Major and trace element compositions of volcanic glasses recovered from the ocean floor

An example of the effective use of the “GANSEKI” database of rock samples from the deep sea floor

Abstract

Many samples of various rock types recovered directly from the ocean floor are housed at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). The GANSEKI database, maintained by JAMSTEC, provides a record of submarine rock samples and is currently available on the Internet, enabling the user to search for specific types of submarine rock samples and their conditions, such as size, lithology and degree of alteration/weathering. We used the GANSEKI database to obtain submarine samples recovered from various tectonic settings, such as mid-ocean ridge, back arc, and forearc, and here we report on the major and trace element compositions of volcanic glasses from mid-ocean ridge settings.