Mineralogy and element geochemistry of the Sohnari rocks of Early Eocene Laki Formation in the Southern Indus Basin,Pakistan:Implications for paleoclimate,paleoweathering and paleoredox conditions

The Sohnari Member of the Early Eocene Laki Formation is massively deposited in the Southern Indus Basin of Pakistan and is considered a potential source rock to generate hydrocarbons.However,the detailed paleoclimatic,paleoweathering,and depositional conditions of the Sohnari Member have not been studied earlier.This research mainly discusses the detailed mineralogical(bulk and clay)and elemental geochemistry of the Laki Formation from two outcrop sections(Jhimpir and Lakhra)in the Southern Indus Basin,Pakistan.The bulk minerals,including quartz(low),hematite,calcite,halite,gypsum,and clay minerals such as kaolinite,chlorite,smectite and illite have been discussed here.These results demonstrate the paleo-environment of studied area was arid with enhanced saline and weak to strong oxidizing depositional conditions.The chemical index of alteration(CIA)values in Jhimpir and Lakhra sections are in the ranges of 41.30-97.93 and 22.30-96.19,respectively,indicating that the Sohnari sediments experienced weak to intense chemical weathering in the source area.The interpretation of the A-CN-K ternary diagram is consistent with the clay mineral contents in the studied sediments,which is characterized by the predominance of kaolinite,gibbsite and chlorite,demonstrating the weak to strong weathering state under warm and humid climatic conditions.The chemical indices such as Sr/Ba,δU,V/Cr,Ni/Co,and Cu/Zn,U/Th and Ba/Ga show that Sohnari rocks of Early Eocene Laki Formation underwent strong evaporation,oxic water column with warm to humid and minor contact of cold climatic conditions.Based on our present data,it can be concluded that the sediments of Sohnari Member of Laki Formation from Jhimpir and Lakhra areas of Southern Indus Basin in Pakistan are related to Indio-Eurasian collision and came from the Indian shield rocks that were deposited in a brackish water body with a minor contact of the freshwater oxidizing paleo-environment depositional conditions.

Geochemistry of subducted metabasites exhumed from the Mariana forearc:Implications for Pacific seamount subduction

Seamounts on the drifting oceanic crust are inevitably carried by plate motions and eventually accreted or subducted.However,the geochemical signatures of the subducted seamounts and the significance of seamount subduction are not well constrained.Hundreds of seamounts have subducted beneath the Philippine Sea Plate following the westward subduction of the Pacific Plate since the Eocene(~52 Ma).The subducted oceanic crust and seamount materials can be exhumed from the mantle depth to the seafloor in the Mariana forearc region by serpentinite mud volcanoes,providing exceptional opportunities to directly study the subducted oceanic crust and seamounts.The International Ocean Discovery Program(IODP)expedition 366 has recovered a few metamorphosed mafic clasts exhumed from the Mariana forearc serpentinite mud volcanoes,e.g.,the Fantangis?a and Asùt Tesoru seamounts.These mafic clasts have tholeiitic to alkaline affinities with distinct trace elements and Nd-Hf isotopes characteristics,suggesting different provenances and mantle sources.The tholeiites from the Fantangisna Seamount have trace element characteristics typical of mid-ocean ridge basalt.The Pacific-type Hf-Nd isotopic compositions,combined with the greenschist metamorphism of these tholeiites further suggest that they came from the subducted Pacific oceanic crust.The alkali basalts-dolerites from the Fantangisna and Asùt Tesoru seamounts show ocean island basalt(OIB)-like geochemical characteristics.The OIB-like geochemical signatures and the low-grade metamorphism of these alkali basalts-dolerites suggest they came from subducted seamounts that originally formed in an intraplate setting on the Pacific Plate.The Pacific Plate origin of these metabasites suggests they were formed in the Early Cretaceous or earlier.Two types of OIBs have been recognized from alkali metabasites,one of which is geochemically similar to the HIMU-EMI-type OIBs from the West Pacific Seamount Province,and another is similar to the EMII-type OIBs from the Samoa Island in southern Pacific,with negative Nb-Ta-Ti anomalies and enriched Nd-Hf isotopes.Generally,these alkali metabasites are sourced from the heterogeneous mantle sources that are similar to the present South Pacific Isotopic and Thermal Anomaly.This study provides direct evidence for seamount subduction in the Mariana convergent margins.We suggest seamount subduction is significant to element cycling,mantle heterogeneity,and mantle oxidation in subduction zones.