Abstract

We present results from three-dimensional, transient, fully coupled simulations of fluid and heat transport on a ridge flank in fast-spread ocean crust. The simulations quantify relationships between rates of fluid flow, the extent of advective heat extraction, the geometry of crustal aquifers and outcrops, and crustal hydrologic parameters, with the goal of simulating conditions similar to those seen on 18–24 M.y. old seafloor of the Cocos plate, offshore Costa Rica. Extensive surveys of this region documented a ∼14,500 km² area of the seafloor with heat flux values that are 10–35% of those predicted from conductive cooling models, and identified basement outcrops that serve as pathways for hydrothermal circulation via recharge of bottom water and discharge of cool hydrothermal fluid. Simulations suggest that in order for rapid hydrothermal circulation to achieve observed seafloor heat flux values, upper crustal permeability is likely to be ~10^-10 to 10^-9m², with more simulations matching observations at the upper end of this range. These permeabilities are at the upper end of values measured in boreholes elsewhere in the volcanic ocean crust, and higher than inferred from three-dimensional modeling of another ridge-flank field site where there is less fluid flow and lower advective power output. The simulations also show that, in a region with high crustal permeability and variable sized outcrops, hydrothermal outcrop-to-outcrop circulation is likely to constitute a small fraction of total fluid circulation, with most of fluid flow occurring locally through individual outcrops that both recharge and discharge hydrothermal fluid.