Serpentine and the geology of serpentinized rocks

Abstract

The mineral name "serpentine' is applied to a series of three minerals, lizardite, antigorite, and chrysotile. All three are produced by the hydration of the ferromagnesian minerals of ultramafic rocks at low temperature and pressure under conditions favorable for the formation of each member of the group. During serpentinization the only component mobilized to any extent is calcium which is found in the pyroxenes and plagioclases of some parent rocks. Isotopic evidence suggest that serpentinization occurs as a result of rock interaction with various waters. Serpentine protoliths are essentially ultramafic rocks which fall into a number of categories: a) stratiform complexes, b) concentrically zoned complexes, c) ophiolite complexes and, d) high-temperature peridotite complexes. -from Author