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Hydrothermal Processes in Oceanic Crust and Related Mineral Deposits

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Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits

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Abstract

Following a brief review of the main physiographic features of the ocean floor and the nature and structure of the oceanic lithosphere, this chapter looks in some detail at the hydrothermal processes which take place as a result of sea water percolation into large sectors of the oceanic crust in the mid-oceanic regions. It further examines the mineral deposits that result from this activity, both in the present-day sea floor and in the geological record (ophiolite belts). Excluded from this discussion are the hydrogenous sea-floor deposits of Mn-rich nodules, which are believed to form by direct precipitation of metals from sea water, although the metal components are possibly derived from the hot springs that issue at mid-ocean ridges, and are subsequently dispersed in sea water.

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  1. Professor Dr. Franco Pirajno

    Present address: , 2/34 Kennedy Street, Maylands, 6051, Western Australia, Australia

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  1. Department of Geology Mineral Exploration, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, 6140, Grahmstown, South Africa

    Professor Dr. Franco Pirajno

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Pirajno, F. (1992). Hydrothermal Processes in Oceanic Crust and Related Mineral Deposits. In: Hydrothermal Mineral Deposits. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75671-9_13

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