Brine-Rich Hydrothermal Fluid Circulation in the Upper Level of Nidar Ophiolite Sequence, Ladakh:Evidences from Fluid Inclusions

Abstract

Microthermometric study of fluid inclusions in gabbro from the Nidar ophiolitic sequence revealed that brine rich fluid (34-45 wt% NaC1) at the temperature of more than 400°C were predominant throughout the gabbro High saline inclusion homogenized by halite dissolution at the temperature of 276-400°C. All the moderate to high temperature(l30-390°C) inclusions are liquid and vapour dominated, commonly secondary in origin, majority having seawater-Like salinity( 17- 8 wt% NaC1).

The highly saline fluid was probably derived by phase separation of hydrothermal seawater or an exsolved magmatic aqueous phase at the temperature of 250-412°C. The migration of the Phase-Separated along fractures resulted in segregation of the vapour and brines and preferential entrapment of High-Saline inclusions at depth. These brines may have originated when seawater approached the top of the magma chamber. The subsequent fracturing of the gabbro at the temperature of 130-390°C facilitated the entry of seawater which pervasively altered the gabbro. This hydration processes resulted into the formation of secondary minerals or by mixing with Phase-Separated fluid, resulting in salinities Two-Times higher than that of seawater.