Sulfur concentrations and isotopic composition of serpentinized oceanic peridotites

Microbial reduction of seawater sulfate resulted in addition of low-delta34S sulfide (~15 to ~43‰) and formation of higher-sulfur assemblages that include valleriite and pyrite. The high SO4/total S ratio of Hess Deep serpentinites (0.89) results in an increase of total sulfur and high delta34S of total sulfur (mean ~8‰). In contrast, Iberian Margin serpentinites gained large amounts of 34S-poor sulfide (mean total S = 3800 ppm), and the high sulfide/total S ratio (0.61) results in a net decrease in delta34S of total sulfur (mean ~ -5‰).

Thus serpentinization is a net sink for seawater sulfur, but the amount fixed and its isotopic composition vary significantly. Serpentinization may result in uptake of 0.4-14

• 10**12 g S/yr from the oceans, comparable to isotopic exchange in mafic rocks of seafloor hydrothermal systems and approaching global fluxes of riverine sulfate input and sedimentary sulfide output.