Serpentinite: What, Why, Where?

Rock-forming serpentine minerals form flat, cylindrical, and corrugated crystal microstructures, which reflect energetically efficient layering of alternate tetrahedral and octahedral sheets. Serpentinization of peridotite involves internal buffering of the pore fluid, reduction of oxygen fugacity, and partial oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+. Sluggish MgFe diffusion in olivine causes precipitation of magnetite and release of H-2. The tectonic environment of the serpentinization process dictates the abundance of fluid-mobile elements in serpentinites. Similar enrichment patterns of fluid-mobile elements in mantle-wedge serpentinites and arc magmas suggest a linkage between the dehydration of serpentinite and arc magmatism.