Stable isotope evidence of heterogeneous fluid infiltration at the Ubehebe Peak contact aureole, Death Valley National Park, California

1999 ◽  
Vol 299 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory T. Roselle ◽  
Lukas P. Baumgartner ◽  
John W. Valley
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
National Park ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Contact Aureole ◽  
Fluid Infiltration ◽  
Isotope Evidence ◽  
Death Valley National Park

scholarly journals Mapping metamorphic hydration fronts with field-based near‑infrared spectroscopy: Teakettle Junction contact aureole, Death Valley National Park (California, USA)

Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward F. Duke
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Field Measurements ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Contact Metamorphism ◽  
Contact Aureole ◽  
Mineral Distribution ◽  
Hydrous Minerals ◽  
Death Valley National Park ◽  
Spectrometer Data

Mineral distribution in a previously undescribed contact aureole in siliceous dolomite at Teakettle Junction, Death Valley National Park (California, USA), was mapped with a handheld visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR, 0.35–2.5 μm) spectrometer. With increasing distance from a small Jurassic(?) pluton, the following mineral zones occur: periclase (hydrated to brucite), forsterite (variably hydrated to serpentine and typically accompanied by clinohumite), tremolite, and talc. Airborne Vis-NIR imaging spectrometer data with 5 m ground resolution shows serpentine and tremolite distribution in close agreement with the field data. Field measurements show dolomite and calcite throughout the study area, along with minor amounts of phlogopite and illite. Hydrous minerals were detected in field measurements at levels on the order of 1 vol%. Phlogopite, talc, and illite crystals in many samples are <20 μm in size and difficult to identify without scanning electron microscopy examination. Sensitivity of Vis-NIR spectroscopy to hydrous minerals is especially important in the context of metamorphic fluid flow. Significant hydration of wall rocks is limited to samples between the pluton contact and the serpentine (forsterite) isograd as shown by mineral distribution and variation in the depth of the OH absorption feature near 1.4 μm. This boundary is interpreted to represent a metamorphic hydration front beyond which there was minimal infiltration of wall rocks by H2O-rich fluid. Within this zone of hydration, however, the extent of hydration is highly variable, even at individual sample sites with samples spaced on the order of 1 m or less. Heterogeneity of fluid-rock interaction at this scale must be considered in models of heat and mass transfer accompanying contact metamorphism.

Restoring Timbisha Shoshone Land Management Practices in Death Valley National Park

2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 302-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. S. Fowler ◽  
P. Esteves ◽  
G. Goad ◽  
B. Helmer ◽  
K. Watterson
Keyword(s):  
Land Management ◽  
National Park ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Death Valley National Park

Giant quartz vein formation and high-elevation meteoric fluid infiltration into the South Armorican Shear Zone: geological, fluid inclusion and stable isotope evidence

2012 ◽  
Vol 169 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jérémie Lemarchand ◽  
Philippe Boulvais ◽  
Martin Gaboriau ◽  
Marie-Christine Boiron ◽  
Romain Tartèse ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stable Isotope ◽  
Fluid Inclusion ◽  
Shear Zone ◽  
Quartz Vein ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
The South ◽  
Vein Formation ◽  
Fluid Infiltration ◽  
Isotope Evidence

scholarly journals Meteorological Conditions at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park: Implications for Rock Production and Transport

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (12) ◽  
pp. 2361-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph D. Lorenz ◽  
Brian K. Jackson ◽  
Jason W. Barnes ◽  
Joseph N. Spitale ◽  
Jani Radebaugh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Probability Distributions ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Time Lapse ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Trail Formation ◽  
Strong Winds ◽  
Death Valley National Park

AbstractThree decades of weather records at meteorological stations near Death Valley National Park are analyzed in an attempt to gauge the frequency of conditions that might form and erase the famous trails of wind-blown rocks in the mud of Racetrack Playa. Trail formation requires the playa to be wet, followed by strong winds and/or freezing conditions. Weather records are compared with a limited set of meteorological data that were acquired in situ at the playa over three winters and that indicate freezing on 50, 29, and 15 nights during the winters of 2007/08–09/10, respectively, as well as with the hydrological condition of the playa as determined by time-lapse cameras that observed flooding over ~1, ~5, and ~40 days, respectively, during those winters. Measurements at the nearby Panamint and Hunter Mountain stations are found to be a useful, if imperfect (~50%), indicator of Racetrack Playa conditions and give some features of Racetrack Playa’s micrometeorological behavior. Wind speed probability distributions suggest that winds that are fast enough to cause unassisted rock motion are rare and therefore that freezing of water on the playa has a role in a significant fraction of movement events.

Tramways, Draw Works and Flumes

2013 ◽  
Vol 778 ◽  
pp. 990-997
Author(s):  
Douglas Porter ◽  
Ron W. Anthony
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
National Park ◽  
American West ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Death Valley ◽  
Timber Structures ◽  
Zion National Park ◽  
Remote Sites ◽  
Death Valley National Park

The settlement of the American West was directly dependent on the extraction of resources including minerals, precious metals, timber, and the commerce that resulted. The infrastructure that developed around these extraction activities was intended to be merely functional, and therefore temporary. Readily available forest resources made timber structures relatively inexpensive and easy to build; they could be put into service quickly and were adequate to immediate needs. Many of these structures survive today at former mining and milling sites, along with remnants of the railroad lines that served them. Together they provide a compelling picture of the development of the American West and the technologies used to extract, refine, and transport the materials that initiated settlement of the region. Preservation of these sites and structures poses many interesting problems: Most of the structures were designed to meet short-term needs and have already outlasted their intended service life; Most of the structures were strictly utilitarian, and maintenance of them was discontinued when mining or logging operations ceased; Exposure of these structures to severe weather conditions is typical. The structures are at remote sites and access is extremely limited; Many of the structures are dangerous due to the extent of deterioration and proximity to open mines, adits, and industrial waste. In this presentation, the authors will use three case studies to illustrate preservation issues common to remote resource extraction sites, techniques used to access the timber structures, and some of the stabilization strategies implemented at each of the sites. The case studies include the aerial tramway of the Keane Wonder Mine in Death Valley National Park, the Cable Mountain Draw Works in Zion National Park, and the Hanging Flume in Colorado.

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