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Geochemical origin of methane in hydrothermal fluid and its implication for the subseafloor hydrothermal circulation at the Middle Okinawa Trough

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Abstract

Hydrothermal systems are ubiquitous in various tectonic settings and are important in transferring internal mass and energy sources from the crust and mantle to the oceans. However, the biogeochemical processes involved in subseafloor hydrothermal circulation are not fully understood. This study investigated the compositional and isotopic properties of the high-temperature fluids collected from three hydrothermal vents of the Izena Hole in the middle Okinawa Trough in 2016 with Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) named Faxian. The results confirm that the latest geochemical parameters of the high-temperature hydrothermal fluids are similar to the previously reported parameters and indicate the origin of methane in the hydrothermal fluid. The nearly identical geochemistry of the three fluids indicate that they likely shared a common fluid reservoir. The endmember hydrothermal fluid contained isotopically 13C-moderate methane (− 30.4‰ to − 32.1‰), suggesting the predominance of thermogenic methane over biogenic methane incorporation in the hydrothermal fluids. The differences in the concentrations of ethane (C1/C2+  = 11,600, 5600, 970 for Faxian-1, Faxian-2, and Faxian-3, respectively) and molecular hydrogen (0.11, 0.67, and 2.4 mM for Faxian-1, Faxian-2, and Faxian-3, respectively) suggest significantly different thermal fluid-sediment interaction during the discharge stage between two hydrothermal fields. The relatively low contents of biogenic methane in all the fluids here indicated limited biogenic methane incorporation during the recharge stage due to the horizontal restriction of hydrothermal fluid circulation. The geochemical origins of methane in hydrothermal fluid and their relevance to hydrothermal fluid circulation revealed herein shed light on the different degrees of sediment influence in various geological/geographical settings in the Okinawa Trough.

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Data availability

Datasets related to this article could be available from Marine Science Data Center of Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences with permission (http://msdc.qdio.ac.cn/index.php?s=Cle/#0).

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the captain and crew of the R/V Kexue, as well as the Faxian operating team, for assistance with sample collection. We also thank  the editor and the anonymous reviewers for the comments that significantly improved our manuscript.

Funding

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA2205050000), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41822604, 41576104), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41906103), and the Senior User Project of RV KEXUE (KEXUE2021H01, 2019G06).

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  1. Center of Deep Sea Research, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Lei Cao, Chao Lian, Xin Zhang, Huan Zhang, Hao Wang, Li Zhou, Hao Chen, Minxiao Wang, Lianfu Li, Zhendong Luan & Chaolun Li

  2. Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Science, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Lei Cao, Chao Lian, Xin Zhang, Huan Zhang, Hao Wang, Li Zhou, Hao Chen, Minxiao Wang, Lianfu Li, Zhendong Luan & Chaolun Li

  3. Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266061, China

    Xin Zhang & Zhendong Luan

  4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Xin Zhang, Lianfu Li & Chaolun Li

  5. CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Minxiao Wang & Chaolun Li

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Cao, L., Lian, C., Zhang, X. et al. Geochemical origin of methane in hydrothermal fluid and its implication for the subseafloor hydrothermal circulation at the Middle Okinawa Trough. Geo-Mar Lett 41, 31 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00367-021-00706-7

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