Investigating the influence of lithology and water depth on the composition and distribution of sulphides at the worlds deepest known vent sites.

研究岩性和水深对世界上已知最深喷口处硫化物成分和分布的影响。

• 批准号: NE/I012613/1
• 负责人: Stephen Roberts
• 金额: $ 4.74万
• 依托单位: University of Southampton
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2011 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FI012613%2F1
• 关键词: Investigating; influence; lithology; water; depth

The start of the Age of Metal marked a step-change for mankind. Today, our entire technological society is dependent on metals. But it all started with copper. One of the main sources of this metal in the ancient world was Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. Cyprus is named after the Greek word for copper. The island's secret was the Troodos ophiolte, an ancient fragment of oceanic crust that was uplifted to form a mountain range. Here, eighty six million years ago, high-temperature hydrothermal vents deposited large mineral ore bodies on the seafloor. Below the seabed, these were rich in copper minerals, deposited by the hot vent fluids as they mixed with cold seawater. Today, modern hydrothermal vents, their ore deposits, and exotic animals are well known as striking examples of geology in action. But we know relatively little about what determines the distribution and composition of the ore deposits. We think that vent fluids become rich in valuable base metals deep beneath mid-ocean ridges, where pressures are 5000 atmospheres and temperatures reach ~500 degrees Celsius. Under these conditions, seawater is supercritical (i.e. the vapour phase behaves like a fluid) and is so reactive that it can easily dissolve rocks. We also think that the composition of those dissolving rocks is important. Different rocks have different metals in them and this affects the composition and value of the ore deposits. But until now, it has been impossible to sample hydrothermal systems under these pressure and temperature conditions. In April 2010, we made the extraordinary discovery of hydrothermal activity in the deepest mid-ocean ridge on Earth. Within the Cayman Trough, deep beneath the Caribbean Sea, we found vents at 5000m gushing out supercritical fluids at nearly 500 degrees Celsius. These are the hottest ever found, and are close to the conditions normally found where seawater meets magma chambers deep below the seafloor. With another expedition already scheduled for 2012, we have a unique opportunity to use this natural laboratory to test predictions about the distribution and composition of ore deposits formed from such high-temperature supercritical fluids. The significance of this work is multi-fold. Economically, we can apply the knowledge gained from this unique study to predict other, more accessible ore deposits on land and at sea. Already, deep-sea extraction companies are starting to explore seafloor ore deposits. The information we gather from this study will help predict the future viability of these deposits. Our new data will also help inform governments and NGOs (e.g. the United Nations International Seabed Authority) of how to protect these sites and ensure that only sustainable exploration is ever planned. Scientifically, we will gain a new understanding of the role of pressure, temperature and rock composition in the formation of ore deposits. We will also revise our estimates of the exchange of heat and fluids between the ocean and seafloor. This exchange helps explain why the sea is salty and the Earth's climate has been in balance. Our exciting work, in such an extreme environment, will continue to engage the public's imagination and help promote science and technology to tomorrow's generation.

金属时代的开始标志着人类的逐步变化。今天，我们整个技术社会都取决于金属。但这一切始于铜。古代世界中这种金属的主要来源之一是地中海东部的塞浦路斯。塞浦路斯以希腊语命名铜。该岛的秘密是Troodos Ophiolte，这是一个古老的海洋壳碎片，被振奋以形成山脉。在这里，八十百万年前，高温水热通风孔沉积在海底上的大型矿物矿体。在海床下方，它们富含铜矿矿物质，并在与冷海水混合时沉积了热通风液。如今，现代的水热通风孔，它们的矿石沉积物和外来动物已被称为行动中的地质学例子。但是，我们对决定矿床的分布和组成的原因相对较少。我们认为，通风液在中山脊的深处富含宝贵的碱金属，那里的压力为5000个气氛，温度达到了约500摄氏度。在这些条件下，海水是超临界的（即蒸气相像流体的表现），并且具有反应性，以至于可以轻松溶解岩石。我们还认为那些溶解岩石的人的组成很重要。不同的岩石中有不同的金属，这会影响矿石沉积物的组成和价值。但是到目前为止，在这些压力和温度条件下采样水热系统是不可能的。 2010年4月，我们在地球上最深的中山山脊中发现了水热活动。在加勒比海深处的开曼槽内，我们发现通风孔的5000m处于近500摄氏度的超临界液体。这些是有史以来最热门的，并且接近通常在海水遇到海底深处的岩浆腔的条件。由于已经计划在2012年进行另一次探险，我们有一个独特的机会使用该天然实验室来测试有关这种高温超临界流体形成的矿床的分布和组成的预测。这项工作的重要性是多重的。从经济上讲，我们可以运用这项独特的研究所获得的知识来预测在土地和海上更容易获得的矿床。深海提取公司已经开始探索海底矿床。我们从这项研究中收集的信息将有助于预测这些存款的未来可行性。我们的新数据还将有助于告知政府和非政府组织（例如联合国国际海床当局）如何保护这些地点，并确保仅计划可持续探索。从科学上讲，我们将对压力，温度和岩石组成在形成矿石沉积物中的作用有了新的了解。我们还将修改我们对海洋和海底之间热量和液体交换的估计。这种交流有助于解释为什么海洋咸，而地球的气候保持平衡。在如此极端的环境中，我们激动人心的工作将继续吸引公众的想象力，并帮助将科学和技术推广到明天的一代。

项目成果

Talc-dominated seafloor deposits reveal a new class of hydrothermal system.

• DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10150
• 发表时间: 2015-12-22
• 期刊: Nature communications
• 影响因子: 16.6
• 作者: Hodgkinson MR;Webber AP;Roberts S;Mills RA;Connelly DP;Murton BJ
• 通讯作者: Murton BJ

The formation of gold-rich seafloor sulfide deposits: Evidence from the B eebe hydrothermal vent field, C ayman T rough

富金海底硫化物矿床的形成：来自开曼群岛 Beebe 热液喷口场的证据

• DOI: 10.1002/2017gc006922
• 发表时间: 2017
• 期刊: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems
• 作者: Webber A

The influence of spreading rate, basement composition, fluid chemistry and chimney morphology on the formation of gold-rich SMS deposits at slow and ultraslow mid-ocean ridges

扩散速率、基底成分、流体化学和烟囱形态对慢速和超慢速洋中脊富金 SMS 矿床形成的影响

• DOI: 10.1007/s00126-017-0762-4
• 发表时间: 2017
• 期刊: Mineralium Deposita
• 影响因子: 4.8
• 作者: D. Knight R