Swanne Gontharet

Serpentinization and magmatism weaken the lithosphere and facilitate mantle exhumation during magma-poor rifting and ultraslow seafloor spreading. However, the complex interplay and timing among these competing mechanisms along detachment faults remain poorly constrained. The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 402 drilled an incipient oceanic basin in the Tyrrhenian Sea offshore Italy. Recovered cores consist of one sequence of variably deformed granitic intrusions intercalated with slivers of peridotites and another of primarily serpentinized peridotites with heterogeneous deformation and local granitic intrusions. Geochronological and geochemical data reveal that the granites crystallized at 4 million years ago at a depth of ~7 to 9 kilometers and rapidly exhumed within ~0.5 million years, requiring exhumation rates of ~2 centimeters per year. Structural observations show that these granites accommodated significant postcrystallization strain and enhanced localization of detachment faulting. Stable isotopes record serpentinization temperatures of ~200°C, suggesting that serpentinization occurred after the emplacement and deformation of granites. We conclude that weak felsic rocks may enhance strain localization along detachment faults at intermediate depths and aid continental breakup and mantle exhumation.

   During the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 385, diagenetic carbonates were recovered at different depths (from 10 to 534 mbsf) in six drilling sites (U1545, U1546, U1547, U1548, U1550 and U1552) distributed from the northern spreading segment of the Guaymas Basin (Gulf of California) to ~52 km away from the axial graben. As this basin is a site of active sea floor spreading, hemipelagic diatomaceous and organic-rich sediments rapidly accumulating at all these drilling sites are influenced by magmatic intrusions, at depths greater than 90 mbsf. The geothermal gradient observed ranges from 135 °C/km to 682 °C/km. Except in sites U1547 and U1548, both located close to a circular hydrothermal mound (called Ringvent), sills are in thermal equilibrium with the surrounding sediments.   Carbonate samples (over fifty) collected during this expedition are composed of fine-grained micritic sediments and weakly to strongly lithified carbonate concretions. The petrographic observations and XRD analyses show that stoichiometric dolomite is the dominant authigenic carbonate phase, with minor contribution of Fe-rich dolomite, and low- to high-Mg calcite. Centimeter-sized concretions composed of ankerite and Mg-calcite also occur in the sediments collected from the northern axial graben (site U1550) and a site with subsurface gas hydrates (U1552), respectively. Other authigenic minerals are often associated with these carbonates including pyrite, barite, anhydrite, zeolites and crystalline opal (opal-CT). The carbon isotopic compositions of the bulk carbonate from these samples exhibit large variations ranging from -28.9 to +12.0‰ VPDB. Very low d 13C values, only measured in a centimetre-seized concretion associated with cold methane seepage (site U1552), indicate that the bicarbonate used for carbonate precipitation is derived from anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) coupled with bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR). The very high d13C values of diagenetic carbonates indicate the use of biogenic 13C-rich CO2 reservoirs related to active methanogenesis or other autotrophic microbial pathways. The oxygen isotopic compositions of these carbonates cover a large range from -5.3 to +4.0‰ VPDB. The decreasing d18O values with increasing depth reflect the effect of high geothermal gradients due to the close proximity of magmatic sills.