|
Fluid-Rock
Reaction and Equilibrium
Reaction
rates increase with temperature, and it has been hypothesized that equilibrium
is approached in the hot reaction zones at midocean ridges (i.e. Bowers
et al., 1988). If hydrothermal systems were simple, and thermodynamic
data were complete and infallible, then one could predict equilibrium
fluid composition with some accuracy from starting fluid and rock compositions
and well-defined reaction pathways. This is a complex problem, and is
under attack on a number of fronts by laboratories such as those of
W.E. Seyfried Jr. at the University of Minnesota,
Everett Shock at Washington University in St. Louis, and others. To
date, the thermodynamic modeling and water/rock experimental approaches
have produced important interpretations and predictions hydrothermal chemistry.
The role of field and analytical chemical work done at PMEL and in other
laboratories throughout the world is to determine what real hydrothermal
fluids are like, and fit these data into new or existing models of hydrothermal
systems. There is an interplay between field work, experimental work,
and theoretical work among different laboratories that has made steady
progress in understanding hydrothermal chemistry.
Vent Fluid Chemistry | Circulation Zones
| Fluid-Rock Reaction | Phase Separation| Temporal
Changes | Microbial Biosphere
|
|