The long-term chemical composition of seawater is controlled by the generalized reaction: primary igneous rocks + water + acid volatiles = sediments + oceans + atmosphere. Unstable crustal minerals are weathered by water and acid volatiles, and local equilibrium between the products of the reaction--oceanic sediments, seawater and the atmosphere--is attained.

To obtain a better picture of the evolution of the oceans as this reaction proceeds (minerals formed, mass transfers involved, changes in seawater composition), we simulated with a model calculation on a high speed computer the irreversible attack of "average igneous rock"--represented by an idealized mineral assemblage--by water and acid volatiles. We assumed a single-stage degassing process under reducing conditions at 25°C and 1 atm. The predicted final solid products at equilibrium, ranked according to decreasing mass, are amorphous silica (chert), clay minerals, carbonates, and K-feldspar. The predicted composition of the early ocean resembles that of present seawater except that (1) the dissolved sulfur is in reduced form, (2) the solution is saturated with amorphous silica and (3) the salinity is about twice that of today because of nonremoval of NaCl as evaporites.

Extension of these results to more realistic systems can at best be semiquantitative because of lack of sufficient thermochemical data. Furthermore, the recycling of sediments makes it very difficult to estimate early environmental conditions from present remnants of Precambrian sediments. Some generalizations can nevertheless be made with confidence. A more basic initial crustal material such as oceanic basalt would lead to larger amounts of clays and carbonates in the sediments at the expense of chert, and to a large concentration of dissolved ferrous iron in the ocean. Degassing of water preferentially to other volatiles would not affect the outcome of the weathering process unless the escape rates of the volatiles differed by several orders of magnitude. Although our model clearly represents one extreme, rapid degassing, the available geologic evidence does not preclude its having taken place. It is encouraging that the results of the calculation are in general accord with what has been reported previously.

End_of_Article - Last_Page 348------------