Geochronology and Petrogenesis of the Pillow Basalts in Western Karamay from West Junggar,NW China

Recently, we carried out the National Nature Science Foundation of China （No. 41303027） and focused on pillow basalts in western Karamay from West Junggar. The detailed geological survey at a scale of 1：500 distinguished an assemblage of accretionary complex in western Karamay. The accretionary complex consists of pillow basalt, mudstone, turbidite and abyssal radiolarian chert interlayered with tuff （Fig. 1a）. The great concern in the study area is the large-scale pillow lava.

Fe-Si-Mn-Oxyhydroxide Encrustations on Basalts at East Pacific Rise near 13°N:An SEM-EDS Study

Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhydroxide encrustations at the East Pacific Rise （EPR） near 13°N were analyzed using the scanning electron microscope （SEM） with an energy dispersive spectrometer （EDS）. These encrustations are mainly composed of amorphous Fe- Si-Mn-oxyhydroxides forming laminated, spherical, porous aggregates with some biodetritus, anhydrite, nontronite, and feldspar particles. Anhydrite particles and nontronite crystals in the Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhydroxide encrustations imply that the Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhy- droxide may have formed under relatively low- to high-temperature hydrothermal conditions. The Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhydroxide encrusta- tions on pillow basalts are 1-2mm thick. The growth rate of ferromanganese crusts in the survey area suggests that these encrusta- tions are an unlikely result of hydrogenic deposition alone having a hydrothermal and （Fe/Mn ratio up to 7.7 and Fe/（Fe＋Mn＋A1） ratio exceeding 0.78） hydrogenic origin （0.22 Fe/Mn ratio close to the mean value of 0.7 for open-ocean seamount crusts）. The varying Fe/Mn ratios indicate that the Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhydroxide encrustations have formed through several stages of seafloor hydrother- malism. It is suggested that, at the initial formation stage, dense Fe-Si-oxyhydroxides with low Mn content deposit from a relatively reducing hydrothermal fluid, and then the loose Fe-Si-Mn-oxyhydroxides deposit on the Fe-Si-oxyhydroxides. As the oxidation degree of hydrothermal fluid increases and Si-oxide is inhibited, Mn-oxide will precipitate with Fe-oxyhydroxides.

Genesis of anhydrite in hydrothermally altered basalt from the East Pacific Rise near 13°N

This study reports the occurrence of anhydrite in hydrothermally altered pillow basalt （12°50.55＇N, 103°57.62＇W, water depth 2 480 m）, which may have been produced in the basalt during seawater-basalt interaction in the laboratory. The existence of anhydrite in the altered basalt indicates extensive high- temperature hydrothermal alteration at the surface of seafloor pillow basalt. Microprobe analysis shows significant chemical zoning in the hydrothermally altered pillow basalt, in which Ca, Si and A1 contents de- crease and P, Fe, Mn, Cr and S contents increase from fresh basalt to altered basalt. The negative correlation between Rb-Sr and Li-Sr, and negative correlation between Li-Ca and Rb-Ca in the high-temperature vent fuids show that these fluids underwent anhydrite precipitation before fluid jetting due to mixing with sea- water in the sub-seafloor. Based on these observations, we show that not all Ca in the anhydrite comes from basalt in the reaction zone, and that the basalts on the seafloor or in the upflow zone may also provide Ca for anhydrite.

Hydrothermal alteration of plagioclase microphenocrysts and glass in basalts from the East Pacific Rise near 13°N: An SEM-EDS study

The interactions of seafloor hydrothermal fluid with igneous rocks can result in leaching elements from the rocks,creating potential ore-forming fluids and influencing the chemical compositions of near-bottom seawater.The hydrothermal alteration of plagioclase microphenocrysts and basaltic glass in the pillow basalts from one dredge station(103°57.62′′W,12°50.55′N,water depth 2480 m)on the East Pacific Rise(EPR)near 13°N were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope(SEM)and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry(EDS).The results show that the edges of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the basaltic glass fragments are altered but the pyroxene and olivine microphenocrysts in the interior of the pillow basalts appear to be unaffected by the hydrothermal fluids.In addition,our results show that the chemical alteration at the rims of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the edges of basaltic glass fragments can be divided into separate types of alteration.The chemical difference in hydrothermal alteration of the plagioclase microphenocrysts and the basaltic glass indicate that different degrees of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction have taken place at the surface of the pillow basalts.If the degree of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction is relatively minor,Si,Al,Ca and Na diffuse from the inside of the solid phase out and as a result these elements have a tendency to accumulate in the edge of the plagioclase microphenocrysts or basaltic glass.If the degree of hydrothermal fluid-solid phase interaction is relatively strong,Si,Al,Ca and Na also diffuse from the inside of solid phase out but these elements will have a relatively low concentration in the edge of the plagioclase microphenocrysts or basaltic glass.Based on the chemical variation observed in the edges of plagioclase microphenocrysts and basaltic glass,we estimate that the content of Si,Al and Fe in the edges of plagioclase microphenocrysts can have a variation of 10.69%,17.59%and 109%,respectively.Similarly,the Si,Al and Fe concentrations in the edges of basaltic glass can have a variation of 9.79%,16.30%and 37.83%,respectively,during the interaction of hydrothermal fluids and seafloor pillow basalt.