Origin of a native sulfur chimney in the Kueishantao hydrothermal field, offshore northeast Taiwan

Analyses of rare earth and trace element concentrations of native sulfur samples from the Kueishantao hydrothermal field were performed at the Seafloor Hydrothermal Activity Laboratory of the Key Labo-ratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Using an Elan DRC II ICP-MS, and combining the sulfur isotopic compositions of native sulfur samples, we studied the sources and formation of a native sulfur chimney. The results show, when comparing them with native sulfur from crater lakes and other volcanic areas, that the native sulfur content of this chimney is very high (99.96%), the rare earth element (REE) and trace element constituents of the chimney are very low (ΣREE<21×10?9), and the chondrite-normalized REE patterns of the native sulfur samples are similar to those of the Kueishantao andesite, implying that the interaction of subseafloor fluid-andesite at the Kueishantao hydrothermal field was of short duration. The sulfur isotopic compo-sitions of the native sulfur samples reveal that the sulfur of the chimney, from H2S and SO2, originated by magmatic degassing and that the REEs and trace elements are mostly from the Kueishantao ande-site and partly from seawater. Combining these results with an analysis of the thermodynamics, it is clear that from the relatively low temperature (<116 ℃ ), the oxygenated and acidic environment is favorable for formation of this native sulfur chimney in the Kueishantao hydrothermal field.

Origin of a native sulfur chimney in the Kueishantao hydrothermal field,offshore northeast Taiwan

Analyses of rare earth and trace element concentrations of native sulfur samples from the Kueishantao hydrothermal field were performed at the Seafloor Hydrothermal Activity Laboratory of the Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. Using an Elan DRC II ICP-MS, and combining the sulfur isotopic compositions of native sulfur samples, we studied the sources and formation of a native sulfur chimney. The results show, when comparing them with native sulfur from crater lakes and other volcanic areas, that the native sulfur content of this chimney is very high (99.96%), the rare earth element (REE) and trace element constituents of the chimney are very low (ΣREE<21×10⁻⁹), and the chondrite-normalized REE patterns of the native sulfur samples are similar to those of the Kueishantao andesite, implying that the interaction of subseafloor fluid-andesite at the Kueishantao hydrothermal field was of short duration. The sulfur isotopic compositions of the native sulfur samples reveal that the sulfur of the chimney, from H₂S and SO₂, originated by magmatic degassing and that the REEs and trace elements are mostly from the Kueishantao andesite and partly from seawater. Combining these results with an analysis of the thermodynamics, it is clear that from the relatively low temperature (<116°C), the oxygenated and acidic environment is favorable for formation of this native sulfur chimney in the Kueishantao hydrothermal field. Supported in part by the Pilot Project of Knowledge Innovation Project, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No.KZCX3-SW-223), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40176020 and 40376020)