Abstract
Many exposed high-pressure meta-serpentinites comprise a channelized
network of olivine-rich veins which formed during dehydration at depth
and served as pathway for fluid escape. Previous studies showed that the
formation of an olivine enriched vein-like interconnected porosity
network on the µm-scale is controlled by chemical heterogeneities in the
rock. However, the evolution towards larger scale and nearly pure
olivine veins is not yet well understood. Here we study the effects of
reactive fluid flow on a developing vein system during dehydration. We
use thermodynamic equilibrium calculations to investigate the effects of
bulk silica content variations in serpentinites on the dehydration
reaction of antigorite + brucite = olivine + free fluid and silica
content of this fluid phase. We develop a numerical model combining the
effects of intrinsic chemical heterogeneities with reactive silica
transport. Increasing temperatures lead to local fluid overpressure and
the liberation of a silica-poor fluid in a subdomain with initially
increased bulk iron and decreased silica content. The fluid overpressure
drives fluid flow into other subdomains where the fluid enhances
dehydration and leads to olivine enrichment in an iron-enriched vein.
Our model shows how reactive silica transport can lead to vein widening
and olivine enrichment within the veins as observed in the Erro Tobbio
meta-serpentinites. Thus, reactive fluid flow is a critical step in the
evolution towards a larger scale vein system and a dynamic porosity
evolution by accounting for a chemical feedback between the dehydrating
rock and the liberated fluid.