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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
USGS1994

Hornblende-melt trace-element partitioning measured by ion microprobe

Trace-element abundances were measured in situ by ion microprobe in five samples of hornblende and melt ranging from basaltic andesite to high-silica rhyolite. Except for one sample, for which quench overgrowth or disequilibrium is suspected, the abundance ratios show systematic inter-element and inter-sample variations, and probably approach true partition coefficients. Apparent partition coefficients are reported for La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er, Yb, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Sr, Y and Zr. Rare-earth elements (REE) and Y form smooth convex-upward partitioning patterns that rise to higher D -values and become increasingly convex in more evolved samples. Apparent partition coefficients for REE, Y, Ti, V and Cr can be parameterized as functions of the distribution of Ca between hornblende and melt, giving expressions to predict hornblende-melt trace-element partitioning values. These expressions are used to show that heavy REE-enriched hornblende/whole-rock REE abundance patterns in granitoids may result from partial re-equilibration of hornblende and late-stage residual liquids rather than from anomalous partitioning values.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1994

Geochemistry and solid-phase association of chromium in sediment from the Calcasieu River and estuary, Louisiana, U.S.A.

Sediment samples were collected from the lower Calcasieu River and estuary, Louisiana, in a study of the release of metals from sediments to the overlying water column. Whole samples were characterized by analyses that included: (1) determination of total sediment ammonium concentrations; (2) determination of total sediment Cr, Mn and Fe concentrations; (3) extraction of sediment with hydrogen peroxide followed by dilute hydrochloric acid to obtain recoverable metals, including oxides; and (4) extraction of sediment with hydrogen peroxide plus pyrophosphate at a pH of 7-8 to recover organically-bound Cr but not metal oxides. Concentrations of Cr, Mn and Fe in sediment interstitial water were determined. The concentrations of Cr in interstitial water could not be predicted from total sediment concentrations of Cr. Degradation of organic matter appeared to be the mechanism that caused elevated Cr concentrations in the interstitial water. Concentrations of Cr in interstitial water were positively correlated with total concentrations of ammonium in sediment. Concentrations of Cr in interstitial water that exceeded water-column concentrations of Cr were found when the total concentrations of ammonium in sediment exceeded 1 ??mol per gram wet weight. Concentrations of metals in interstitial water that are larger than metal concentrations in the water column create a potential for diffusive flux and metal enrichment of the overlying water column. ?? 1994.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1995

Petrography and mineral chemistry of the composite Deboullie Pluton, northern Maine, USA: implications for the genesis of Cu-Mo mineralization

Biotite and apatite mineral chemistry, particularly halogen abundances and ratios, are used to investigate the relation of the two contrasting parts of the Deboullie composite pluton (syenite-granodiorite) located in northern Maine. Biotite mineral chemistry helps to classify the weakly developed porphyry-style mineralization (Cu-Mo) associated with syenitic rocks of the Deboullie pluton. Biotite and apatite occur within the matrix of the rocks and within small multiphase inclusions hosted by clinopyroxene. The inclusions are interpreted to be crystallized melt inclusions rather than solid inclusions, that were trapped by clinopyroxene during growth. The multiphase inclusions consist of K-feldspar + quartz + biotite + apatite + magnetite. On a regional scale, biotite compositions from granitic plutons in Maine do not vary in a systematic manner. -from Authors

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1995

Chemistry and petrography of calcite in the KTB pilot borehole, Bavarian Oberpfalz, Germany

The KTB pilot borehole in northeast Bavaria, Germany, penetrates 4000 m of gneiss, amphibolite, and subordinate calc-silicate, lamprophyre and metagabbro. There are three types of calcite in the drilled section: 1) metamorphic calcite in calc-silicate and marble; 2) crack-filling calcite in all lithologies; and 3) replacement calcite in altered minerals. Crack-filling and replacement calcite postdate metamorphic calcite. Multiple calcite generations in individual cracks suggest that different generations of water repeatedly flowed through the same cracks. Crack-filling mineral assemblages that include calcite originally formed at temperatures of 150-350??C. Presently, crack-filling calcite is in chemical and isotopic equilibrium with saline to brackish water in the borehole at temperatures of ???120??C. The saline to brackish water contains a significant proportion of meteoric water. Re-equilibration of crack-filling calcite to lower temperatures means that calcite chemistry tells us little about water-rock interactions in the crystal section of temperatures higher than ~120??C. -from Author

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1995

Alteration of basalt hyaloclastite at the off-axis Sea Cliff hydrothermal field, Gorda Ridge

The Sea Cliff hydrothermal field on the northern segment of the Gorda Ridge is situated along a rift-bounding normal fault about 2.6 km east of the neovolcanic zone and approximately 300 m above the spreading axis. The structural setting of this hydrothermal field differs from that of most other active seafloor hydrothermal sites investigated to date, which are typically situated in the neovolcanic zone. Mineralization occurs in basaltic talus covering a large normal-fault scarp. Hydrothermal crusts cover much of the seafloor in the area of the active hydrothermal field. These crusts form by extensive alteration of basaltic hyaloclastite in a zone of mixing between ascending hydrothermal fluid and entrained seawater. The initial stage of alteration is magnesian metasomatism of both crystalline basalt and basaltic glass, converting the rock to Mg-rich smectite and smectite/chlorite. Further alteration removes nearly all cations and ultimately leads to silicification. Preservation of basaltic texture in the silicified rocks provides evidence that even such sparingly soluble elements as A1 and Ti have been removed. Oxygen-isotopic ratios of the altered rocks constrain initial alteration to temperatures near 220°C, close to the maximum measured vent temperatures of 247°C. Silicification proceeded to much lower temperatures, and most amorphous silica deposition occurred at temperatures below 100°C. Sulfur-, strontium-, and lead-isotopic data all indicate a predominantly basaltic source, with important contributions from seawater but no significant contribution from sedimentary sources. Comparison with ophiolite-hosted massive sulfide deposits shows that the structural setting, alteration sequence, and depositional environment are all similar and suggests that mineralization and replacement of basaltic breccia in the Sea Cliff hydrothermal field likely occur in the subsurface beneath a capping layer of silicified hyaloclastite.

California, Oregon↗
USGS1995

Origins, characteristics, controls, and economic viabilities of deep- basin gas resources

Dry-gas deposits (methane ???95% of the hydrocarbon (HC) gases) are thought to originate from in-reservoir thermal cracking of oil and C2+ HC gases to methane. However, because methanes from Anadarko Basin dry-gas deposits do not carry the isotopic signature characteristics of C15+ HC destruction, an origin of these methanes from this process is considered improbable. Instead, the isotopic signature of these methanes suggests that they were cogenerated with C15+ HC's. Only a limited resource of deep-basin gas deposits may be expected by the accepted model for the origin of dry-gas deposits because of a limited number of deep-basin oil deposits originally available to be thermally converted to dry gas. However, by the models of this paper (inefficient source-rock oil and gas expulsion, closed fluid systems in petroleum-basin depocenters, and most dry-gas methane cogenerated with C15+ HC's), very large, previously unrecognized, unconventional, deep-basin gas resources are expected. -from Author

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1996

Constraints on the thermal history of Taylorsville Basin, Virginia, U.S.A., from fluid-inclusion and fission-track analyses: Implications for subsurface geomicrobiology experiments

Microbial populations have been found at the depth of 2621-2804 m in a borehole near the center of Triassic Taylorsville Basin, Virginia. To constrain possible scenarios for long-term survival in or introduction of these microbial populations to the deep subsurface, we attempted to refine models of thermal and burial history of the basin by analyzing aqueous and gaseous fluid inclusions in calcite/quartz veins or cements in cuttings from the same borehole. These results are complemented by fission-track data from the adjacent boreholes. Homogenization temperatures of secondary aqueous fluid inclusions range from 120?? to 210??C between 2027- and 3069-m depth, with highest temperatures in the deepest samples. The salinities of these aqueous inclusions range from 0 to ??? 4.3 eq wt% NaCl. Four samples from the depth between 2413 and 2931 m contain both two-phase aqueous and one-phase methane-rich inclusions in healed microcracks. The relative CH4 and CO2 contents of these gaseous inclusions was estimated by microthermometry and laser Raman spectroscopy. If both types of inclusions in sample 2931 m were trapped simultaneously, the density of the methane-rich inclusions calculated from the Peng - Robinson equation of state implies an entrapment pressure of 360 ?? 20 bar at the homogenization temperature (162.5 ?? 12.5??C) of the aqueous inclusions. This pressure falls between the hydrostatic and lithostatic pressures at the present depth 2931 m of burial. If we assume that the pressure regime was hydrostatic at the time of trapping, then the inclusions were trapped at 3.6 km in a thermal gradient of ??? 40??C/km. The high temperatures recorded by the secondary aqueous inclusions are consistent with the pervasive resetting of zircon and apatite fission-track dates. In order to fit the fission-track length distributions of the apatite data, however, a cooling rate of 1-2??C/Ma following the thermal maximum is required. To match the integrated dates, the thermal maximum would have occurred at ??? 200 Ma. The timing of the maximum temperature is consistent with rapid burial of the Taylorsville Basin to twice its present-day depth and thermal re-equilibration with a 40??C/km geothermal gradient, followed by slow exhumation. The results may imply that the microorganisms did not survive in situ, but were transported from the cooler portions of the basin sometime after maximum burial and heating.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1996

Enriched Nd-Sr-Pb isotopic signatures in the Dovyren layered intrusion ( eastern Siberia, Russia): Evidence for source contamination by ancient upper-crustal material

Major- and trace-element concentrations and Nd-, Sr- and Pb-isotopic ratios are reported for the Dovyren layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion in the northern Baikal region, eastern Siberia. Sm-Nd internal isochrons for an olivine gabbro from the layered series and a gabbronorite from a sill at the bottom of the Dovyren intrusion yield ages of 673 ?? 22 and 707 ?? 40 Ma, respectively. Initial isotopic ratios: 87Sr/86Sr (673) from 0.7101 to 0.7135, ??Nd(673 Ma) from - 16.3 to - 14.1, 206Pb/204Pb from 16.80 to 17.14, 207Pb/204Pb from 15.477 to 15.501 and 208Pb/204Pb from 37.17 to 37.59, are similar to those of late Archean-early Proterozoic upper continental crust, but do not appear to be a result of wallrock assimilation in the magma chamber. These isotopic features, as well as high K, Rb and LREE and low Ti concentrations in the calculated composition of the Dovyren parental magma, may be explained by subduction of sediments derived from upper continental crust into depleted mantle and subsequent melting of the metasomatized peridotite.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1985

An estimate of gas emissions and magmatic gas content from Kilauea volcano

Emission rates of CO 2 have been measured at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, in the east-rift eruptive plume and CO 2 and SO 2 have been measured in the plume from the noneruptive fumaroles in the summit caldera. These data yield an estimate of the loading of Kilauean eruptive gases to the atmosphere and suggest that such estimates may be inferred directly from measured lava volumes. These data, combined with other chemical and geologic data, suggest that magma arrives at the shallow summit reservoir containing (wt.%) 0.32% H 2 O, 0.32% CO 2 and 0.09% S. Magma is rapidly degassed of most of its CO 2 in the shallow reservoir before transport to the eruption site. Because this summit degassing yields a magma saturated and in equilibrium with volatile species and because transport of the magma to the eruption site occurs in a zone no shallower than the summit reservoir, we suggest that eruptive gases from Kilauea characteristically should be one of two types: a ‘primary’ gas from fresh magma derived directly from the mantle and a carbon-depleted gas from magma stored in the summit reservoir.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1985

Dissolution of barite for the analysis of strontium isotopes and other chemical and isotopic variations using aqueous sodium carbonate

A simple procedure for preparing barite samples for chemical and isotopic analysis is described. Sulfate ion, in barite, in the presence of high concentrations of aqueous sodium carbonate, is replaced by carbonate. This replacement forms insoluble carbonates with the cations commonly in barite: Ba, Sr, Ca and Pb. Sulfate is released into the solution by the carbonate replacement and is separated by filtration. The aqueous sulfate can then be reprecipitated for analysis of the sulfur and oxygen isotopes. The cations in the carbonate phase can be dissolved by acidifying the solid residue. Sr can be separated from the solution for Sr isotope analysis by ion-exchange chromatography. The sodium carbonate used contains amounts of Sr which will affect almost all barite 87 Sr 86 Sr "> 87Sr86Sr ratios by less than 0.00001 at 1.95θ of the mean. The procedure is preferred over other techniques used for preparing barite samples for the determination of 87 Sr 86 Sr "> 87Sr86Sr ratios because it is simple, rapid and enables simultaneous determination of many compositional parameters on the same material.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1986

Late-Wisconsin paleohydrology of the West-Central Amargosa Desert, Nevada, U.S.A.

Studies of isotopes in groundwater using 14 C, 2 H (deuterium) and 18 O have provided significant insight into the paleoclimate of middle and late Wisconsin age in a typical arid environment of southern Nevada, the west-central Amargosa Desert. Evidence indicates that recharge probably was through infiltration of runoff in paleostream channels and that this runoff was important only from ∼ 17,000 to ∼ 10,000 yr. B.P. Mean annual temperature at 17,000 yr. B.P. was ∼ 8°C less than present mean annual temperature; some summer moisture was effective in recharge. Winter (October–May) temperature at ∼ 10,000 yr. B.P. was ∼ 1°C less than present; summer moisture did not contribute to recharge.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1986

Pb-, Sr- and Nd-Isotopic systematics and chemical characteristics of cenozoic basalts, Eastern China

Forty-eight Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary basaltic rocks from northeastern and east-central China have been analyzed for major-element composition, selected trace-element contents, and Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic systematics. The study area lies entirely within the marginal Pacific tectonic domain. Proceeding east to west from the continental margin to the interior, the basalts reveal an isotopic transition in mantle source material and/or degree of crustal interaction. In the east, many of the rocks are found to merge both chemically and isotopically with those previously reported from the Japanese and Taiwan island-arc terrains. In the west, clear evidence exists for component(s) of Late Archean continental lithosphere to be present in some samples. A major crustal structure, the Tan-Lu fault, marks the approximate boundary between continental margin and interior isotopic behaviors. Although the isotopic signature of the western basalts has characteristics of lower-crustal contamination, a subcrustal lithosphere, i.e. an attached mantle keel, is probably more likely to be the major contributor of their continental “flavor”. The transition from continental margin to interior is very pronounced for Pb isotopes, although Sr and Nd isotopes also combine to yield correlated patterns that deviate strikingly from the mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) and oceanic-island trends. The most distinctive chemical attribute of this continental lithosphere component is its diminished U/Pb as reflected in the Pb isotopic composition when compared to sources of MORB, oceanic-island and island-arc volcanic rocks. Somewhat diminished Sm/Nd and elevated Rb/Sr, especially in comparison to the depleted asthenospheric mantle, are also apparent from the Nd- and Sr-isotopic ratios.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1987

Isotopic composition of pyrite: Relationship to organic matter type and iron availability in some North American cretaceous shales

The S isotope composition of pyrite in Cretaceous shales from the Western Interior of North America is related to organic C abundance, kerogen type and Fe availability. Both calcareous and noncalcareous rocks show a correlation between S and C, but noncalcareous rocks are relatively enriched in S with a higher S/C ratio. This higher ratio probably shows that pyrite formation was Fe limited in the calcareous rocks. Organic-carbon-rich noncalcareous shales accumulated slowly beneath anoxic bottom waters. The anoxic bottom waters allowed hydrogen-rich organic matter to be preserved. Such shales have a narrow range of 34 S-depleted sulfide and have Fe/S ratios like stoichiometric pyrite, suggesting that pyrite formation in organic-rich shales was also limited by Fe availability. Conversely, organic-poor shales commonly accumulated at comparatively high rates, contain hydrogen-poor and refractory organic matter, and have a wide range of pyrite-S isotopic compositions. These organic-poor shales contain post-sulfidic authigenic minerals such as siderite and have excess reactive Fe rather than pyrite stoichiometry. Evidently Fe played a large role in early diagenesis and determined the course of post-sulfidic diagenesis. Fe availability was, however, mainly controlled by provenance, by the rates of sediment accumulation, and by the oxygen content of the depositional environment.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1987

An oxygen isotope model for interpreting carbonate diagenesis in nonmarine rocks (Green River Basin, Wyoming, USA)

A closed-system model is used for predicting the δ 18 O of formation waters in the deep portions of the northern Green River basin, Wyoming. δ 18 O calcite is calculated from this modeled water and compared with the δ 18 O of measured calcites to help interpret diagenesis in the basin. The modification of 18 O water , which may be caused by diagenetic reactions at elevated temperatures, is modeled from two mass-balance equations. Three diagenetic reactions used to modify δ 18 O water include: detrital limestoneå calcite cement; detrital quartz→ quartz cement; and detrital clay å authigenic illite/smectite. A weighted average δ 18 O water and δ 18 O of calcite, quartz and illite/smectite in equilibrium with this water are calculated at 500-m increments. For a closed-system model, calculated variables at one depth are used for input variables at the next depth. An open system can be crudely simulated by adjusting the input variables at each depth. Petrographic and hydrologic data suggest that throughout much of the basin an open hydrochemical system overlies a relatively closed system which is below 3000 m. From the surface to 3000 m deep, δ 18 O calcite measured in sandstone cements deviates from calculated 18 O calcite for the closed-system model. Below 3000 m, δ 18 O calcite of cement and bulk shale converge from opposite directions with increasing depth toward the calculated δ 18 O calcite . Adjusting the calculated δ 18 O calcite to match the measured δ 18 O calcite indicates that the deviation above 3000 m results from mixing of meteoric waters with 18 O-rich formation water.

Chemical Geology↗
USGS1988

Normalization of oxygen and hydrogen isotope data

To resolve confusion due to expression of isotopic data from different laboratories on non-corresponding scales, oxygen isotope analyses of all substances can be expressed relative to VSMOW or VPDB (Vienna Peedee belemnite) on scales normalized such that the δ 18 O of SLAP is −55.5% relative to VSMOW. H 3 + contribution in hydrogen isotope ratio analysis can be easily determined using two gaseous reference samples that differ greatly in deuterium content.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1989

Paleozoic age of the Capo Spartivento Orthogneiss, Sardinia, Italy

Zircon U Pb "> UPb isotope dating of the Capo Spartivento Orthogneiss, proposed as a possible Precambrian basement of southern Sardinia, shows that this rock is Caledonian in age. Conventional multi-grain analyses yield an imprecise age of roughly 480 Ma, and ion-microprobe analyses of cores of single grains yield a consistent age of 449 Ma. Though some inherited grains of Proterozoic age are present in the zircon population, they are neither abundant nor consistent with Caledonian growth of new zircons within an older protolith.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1989

Contrasting zircon morphology and UPb systematics in peralkaline and metaluminous post-orogenic granite complexes of the Arabian Shield, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Uzircon ages are reported for seven metaluminous-to-peralkaline post-orogenic granites from the Late Proterozoic Arabian Shield of Saudi Arabia. Zircons from the metaluminous rocks are prismatic, with length-to-width ratios of ∼ 2–4: 1 and small pyramidal terminations. In contrast, zircons from three of the four peralkaline complexes either lack well-developed prismatic faces (are pseudo-octahedral) or are anhedral. Some zircons from the peralkaline granites contain inherited radiogenic Pb and have very high common Pb contents ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb < 150), making the UPb method poorly suited for determining the age of these rocks. Zircons in the metaluminous granites do not contain inheritance and yield well-defined concordia intercepts. The span of ages of the seven complexes (670-470 Ma) indicates that post-orogenic granitic magmatism was not a singular event in the Arabian Shield but rather occurred as multiple intrusive episodes from the Late Proterozoic to the Middle Ordovician.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗
USGS1990

UPb ages of zircon rims: A new analytical method using the air-abrasion technique

We present a new technique for directly dating, by conventional techniques, the rims of zircons. Several circumstances, such as a xenocrystic or inherited component in igneous zircon and metamorphic overgrowths on igneous cores, can result in grains with physically distinct age components. Pneumatic abrasion has been previously shown by Krogh to remove overgrowths and damaged areas of zircon, leaving more resistant and isotopically less disturbed parts available for analysis. A new abrader design, which is capable of very gently grinding only tips and interfacial edges of even needle-like grains, permits easy collection of abraded material for dating. Five examples demonstrate the utility of the “dust-collecting” technique, including two studies that compare conventional, ion microprobe and abrader data. Common Pb may be strongly concentrated in the outermost zones of many zircons and this Pb is not easily removed by leaching (even in weak HF). Thus, the benefit of removing only the outermost zones (and avoiding mixing of age components) is somewhat compromised by the much higher common Pb contents which result in less precise age determinations. A very brief abrasion to remove the high common Pb zones prior to collection of material for dating is selected.

Chemical Geology: Isotope Geoscience Section↗