Keywords

  • Carlsberg Ridge
  • helium
  • hydrothermal plume
  • optical anomaly

Index Terms

  • Geochemistry: Mid-oceanic ridge processes (3614, 8416)
  • Geochemistry: Hydrothermal systems (0450, 3017, 3616, 4832, 8135, 8424)
  • Marine Geology and Geophysics: Seafloor morphology, geology, and geophysics
Abstract
Cited By (0)
 

Abstract

GEOCHEMISTRY GEOPHYSICS GEOSYSTEMS, VOL. 13, Q01009, 15 PP., 2012
doi:10.1029/2011GC003888

Hydrothermal plumes over the Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean

Key Points
  • Exploration for hydrothermal plumes over slow spreading Carlsberg Ridge
  • We report evidence for two vent fields on a segment that is sparsely magmatic
  • Fluid-rock interaction similar to Rainbow/Logatchev fields is inferred

Durbar Ray

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

K. A. Kamesh Raju

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

Edward T. Baker

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA

A. Srinivas Rao

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

Abhay V. Mudholkar

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

John E. Lupton

Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, NOAA, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA

L. Surya Prakash

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

Rekha B. Gawas

National Institute of Oceanography, CSIR, 403004 Goa, India

T. Vijaya Kumar

National Geophysical Research Institute, CSIR, 500606 Hyderabad, India

Indian Ocean ridges north of the Rodriguez Triple Junction remain poorly explored for seafloor hydrothermal activity, with only two active sites confirmed north of 25°S. We conducted water column surveys and sampling in 2007 and 2009 to search for hydrothermal plumes over a segment of the Carlsberg Ridge. Here we report evidence for two separate vent fields, one near 3°42′N, 63°40′E and another near 3°41.5′N, 63°50′E, on a segment that is apparently sparsely magmatic. Both sites appear to be located on off-axis highs at the top of the southern axial valley wall, at depths of ∼3600 m or shallower (∼1000 m above the valley floor). At the 63°40′E site, plume sampling found local maxima in light scattering, temperature anomaly, oxidation-reduction potential (ORP), dissolved Mn, and 3He. No water samples are available from the 63°50′E site, but it showed robust light-scattering and ORP anomalies at multiple depths, implying multiple sources. ORP anomalies are very short-lived, so the strong signals at both sites suggest that fluid sources lie within a few kilometers or less from the plume sampling locations. Although ultramafic rocks have been recovered near these sites, the light-scattering and dissolved Mn anomalies imply that the plumes do not arise from a system driven solely by exothermic serpentinization (e.g., Lost City). Instead, the source fluids may be a product of both ultramafic and basaltic/gabbroic fluid-rock interaction, similar to the Rainbow and Logatchev fields on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Received 22 September 2011; accepted 2 December 2011; published 14 January 2012.

Citation: Ray, D., K. A. Kamesh Raju, E. T. Baker, A. Srinivas Rao, A. V. Mudholkar, J. E. Lupton, L. Surya Prakash, R. B. Gawas, and T. Vijaya Kumar (2012), Hydrothermal plumes over the Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean, Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., 13, Q01009, doi:10.1029/2011GC003888.

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