Moho carbonation at an ocean-continent transition

Carbonation of mantle rocks during mantle exhumation is reported in present-day oceanic settings, both at mid-ocean ridges and ocean-continent transitions (OCTs). However, the hydrothermal conditions of carbonation (i.e., fluid sources, thermal regimes) during mantle exhumation remain poorly constrained. We focus on an exceptionally well-preserved fossil OCT where mantle rocks have been exhumed and carbonated along a detachment fault from underneath the continent to the seafloor along a tectonic Moho. Stable isotope (oxygen and carbon) analyses on calcite indicate that carbonation resulted from the mixing between serpentinization-derived fluids at ~175 °C and seawater. Strontium isotope compositions suggest interactions between seawater and the continental crust prior to carbonation. This shows that carbonation along the tectonic Moho occurs below the continental crust and prior to mantle exhumation at the seafloor during continental breakup.

Supplemental Material: Skarn fluid sources as indicators of timing of Cordilleran arc emergence and paleogeography in the southwestern United States

A complete description of analytical methods used in this study and tables of all isotopic data.<br>

Supplemental Material: Skarn fluid sources as indicators of timing of Cordilleran arc emergence and paleogeography in the southwestern United States

A complete description of analytical methods used in this study and tables of all isotopic data.<br>

Hydrofractures and crustal-scale fluid flow

&lt;p&gt;Fluids can circulate in all levels of the crust, as veins, ore deposits and chemical alterations and isotopic shifts indicate. It is furthermore generally accepted that faults and fractures play a central role as preferred fluid conduits. Fluid flow is, however, not only passively reacting to the presence of faults and fractures, but actively play a role in their creation, (re-) activation and sealing by mineral precipitates. This means that the interaction between fluid flow and fracturing is a two-way process, which is further controlled by tectonic activity (stress field), fluid sources and fluxes, as well as the availability of alternative fluid conduits, such as matrix porosity. Here we explore the interaction between matrix permeability and dynamic fracturing on the spatial and temporal distribution of fluid flow for upward fluid fluxes. Envisaged fluid sources can be dehydration reactions, release of igneous fluids, or release of fluids due to decompression or heating.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Our 2D numerical cellular automaton-type simulations span the whole range from steady matrix-flow to highly dynamical flow through hydrofractures. Hydrofractures are initiated when matrix flow is insufficient to maintain fluid pressures below the failure threshold. When required fluid fluxes are high and/or matrix porosity low, flow is dominated by hydrofractures and the system exhibits self-organised critical phenomena. The size of fractures achieves a power-law distribution, as failure events may sometimes trigger avalanche-like amalgamation of hydrofractures. By far most hydrofracture events only lead to local fluid flow pulses within the source area. Conductive fracture networks do not develop if hydrofractures seal relatively quickly, which can be expected in deeper crustal levels. Only the larger events span the whole system and actually drain fluid from the system. We present the 10 square km hydrothermal Hidden Valley Mega-Breccia on the Paralana Fault System in South Australia as a possible example of large-scale fluid expulsion events. Although field evidence suggests that the breccia formed over a period of at least 150 Myrs, actual cumulative fluid duration may rather have been in the order of days only. This example illustrates the extreme dynamics that crustal-scale fluid flow in hydrofractures can achieve.&lt;/p&gt;

Groundwater and Stream Composition

Changes of groundwater chemistry have long been observed. We review some studies of the earthquake-induced changes of groundwater and streamflow composition. When data are relatively abundant and the hydrogeology is relatively simple, the observed changes may provide valuable insight into earthquake-induced changes of hydrogeological processes. Progress in this aspect, however, has been slow not only because systematic measurements are scare but also because of the distribution of chemical sources and sinks in the crust are often complex and unknown. Most changes are consistent with the model of earthquake-enhanced groundwater transport through basin-wide or local enhanced permeability caused by earthquake-induced breaching of hydrologic barriers such as aquitards, connecting otherwise isolated aquifers or other fluid sources, leading to fluid source switching and/or mixing. Because the interpretation of earthquake-induced groundwater and stream compositions is often under-constrained, multi-disciplinary approaches may be needed to provide a better constrained interpretation of the observed changes.