Geology topics

R. Brett

Publications and source records attributed to R. Brett.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2012

Mineralogical studies of sulfide samples and volatile concentrations of basalt glasses from the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge

Sulfide samples obtained from the U.S. Geological Survey's DSRV Alvin dives on the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge closely resemble those from the same area described by Koski et al. (1984). Major minerals include sphalerite, wurtzite, pyrite, marcasite, isocubanite, anhydrite, and chalcopyrite. Equilibrium, if attained at all, during deposition of most sulfides was a transient event over a few tens of micrometers at most and was perturbed by rapid temperature and compositional changes of the circulating fluid. Two new minerals were found: one, a hydrated Zn, Fe hydroxy-chlorosulfate, and the other, a (Mn, Mg, Fe) hydroxide or hydroxy-hydrate. Both were formed at relatively low temperatures. Lizardite, starkeyite, and anatase were found for the first time in such an environment. Sulfide geothermometry involving the system Cu-Fe-S indicates a vent temperature of <328°C for one sample. Fluid inclusion studies on crystals from the same vicinity of the same sample give pressure-corrected homogenization temperatures of 268° and 285°C. Ice-melting temperatures on inclusions from the same sample are about −2.8°C, indicating that the equivalent salinity of the trapped fluid is about 50% greater than that of seawater. Volatile concentrations from vesicle-free basalt glass from the vent field are about 0.013 wt % CO 2 and 0.16 wt % H 2 O. CO 2 contents in these samples yield an entrapment depth of 2200 m of seawater, which is the depth from which the samples were collected.

Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth↗

USGS1992

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction: A lethal mechanism involving anhydrite target rocks

The Chicxulub Crater, Yucatan, Mexico, is a leading contender as the site for the impact event that caused the Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) extinctions. A considerable thickness of anhydrite (CaSO 4 ) forms part of the target rock. High temperatures resulting from impact would drive SO 2 off from the anhydrite. Hundreds of billions of tonnes of sulfuric acid aerosol would thus enter the stratosphere and cause considerable cooling of the Earth's surface, decrease photosynthesis by orders of magnitude, deplete the ozone layer, and permit increased UV radiation to reach the Earth's surface. Finally, the aerosol would fall back to Earth as acid rain and devastate land and some lacustrine biota and near-surface marine creatures. The presence of anhydrite in the Chicxulub target rock may thus help explain the many extinctions observed at the K-T boundary.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1986

Enstatite chondrites and enstatite achondrites (aubrites) were not derived from the same parent body

Enstatite achondrites (aubrites) were not derived from known enstatite chondrites by melting and fractionation on one and the same parent body, for these and other reasons: (1) There is no satisfactory mechanism for fractionating metal plus troilite in enstatite chondrites to form these phases in different proportions and with different Ti contents in aubrites. (2) Many enstatite chondrites and aubrites are regolith or fragmental breccias, but clasts of one within the other have not been found. (3) Cosmic ray exposure ages of the two groups are difficult to explain if they are from the same parent body, but are easy to explain if they are from different parent bodies. Siderophile element abundances in metal from the Mt. Egerton meteorite, which consists of enstatite and metallic Fe,Ni, preclude it from being a complementary differentiate of the aubrites. Rather, it appears that Mt. Egerton was formed from the same source material as enstatite chondrites, but the components were mixed in different proportions.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1984

Chemical equilibration of the Earth's core and upper mantle

The oxygen fugacity (fO 2 ) of the Earth's upper mantle appears to lie somewhat above that of the iron-wüstite buffer, its fO 2 is assumed to have been similar to the present value at the time of core formation. In the upper mantle, the Fe-rich liquid protocore that would form under such conditions of fO 2 at elevated temperatures would lie predominantly in the system Fe-S-O. Distribution coefficients for Co, Cu, Ni, Ir, Au, Ir, W, Re, Mo, Ag and Ga between such liquids and basalt are known and minimum values are known for Ge. From these coefficients, upper mantle abundances for the above elements can be calculated by assuming cosmic abundances for the whole Earth and equilibrium between the Fe-S-O protocore and upper mantle. These calculated abundances are surprisingly close to presently known upper mantle abundances; agreements are within a factor of 5, except for Cu, W, and Mo. Therefore, siderophile element abundances in the upper mantle based on known distribution coefficients do not demand a late-stage meteoritic bombardment, and a protocore formed from the upper mantle containing S and O seems likely. As upper mantle abundances fit a local equilibrium model, then either the upper mantle has not been mixed with the rest of the mantle since core formation, or else partition coefficients between protocore and mantle were similar for the whole mantle regardless of P "> P , T "> T , and fO 2 . The latter possibility seems unlikely over such a P-T "> P-T range.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1984

Intrinsic oxygen fugacity measurements on seven chondrites, a pallasite, and a tektite and the redox state of meteorite parent bodies

Intrinsic oxygen-fugacity ( f O 2 ) measurements were made on five ordinary chondrites, a carbonaceous chondrite, an enstatite chondrite, a pallasite, and a tektite. Results are of the form of linear log f O 2 − 1 T "> fO 2 −1T plots. Except for the enstatite chondrite, measured results agree well with calculated estimates by others. The tektite produced f O 2 values well below the range measured for terrestrial and lunar rocks. The lowpressure atmospheric regime that is reported to follow large terrestrial explosions, coupled with a very high temperature, could produce glass with f O 2 in the range measured. The meteorite Salta (pallasite) has low f O 2 and lies close to Hvittis (E6). Unlike the other samples, results for Salta do not parallel the iron-wüstite buffer, but are close to the fayalite-quartz-iron buffer in slope. Minor reduction by graphite appears to have taken place during metamorphism of ordinary chondrites. f O 2 values of unequilibrated chondrites show large scatter during early heating suggesting that the constituent phases were exposed to a range of f O 2 conditions. The samples equilibrated with respect to f O 2 in relatively short time on heating. Equilibration with respect to f O 2 in ordinary chondrites takes place between grades 3 and 4 of metamorphism. Application of P − T − f O 2 relations in the system C-CO-CO 2 indicates that the ordinary chondrites were metamorphosed at pressures of 3–20 bars, as it appears that they lay on the graphite surface. A steep positive thermal gradient in a meteorite parent body lying at the graphite surface will produce thin reduced exterior, an oxidized near-surface layer, and an interior that is increasingly reduced with depth; a shallow thermal gradient will produce the reverse. A body heated by accretion on the outside will have a reduced exterior and oxidized interior. Meteorites from the same parent body clearly are not required to have similar redox states.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1977

Measured oxygen fugacities of the Angra dos Reis achondrite as a function of temperature

Measurements of the oxygen fugacity (ƒO 2 ) as a function of temperature ( T ) were made on an interior bulk sample of the cumulate achondrite, Angra dos Reis. Data clustered between the ƒO 2 -T relationship of the iron-wüstite assemblage and 1.2 log atm units above iron-wüstite. Interpretation of the data indicates that, throughout most of the cooling history of the meteorite, ƒO 2 values were defined by equilibria involving iron-bearing species at values close to the ƒO 2 of the assemblage iron-wüstite. Measured ƒO 2 data are compatible with crystallization and cooling at pressures greater than 50 bars.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1976

Reduction of mare basalts by sulfur loss

Metallic Fe content and S abundance are inversely correlated in mare basalts. Either S volatilization from the melt results in reduction of Fe 2+ to Fe 0 or else high S content decreases Fe 0 activity in the melt, thus explaining the correlation. All considerations favor the model that metallic iron in mare basalts is due to sulfur loss. The Apollo 11 and 17 mare basalt melts were probably saturated with S at the time of eruption; the Apollo 12 and 15 basalts were probably not saturated. Non-mare rocks show a positive correlation of S abundance with metallic Fe content; it is proposed that this is due to the addition of meteoritic material having a fairly constant Fe 0 /S ratio. If true, metallic Fe content or S abundance in non-mare rocks provides a measure of degree of meteoritic contamination.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1971

The earth's core: Speculations on its chemical equilibrium with the mantle

A review of the literature indicates that a reasonable estimate of the composition of the earth's core is iron with Ni 0–5 , Si 10–25 (wt.%). Thermodynamic calculations and comparison of chondritic with terrestrial abundances indicate that 1 wt.% each of Mn, P, and Cr might also be present. A core of this composition was probably in chemical equilibrium with the mantle at the time of core formation because: 1. (1) The reactions 2Fe + SiO 2 = 2FeO + Si and Fe 2 SiO 4 + 2Ni = Ni 2 SiO 4 + 2Fe proceed further to the right at the T and P values prevailing at the core-mantle boundary than at lower temperatures, thus supporting the presence of Si in the core and the relatively high Ni concentration of the mantle; 2. (2) the Fe 3+ Fe 2+ "> Fe3+Fe2+ ratios in mantle materials indicate oxygen fugacity values close to that of the Fe-Fe 1−x O buffer; and 3. (3) the apparent partitioning of Au and similar elements between the core and the mantle is close to that of pallasites. The anomalously high abundance of Cu in the upper mantle can be explained by enrichment through partial melting. Volcanic gases are not likely to represent the composition of volatile elements at the core-mantle boundary, and hence cannot be regarded as valid criteria of disequilibrium at the boundary. Available data on reaction kinetics suggest that a disequilibrium state would be unlikely during core formation.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1969

Melting relations in the Fe-rich portion of the system FeFeS at 30 kb pressure

The melting relations of FeFeS mixtures covering the composition range from Fe to Fe 67 S 33 have been determined at 30 kb pressure. The phase relations are similar to those at low pressure. The eutectic has a composition of Fe 72.9 S 27.1 and a temperature of 990°C. Solubility of S in Fe at elevated temperatures at 30 kb is of the same order of magnitude as at low pressure. Sulfur may have significantly lowered the melting point of iron in the upper mantle during the period of coalescence of metal prior to core formation in the primitive earth.

Earth and Planetary Science Letters↗

USGS1969

Cliftonite: A proposed origin, and its bearing on the origin of diamonds in meteorites

Cliftonite, a polycrystalline aggregate of graphite with spherulitic structure and cubic morphology, is known in 14 meteorites. Some workers have considered it to be a pseudomorph after diamond, and have used the proposed diamond ancestry as evidence of a meteoritic parent body of at least lunar dimensions. Careful examination of meteoritic samples indicates that cliftonite forms by precipitation within kamacite. We have also demonstrated that graphite with cubic morphology may be synthesized in a Fe-Ni-C alloy annealed in a vacuum. We therefore suggest that a high pressure origin is unnecessary for meteorities which contain cliftonite, and that these meteorities were formed at low pressures. This conclusion is in agreement with other recent evidence. We also suggest that recently discovered cubes and cubo-octahedra of lonsdaleite in the Canyon Diablo meteorite are pseudomorphs after cliftonite, not diamond, as has previously been suggested.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1967

The occurrence and origin of lamellar troilite in iron meteorites

A number of iron meteorites contain elongated inclusions consisting predominantly of troilite, which have been termed Reichenbach lamellae. Two types of inclusions exist, the first up to 6 cm long and 0·2 mm wide, the second up to 2 cm long and 3 mm wide. The first type contains troilite with subordinate daubreelite and is commonly rimmed by schreibersite and swathing kamacite; the second consists largely of troilite with daubreelite and rare graphite and silicate grains. Both types formed from a residual sulfide melt after the solidification of Ni Fe metal. Swatching kamacite surrounding troilite in iron meteorites formed by nucleation at the troilite-metal interface during the formation of the Widmanstätten texture. Meteorites containing troilite inclusions of the second type appear to have cooled more rapidly than most iron meteorites. In view of the confusion surrounding the use of the term Reichenbach lamella, it is suggested that the term be dropped from the literature.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1967

Cohenite: Its occurrence and a proposed origin

Cohenite is found almost exclusively in meteorites containing from 6 to 8 wt.% Ni. On the basis of phase diagrams and kinetic data it is proposed that cohenite cannot form in meteorites having more than 8 wt.% Ni and that any cohenite which formed in meteorites having Ni content lower than 6 wt.% decomposed during cooling. A series of isothermal sections for the system Fe Ni C has been constructed between 750 and 600°C from published information on the three constitutent binary systems. The diagrams indicate that the presence of a few tenths of a per cent carbon in a Ni Fe alloy may reduce the temperature at which kamacite separates from taenite by more than 50°C. Hence C in iron meteorites may be partly responsible for the postulated supercooled nucleation of kamacite in meteorites proposed by recent authors. Cohenite found in meteorites probably formed over the temperature range 650-610°C. For compositions approximating those of metallic meteorites, the greater the C or Ni content of the alloy, the lower the temperature of formation of cohenite. The presence of cohenite in meteorites indicates neither high nor low pressures of formation. However, the absence of cohenite in meteorites containing the assemblage metal + graphite requires low pressures during cooling. Such meteorites therefore cooled in parent bodies of asteroidal size, or near the surface of large bodies.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1967

Cliftonite in meteorites: A proposed origin

Cliftonite, a polycrystalline aggregate of graphite with cubic morphology, is known in ten meteorites. Some workers have considered it to be a pseudomorph after diamond, and have used the proposed diamond ancestry as evidence of a meteoritic parent body of at least lunar dimensions. We have synthesized cliftonite in Fe-Ni-C alloys in vacuum, as a product of decomposition of cohenite [(Fe,Ni) 3 C]. We therefore suggest that a high pressure origin is unnecessary for meteorites which contain cliftonite, and that these meteorites were formed at low pressures. This conclusion is in agreement with other recent evidence.

Science↗

USGS1966

Cohenite in meteorites: A proposed origin

Cohenite [(Fe, Ni) 3 C] is found almost exclusively in meteorites containing from 6 to 8 percent nickel (by weight). On the basis of iron-nickel-carbon phase diagrams at 1 atmosphere and of kinetic data, the occurrence of cohenite within this narrow composition range as a low-pressure metastable phase and the nonoccurrence of cohenite in meteorites outside the range 6 to 8 percent nickel can be explained. Cohenite formed in meteorites containing less than 6 to 8 percent nickel decomposed to metal and graphite during cooling; it cannot form in meteorites containing more than about 8 percent. The presence of cohenite in meteorites cannot be used as an indicator of pressure of formation. However, the absence of cohenite in meteorites containing the assemblage, metal plus graphite, requires low pressures during cooling.

Science↗