Ultramafic-carbonate breccias from the equatorial Mid Atlantic Ridge

Abstract

Breccias consisting of fragments of serpentinized peridotite in a carbonate cement were dredged abundantly from the slopes of transverse ridges existing at the offsets of the Mid Atlantic Ridge in the Romanche and Vema fracture zones. The carbonate cement consists of microcrystalline, low-magnesium calcite and occasionally also of aragonite. The results of chemical and of 18O/ 16O, 87Sr/ 86Sr, and 234U/ 238U isotopic analyses of these carbonates suggest that in part they were deposited at high pH from interstitial sea water circulating in the spaces between the serpentinized peridotite fragments. Several possibilities are discussed as to the mechanisms which caused the ultramafic rocks to become brecciated. It is concluded that the breccias are probably tectonic in origin, and were formed in shear zones resulting from one of several possible types of differential motions between crustal blocks in the tectonically active offset zones. The breccias from the Mid Atlantic Ridge are similar to serpentinite-carbonate breccias associated with serpentinite bodies in the Apennine (Italy) ophiolite complex, which represents uplifted fragments of Mesozoic oceanic crust. The origin of these ophiolitic breccias may be similar to that of the Mid Atlantic Ridge breccias.