Micro-PIXE characterization of amorphous silica globules from a hydrothermal field on the sea floor of Okinawa, Southern Japan

During the examination of the representative specimens, a barite ore and a polymetallic chimney, from the JADE hydrothermal field of Okinawa Trough, many amorphous silica globules of approximately 10 to 50 micrometers in diameter were found as isolated sphere or bunchy aggregation. We performed micro-PIXE analyses of the globules to check the effectiveness of the method to such soft and vulnerable material, and to understand the geochemical characteristics. The result shows that amorphous silica can include various kinds of elements in lithophile, chalcophile and siderophile categories. The trace element distribution of the globules indicates that amorphous silica could be a good monitor of geochemical environment; and implies that the chemical variation of ore often in a mineral field is mainly derived by change in local physicochemical conditions of single mineralizing fluid rather than multiple injection of the solution. (author)