Estimation of the depth of origin of fluids using noble gases in the surface sediments of submarine mud volcanoes off Tanegashima Island

Yuki Mitsutome; Tomohiro Toki; Takanori Kagoshima; Yuji Sano; Yama Tomonaga; Akira Ijiri

doi:10.1038/s41598-023-31582-z

Estimation of the depth of origin of fluids using noble gases in the surface sediments of submarine mud volcanoes off Tanegashima Island

Sci Rep. 2023 Apr 6;13(1):5051. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-31582-z.

Authors

Yuki Mitsutome¹, Tomohiro Toki^{2

3}, Takanori Kagoshima^{4

5}, Yuji Sano^{5

6}, Yama Tomonaga^{7

8}, Akira Ijiri^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Chemistry Biology and Marine Science, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan.
² Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus, 1 Senbaru, Nishihara, Okinawa, 903-0213, Japan. toki@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp.
³ Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Motoyama, Kamigamo, Kita-ku, Kyoto, 603-8047, Japan. toki@sci.u-ryukyu.ac.jp.
⁴ Graduate School of Science and Engineering, University of Toyama, 3190 Gofuku, Toyama, 930-8555, Japan.
⁵ Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, 5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba, 277-8564, Japan.
⁶ Center for Advanced Marie Core Research, Kochi University, 200B Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan.
⁷ Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Überlandstrasse 133, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
⁸ Hydrogeology, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056, Basel, Switzerland.
⁹ Graduate School of Maritime Sciences, Kobe University, 5-1-1 Fukaemiinamimachi, Higashinada-ku, Kobe, 658-0022, Japan.
¹⁰ Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 200B Monobe, Nankoku, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan.

Abstract

The helium isotope ratio (³He/⁴He), concentration ratio of neon-20 to helium-4 (²⁰Ne/⁴He), argon (Ar), krypton (Kr), and xenon (Xe) concentrations were measured in the porewater of surface sediments of several submarine mud volcanoes. From the ³He/⁴He values (0.18-0.93R_A), the estimated He origin is almost 90% crustal He, with little contribution from mantle-derived He. The determined Ar, Kr, and Xe concentrations lie within the solubility equilibrium range expected for temperatures from 83 °C up to 230 °C and are consistent with the temperature range of the dehydration origin of clay minerals. Considering the geothermal gradient in the investigated region (25 °C/km), these gases are considered to have reached dissolution equilibrium at a depth of about 3.3 km to 9.2 km below the seafloor. As the depth of the plate boundary is 18 km below the seafloor, the noble gas signatures are likely to originate from the crust, not from the plate boundary. This is consistent with the results presented by the He isotope ratios.

Abstract

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