Sources and Cycling of Sulfur in Subduction Zones: The Geochemistry of Sulfur in the Mariana Island Arc, Trench andTrough

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This is a project to determine the sulfide petrology, sulfur contents, and sulfur isotopic compositions of well documented fresh submarine glasses and rocks form the Mariana Arc and back arc trough. The goal is to evaluate the sources and sinks of sulfur in these rocks in order to investigate role of subducted oceanic lithosphere and hydrothermally altered fore arc rocks in the generation of back arc basin magmas. These data will also be useful for understanding the sources of sulfur in massive sulfide ore deposits formed in back arc settings. %%% A primary goal in petrogenesis is to understand the source materials of magmas that are produced in various settings. One important setting in the ocean crust is the back arc basin. Back arc basin magmas are thought to be derived from mixing of two different mantle sources. Because the suggested sources have different sulfur isotopic compositions, their analysis in the rocks from the Mariana Arc and back arc trough will provide fundamental new data to help sort out the sources of back arc basin magmas. A study of the sulfide petrology will help to determine the fate of sulfur in back arc basin magmas.