Coupled modeling of thermics and hydrogeology with the Cast3M code: application to the Rainbow hydrothermal field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 36°14′N)

We present a new numerical tool developed in the Cast3M software framework to model hydrothermal circulation. Thermodynamic properties of one-phase pure water are calculated from the International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam formulation. This new numerical tool is validated on several test cases of convection in closed-top and open-top boxes. Simulations of hydrothermal circulation in a homogeneous-permeability porous medium also give results in good agreement with already published simulations. This new numerical tool is used to construct a geometric and physical conceptual model of the Rainbow vent site at 36°14′N on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Several configurations are discussed, showing that high temperatures and high mass fluxes measured at the Rainbow site cannot be modeled with hydrothermal circulation in a homogeneous-permeability porous medium. These high values require the presence of a fault or a preferential pathway right below the venting site. We propose and discuss a two-dimensional single-pass model that allows us to simulate both high temperatures and high mass fluxes. This modeling of the hydrothermal circulation at the Rainbow site constitutes the first but necessary step to understand the origin of high concentrations of hydrogen issued from this ultramafic-hosted vent field.