Geochemistry and palaeo-oceanography of metalliferous and pelagic sediments from the Late Cretaceous Oman ophiolite

Abstract

Metalliferous and pelagic sediments are exposed within and above the extrusive successions of the Upper Cretaceous Oman ophiolite which, on the basis of mostly geochemical evidence, is believed to have formed in an incipient marginal basin setting located above a NE-dipping subduction zone. The ophiolitic extrusives document various volcano-tectonic settings which include the axial zones of a spreading ridge, fault-controlled seamounts and off-axis volcanic edifices. Most of the Fe, Mn and trace metal-enriched sediments studied are interpreted as precipitates formed by oxidation of solutions derived from high-temperature sulphide-precipitating vents. The trace element content (e.g. REE and Sr) was largely scavenged from seawater. The sediments are similar to the dispersed metalliferous sediments on the flanks of modern spreading ridges, and the ‘basal’ sediments of DSDP wells and of other ophiolite complexes (e.g. Troodos, Cyprus). Distinctive mound structures located low in the lavas are attributed to percolation of sulphide-rich solutions into already deposited metalliferous oxide sediments. The resulting iron-silica rock was probably originally precipitated as ferruginous silicates. Major massive sulphides formed off-axis at the base of intermediate-basic edifices of volcanic arc affinities. Fe, Mn and trace metal enrichment in the sediment cover of a flat-topped seamount of axial lavas is interpreted as a dispersion halo around the largest massive sulphide orebody which is situated 5 km away (Lasail). Small massive sulphide bodies are common in the axial lavas particularly along major seafloor fault zones. The metalliferous sediments, locally precipitated near these vents, are ferromanganiferous, but trace metal-depleted. The metalliferous and pelagic sediment cover of the extrusive successions, generally, documents waning hydrothermal input after volcanism ended in the area. A model is discussed in which the ophiolite was created at a spreading axis above a subduction zone dipping away from the Arabian continental margin. With progressive subduction this crust approached the margin. Initially, calcareous sediment accumulated above the calcite compensation depth (CCD), but then non-calcareous radiolarites were deposited as the ophiolitic crust approached the continental margin where the CCD was higher and marginal upwelling possibly enhanced productivity. As the edge of the Arabian continental margin entered the trench, the over-riding ophiolite was regionally uplifted allowing short-lived chalk accumulation above the CCD. This was followed by volcaniclastic deposition related to the tectonic emplacement.