Comparing the results of lineament analysis with isotope geochemistry data

This article presents the results of a geochemical survey carried out in the southwestern part of the Siberian platform, within the Sayan-Yenisei (Angara) syneclise (a superorder Riphean-Middle Paleozoic structure). The object of research was hydrocarbon gases contained in the subsoil rocks (clays). The subsoil samples were taken from the bottom of boreholes (40 mm in diameter) made with an electric drill. The sampling depth was 0.6–1 m. Further laboratory studies included chromatographic and isotope analysis. Lineament analysis of the digital elevation model was carried out as a complementary study. One of the lineament analysis results was a lineament density map, which reflects the permeability (macro-fracture density) of the sedimentary cover. This allowed a comparison of the macro-fracture density with the gas content and isotopic composition. The study revealed that gases with a high content of heavy isotopes tend to gather in the low permeability areas. This can be explained by the fact that the gases disperse quickly within fractured zones, and deep gases should be expected only in the areas with strong cap rocks, i.e. in the areas with low macrofracture density where stable hydrocarbon deposits have already formed. Keywords: hydrocarbons; geochemical survey; isotope geochemistry; lineament analysis.

Mineralogy, Fluid Inclusions, and Oxygen Isotope Geochemistry Signature of Wolframite to Scheelite and Fe,Mn Chlorite Veins from the W, (Cu,Mo) Ore Deposit of Borralha, Portugal

Scheelitization of Mn-bearing wolframite, scheelite, quartz, and Fe,Mn-chlorite veins was identified in the W, (Cu,Mo) ore deposits of Borralha, by optical microscopy, electron-microprobe analysis, and stable isotope geochemistry. Fluid inclusions derived scheelite crystallization temperature was compared with the oxygen isotope temperature estimated. Scheelite was formed mainly during stage I from a low salinity aqueous-carbonic fluid dominated by CO2, where the homogenization temperature (Th) decreased from 380 °C to 200 °C (average of 284 °C). As temperature decreased further, the aqueous-carbonic fluid became dominated by CH4 (Stage II; (average Th = 262 °C)). The final stage III corresponds to lower temperature mineralizing aqueous fluid (average Th = 218 °C). In addition, salinity gradually decreased from 4.8 wt.% to 1.12 wt.%. The δ18OFluid values calculated for quartz-water and wolframite-water fractionation fall within the calculated magmatic water range. The ∆quartz-scheelite fractionation occurred at about 350–400 °C. The ∆chlorite-water fractionation factor calculated is about +0.05‰ for 330 °C, dropping to −0.68‰ and −1.26‰ at 380 °C and 450 °C, respectively. Estimated crystallizing temperatures based on semi-empirical chlorite geothermometers range from 373 °C to 458 °C and 435 °C to 519 °C. A narrower temperature range of 375 °C to 410 °C was estimated for Fe,Mn-chlorite crystallization.

Stable Isotope Geochemistry of the Organic Elements within Shales and Crude Oils: A Comprehensive Review

Over time, stable isotopes have proven to be a useful tool in petroleum geochemistry. However, there is currently insufficient literature on stable isotope geochemistry of the organic elements within shales and crude oils in many petroleum systems around the world. As a result, this paper critically reviews the early and recent trends in stable isotope geochemistry of organic elements in shales and crude oils. The bulk and compound-specific stable isotopes of H, C, and S, as well as their uses as source facies, depositional environments, thermal maturity, geological age, and oil–oil and oil–source rock correlation studies, are all taken into account. The applications of the stable isotopes of H and C in gas exploration are also discussed. Then, the experimental and instrumental approaches to the stable isotopes of H, C, and S, are discussed.

Isotope geochemistry in archaeology

Isotope geochemistry is an important scientific technique that has made a significant contribution to archaeological research. Isotope techniques measure the relative abundance of a number of nuclides of the same (or derivative) element as a means of investigating a variety of natural processes. Both stable (H, O, C, N, Ca, Sr, Cu, Pb, S) and unstable (U, Th, K, Ar) isotope systems are analyzed as part of archaeological investigations.Isotopes (often referred to as a nuclide in the singular) are variants of a particular element, which share the same number of protons but have varying numbers of neutrons. Isotopes are referred to as stable or unstable, depending on whether they undergo radioactive decay. Some nuclides are primordial, meaning they have existed since the beginning of the universe, while others are the product of the decay of other elements. Isotopes of the same element generally share the same chemical behavior.Stable isotopes can be applied to studying a variety of processes with their applicability to specific problems depending on the mechanism by which one nuclide becomes naturally enriched or depleted. The basis of the application of some stable isotopes is that the variation in their atomic mass leads them to behave differently during processes such as evaporation, precipitation, freezing, photosynthesis, and incorporation into the body. Another approach is based on taking advantage of the varying abundance of some stable isotopes within different geological units to allow proveniencing of various materials. This can only be achieved if the isotope ratios remain unchanged after incorporation into the sample.Unstable isotopes are most commonly used as a geochronological tool for establishing the age of materials such as organics, calcium carbonates, and igneous rocks. Unstable nuclides that have either too many or too few neutrons spontaneously transform by beta decay, alpha decay, or spontaneous nuclear fission. The decay speed can be calibrated to time and is usually expressed as a “half-life.” On the basis of a known decay rate and original abundance ratio, the comparison of the relative abundance of a stable nuclide to an unstable nuclide can provide an age estimation of the material studied. In the case of radiocarbon dating, the abundance of 14C in the sample is compared to modern levels of 14C.Isotope analysis can be performed directly on archaeological materials or on geological materials to provide a context for archaeological sites. A particular advantage of using isotopic methods in archaeological investigations is that it provides quantifiable information that can be compared to the material culture record.

Controls on Barite Mineralization in a Major Intracontinental Shear Zone: Carboniferous of the Cobequid Highlands, Nova Scotia

Prominent veins of late Carboniferous barite, associated with fluorite and calcite, outcrop close to older granite plutons along an intracontinental shear zone that was active throughout the Carboniferous in southeastern Canada. Some barite is stratigraphically constrained to younger than 315 Ma and final mineralization is constrained by a published Rb–Sr isochron of 300 ± 6 Ma. Barite occurrences in the Carboniferous basins of central Nova Scotia, 50 km to the south, are synchronous with or post-date ankerite-siderite-magnetite-pyrolusite and Pb-Zn mineralization, which was facilitated by fluid interaction with thick evaporites. This study aims to determine controls on the distribution of barite in the shear zone, from field relationships, vein petrography and isotope geochemistry of minerals. The isotope chemistry of shear zone barite is similar to that occurring in Pb-Zn-Mn-Ba mineralization to the south, suggesting a common origin. Veins of barite, associated with fluorite, represent the youngest and regionally coolest phase of a 70 Ma history of Carboniferous mineralized veins along the Minas Fault Zone. Their prominence close to granite plutons reflects brittle deformation of the deeply-rooted granites in a complexly deforming fault zone, but the origin of abundant F remains uncertain.

Hadal aragonite records venting of stagnant paleoseawater in the hydrated forearc mantle

The hadal zone at trenches is a unique region where forearc mantle rocks are directly exposed at the ocean floor owing to tectonic erosion. Circulation of seawater in the mantle rock induces carbonate precipitation within the deep-sea forearc mantle, but the timescale and rates of the circulation are unclear. Here we investigated a peculiar occurrence of calcium carbonate (aragonite) in forearc mantle rocks recovered from ~6400 m water depth in the Izu–Ogasawara Trench. On the basis of microtextures, strontium–carbon–oxygen isotope geochemistry, and radiocarbon analysis, we found that the aragonite is sourced from seawater that accumulated for more than 42,000 years. Aragonite precipitation is triggered by episodic rupture events that expel the accumulated fluids at 10−2–10−1 m s−1 and which continue for a few decades at most. We suggest that the recycling of subducted seawater from the shallowest forearc mantle influences carbon transport from the surface to Earth’s interior.