Mineral Composition Found in Blue Mud Samples Taken from the Mariana Forearc Aboard IODP Expedition 366
Date
2020
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Abstract
Large amounts of serpentinite have been reported to be found in the Mariana forearc,
forming the largest serpentinite mud volcanoes on earth. International Ocean Discovery Program
(IODP) drilling on Yinazao Seamount and Fantangisña Seamounts, two active serpentinite mud
volcanoes, recovered samples, and mineral compositions were characterized and compared using
X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy.
Samples were sorted into four groups during the study; A, B, C, and D. Groups A, B, and
C were dominated by lizardite, a serpentinite mineral. Additional minerals in Group A were
andradite, olivine, calcite, garnet, kaolinite, magnetite, brucite, halite, siderite, coalingite, and
chrysotile. Additional minerals in Group B were garnet, magnetite, olivine, spinel, and halite.
Additional minerals in Group C were oligoclase, olivine, and brucite, magnetite, calcite, halite,
goethite, and hydrotalcite, and possibly ferri-clinoholmquistite. Group D was different as it was
dominated by feldspars; andesine, oligoclase, labradorite, albite, and clinopyroxene with
accessory minerals; tridymite and chloritoid. The minerals found in Group D are commonly
found in Mariana lava flows and can likely be found in ash fragments and pelagic sediment.
Throughout this study comparisons made between the samples, and thus comparisons of minerals
found in the samples indicate that the natural processes of these mud volcanoes have not changed
significantly over time except where group D was found. The mineralogy has not changed greatly
from early to late eruptions due to the samples being similar at both seamounts as the mud
formation processes have not changed greatly between the two sites. Since similar deposits occur
worldwide throughout earth’s history, serpentinite mud volcano formations could likely be an
environment for the origin of life.
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mineral composition, mariana forearc
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52 pages
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Plazas, Marisol
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