Estimating excess bound water content due to serpentinisation in mature slow-spreading oceanic crust using Vp/Vs

Lianjun Li (), Jenny Collier (), Tim Henstock and Saskia Goes
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Lianjun Li: SW7 2BP
Jenny Collier: SW7 2BP
Tim Henstock: SO14 3ZH
Saskia Goes: SW7 2BP

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Mature oceanic crust carries chemically bound water which may be released in subduction zones or delivered to the deep mantle. Estimating water content in slow-spreading crust is challenging due to its complex lithology, requiring both P- and S-wave seismic velocity (Vp and Vs), the latter of which has been limited. Here we show 2D high-resolution Vp, Vs and excess bound water models due to serpentinisation of mature Atlantic crust near the Lesser Antilles. The ridge-parallel line crosses eight seafloor-spreading segments with equal numbers of magma-robust and magma-poor. Hydration is highly variable and mainly accommodated in strongly serpentinised peridotites, dominantly in magma-poor segments, which are not preferentially located near fracture zones. Serpentinised peridotites (17% of the crust) host four times more water than normal magmatic crust, increasing Atlantic subduction bound water budget by ~ 50%. This has implications back in geological time such as during supercontinent breakups when slow-spreading crust subduction was more common.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62052-x

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