Copper Isotopic Fractionation During Seafloor Alteration: Insights From Altered Basalts in the Mariana and Yap Trenches

Abstract

AbstractTo further investigate copper (Cu) isotopic fractionation during seawater‐oceanic crust interactions, 13 subsamples across a basalt altering section and 12 bulk‐rock basalts from the southern Mariana and Yap trenches, western Pacific Ocean, were studied. We find that the δ65Cu values of the basalt section roughly increase from mid‐ocean ridge basalt‐like values (0.04% – 0.10%) in the core to higher values (up to 0.20%) near the core‐rim interface, and then lower values (down to −0.17%) at the rims. Isotopically light rims reflect the initial dissolution of Cu‐bearing sulfides releasing isotopically heavy Cu into ambient seawater, consistent with both lower Cu and sulfide contents in the altered rims. The elevated δ65Cu values reveal that sulfide dissolution induced a concentration‐driven diffusion from the core to rims, controlling the rim‐core‐rim Cu content and isotopic variations on centimeter scale. By contrast, the δ65Cu values of bulk‐rock basalts show a wide range (0.02% – 0.56%) with most samples enriched in heavy isotopes, and negatively correlate with Cu concentrations, indicating preferential adsorption of isotopically heavy Cu from seawater. We propose that chemical diffusion occurred prior to any adsorption processes, suggesting that a three‐stage process involving sulfide dissolution, chemical diffusion and adsorption controls Cu isotopic fractionation during seafloor basalt alteration.