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Daniel E. Kile

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel E. Kile.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2015

Celestine-bearing geodes from Wayne and Emery counties, southeastern Utah: Genesis and mineralogy

Geodes containing celestine with associated quartz, calcite, chlorite, and other minerals occur in the Jurassic Curtis Formation of Emery and Wayne counties off the east and south flanks of the San Rafael Swell in southeastern Utah. The two areas discussed in this article produce geodes to 25 cm wide containing bladed to tabular celestine crystals that are as much as 4.5 cm in length. An evaporative littoral system resulting in the formation of anhydrite nodules is proposed as the initial environment for this deposit. Subsequent silicification of the nodules and, in some cases, the formation of hollow spaces within the silicified nodules, provided a geode structure for the eventual crystallization of celestine and associated minerals.

Utah↗
USGS2005

Mineralogy and provenance of clays in miarolitic cavities of the Pikes Peak batholith, Colorado

Clay samples from 105 cavities within miarolitic granitic pegmatites throughout the Pikes Peak batholith, in Colorado, were analyzed by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). Smectite (beidellite), illite, and kaolinite were found within the cavities. Calculation of crystallite-thickness distribution (CTD), mean thickness of the crystallites, and variance in crystallite thickness, as deduced from XRD patterns, allowed a determination of provenance and mode of formation for illite and smectite. Authigenic miarolitic-cavity illite and smectite show lognormal CTDs and larger mean thicknesses of crystallites than do their soil-derived counterparts; non-lognormal illite in a cavity results from mixing of cavity and soil illite. Analysis of mean thickness and thickness variance shows that crystal growth of illite is initiated by a nucleation event of short duration, followed by surface-controlled kinetics. Crystallization of the miarolitic cavity clays is presumed to occur by neoformation from hydrothermal fluids. The assessment of provenance allows a determination of regional and local distributions of clay minerals in miarolitic cavities within the Pikes Peak batholith.

Colorado↗