Authigenic Biotite from Hydrothermally Altered Terrigenous Sediments of the Central Hill (Escanaba Trough, Gorda Ridge, Pacific Ocean, ODP Hole 1038B)

Abstract

Authigenic dispersed biotite was discovered for the first time in Pleistocene terrigenous sediments of the Central Hill located in the Escanaba Trough in the southern part of the Gorda Ridge (northeastern sector of the Pacific Ocean). It accounts for almost the entire content of fine fractions <1 μm of most samples from ODP Hole 1038B. The authigenic nature of the biotite is associated with the metasomatic effect of hydrothermal solution on terrigenous clay minerals of sediments after the intrusion of basaltic magma in the form of laccolith with a temperature of ~1200°C. The mineral composition of fine fractions of sediments was studied using complex analytical methods, including modeling of their X-ray diffraction patterns. It has been established that the dispersed micaceous mineral (biotite) is trioctahedral, high-iron, does not swell when saturated with glycol, but contracts after heating at 550°C. It is shown that its structure is devoid of foreign layers, the height and composition of which differ from those of micaceous layers. The decrease in the height of micaceous layers upon heating biotite to 550°C is mainly related to a decrease in the height of 2 : 1 octahedra due to the difference in the Fe²⁺–O and Fe³⁺–O bond lengths as a result of the oxidation of Fe²⁺ cations. It has been established that a limit value for the coefficient of variation CV should not exceed 0.10 to characterize the absence of mixed-layering in a regular structure.