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Daniel M. Unruh

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel M. Unruh.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
USGS2017

Isotopic data for Late Cretaceous intrusions and associated altered and mineralized rocks in the Big Belt Mountains, Montana

The quartz monzodiorite of Mount Edith and the concentrically zoned intrusive suite of Boulder Baldy constitute the principal Late Cretaceous igneous intrusions hosted by Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks of the Newland Formation in the Big Belt Mountains, Montana. These calc-alkaline plutonic masses are manifestations of subduction-related magmatism that prevailed along the western edge of North America during the Cretaceous. Radiogenic isotope data for neodymium, strontium, and lead indicate that the petrogenesis of the associated magmas involved a combination of (1) sources that were compositionally heterogeneous at the scale of the geographically restricted intrusive rocks in the Big Belt Mountains and (2) variable contamination by crustal assimilants also having diverse isotopic compositions. Altered and mineralized rocks temporally, spatially, and genetically related to these intrusions manifest at least two isotopically distinct mineralizing events, both of which involve major inputs from spatially associated Late Cretaceous igneous rocks. Alteration and mineralization of rock associated with the intrusive suite of Boulder Baldy requires a component characterized by significantly more radiogenic strontium than that characteristic of the associated igneous rocks. However, the source of such a component was not identified in the Big Belt Mountains. Similarly, altered and mineralized rocks associated with the quartz monzodiorite of Mount Edith include a component characterized by significantly more radiogenic strontium and lead, particularly as defined by 207 Pb/ 204 Pb values. The source of this component appears to be fluids that equilibrated with proximal Newland Formation rocks. Oxygen isotope data for rocks of the intrusive suite of Boulder Baldy are similar to those of subduction-related magmatism that include mantle-derived components; oxygen isotope data for altered and mineralized equivalents are slightly lighter.

Montana↗
USGS2009

Magma evolution and ascent at the craters of the moon and neighboring volcanic fields, southern Idaho, USA: Implications for the evolution of polygenetic and monogenetic volcanic fields

The evolution of polygenetic and monogenetic volcanic fields must reflect differences in magma processing during ascent. To assess their evolution we use thermobarometry and geochemistry to evaluate ascent paths for neighboring, nearly coeval volcanic fields in the Snake River Plain, in south-central Idaho, derived from (1) dominantly Holocene polygenetic evolved lavas from the Craters of the Moon lava field (COME) and (2) Quaternary non-evolved, olivine tholeiites (NEOT) from nearby monogenetic volcanic fields. These data show that NEOT have high magmatic temperatures (1205 + or - 27 degrees C) and a narrow temperature range (< 25 degrees C) at any given depth; NEOT parent magmas partially crystallize within the middle crust (14-17 km), but with little time for cooling or assimilation. In contrast, COME magmas partially crystallize at similar depths, but at any given depth exhibit lower temperatures (by ~40 degrees C), and wider temperature ranges (>50 degrees C). Prolonged storage of COME magmas allows them to evolve to higher 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and SiO 2 , and lower MgO and 143 Nd/ 144 Nd. Most importantly, ascent paths control evolution: NEOT often erupt near the axis of the plain where high-flux (Yellowstone-related), pre-Holocene magmatic activity replaces granitic middle crust with basaltic sills, resulting in a net increase in NEOT magma buoyancy. COME flows erupt off-axis, where felsic crustal lithologies sometimes remain intact, providing a barrier to ascent and a source for crustal contamination. A three-stage ascent process explains the entire range of erupted compositions. Stage 1 (40-20 km): picrites are transported to the middle crust, undergoing partial crystallization of olivine + or - clinopyroxene. COME magmas pass through unarmored conduits and assimilate 1% or less of ancient gabbroic crust having high Sr and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr and low SiO 2 . Stage 2 (20-10 km): magmas are stored within the middle crust, and evolve to moderate MgO (10%). NEOT magmas, reaching 10% MgO, are positively buoyant and migrate through the middle crust. COME magmas remain negatively buoyant and so crystallize further and assimilate middle crust. Stage 3 (15-0 km): final ascent and eruption occurs when volatile contents, increased by differentiation, are sufficient (1-2 wt % H 2 O) to provide magma buoyancy through the middle (and upper) crust.

Idaho↗
USGS2009

Metal contamination and post-remediation recovery in the Boulder River watershed, Jefferson County, Montana

The legacy of acid mine drainage and toxic trace metals left in streams by historical mining is being addressed by many important yet costly remediation efforts. Monitoring of environmental conditions frequently is not performed but is essential to evaluate remediation effectiveness, determine whether clean-up goals have been met, and assess which remediation strategies are most effective. Extensive pre- and post-remediation data for water and sediment quality for the Boulder River watershed in southwestern Montana provide an unusual opportunity to demonstrate the importance of monitoring. The most extensive restoration in the watershed occurred at the Comet mine on High Ore Creek and resulted in the most dramatic improvement in aquatic habitat. Removal of contaminated sediment and tailings, and stream-channel reconstruction reduced Cd and Zn concentrations in water such that fish are now present, and reduced metal concentrations in streambed sediment by a factor of c. 10, the largest improvement in the district. Waste removals at the Buckeye/Enterprise and Bullion mine sites produced limited or no improvement in water and sediment quality, and acidic drainage from mine adits continues to degrade stream aquatic habitat. Recontouring of hillslopes that had funnelled runoff into the workings of the Crystal mine substantially reduced metal concentrations in Uncle Sam Gulch, but did not eliminate all of the acidic adit drainage. Lead isotopic evidence suggests that the Crystal mine rather than the Comet mine is now the largest source of metals in streambed sediment of the Boulder River. The completed removal actions prevent additional contaminants from entering the stream, but it may take many years for erosional processes to diminish the effects of contaminated sediment already in streams. Although significant strides have been made, additional efforts to seal draining adits or treat the adit effluent at the Bullion and Crystal mines would need to be completed to achieve the desired restoration.

Montana↗
USGS2008

Uranium-Lead Zircon Ages and Sr, Nd, and Pb Isotope Geochemistry of Selected Plutonic Rocks from Western Idaho

Across the Salmon River suture in western Idaho, where allochthonous Permian to Cretaceous oceanic rocks are juxtaposed against Proterozoic North American rocks, a wide variety of plutonic rocks are exposed. Available data indicate much variation in composition, source, and structural state of these plutons. The plutonic rocks were long described as the western border zone of the Cretaceous Idaho batholith but limited pre-existing age data indicate more complicated origins. Because the affinity and age of the plutonic rocks cannot be reliably determined from field relations, TIMS U-Pb dating in conjunction with Sr, Nd, and Pb isotopic studies of selected plutons across the suture in western Idaho were undertaken. The data indicate three general groups of plutons including (1) those that intruded the island arc terranes during the Triassic and Jurassic, those that intruded near the western edge of oceanic rocks along the suture in the Early Cretaceous, and the plutons of the Idaho batholith that intruded Proterozoic North American rocks in the Late Cretaceous. Plutons that intruded Proterozoic North American rocks commonly include xenocrystic zircons and in several cases, ages could not be determined. The least radiogenic Sr and most radiogenic Nd are found among the Blue Mountains superterrane island arc samples. Suture-zone plutons have isotopic characteristics that span the range between Idaho batholith and island arc samples but mostly follow island arc signatures. Plutons of the Idaho batholith have the most radiogenic initial Pb and Sr ratios and the least radiogenic Nd of the samples analyzed.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2003

Trace element and Nd, Sr, Pb isotope geochemistry of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i, near-vent eruptive products: 1983-2001

This open-file report serves as a repository for geochemical data referred to in U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1676 (Heliker, Swanson, and Takahashi, eds., 2003), which includes multidisciplinary research papers pertaining to the first twenty years of Puu Oo Kupaianaha eruption activity. Details of eruption characteristics and nomenclature are provided in the introductory chapter of that volume (Heliker and Mattox, 2003). Geochemical relations of this data are depicted and interpreted by Thornber (2003), Thornber and others (2003a) and Thornber (2001). This report supplements Thornber and others (2003b) in which whole-rock and glass major-element data on ~1000 near-vent lava samples collected during the 1983 to 2001 eruptive interval of Kilauea Volcano, Hawai'i, are presented. Herein, we present whole-rock trace element compositions of 85 representative samples collected from January 1983 to May 2001; glass trace-element compositions of 39 Pele’s Tear (tephra) samples collected from September 1995 to September 1996, and whole-rock Nd, Sr and Pb isotopic analyses of 10 representative samples collected from September 1983 to September 1993. Thornber and others (2003b) provide a specific record of sample characteristics, location, etc., for each of the samples reported here. Spreadsheets of both reports may be integrated and sorted based upon time of formation or sample numbers. General information pertaining to the selectivity and petrologic significance of this sample suite is presented by Thornber and others (2003b). As justified in that report, this select suite of time-constrained geochemical data is suitable for constructing petrologic models of pre-eruptive magmatic processes associated with prolonged rift zone eruption of Hawaiian shield volcanoes.

Hawai'i↗
USGS2002

SHRIMP U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar age constraints for relating plutonism and mineralization in the Boulder batholith region, Montana

The composite Boulder batholith, Montana, hosts a variety of mineral deposit types, including important silver-rich polymetallic quartz vein districts in the northern part of the batholith and the giant Butte porphyry copper-molybdenum pre-Main Stage system and crosscutting copper-rich Main Stage vein system in the southern part of the batholith. Previous dating studies have identified ambiguous relationships among igneous and mineralizing events. Mineralizing hydrothermal fluids for these types of deposits and magma for quartz porphyry dikes at Butte have all been considered to be late-stage differentiates of the Boulder batholith. However, previous dating studies indicated that the Boulder batholith plutons cooled from about 78 to 72 Ma, whereas copper-rich Main Stage veins at Butte were dated at about 61 Ma. Recent efforts to date the porphyry copper-molybdenum pre-Main Stage deposits at Butte resulted in conflicting estimates of both 64 and 76 Ma for the mineralizing events. Silver-rich polymetallic quartz vein deposits elsewhere in the batholith have not been dated previously. To resolve this controversy, we used the U.S. Geological Survey, Stanford, SHRIMP RG ion microprobe to date single-age domains within zircons from plutonic rock samples and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar geochronology to date white mica, biotite, and K-feldspar from mineral deposits. U-Pb zircon ages are Rader Creek Granodiorite, 80.4 ± 1.2 Ma; Unionville Granodiorite, 78.2 ± 0.8 Ma; Pulpit Rock granite, 76.5 ± 0.8 Ma; Butte Granite, 74.5 ± 0.9 Ma; altered Steward-type quartz porphyry dike (I-15 roadcut), 66.5 ± 1.0 Ma; altered Steward-type quartz porphyry dike (Continental pit), 65.7 ± 0.9 Ma; and quartz monzodiorite of Boulder Baldy (Big Belt Mountains), 66.2 ± 0.9 Ma. Zircons from Rader Creek Granodiorite and quartz porphyry dike samples contain Archean inheritance. The 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages are muscovite, silver-rich polymetallic quartz vein (Basin district), 74.4 ± 0.3 Ma; muscovite, silver-rich polymetallic quartz vein (Boulder district), 74.4 ± 1.2 Ma; muscovite, early dark micaceous vein (Continental pit), 63.6 ± 0.2 Ma; biotite, early dark micaceous vein (Continental pit), 63.6 ± 0.2 Ma; potassium feldspar, early dark micaceous vein (Continental pit), 63 to 59 Ma; and biotite, biotite breccia dike (Continental pit), 63.6 ± 0.2 Ma. Outlying silver-rich polymetallic quartz veins of the Basin and Boulder mining districts probably are directly related to the 74.5 Ma Butte Granite, whereas Steward-type east-west quartz porphyry dikes and Butte pre-Main Stage deposits are parts of a 66 to 64 Ma magmatic-mineralization system unrelated to emplacement of the Boulder batholith. The age of the crosscutting Main Stage veins may be about 61 Ma as originally reported but can only be bracketed as younger than the 64 Ma pre-Main Stage mineralization and older than the about 50 Ma Eocene Lowland Creek intrusions. The 66 Ma age for the quartz monzodiorite of Boulder Baldy and consideration of previous dating studies in the region indicate that small ca. 66 Ma plutonic systems may be common in the Boulder batholith region and especially to the east. The approximately 64 Ma porphyry copper systems at Butte and gold mineralization at Miller Mountain are indicative of regionally important mineralizing systems of this age in the Boulder batholith region. Resolution of the age and probable magmatic source of the Butte pre-Main Stage porphyry copper-molybdenum system and of the silver-rich polymetallic quartz vein systems in the northern part of the Boulder batholith documents that these deposits formed from two discrete periods of hydrothermal mineralization related to two discrete magmatic events.

Montana↗
USGS2000

Chemical data and lead isotopic compositions of geochemical baseline samples from streambed sediments and smelter slag, lead isotopic compositions in fluvial tailings, and dendrochronology results from the Boulder River watershed, Jefferson County, Montana

Introduction As a part of the U.S. Geological Survey Abandoned Mine Lands Initiative, metal-mining related wastes in the Boulder River study area in northern Jefferson County, Montana, have been evaluated for their environmental effects. The study area includes a 24-km segment of the Boulder River in and around Basin, Montana and three principal tributaries to the Boulder River: Basin Creek, Cataract Creek, and High Ore Creek. Mine and prospect waste dumps and mill wastes are located throughout the drainage basins of these tributaries and in the Boulder River. Mine-waste material has been transported into and down streams, where it has mixed with and become incorporated into the streambed sediments. In some localities, mine waste material was placed directly in stream channels and was transported downstream forming fluvial tailings deposits along the stream banks. Water quality and aquatic habitat have been affected by trace-element-contaminated sediment that moves from mine wastes into and down streams during snowmelt and storm runoff events within the Boulder River watershed. Present-day trace element concentrations in the streambed sediments and fluvial tailings have been extensively studied. However, in order to accurately evaluate the impact of mining on the stream environments, it is also necessary to evaluate the pre-mining trace-element concentrations in the streambed sediments. Three types of samples have been collected for estimation of pre-mining concentrations: 1) streambed sediment samples from the Boulder River and its tributaries located upstream from historical mining activity, 2) stream terrace deposits located both upstream and downstream of the major tributaries along the Boulder River, and 3) cores through sediment in overbank deposits, in abandoned stream channels, or beneath fluvial tailings deposits. In this report, we present geochemical data for six stream-terrace samples and twelve sediment-core samples and lead isotopic data for six terrace and thirteen core samples. Sample localities are in table 1 and figures 1 and 2, and site and sample descriptions are in table 2. Geochemical data have been presented for cores through fluvial tailings on High Ore Creek, on upper Basin Creek, and on Jack Creek and Uncle Sam Gulch. Geochemical and lead isotopic data for modern streambed-sediment samples have been presented by Fey and others. Lead isotopic determinations in bed sediments have been shown to be an effective tool for evaluating the contributions from various sources to the metals in bed sediments. However, in order to make these calculations, the lead isotopic compositions of the contaminant sources must also be known. Consequently, we have determined the lead isotopic compositions of five streambed-sediment samples heavily contaminated with fluvial mine waste immediately downstream from large mines in the Boulder River watershed in order to determine the lead isotopic signatures of the contaminants. Summary geochemical data for the contaminants are presented here and geochemical data for the streambed-sediment samples are given by Fey and others. Downstream from the Katie mill site and Jib tailings, fluvial deposits of mill tailings are present on a 10-m by 50-m bar in the Boulder River below the confluence with Basin Creek. The source of these tailings is not known, but fluvial tailings are also present immediately downstream from the Katie mill site, which is immediately upstream from the confluence with Basin Creek. Nine cores of fluvial tailings from this bar were analyzed. Dendrochronology samples were taken at several stream terrace localities to provide age control on the stream terrace deposits. Trees growing on the surfaces of stream terraces provide a minimum age for the terrace deposits, although floods subsequent to the trees' growth could have deposited post-mining overbank deposits around the trees. Historical data were also used to provide estimates of minimum ages of cultural features and to bracket the age of events.

Montana↗