Thermal Properties and Burial Alteration of Deep-Sea Sediments: New Indicators of Oxic−Suboxic Diagenesis

Abstract

The application of thermal methods, such as Rock−Eval 6 pyrolysis or differential thermal analysis, provides complex information about sediment and rock properties, including thermal behaviour, degree of maturity, alteration of organic matter, and high temperature combustion synthesis mineral products. In this study, thermal methods included experiments on the thermokinetics of modern deep-sea sediments of the Northeast Pacific Basin. For experimental the procedure, twelve samples of siliceous clayey silts collected from the Clarion−Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), Interoceanmetal claim area, were analysed. CCFZ is highly prospective as a giant marine polymetallic deposit which contains several economically valuable metals, such as Ni, Cu, or Co. Hydrocarbon potential, thermal maturity, and roasting products were investigated. Mineralogical characteristics of thermal products were investigated. The obtained results of thermal experiments were compared with sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical data of bulk sediments. The total enthalpy ΔHTot. and activation energy Ea were proposed as a new lithogeochemical proxies of oxygen depletion during oxic−suboxic diagenesis. The distinctive increase in positive enthalpy (or heat transmission) was observed with the burial depth, where pelagic sediments showed strong oxygen depletion and consumed more energy during phase transformations.