Control of serpentinisation rate by reaction-induced cracking

Serpentinisation of mantle rocks requires the generation and maintenance of transport pathways for water. The solid volume increase during serpentinisation can lead to stress build-up and trigger cracking, which ease fluid penetration into the rock. The quantitative effect of this reaction-induced cracking mechanism on reactive surface generation is poorly constrained, thus hampering our ability to predict serpentinisation rate in geological environments. Here we use a combined approach with numerical modelling and observations in natural samples to provide estimates of serpentinisation rate at mid-ocean ridges. We develop a micromechanical model to quantify the propagation of serpentinisation-induced cracks in olivine. The maximum crystallisation pressure deduced from thermodynamic calculations reaches several hundreds of megapascals but does not necessary lead to crack propagation if the olivine grain is subjected to high compressive stresses. The micromechanical model is then coupled to a simple geometrical model to predict reactive surface area formation during grain splitting, and thus bulk reaction rate. Our model reproduces quantitatively experimental kinetic data and the typical mesh texture formed during serpentinisation. We also compare the model results with olivine grain size distribution data obtained on natural serpentinised peridotites from the Marum ophiolite and the Papuan ultramafic belt (Papua New Guinea). The natural serpentinised peridotites show an increase of the number of olivine grains for a decrease of the mean grain size by one order of magnitude as reaction progresses from 5 to 40%. These results are in agreement with our model predictions, suggesting that reaction-induced cracking controls the serpentinisation rate. We use our model to estimate that, at mid-ocean ridges, serpentinisation occurs up to 12 km depth and reaction-induced cracking reduces the characteristic time of serpentinisation by one order of magnitude, down to values comprised between 10 and 1000 yr. The increase of effective pressure with depth also prevents cracking, which positions the peak in serpentinisation rate at shallower depths, 4 km above previous predictions.