Secondary K-feldspar at the Precambrian–Paleozoic unconformity, southwestern Ontario

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 1432-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Harper ◽  
Fred J. Longstaffe ◽  
Moire A. Wadleigh ◽  
Robert H. McNutt

The Precambrian–Paleozoic boundary in the subsurface of southwestern Ontario commonly is characterized by secondary K-feldspar. In the weathered and altered Precambrian granitoid gneisses at the unconformity, secondary K-feldspar has replaced preexisting minerals, and also occurs as discrete crystals of adularia, overgrowths on altered minerals, and microcrystalline veinlets. The K-feldspar is chemically pure (Or99–100) and has high δ18O values (+18.9 to +21.4‰ Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water), features that indicate crystallization at low temperatures. Secondary K-feldspar also occurs in Cambro-Ordovician clastic and carbonate rocks that immediately overlie the Precambrian basement. K/Ar (453 ± 9 to 412 ± 8 Ma) and Rb/Sr (440 ± 50 Ma) dates obtained for secondary K-feldspar from the Precambrian host rocks suggest that its crystallization is unrelated to Precambrian weathering or early diagenesis of the immediately overlying Cambro-Ordovician strata. Estimated crystallization temperatures for the secondary K-feldspar (≥100 °C) exceed presumed burial temperatures for the Precambrian–Paleozoic boundary in southwestern Ontario during Late Ordovician–Silurian time. We infer that secondary K-feldspar formed from a hot brine that moved preferentially along the Precambrian–Paleozoic unconformity. The wide distribution of secondary K-feldspar of Late Ordovician–Silurian age throughout mid-continental North America at the Precambrian–Paleozoic boundary records the regional extent of this process. Some Cambro-Ordovician rocks elsewhere in the mid-continent also contain secondary K-feldspar and illitic clay of Late Pennsylvanian–Early Permian age, suggesting more than one episode of fluid movement. Major pulses of orogenic activity may have initiated brine migration. We speculate that the brine originated as connate (sea) water trapped in lower Paleozoic strata, and was modified by rock–water interaction at elevated temperatures, and by mixing with meteoric water.

1994 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 1491-1500 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. S. Norford ◽  
M. P. Cecile

External and internal morphologies are well shown by a newly discovered diatreme that is exceptionally well exposed in a cirque within the north face of Mount Dingley. The diatreme contains abundant brecciated host rocks mixed with highly altered, fine-grained, light-green igneous fragments (minerals include muscovite, chlorite, quartz, carbonate, and some remnant K-feldspar). The diatreme cuts Lower Ordovician rocks of the McKay Group. Olistostromes and other volcaniclastic rocks that are directly associated with the diatreme are bevelled beneath a regional unconformity below the Upper Ordovician Beaverfoot Formation. Lower Ordovician gastropods are present just below the volcaniclastic rocks and within what appears to be a lens of sediment within one of the olistostrome beds. These occurrences indicate a mid-Early Ordovician time of intrusion, but there is the possibility that the pipe was emplaced later within the interval mid-Early to early Late Ordovician. In the Western Ranges, three other episodes of emplacement of diatremes have been documented previously as within the intervals early Middle to early Late Ordovician, latest Early Silurian to early Middle Devonian, and Late Permian. Many of the diatremes are broadly contemporaneous with widespread, but volumetrically small, Ordovician and Lower Paleozoic volcanic and intrusive rocks found throughout the Canadian Cordillera. These volcanic and intrusive rocks have been interpreted as evidence of continued Lower Paleozoic extensional tectonism and some are associated with large base-metal deposits.


Author(s):  
V. Nengovhela ◽  
B. Linol ◽  
L. Bezuidenhout ◽  
T. Dhansay ◽  
T Muedi ◽  
...  

Abstract Contact metamorphism along widespread dolerite sills and dykes, emplaced at 182 to 183 Ma through the sedimentary host rocks of the Karoo Basin, triggered devolatilization of carbon-rich shales of the Lower Ecca Group. Hornfel samples collected from drill cores that intersect dolerite sills were analyzed for mineral phase equilibria, chemistry and porosity to characterize thermal aureoles at various distances from sill intrusions. Andalusite-chiastolite and cordierite porphyroblasts with biotite and muscovite occur within 10 to 20 m of many intrusive contacts. These metamorphic minerals crystallized when host shales attained maximum temperatures ranging between 450 and 600°C. Scanning electron microscopy imaging confirms that the hornfels are compact and that their metamorphic minerals limit porosity along grain boundaries. In few cases intra-mineral porosity occurs within individual crystals such as calcite, andalusite and cordierite. Disequilibrium metamorphic textures such as irregular grain boundaries, and inclusions in andalusite and cordierite reveal that the elevated temperatures were too short-lived to accomplish complete (re)crystallization. Thermal modeling results are consistent with the observed metamorphic mineral assemblages. Gas leakage calculations along a 7 m and a 47 m thick dolerite sill that intrude toward the top of the Whitehill Formation suggest that methane volumes ranging between 8 to 15 Tcf were generated during the sill emplacement. Methane was likely released into the atmosphere through hydrothermal vent complexes that are well preserved in the western Karoo Basin. If such loss was widespread across the entire basin, the implications for paleo-climate change and preserved shale gas reserves in the Karoo Basin of South Africa would be significant.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iuliana Vasiliev ◽  
Daniela Boehn ◽  
Darja Volkovskaja ◽  
Clemens Schmitt ◽  
Konstantina Agiadi ◽  
...  

<p>Between 5.97-5.33 Ma several kilometre-thick evaporite units were deposited in the Mediterranean Basin during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). The MSC reflects a period featured by a negative hydrological budget, with a net evaporative loss of water exceeding precipitation and riverine runoff. The contemporary changes in continental and marine circum-Mediterranean temperature are, however, poorly constrained. Here we reconstruct continental mean annual temperatures (MAT) using branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) biomarkers for the time period corresponding to MSC Stage 3 (5.55-5.33 Ma). Additionally, for the same time interval, we estimate sea surface temperatures (SSTs) of the Mediterranean Sea using isoprenoidal GDGTs based TEX<sub>86</sub> proxy. The excellently preserved organic biomarkers were extracted from outcrops and DSDP cores spread over a large part of the onland (Malaga, Sicily, Cyprus) and offshore (holes 124 and 134 from the Balearic abyssal plane and hole 374 from the Ionian Basin) Mediterranean Basin domain. The calculated MATs for the 5.55 to 5.33 Ma interval show values around 16 to 18 ºC for the Malaga, Sicily and Cyprus outcrops. The MAT values calculated for DSDP Leg 13 holes 124, 134 and Leg 42A hole 374 are lower, around 11 to 13 ºC.</p><p>For samples where the branched and isoprenoid tetraether (BIT) index was lower than the 0.4 we could calculate TEX<sub>86</sub> derived SSTs averaging around 27 ºC for all sampled locations. Where available (i.e. Sicily), we compared the TEX<sub>86</sub> derived SSTs with alkenone based, U<sup>k</sup><sub>37</sub> derived SST estimates from the same samples. The TEX<sub>86</sub> derived SST values are slightly higher than the U<sup>k</sup><sub>37</sub> derived SST of 20 to 28 ºC. For the Mediterranean region, values between 19 and 27 ºC of the U<sup>k</sup><sub>37</sub> derived SSTs were calculated for the interval between the 8.0 and 6.4 Ma (Tzanova et al., 2015), close to our calculations for Sicily section (20 to 28 ºC). Independent of common pitfalls that may arise in using molecular biomarkers as temperature proxies, both SST estimates independently hint towards much warmer Mediterranean Sea water during the latest phase (Stage 3) of the MSC. These elevated temperatures coincide with higher δD values measured on alkenones and long chain n-alkanes (both records indicating for more arid and/or warmer conditions than today between 5.55 and 5.33 Ma). We therefore conclude that the climate between 5.55 to 5.33 Ma was warmer than present-day conditions, recorded both in the Mediterranean Sea and the land surrounding it.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 65-74
Author(s):  
Nikolay Piperov ◽  
Sylvina Georgieva

The epithermal high-sulphidation Cu-Au Chelopech deposit is characterized by a well-developed and well-traceable hydrothermal footprint manifested in the volcanic host rocks. The economic ore mineralization is embedded in the strong silicification, included among the advanced argillic zone of alteration, smoothly transitioning to quartz-sericite alteration that evolves into widespread propylitics. The quartz-sericite alteration zone is accessible for exploration only in underground mining galleries and exploration drillings. The main mineral assemblage in this zone is quartz, sericite, pyrite, minor rutile/anatase and relics of apatite and feldspar. According to XRD data from the studied samples, sericite was defined as illite and muscovite/sericite 2M1 polytype. The abundance of heavy stable isotopes (D, 18O) in the structural water of two sericite samples is the object of this study. A special attention was paid to the separation of extraneous waters from the structural one by thermal fractionation. The extracted structural water was converted to hydrogen and carbon dioxide before the isotopic measurements. The obtained results, put into a δD vs. δ18O plot, indicate that sericite structural water is “heavier” than meteoric water, within uncertainty limits.


2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 116-125
Author(s):  
Zdeněk Dolníček ◽  
Petr Stöhr ◽  
Jana Ulmanová ◽  
Luboš Vrtiška ◽  
Radana Malíková

Two types of hydrothermal veins were found in the Ordovician claystones of the Bohdalec Formation (Barrandian, Prague Basin) during the excavation of tunnel of subway Line D at Prague-Pankrác site. The first type is represented by short hair-thin veinlets of various directions fulfilled by dickite. The second type comprises thicker NNW - SSE trending veins with prevailing quartz, which cut the host rocks across the whole width of the gallery. In addition to quartz, they contain also dickite, chlorite (thuringite-chamosite), carbonates of dolomite-ankerite series (Dol37.5-44.0Ank42.0-46.8Ktn10.9-16.1), calcite, fluorapatite, pyrite (with up to 0.5 wt. % Mn), galena (with ~0.6 wt. % Se) and sphalerite (with ~1 wt. % Fe and up to 0.35 wt. % Sn and 0.36 wt. % Cu). Except for calcite, which forms younger veinlets in older quartz fill, all other mentioned minerals form minute inclusions enclosed in quartz, which are arranged parallel with outer margin of the vein. Based on mineral assemblage and chemical composition of individual minerals, highly variable crystallization temperatures (<100 - 350 °C) can be interpreted in various mineralogically distinct domains of the quartz vein. We assume a polyphase, episodic origin of individual domains of the vein fill, close to the crack-seal mechanism, which was bound to successive evolution of the adjacent fault structure. The maximum formation temperatures exceeding by a value of ca. 100 °C the highest reported temperatures of Variscan thermal overprint of Lower Paleozoic rocks of the Prague Basin are explained by production of friction heat in the fault structure. It is probable that part of parent fluids originated from sedimentary iron ores occurring in the host Ordovician sedimentary sequence.


1998 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 238 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. M. Kraishan ◽  
N. M Lemont

Siderite cement is one of the most volumetrically important diagenetic minerals in the Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous sandstones of the Barrow Sub-basin. It constitutes up to 60 per cent of the rock volume, and where abundant, occludes the primary intergranular porosity. Petrogriiphic, chemical and isotopic studies indicate the early precipitation of much of this siderite prior to significant compaction. Siderite samples and concretions were taken from a variety of depositional environments ranging from fluvial to deep marine from Late Triassic to Early Cretaceous sequences.Of the early phases, three distinct siderite types were recognised and vary according to depositional environment. The first type, mostly collected from fluvial deposits, is Fe-rich with a mean composition of (Fe96.3 Mg1.8 Ca0.9 Mn1.0) C03. The second type of siderite cement is relatively Mg-rich, Ca-poor and has a higher Mn content, with a mean composition of (Fe87.1 Mg9.6 Ca1.2 Mn2.1) C03. The third type of siderite cement is typically Mg−, Ca-rich, with a low Mn content and an average composition of (Fe78.7 Mg12.4 Ca8.4 Mn0.5) C03. The second and third siderite cements occur in marine facies. The δ13C and δ180 values for siderite cements range from −2.8 to −14.3 %. PDB and 17.4 to 28.2 %. SMOW, respectively.Petrographic and chemical isotopic studies and other sedimentological data from siderite can be used to distinguish between different depositional environments. Chemical and isotopic compositions of the early authigenic siderites indicate precipitation from fluids with significant meteoric input. Siderite cements formed during sulphate reduction and early methanogenesis from mixed marine and meteoric pore-waters at temperatures below 30°C. While an influx of meteoric water to the fluvial and deltaic sediments of the Triassic Mungaroo Formation is easily envisaged, the siderites show that some mixing of sea water is also required. The concept of introduction of meteoric water to the marine sediments of the Birdrong Formation requires an appreciation of the sea level fluctuations at the time. In these situations, the recognition of meteoric or marine input to an early siderite cement can assist in the determination of sea level fluctuations.


Alloy Digest ◽  
1968 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  

Abstract COPPER Alloy No. 704 is a 5% nickel-copper alloy characterized by resistance to corrosion by high velocity sea water, resistance to stress-corrosion cracking, and retention of strength at moderately elevated temperatures. This datasheet provides information on composition, physical properties, hardness, elasticity, and tensile properties as well as creep. It also includes information on corrosion resistance as well as forming, heat treating, machining, joining, and surface treatment. Filing Code: Cu-184. Producer or source: Copper and copper alloy mills.


2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 91-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna Anderson ◽  
Mark Longman

A new interpretation of the subsurface geometries of the Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite and overlying Devonian strata across southwestern Wyoming arises from revising the stratigraphy in a core from the Mountain Fuel Supply UPRR #11–19–104–4 well drilled on the crest of the Rock Springs Uplift in 1962. One of only a few wells to penetrate all or part of the Lower Paleozoic succession in the subsurface of southwestern Wyoming, the well was almost continuously cored through the Devonian–Cambrian succession. From a reinterpretation of the stratigraphy in the core, 22 ft of Bighorn Dolomite is recognized based on the characteristic Thalassinoides bioturbation fabric in skeletal dolowackestone typical of Late Ordovician subtidal carbonate facies ranging from Nevada to Greenland along the western margin of the Great American Carbonate Bank. This lithology is in complete contrast with the alternating dolomitic flat-pebble conglomerate and dolomudstone of the underlying Cambrian Gallatin Limestone and the cyclical units of brecciated anhydritic dolomudstone and quartzose sandstone of the overlying Devonian Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation. Stratigraphic re-interpretation yields insights regarding Ordovician–Devonian stratal geometries across southwestern Wyoming. More widespread than previously portrayed, the Bighorn Dolomite pinches out on the eastern flank of the Rock Springs Uplift. Similar to past interpretations, Devonian strata pinch out east of the Rock Springs Uplift at Table Rock Field. A true-geometry multi-datumed stratigraphic cross section yields insights not obtainable by mapping. Regionally, top truncation of stratigraphic units below the base-Madison Limestone unconformity normally progresses stratigraphically deeper eastward. However, in southwestern Wyoming, the Devonian Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation overlaps the older Bighorn Dolomite by marked onlap across the Rock Springs Uplift and then pinches out by top truncation/onlap near Table Rock Field, forming an “abnormal” overlap relationship along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch. The underlying Bighorn Dolomite shows little to no onlap onto the underlying Cambrian section, but is markedly top truncated below the Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation. Comparing proportions of onlap versus top truncation for the two formations constrains the timing of two successive upwarping episodes along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch across southwestern Wyoming. The first is arguably Middle Devonian, and the second spans the Devonian–Mississippian boundary. Two subtle and different angular unconformities created by these two episodes imply a persistent fold or tilt axis that sequentially was reactivated along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch in southwestern Wyoming.


Author(s):  
Viet Lam Hoang Quoc ◽  
A. B. Lisenkov ◽  
V. J. Lavrushin

The origin and formation of the groundwater in the Mekong Delta are the complex problem, which has not one solution nowadays. So the exploitation scheme still has many limitations. In the aquifers of the Mekong Delta there are both fresh water and mineralized water, which are very complex and heterogeneous in the distribution. The mineralized water has been considered to have sedimentagenous genesis (buried seawater), and freshwater has been believed to originate from infiltration of meteoric water. Studying of the stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen of the groundwater in the Mekong Delta has shown that the groundwater originates mainly from the infiltration of the meteoric water. In addition, a significant factor in the formation of groundwater in the Middle, Lower Pliocene and Miocene aquifer is the mixing of the meteoric and sea waters. Increasing in values of stable isotopes with growing depth of groundwater is related with that the recharging areas of Paleogene (deep) aquifers are distributed higher by absolute depths and farther from the coastline than recharging areas of Quaternary (shallow) aquifers. The results of the research can be used to optimize the scheme for the exploitation of the fresh groundwater, limiting the intrusion of sea water in the exploited groundwater in the Mekong Delta.


1976 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 1514-1536 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mordeckai Magaritz ◽  
Hugh P. Taylor Jr.

Early Tertiary and Mesozoic ground waters in British Columbia were low in δ18O and δD, making it easy to document interactions of meteoric-hydrothermal H2O with the Coast Range plutons. The isotopic data on the igneous rocks can be grouped as follows:[Formula: see text]Zone I represents the gneissic migmatite core of the batholith, west of the quartz-diorite line. Zone II is the granodioritic eastern part of the batholith, and Zone III is a broad zone that includes the Jurassic Topley intrusions and extends from the eastern edge of the batholith to the Pinchi fault zone. Only in Zone I are isotopically 'normal' plutonic rocks found, and even there small amounts of meteoric water were apparently responsible for the late sericitization. All of the rocks in Zones II and III underwent widespread interaction with hot meteoric H2O, including the volcanic and sedimentary country rocks which have δD = −113 to −167 and δ18O = 1.9 to 10.8. Values of δD biotite < −140 are found in essentially all of the low-18O rocks, as well as in those that have 18O-zoned quartz or high Δ18Oqz–feld. Dike rocks have δD similar to their host rocks, but are typically lower in 18O (has the finer grain size facilitated exchange?). The batholithic intrusions apparently created gigantic meteoric-H2O circulation systems, larger than has heretofore been documented. The calculated δD of the H2O is −120 ± 20 assuming T = 500 to 200 °C, indicating that about 45–55 m.y. ago, the meteoric H2O had a uniform δD throughout the area. However, samples from the 140 m.y. old Topley intrusions suggest more D-rich waters, perhaps indicating a warmer climate in the Jurassic. These higher-temperature meteoric-hydrothermal effects are not found east of Pinchi Lake, a terrane that includes the Permian Cache Creek formation and various sediments, volcanic rocks, and blueschists that have δD = −65 to −117 and δ18O = 13.5 to 28.4. This area lacks igneous intrusions, so the meteoric H2O interactions in this area occurred at much lower temperatures than in Zones II and III (≈ 100 °C). Only the finest-grained rocks underwent partial D/H exchange with the meteoric waters responsible for local silicification, serpentinization, and vein carbonate deposition.


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