Juerg Matter

University of Southampton · National Oceanography Centre Southampton (NOCS)

The Oman Drilling Project was conducted as a part of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) from 2017 to 2018, and several boreholes including four across the crust-mantle transition zone were drilled in the program and acquired a full suite of slim and conventional wireline logs, high-resolution electrical borehole images...

The Oman Drilling Project was conducted as a part of the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) from 2017 to 2018, and several boreholes, including four across the crust-mantle transition zone, were drilled in the program (Matter et al., 2019; Kelemen et al., 2020; Takazawa, 2021). A full suite of slim and conventional wirelin...

Oman Drilling Project was carried out as a part of the International Continental scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) from 2017 to 2018 and several boreholes including four across crust-mantle transition zone were drilled in the program. A full suite of slim and conventional wireline log data included high resolution resistivity borehole images was a...

Olivine is the main component of the Earth’s upper mantle, on which our tectonic plates rest. As such, olivine has been studied since the dawn of geology and is regarded as the storyteller of the Earth’s interior. Its physical and chemical properties provide insight into its creation in magmas and its voyage through the upper mantle. However, when...

Nitrogen (N) is an essential element for life. N compounds such as ammonium (NH4+) may act as electron donors, while nitrate (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) may serve as electron acceptors to support energy metabolism. However, little is known regarding the availability and forms of N in subsurface ecosystems, particularly in serpentinite-hosted settings...

With this Preface, we provide background information, a scientific overview of topics, and an annotated bibliography of the 63 papers published in the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) Special Issue on “Ophiolites and Oceanic Lithosphere, with a Focus on the Samail Ophiolite,” collected online at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/...

Carbon capture and storage is a key mitigation strategy proposed for keeping the global temperature rise below 1.5 °C. Offshore storage can provide up to 13% of the global CO2 reduction required to achieve the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change goals. The public must be assured that potential leakages from storage reservoirs can be detected...

This paper provides an overview of research on core from Oman Drilling Project Hole BT1B and the surrounding area, plus new data and calculations, constraining processes in the Tethyan subduction zone beneath the Samail ophiolite. The area is underlain by gently dipping, broadly folded layers of allochthonous Hawasina pelagic sediments, the metamor...

The Oman Drilling Project “Multi‐Borehole Observatory” (MBO) samples an area of active weathering of tectonically exposed peridotite. This article reviews the geology of the MBO region, summarizes recent research, and provides new data constraining ongoing alteration. Host rocks are partially to completely serpentinized, residual mantle harzburgite...

In hyperalkaline (pH>10) fluids that have participated in low‐temperature (<150°C) serpentinization reactions, the dominant form of C is often methane (CH4), but the origin of this CH4 is uncertain. To assess CH4 origin in serpentinite aquifers within the Samail Ophiolite, Oman, we determined fluid chemical compositions, analyzed taxonomic profiles...

To inform cost-effective monitoring of offshore geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2), a unique field experiment, designed to simulate leakage of CO2 from a sub-seafloor storage reservoir, was carried out in the central North Sea. A total of 675 kg of CO2 were released into the shallow sediments (∼3 m below seafloor) for 11 days at flow rates...

The Oman Drilling Project established an “Active Alteration” multi‐borehole observatory in peridotites undergoing low‐temperature serpentinization in the Samail Ophiolite. The highly serpentinized rocks are in contact with strongly reducing fluids. Distinct hydrological regimes, governed by differences in rock porosity and fracture density, give ri...

The potential for molecular hydrogen (H2) generated via serpentinization to fuel subsurface microbial ecosystems independent from photosynthesis has prompted biogeochemical investigations of serpentinization‐influenced fluids. However, investigations typically sample via surface seeps or open‐borehole pumping, which can mix chemically distinct wate...

There is growing urgency for CO2 removal strategies to slow the increase of, and potentially lower, atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Enhanced weathering, whereby the natural reactions between CO2 and silicate minerals that produce dissolved bicarbonate ions are accelerated, has the potential to remove substantial CO2 on decadal to centennial timesca...

Serpentinized peridotite is reacting with groundwater in the subsurface of the Samail ophiolite in Oman. Although these rocks are partially to completely serpentinized, they interact with a groundwater aquifer containing hyperalkaline fluids rich in H2 and CH4. Since the mechanisms by which H2 production may continue at low temperatures (<50°C) are...

Site CM1 (22.90724°N, 58.33582°E) is situated in the northern end of Wadi Zeeb and hosted in layered gabbros of the lowermost crust of the Samail ophiolite (see Fig. F1 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1A chapter). Hole CM1A (22.90726°N, 58.33582°E) is situated a few meters above the wadi (see Fig. F2 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1B cha...

Site CM2 (22.911°N, 58.336°E) is situated in the northern reaches of Wadi Zeeb in the middle of the Crust–Mantle Transition Zone (CMTZ) of the Samail ophiolite (see Fig. F1 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1A chapter). Hole CM2A (22.91097°N, 58.33574°E) is situated a few meters above the wadi (see Fig. F2 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1B...

Site CM2 (22.911°N, 58.336°E) is situated in the northern reaches of Wadi Zeeb in the middle of the Crust–Mantle Transition Zone (CMTZ) of the Samail ophiolite (see Fig. F1 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1A chapter). Hole CM2A (22.91097°N, 58.33574°E) is situated a few meters above the wadi (see Fig. F2 in the Introduction to Science Theme 1B...

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a key technology to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from industrial processes in a feasible, substantial, and timely manner. For geological CO2 storage to be safe, reliable, and accepted by society, robust strategies for CO2 leakage detection, quantification and management are crucial. The STEMM-CCS (Strate...

From a literal and conceptual distance the boundary between the ocean crust and mantle is simple and defined by mafic and ultramafic rocks formed by the cooling and crystallization of magmas that were produced at an ocean spreading ridge by the decompression partial melting of the underlying mantle peridotite, mostly tectonized harzburgite and duni...

Serpentinization can generate highly reduced fluids replete with hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH4), potent reductants capable of driving microbial methanogenesis and methanotrophy, respectively. However, CH4 in serpentinized waters is thought to be primarily abiogenic, raising key questions about the relative importance of methanogens and methanotrop...

Evaluation of seismic reflection data has identified the presence of fluid escape structures cross-cutting overburden stratigraphy within sedimentary basins globally. Seismically-imaged chimneys/pipes are considered to be possible pathways for fluid flow, which may hydraulically connect deeper strata to the seabed. The properties of fluid migration...

In some localities, peridotites at the base of the Samail ophiolite mantle section underwent 100% carbonation at 100°–200°C to form “listvenites” in which all Mg and Ca are in carbonate minerals. These rocks are composed entirely of magnesite and/or dolomite + quartz + Fe oxyhydroxides (hematite, goethite, etc.) + chromite and/or chromian mica (“fu...

Ophiolitic formations play a critical role in the groundwater resource of numerous countries and areas. Previous studies show that the structural heterogeneities of these rocks, coming from the presence of both different lithological units and multi-scale discontinuities, result in complex hydrogeological features that are not well characterized ye...

This chapter documents the procedures, methods, and databases employed at the drill sites and in the various shipboard and shorebased laboratories during Phases 1 and 2 of the Oman Drilling Project (OmanDP), which took place from November 2016 to September 2018. This information applies only to operations and research described in this Proceedings...

This chapter documents the procedures, methods, and databases employed at the drill sites and in the various shipboard and shorebased laboratories during Phases 1 and 2 of the Oman Drilling Project (OmanDP), which took place from November 2016 to September 2018. This information applies only to operations and research described in this Proceedings...

Wadi Gideah, in the Wadi Tayin Massif, is the best site for study of an intact crustal section in the Samail ophiolite (Fig. F1). The section is well mapped by the US Geological Survey, the Oman Geological Survey, the Nicolas group at the Université de Montpellier II, and Professor Tjerk Peters of the University of Bern, Switzerland (Fig. F2). Rece...

Engineering the permanent storage of CO2 in earth-abundant Ca- and Mg-bearing silicate and alumino-silicate rocks and minerals as carbonates requires a fundamental understanding of the extents of carbonate conversion that can be achieved at conditions relevant to geologic formations. While many studies have reported the reaction rates and the carbo...

Far-from-equilibrium batch experiments have been performed to study the low temperature dissolution potential of crystalline submarine basalts (from Juan de Fuca Plate and Mid-Atlantic Ridges) and of a highly altered gabbro from the Troodos ophiolite (Cyprus) in presence of seawater and carbon dioxide (CO2). The experiments have been carried out at...

Sub-vertical geological structures that cut through the overburden, usually called chimneys or pipes, are common in sedimentary basins. Chimneys behave as conduits that hydraulically connect deep strata with the overburden and seabed. Hence, if stored CO2 migrates to a sufficiently high permeability chimney the risk of CO2 leakage at the seabed inc...

CO 2 sequestration in the form of carbonate minerals via alteration of oceanic crust and upper mantle is an important part of the global carbon cycle, but the annual rate of CO 2 mineralization is not well quantified. This study aimed to constrain groundwater ages within the Samail ophiolite, Sultanate of Oman. Such ages could provide upper bounds...

One of the main challenges of worldwide carbon capture and storage (CCS) efforts is its cost. As much as 90% of this cost stems from the capture of pure or nearly pure CO2 from exhaust streams. This cost can be lowered by capturing gas mixtures rather than pure CO2. Here we present a novel integrated carbon capture and storage technology, installed...

Sub-vertical geological structures that cut through the overburden, usually called chimneys or pipes, are common in the North Sea. Chimneys behave as conduits that hydraulically connect deep strata with the overburden and seabed. Hence, if stored CO2 reaches a sufficiently high permeability chimney the risk of CO2 leakage at the seabed increases. D...

Sub-vertical geological structures that cut through the overburden, usually called chimneys or pipes, are common in sedimentary basins. Chimneys behave as conduits that hydraulically connect deep strata with the overburden and seabed. Hence, if stored CO2 migrates to sufficiently high permeability chimney the risk of CO2 leakage at the seabed incre...

The in-situ carbonation of basaltic rocks could provide a long-term carbon storage solution. To investigate the viability of this carbon storage solution, 175 tonnes of pure CO₂ and 73 tonnes of a 75% CO₂-24% H₂S-1% H₂-gas mixture were sequentially injected into basaltic rocks as a dissolved aqueous fluid...

Evaluation of seismic reflection data has revealed structures cross-cutting the overburden within many sedimentary basins worldwide, including those in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea. These seismically-imaged pipes and chimneys are considered to be possible pathways for fluid flow. Natural fluids from deeper strata have migrated through these stru...

Improved methods for predicting fluid transport and vesicle connectivity in heterogeneous basalts are critical for determining the long-term reaction and trapping behavior of sequestered carbon dioxide and maximizing the efficiency of geothermal energy production. In this study we measured vesicle geometry, pore connectivity, and vesicle surface ar...

In this invited review, we summarize the main results of ongoing research on “in situ” carbon mineralization in ultramafic rocks, including outcrop studies in Oman, investigation of carbon mass transfer in subduction zones from the Oman Drilling Project, laboratory investigations and numerical modeling of the pressure of crystallization and reactio...

De Beers kimberlite mine operations in South Africa (Venetia and Voorspoed) and Canada (Gahcho Kué, Victor, and Snap Lake) have the potential to sequester carbon dioxide (CO2) through weathering of kimberlite mine tailings, which can store carbon in secondary carbonate minerals (mineral carbonation). Carbonation of ca. 4.7 to 24.0 wt% (average = 13...

To avoid the most dangerous consequences of anthropogenic climate change, the Paris Agreement provides a clear and agreed climate mitigation target of stabilizing global surface warming to under 2.0 °C above preindustrial, and preferably closer to 1.5 °C. However, policy makers do not currently know exactly what carbon emissions pathways to follow...

Mineral carbonation in basaltic rock provides a permanent storage solution for the mitigation of anthropogenic CO2 emissions in the atmosphere. 3D X-ray micro-CT (XCT) image analysis is applied to a core sample from the main basaltic reservoir of the CarbFix site in Iceland, which obtained a connected porosity of 2.05–8.76%, a reactive surface area...

https://agu.confex.com/agu/fm17/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/328724

16:30-16:45 Oman Drilling Project Holes GT1A and GT2A were drilled into the Wadi Tayin massif, Samail ophiolite and both recovered ca. 400 m of continuous core through a section of the layered gabbros and the foliated-layered gabbro transition. Hole GT1A is cut by a discrete fault system including localized thin ultracataclastic fault zones. Hole G...

Basalts are recognized as one of the major habitats on Earth, harboring diverse and active microbial populations. Inconsistently, this living component is rarely considered in engineering operations carried out in these environments. This includes carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies that seek to offset anthropogenic CO2 emissions into the...