The hydrogeologic properties of igneous ocean crust have been tested directly in only a few locations during IODP, but more common studies of crustal structure and rock alteration (using core samples and wireline logs) provide insight as to how water–rock interactions modify the crust over time. Collectively these studies reveal strong lithologic and hydrogeologic control on the nature of water–rock interactions, with hydrogeology following crustal architectures and histories. Permeability is generally greatest in the upper crust, but is heterogeneously distributed with depth and (at least in one location) may be azimuthally anisotropic. There appears to be a spreading rate dependence of basic patterns of rock alteration in the upper oceanic crust, with more variable and extensive alteration observed in crust created at slow- and medium-rate spreading centers. There may also be a spreading rate dependence of hydrogeologic properties, but we currently lack direct observations to test this hypothesis. The evolution of crustal properties with age is consistent with sustained ridge-flank water–rock interactions, and a continued dependence on fluid flow rates and reaction temperatures.
Sediment-covered basalt on the flanks of mid-ocean ridges constitutes most of Earth’s oceanic crust, but the composition and metabolic function of its microbial ecosystem are largely unknown. By drilling into 3.5-million-year-old subseafloor basalt, we demonstrated the presence of methane- and sulfur-cycling microbes on the eastern flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Depth horizons with functional genes indicative of methane-cycling and sulfate-reducing microorganisms are enriched in solid-phase sulfur and total organic carbon, host δ13C- and δ34S-isotopic values with a biological imprint, and show clear signs of microbial activity when incubated in the laboratory. Downcore changes in carbon and sulfur cycling show discrete geochemical intervals with chemoautotrophic δ13C signatures locally attenuated by heterotrophic metabolism.
