Zn isotope compositions of the thermal spring waters of La Soufrière volcano, Guadeloupe Island
Abstract
To trace the sources and pathways of Zn in hydrothermal systems, the Zn isotope compositions of seventeen water samples
from eight thermal springs and six gas samples from two fumaroles from La Soufrie
`
re, an active volcano on Guadeloupe
Island (French West Indies, FWI), were analyzed using a method adapted for purifying Zn from Fe- and SO
4
-enriched ther-
mal solutions. The fumaroles are enriched in Zn 100 to 8000 times compared to the local bedrock and have isotopic compo-
sitions (
d
66
Zn values from +0.21
&
to +0.35
&
) similar to or slightly higher than fresh andesite (+0.21
&
). The enrichment of
Zn in the thermal springs compared with the surface waters shows that Zn behaves as a soluble element during hydrothermal
alteration but is significantly less mobile than Na. The
d
66
Zn values of most of the spring waters are relatively constant
(approximately 0.70
&
), indicating that the thermal springs from La Soufrie
`
re are enriched in heavy isotopes (i.e.,
66
Zn) com-
pared to the host rocks (from
0.14
&
to +0.42
&
). Only three thermal springs have lower
d
66
Zn values (as low as
0.43%).
While the Zn in the fumaroles is essentially derived from magma degassing, which is consistent with a previous study on
Merapi volcano (
Toutain et al., 2008
), we show that the Zn in the thermal springs is mainly derived from water–rock inter-
actions. The
66
Zn-enriched isotopic signature in most of the spring waters can be explained qualitatively by the precipitation
at depth of sulfide minerals that preferentially incorporate the light isotopes. This agrees with the isotopic fractionation that
was recently calculated for aqueous complexes of Zn. The few thermal springs with lower
d
66
Zn values also have low Zn con-
centrations, indicating the preferential scavenging of heavy Zn isotopes in the hydrothermal conduits.
This study shows that unlike chemical weathering under surface conditions, hydrothermal alteration at high temperatures
significantly fractionates Zn isotopes and enriches thermal waters in heavy Zn isotopes (e.g.,
66
Zn). Continental hydrothermal
systems therefore constitute a source of heavy Zn isotopes to the oceans; this should be taken into account in the global oce-
anic budget of Zn.