Petrology of Alpine Tethys serpentinites: New insights on serpentinization at passive margins

Fluid-rock interactions in mantle rocks that turns peridotite into serpentinite has been widely documented during the past two decades, for geological settings such as mid-ocean ridges (MOR) and subduction zones. In contrast, serpentinization at rifted margins has received much less attention, while serpentinites at these settings are largely involved in geochemical and tectonic processes that occur from continental break-up to the establishment of a steady-state MOR. This study presents new petrological and mineralogical investigations on peridotites that were part of the subcontinental mantle exhumed along a former Ocean-Continent Transition (OCT) of the Jurassic Alpine Tethys, nowadays exposed as ophiolitic nappes (Platta, Tasna and Totalp) in the southeastern part of the Swiss Alps. These peridotites experienced various degrees of serpentinization, from moderately to completely serpentinized. At Totalp, initially located close to the continent, serpentinization forms a typical lizardite-bearing mesh texture that surrounds relics of primary minerals. Locally, the association of andradite and polyhedral serpentine occurs as alteration products of clinopyroxene, which may be interpreted in terms of low temperature serpentinization and near-isochemical conditions. At lower Platta, which represents the oceanwards (distal) domain of the OCT, serpentinization is extensive and, similarly to Totalp, predominantly formed by mesh lizardite. For the two previously mentioned sites, the typical mesh texture suggests a fluid-rock interaction with a low water-to-rock ratio. At Tasna and upper Platta, which both correspond to more proximal domains of the OCT (i.e., continentwards), serpentinites are characterized by several superimposed serpentinization events marked by successive generations of serpentine-filling veins with distinct morphologies and textures, forming the following sequence: Mesh texture —> Banded veins (V1) —> Crack seals (V2) —> Lamellar veins (V3). The V1 banded veins are made of several serpentine species including chrysotile, polygonal serpentine, polyhedral serpentine and lizardite. They formed as a result of gradual opening during exhumation of the mantle from a supersaturated solution. The progressive evolution from chrysotile to polygonal serpentine and then lizardite is attributed to more intense fluid-rock interactions and a lower fluid saturation with decreasing depth. V2 crack seals consist of chrysotile veins formed at shallow depth after strain release and under high water/rock ratios. Surprisingly, antigorite was identified as the latest vein generation (V3). Trace element compositions for V3 are comparable to those of earlier vein generations, but strongly differ from those attributed to the Alpine convergence, excluding their formation during prograde subduction metamorphism. Rather, we propose that antigorite veins formed as a result of compressive stresses generated by apparent unbending of the footwall during final exhumation. This result shows that antigorite is not only restricted to convergent domains, and that it may be more common in rifted margins and (ultra-)slow spreading centers than previously thought.