Abstract
Mantle rocks exposed in seafloor and/or directly in contact with atmosphere in ophiolite system are thermodynamically and chemically in disequilibrium. Mantle alteration is driven by serpentinization (ie, hydration and oxidation-reduction reactions) and carbonatization reactions. These reactions play an major role in the chemical exchanges between the deep mantle and the outer envelops, especially in the global mass budget of volatiles (C, H and O) via CO2 mineralization, hydrogen production and formation of hydrocarbons and prebiotic molecules. Oman ophiolite is an ideal "natural laboratory" for studying alteration reactions in mantle rocks from ocean hydrothermalism to modern continental weathering.This thesis presents the results of a multi-technical and multi-scale study on carbonate-hosted serpentinized peridotites in two sites, Wadi Dima and Batin (Wadi Tayin massif), considered representative of the alteration processes affecting the Oman ophiolite. This work combines (micro-) structural (EBSD, µ-tomography), petrographical (EPMA), mineralogical (Raman, Cathodoluminescence, (3D-)XANES), geochemical ((LA)-ICPMS) and isotopic studies (O, C in situ and micro-bulk).Studies in Wadi Dima harzburgites have highlighted successive episodes of serpentinization and carbonatization in Oman peridotites from oceanic lithosphere cooling to Oman Ophiolite emplacement. Serpentinization occurs in oceanic setting (REE depletion, negative Ce anomalies), probably during the onset of the oceanic lithosphere cooling and / or of the intra-oceanic detachment, at < 200-220°C, driven by the formation of lizardite veins constituting the mesh structure. Serpentinization continues at lower temperature with the formation of chrysotile in the center of the mesh structure, replacing olivine. The last stage of serpentinization is concurrent with early carbonatization and generates the complete peridotite alteration at < 100°C. In this rock-dominated system, fluid flow paths are controlled by nano-porosity (etch pits), by pore scale weakness and by local heterogeneity in permeability, generating local chemical heterogeneities (Ce anomalies variability and carbon isotope heterogeneity). Carbonatization continues at < 50°C during the transition in continental setting. Carbonate veins are formed during interaction with sediment-derived fluids during intra-oceanic detachment at the onset of obduction and with surface and sub-surface fluids during modern continental Ophiolite weathering. This process records the transition from oceanic diffuse-flow rock-dominated to cooler continental fluid-focused-flow fluid-dominated hydrothermal systems. Paradoxically, initial mantle structure controls orientation and distribution of carbonate veins.Batin site is distinguished by its complex structure with the presence of abundant gabbros and pyroxenites dikes, evidence of magmatic impregnation peridotites. Serpentinization is charcheterized by the formation of an uncommon texture in rings ("fingerprint") at the expense of olivine, marked by chemically variation in Fe-Mg and redox at microscale and by disequilibrium oxygen isotopic composition. These features are interpreted as resulting from local disequilibrium in the transport-nucleation-reaction processes that may be related to several parameters: high temperature gradient, redox, fluid composition, and permeability.This thesis brings new constraints on temporal and spatial relations between serpentinization and carbonatization reactions, on local chemical heterogeneities at micro-scale and on the global chemical budget of volatiles (C, H and O) in Oman peridotites. It has highlighted the possibility to store CO2 and producing H2 simultaneously during subseafloor alteration.