Multistage hydration during oceanic serpentinisation revealed by in situ oxygen isotope and trace element analyses

Serpentinisation of mantle peridotites below the seafloor is the most important hydration reaction in the Earth’s deep water cycle. This critical step in water–rock interaction occurs over multiple serpentinisation stages and at variable temperatures and fluid compositions. We present the first study using spatially coupled in-situ analysis of oxygen isotopes (secondary ionization mass spectrometry) and trace elements (laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) to unravel the multistage hydration history of oceanic serpentinites. We study samples from the Newfoundland-Iberia extended passive margins, which represents a magma-poor ocean-continent transition zone (Ocean Drilling Program cores, Leg 173 Site 1070 from Iberia, Leg 210 Site 1277 from Newfoundland). The concentrations of the fluid mobile elements chlorine and boron in serpentine are used as a proxy for the salinity of the serpentinising fluid. The correlation of Cl/B with δ¹⁸O_serpentine compositions provides new insights to disentangle temperature from fluid composition effects. The transition metal composition (V, Co, Sc, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cr) of dominantly lizardite in mesh after olivine and in bastite after orthopyroxene shows a chemical redistribution between textural sites in the Newfoundland samples, indicating the simultaneous serpentinisation of olivine and orthopyroxene. This feature is not observed in the Iberian samples, for which we propose sequential reactions. Lizardite in samples from both localities varies considerably in oxygen isotope composition at the scale of tens of micrometres depending on texture, with a range in δ¹⁸O of 3.3–13.5‰ for Iberia samples and a more restricted range of 5.7–9.3‰ for Newfoundland samples. Temperatures calculated from the δ¹⁸O_serpentine corresponding to the lowest Cl/B ratio (interpreted as closest to seawater composition) indicate sequential serpentinisation with decreasing temperature from ∼190 to ∼60 °C in the Iberia setting. The Newfoundland samples were serpentinised at a lower temperature (100–130 °C), possibly at a shallower depth. Serpentinisation in the Newfoundland samples probably produced a concentrated amount of H₂ in a shorter period of time, whereas in the Iberian samples a small but prolonged amount of H₂ was produced, possibly creating more favourable conditions for microbial activity.