Origins of lithium in submarine mud volcano fluid in the Nankai accretionary wedge

•The 7Li/6Li signature in mud volcano fluid in the Nankai forearc basin is light.•Nankai mud volcano fluid contains Li that experienced a high T of >150 °C.•Nankai mud diapirism involves fluids from the serpentinized forearc mantle.•Deep-seated fluids upwell intermittently in the Nankai accretionary wedge.

To investigate fluid regimes in the Nankai accretionary wedge, we estimated the temperatures of lithium (Li) reservoirs from the Li isotope ratio (7Li/6Li) in fluids recovered from Kumano mud volcano No. 5 (KMV#5) in the Nankai forearc basin. The 7Li/6Li ratios in the KMV#5 fluids are among the lightest reported from submarine mud volcanoes. The estimated Li reservoir temperatures (310 °C at maximum) were significantly higher than the smectite-to-illite conversion temperature (60-150 °C), whereas the temperature of fluid from the deeper Nankai décollement was estimated to be 150 °C at maximum. Data obtained from previous conductivity surveys across the trench suggest that there are two fluid reservoirs associated with distinct dehydration processes in the Nankai subduction zone. From these results, we inferred that the discontinuous mud diapirism in the Kumano forearc basin results from the periodic injection of deep-seated fluid accumulated in the corner of the serpentinized forearc mantle wedge that travels upward via a thrust fault. The intermittent upwelling of deep-seated fluid from the Nankai accretionary wedge due to periodic breaches of a low-permeability barrier above the fluid reservoir may be associated with seismogenic fault activity.

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