Massive barite deposits in the convergent margin off Peru: Implications for fluid circulation within subduction zones

Abstract

The convergent margin of Peru, characterized by an extensional tectonic regime and the lack of a well-developed accretionary prism, has been investigated by a deep-sea submersible during the Nautiperc cruise (March–April, 1991). This allowed the collection of fluid samples, soft sediments, and barite concretions in the vicinity of biological communities associated with fluid steps. Major and trace element contents as well as strontium, oxygen, hydrogen, and sulfur isotopic compositions have been measured on fluid and/or solid samples to constrain the nature and origin of fluid circulating in this extensional tectonic context. Chemical variations with respect to bottom seawater composition have been recorded in the fluid samples and suggest the presence of a nonlocal component in the fluid expelled at the seafloor. The major variations correspond to elevations of the Cl, Na, and the Ba contents as well as the 87Sr 86Sr ratios. This is interpreted as the expulsion of a radiogenic, continent-related (basinal brine and/or meteoric water) fluid. Massive barite concretions have been collected at the seafloor in two areas of major fluid venting. The radiogenic signature (strontium isotopic composition) of the barite concretions implies that they are related to the nonlocal deep fluid component identified in the fluid samples. Furthermore, it is shown that these barite deposits testify to a hot, short, and intensive fluid circulation event. Compared to subduction zones that exhibit venting fluid with a strong oceanic water signature, the nature and origin of venting fluid along the subduction zone of Peru are different. The extensional tectonic regime of the Peru continental margin, locally associated with a dense E-W trending fault network, is an agent which may help to drain continent-related fluid as deep as the subduction scarp at the trench-slope boundary.