Smectite diagenesis, pore-water freshening, and fluid flow at the toe of the Nankai wedge

The presence of low-chloride fluids in the lowermost sediments drilled at Ocean Drilling Program Site 808, at the Nankai accretionary wedge, has been considered as prime evidence for long-distance, lateral fluid flow from depth. Here, we re-evaluate the potential role of in situ reaction of smectite...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEarth and planetary science letters Vol. 194; no. 1-2; pp. 97 - 109
Main Authors Brown, Kevin M., Saffer, Demian M., Bekins, Barbara A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier B.V 30.12.2001
Subjects
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

Loading…
More Information
Summary:The presence of low-chloride fluids in the lowermost sediments drilled at Ocean Drilling Program Site 808, at the Nankai accretionary wedge, has been considered as prime evidence for long-distance, lateral fluid flow from depth. Here, we re-evaluate the potential role of in situ reaction of smectite (S) to illite (I) in the genesis of this low chloride anomaly. This reaction is known to be occurring at Site 808, with both the S content and S to I ratio in the mixed layer clays decreasing substantially with depth. We show that the bulk of the chloride anomaly can generate by in situ clay dehydration, particularly if pre-reaction smectite abundances (Ai) approach ∼10–15% of the bulk sediment. The Ai values, however, are not well constrained. At Ai values <10–15%, an additional source of low-Cl fluid centered close to the décollement could be required. Thus, there remains the important possibility that the observed low-Cl anomaly is a compound effect of both lateral flow and in situ smectite dehydration.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ObjectType-Article-2
ObjectType-Feature-1
ISSN:0012-821X
1385-013X
DOI:10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00546-5