The role of magmatic fluids in the ~3.48 Ga Dresser Caldera, Pilbara Craton: New insights from the geochemical investigation of hydrothermal alteration
Introduction
The 3481 ± 3.6 Ma Dresser Formation of the Warrawoona Group, in the East Pilbara Terrane of the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia, hosts wrinkly laminated, conical, and domical stromatolites that represent the earliest most convincing evidence of life on Earth (Baumgartner et al., 2019, Buick et al., 1981, Dunlop et al., 1978 Van Kranendonk et al., 2008; Van Kranendonk, 2011). The stromatolites occur within the North Pole Chert, which is the lowermost member of the Dresser Formation and comprises hydrothermal−sedimentary rocks with substantial lateral variations of both thickness and sedimentary facies (Djokic et al., 2020, Nijman et al., 1999, Van Kranendonk et al., 2019, Van Kranendonk et al., 2008). Multiple lines of evidence, which include detailed lithostratigraphic mapping of the North Pole Chert (Djokic et al., 2020, Djokic et al., 2017) and structural analysis of the extensive hydrothermal vein network underlying the Dresser Formation (Nijman et al., 1999, Tadbiri and Van Kranendonk, 2020), support the interpretation that the sedimentary rocks of the North Pole Chert were deposited in a tectonically active volcanic caldera setting (Nijman et al., 1999, Van Kranendonk et al., 2019, Van Kranendonk et al., 2008). The deposition of the North Pole Chert varied up–section from deep water marine, through shallow marine to sub–aerial, and back to deep water marine environments (Djokic et al., 2020, Van Kranendonk, 2006, Van Kranendonk et al., 2008) and was strongly influenced by hydrothermal activity, as indicated by the close association between sedimentary strata and hydrothermal silica veins, as well as by the occurrence of siliceous hot spring sinter deposits (Djokic et al., 2017, Nijman et al., 1999, Van Kranendonk, 2006, Van Kranendonk et al., 2008).
Previous studies examined selected features of the hydrothermal alteration that affected the underlying North Star Basalt as a way of elucidating the nature of the hydrothermal fluids that circulated through the Dresser Caldera. Yet these studies provided conflicting interpretations on both the style of alteration and composition of the hydrothermal fluids, leaving a number of unanswered questions pertaining to the distribution of alteration mineral assemblages, the nature of the fluids, and the processes associated with the mobility of metals and metalloids (Brown et al., 2011, Brown et al., 2005, Kitajima et al., 2001, Terabayashi et al., 2003, Van Kranendonk and Pirajno, 2004). In this study, we address these knowledge gaps, and resolve previous discrepancies by combining published results with new field observations, mineralogical and geochemical data, and radiometric dating of argillic alteration. Our results demonstrate that the nature and distribution of the hydrothermal alteration within the Dresser Caldera is analogous to that of high–sulfidation epithermal systems, in which an underlying magma chamber not only represented the heat source for the circulation of the hydrothermal fluids, but actively influenced their pH and composition.
Section snippets
The Dresser Formation
The 3481 ± 3.6 Ma Dresser Formation lies within the lower part of the volcano–sedimentary Warrawoona Group in the North Pole Dome of the East Pilbara Terrane, Pilbara Craton (Fig. 1; Van Kranendonk et al., 2008, Van Kranendonk et al., 2007). The Dresser Formation lies conformably on the ~3490 Ma North Star Basalt and is overlain by the ~3470 Ma Mount Ada Basalt, both of which commonly preserve pillow structures (Fig. 2A) and host minor doleritic intrusions (Fig. 1; Van Kranendonk et al., 2007).
Materials and methods
Geological mapping of an area of ~7 km2 (Fig. 3) was undertaken in order to determine the detailed distribution of hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblages in relation to stratigraphic depth beneath the North Pole Chert and in relation to the major hydrothermal veins. Eighty–two basaltic samples were collected during field mapping and subjected to mineralogical examination and geochemical analysis. The samples comprise pillow basalt (n = 55), fine–grained basalt (n = 20), and medium– to
Field observations
Four different alteration assemblages were identified and mapped in in the North Star Basalt underlying the Dresser Formation (Fig. 3). The alteration assemblages are classified using the terminology developed for porphyry Cu and epithermal systems (Gifkins et al., 2005 and references therein), which is similar to that utilized in previous studies on the hydrothermal alteration at the North Pole Dome (Table 1; Brown et al., 2011, Brown et al., 2005, Van Kranendonk and Pirajno, 2004). The most
Hydrothermal alteration distribution
The alteration distribution identified through field mapping of the North Star Basalt is distinctly hydrothermally–related. The distribution of the mineral assemblages is controlled by (i) the distance from the hydrothermal silica veins that transect the North Star Basalt, and by (ii) the stratigraphic depth within the North Star Basalt.
As noted above, the degree of alteration gradually decreases with increasing distance away from the margins of the hydrothermal veins, as reflected by changes
Conclusions and Summary
Field mapping, 40Ar/39Ar dating, geochemical and petrographic analyses of the hydrothermally–altered North Star Basalt lend new insights into the hydrothermal system that developed in the Dresser Caldera. Detailed field mapping and XRPD characterization of the hydrothermal alteration reveal a complex distribution pattern that is controlled, at all stratigraphic levels, by a dense network of hydrothermal veins that transect the North Star Basalt. Argillic alteration occurs near the silica veins
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Stefano Caruso: Conceptualization, Methodology, Formal analysis, Investigation, Writing - Original Draft, Visualization. Martin J. Van Kranendonk: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing - Review & Editing. Raphael J. Baumgartner: Writing - Review & Editing. Marco L. Fiorentini: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Writing - Review & Editing. Marnie A. Forster: Investigation.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the technical and scientific assistance from the Australian Microscopy and Microanalysis Research Facility at the Centre for Microscopy, Characterisation and Analysis of the University of Western Australia. This study was supported by the Australian Research Council through the Discovery Project 180103204 awarded to MVK and MLF. Geoff and Faye Meyers at Normay, and Haoma Mining Pty Ltd are thanked for their generous support during field work. We thanks Frances Westall for the
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2023, Chemical GeologyCitation Excerpt :However, laboratory experiments have determined that the incorporation of Li into clays (e.g., smectites and illites) during basalt alteration is limited to fluid temperatures up to 150 °C, whereas at higher temperatures Li is released into the fluids (Seyfried et al., 1998; James et al., 2003). In the Dresser caldera, mineral assemblages and fluid inclusion estimates define a downward-increasing temperature profile from 120 to 150 °C in the upper 50 to 100 m of the system, to temperatures above 300 °C in deeper parts of the complex (Harris et al., 2009; Caruso et al., 2021). This temperature profile traces the threshold for the incorporation of Li into clays to the shallowest portions of the hydrothermal system (Fig. 5).