Zuxing Chen

Chinese Academy of Sciences | CAS · Institute of Oceanology

The crystal‐poor rhyolitic pumice is the product of extreme magma differentiation and is characterized by highly vesicular, honeycomb‐like structure. However, little is known about the evolutionary history and the time of volatile saturation of the pumice‐forming melt. A crystal‐poor rhyolitic pumice (TVG7‐1) has been collected from the Yoron Hole...

Plain Language Summary Altered oceanic crust (AOC) is an important subduction component that contributes to the generation of arc magmas. However, identifying this contribution to arc magmas is challenging for the lack of effective tracers. Nonetheless, AOC has two characteristic features: (a) Sr‐Nd isotope decoupling (i.e., enriched in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr r...

The Bipindi iron ore district is located in the central section of the Nyong Complex at the northwestern margin of the Congo Craton in southwest Cameroon. This iron district contains numerous iron mineralization hosted by the Mewongo, Bibole, Kouambo, and Zambi Banded Iron Formations (BIFs). These BIFs contain magnetite as the main iron ore mineral...

Submarine hydrothermal activity has been a focused research topic since its discovery in the 1970s [...]

Abundant submarine volcanoes have been identified in the southwestern Okinawa Trough, yet the duration of shallow magma reservoirs and processes driving their eruptions remains unclear. Here, the texture and in situ element compositions of orthopyroxene and magnetite in the dacite and mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs) from the FDV-1 submarine volcano...

The Yonaguni Knoll IV is an active seafloor hydrothermal system associated with submarine silicic volcanism located in the “cross back-arc volcanic trail” (CBVT) in the southwestern Okinawa Trough. However, the behavior of volatiles during magmatic differentiation in the shallow silicic magma chamber is unclear. Here, the volatile contents of apati...

Submarine volcanic eruptions can be destructive for marine environments and resources. Magma mixing is considered to be an important trigger for volcanic eruptions. Determining the magma residence time from mixing to eruption is conducive to assessing the stability of magmatic systems, especially beneath the seafloor where in situ volcano monitorin...

The studies of iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) isotopic compositions in seafloor andesites are helpful in understanding the metal stable isotope fractionation during magma evolution. Here, the Fe, Cu, and Zn isotopic compositions of andesites from the Kueishantao hydrothermal field (KHF) off northeastern Taiwan, west Pacific, have been studie...

Arc basalts typically have higher Fe³⁺/ΣFe ratios but lighter Fe isotopic compositions than mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB); however, the reasons for these differences are unclear. Here, we report new Fe isotope data for fresh lavas from the Mariana subduction zone, along with available Fe-B-Sr-Nd isotope and B/Nb ratio data for global arc basalts,...

Serpentinite dehydration during subduction releases fluids into the sub‐arc mantle, yet the oxidizing capability of these fluids remains controversial. Here, redox‐sensitive Cu isotopes and in situ S isotopes of magmatic sulfides in fresh lavas from three subduction zones in the western Pacific were analyzed to determine the speciation of multi‐val...

As one of the youngest back-arc basins, the evolutionary behavior of magmatic volatiles in the Eastern Manus Basin has been poorly studied. Recently, apatite has received widespread attention for its powerful function in recording information on magmatic volatiles. In this paper, by determining the major element compositions and primary volatile ab...

Studies of the element contents and isotopic characteristics of sulfide minerals from seafloor hydrothermal sulfide deposits are a significant method of investigating seawater-fluid mixing and fluid-rock and/or sediment interactions in hydrothermal systems. The seafloor hydrothermal sulfide ores from the Noho hydrothermal field (NHF) in the Okinawa...

The in situ element concentrations and the sulfur (S), and lead (Pb) isotopic compositions in anglesite were investigated for samples from seafloor hydrothermal fields in the Okinawa Trough (OT), Western Pacific. The anglesite grains are of two kinds: (1) low Pb/high S primary hydrothermal anglesite (PHA), which is formed by mixing of fluid and sea...

Mantle source heterogeneity of arc‐related magmas was traditionally thought to be predominantly affected by slab‐derived components. However, the role of forearc serpentinites in causing subarc mantle heterogeneity remains poorly constrained. Here, we present the first Zn isotope data for lavas from the Mariana and Ryukyu subduction zones. Notably,...

Studies of the mineralogy and sulfur isotope composition of sediment-hosted hydrothermal sulfide minerals in cores are important for understanding the seafloor mineralization environment and material source and reconstructing the hydrothermal history. However, the source of ore-forming materials and the history of hydrothermal activity in the south...

The Mbondo-Ngazi Tina area belongs to the eastern part of the Adamawa-Yadé Domain (AYD), which corresponds to the central domain of the Central African Fold Belt (CAFB) in Cameroon. This area comprises three groups of granitoids including granites, syenites, and diorites, which are chemically similar to quartz monzonites and nepheline syenites, and...

Magmatism has profoundly influenced the evolution of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere, and biosphere in back-arc basins. However, the timing of the magmatism in the Okinawa Trough (OT) is not well constrained by the age spectra of zircons. Here, for the first time, we carry out an integrated study combining in situ analysis of zircon U–Th–Pb...

Magmatic sulfide saturation and dissolution are increasingly thought to play important roles in controlling the behavior of chalcophile metals in arc-related magma. However, the mechanisms of these processes during magma evolution in the Okinawa Trough (OT) are still poorly known. Here, we firstly report magmatic sulfides characterized by variable...

Episodic supercontinental amalgamation has profoundly influenced the evolution of the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere. However, the timing of supercontinent formation has mainly been constrained by the global age spectra of detrital zircon. Here, we show that the zircons in back-arc volcanic rocks not only reflect the evolution of...

The processes and time scales of magma mixing in shallow silicic magma chambers prior to eruptions in the Oki-nawa Trough (OT) are still poorly understood. Here, we employed in situ major-trace elements and Sr isotopic analyses, coupled with textural investigations, on plagioclase phenocrysts in the mafic magmatic enclaves (MMEs) and their host dac...

Seafloor hydrothermal vent fields (SHVFs) are located in the mid-ocean ridge (MOR), backarc basin (BAB), island arc and hot-spot environments and hosted mainly by ultramafic, mafic, felsic rocks, and sediments. The hydrothermal vent fluids of SHVFs have low oxygen, abnormal pH and temperature, numerous toxic compounds, and inorganic energy sources,...

High-resolution sedimentary records reveal the patterns of weathering and erosion in response to climate change, environmental variability, and human activity. Here, we present major and trace element data, SrNd isotopic compositions, and mass accumulation rates (MARs) for the siliciclastic sediment fraction of a relatively high-resolution sediment...

The composition of hydrothermal plumes reflects the physical and chemical characteristics of seafloor hydrothermal fluids, which in turn reflects the host rock and subseafloor reaction conditions as well as the water column processes that act to alter the plumes as they disperse and age. Here, we show that the turbidity, current, pH value, dissolve...

The sediment sources in the southern Okinawa trough (SOT) are still controversial and few studies have focused on the effects of transport processes on the elemental composition of initial terrigenous materials. Here we present rare earth element (REE) and trace element data on siliciclastic sediments from ¹⁴ C age-dated Core S3, which was collecte...

Frequent volcanic activity has occurred in the Okinawa Trough (OT) during the late Quaternary, which attracted much attention to the origin of volcanic rocks. Pumice collected from the seafloor has been extensively investigated, whereas few studies paid attention to the pumice in the sediment. The geochemical compositions of pumice preserved in sed...

The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc, initial marginal sea basin located behind the Ryukyu arc–trench system. Analysis of the plagioclase phenocrysts from two basalts and two silicic rocks dredged from different locations in the southern Okinawa Trough (SOT) provides a detailed record of the nature and composition of and changes in the magma withi...

Apatite has recently gained considerable attention, providing new insight into a wide range of geological processes, such as geochronology, magmatism, metasomatism and metallogenesis. Here, we investigate the U-Th/He dates, in situ major- and trace- element concentrations, and 87Sr/86Sr ratios of apatites in the dacite from the southwestern Okinawa...

In the southwestern Okinawa Trough, a cluster of approximate 70 submarine volcanoes is located at the cross back-arc volcanic trail (CBVT), with the eruptive products dominated by rhyolites. New whole-rock major and trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb–O isotopic data and previously available geochemistry data of volcanic rocks from this region are presented...

The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc, initial marginal sea basin that is located behind the Ryukyu arc–trench system. Pumice, including both white and black pumice, is the most widely distributed magmatic rock in the OT. Here, the major and trace element concentrations and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the white and black pumice from the middl...

Silicate melt inclusions (SMIs) in basalt from the middle Okinawa Trough are investigated in detail to understand the source geochemical characteristics and petrogenesis of the basalt. The middle Okinawa Trough basalts contain abundant SMIs within olivine phenocrysts. The major element compositions of the SMIs are analysed using an electron micropr...

The Iheya North Knoll is a submarine hill that is covered with pumice in the Okinawa Trough. The petrology and mineralogy of the crystal-poor rhyolitic pumice collected from two sampling sites (T3 and T6) on the knoll were analysed in this article. The T6 pumice, which contains some mafic minerals (e.g., clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene), is slightly m...

As an active back-arc basin, the Okinawa Trough is located in the southeastern region of the East China Sea shelf and is strongly influenced by the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate. Major element, trace element and Sr-Nd- Pb isotopic composition data are presented for volcanic rocks from the Iheya Ridge (IR), the middle Okinawa Trough. The IR...

To reveal the petrogenesis of rhyolite from the southwestern Okinawa Trough, the mineral chemistry of plagioclase, orthopyroxene, amphibole, quartz and Fe-Ti oxide phenocrysts were analyzed using an electron microprobe, and in suit Sr and Ba contents of plagioclase analysed by LA-ICPMS were chosen for fingerprinting plagioclases of different proven...