Micrinite in Southern Hemisphere sub-bituminous and bituminous coals : redefined as fine grained kaolinite

A range of complementary analytical techniques including SEM/EDS, TEM/EDS and conventional optical microscopy has been rigorously applied to precisely defined areas of micrinite in polished coal samples from Australia and New Zealand. Elemental analyses of micrinite regions showed a high abundance of Al, Si and O and high resolution images of micrinite revealed a grain size < 1μm. Electron diffraction and elemental analyses from individual grains within the optically and electron-optically correlated micrinite regions are consistent with the occurence of fine-grained kaolinite. The optical properties of "dark clay" and "micrinite" (i.e. fine-grained kaolinite) can be understood in terms of the diffuse scattering of visible light from the surfaces of materials with different grain sizes in single-phase or multi-phase mixtures.

Distribution of organic-rich sediments through the Phanerozoic

It is commonly assumed that rates of accumulation of organic-rich strata have varied through geologic time with some periods that were particularly favorable for accumulation of petroleum source rocks or coals. A rigorous analysis of the validity of such an assumption requires consideration of the basic fact that although sedimentary rocks have been lost through geologic time to erosion and metamorphism. Consequently, their present-day global abundance decreases with their geologic age. Measurements of the global abundance of coal-bearing strata suggest that conditions for coal accumulation were exceptionally favorable during the late Carboniferous. Strata of this age constitute 21% of the world's coal-bearing strata. Global rates of coal accumulation appear to have been relatively constant since the end of the Carboniferous, with the exception of the Triassic which contains only 1.75% of the world's coal-bearing strata. Estimation of the global amount of discovered oil by age of the source rock show that 58% of the world's oil has been sourced from Cretaceous or younger strata and 99% from Silurian or younger strata. Although most geologic periods were favourable for oil source-rock accumulation the mid-Permian to mid-Jurassic appears to have been particularly unfavourable accounting for less than 2% of the world's oil. Estimation of the global amount of discovered natural gas by age of the source rock show that 48% of the world's oil has been sourced from Cretaceous or younger strata and 99% from Silurian or younger strata. The Silurian and Late Carboniferous were particularly favourable for gas source-rock accumulation respectively accounting for 12.9% and 6.9% of the world's gas. By contrast, Permian and Triassic source rocks account for only 1.7% of the world's natural gas. Rather than invoking global climatic or oceanic events to explain the relative abundance of organic rich sediments through time, examination of the data suggests the more critical control is tectonic. The majority of coals are associated with foreland basins and the majority of oil-prone source rocks are associated with rifting. The relative abundance of these types of basin through time determines the abundance and location of coals and petroleum source rocks.

Iron nodules in ferric soils of the Fraser Coast, Australia : relicts of laterisation or features of contemporary weathering and pedogenesis?

The genesis of ferruginous nodules and pisoliths in soils and weathering profiles of coastal southern and eastern Australia has long been debated. It is not clear whether iron (Fe) nodules are redox accumulations, residues of Miocene laterite duricrust, or the products of contemporary weathering of Fe-rich sedimentary rocks. This study combines a catchment-wide survey of Fe nodule distribution in Poona Creek catchment (Fraser Coast, Queensland) with detailed investigations of a representative ferric soil profile to show that Fe nodules are derived from Fe-rich sandstones. Where these crop out, they are broken down, transported downslope by colluvial processes, and redeposited. Chemical and physical weathering transforms these eroded rock fragments into non-magnetic Fe nodules. Major features of this transformation include lower hematite/goethite and kaolinite/gibbsite ratios, increased porosity, etching of quartz grains, and development of rounded morphology and a smooth outer cortex. Iron nodules are commonly concentrated in ferric horizons. We show that these horizons form as the result of differential biological mixing of the soil. Bioturbation gradually buries nodules and rock fragments deposited at the surface of the soil, resulting in a largely nodule-free 'biomantle' over a ferric 'stone line'. Maghemite-rich magnetic nodules are a prominent feature of the upper half of the profile. These are most likely formed by the thermal alteration of non-magnetic nodules located at the top of the profile during severe bushfires. They are subsequently redistributed through the soil profile by bioturbation. Iron nodules occurring in the study area are products of contemporary weathering of Fe-rich rock units. They are not laterite duricrust residues nor are they redox accumulations, although redox-controlled dissolution/re-precipitation is an important component of post-depositional modification of these Fe nodules.

Integrating 40Ar-39Ar, 87Rb-87Sr and 147Sm-143Nd geochronology of authigenic illite to evaluate tectonic reactivation in an intraplate setting, central Australia

The Warburton-Cooper basins, central Australia, include a multitude of reactivated fracture-fault networks related to a complex, and poorly understood, tectonic evolution. We investigated authigenic illites from a granitic intrusion and sedimentary rocks associated with prominent structural features (Gidgealpa-Merrimelia-Innamincka Ridge and the Nappamerri Trough). These were analysed by 40Ar-39Ar, 87Rb-87Sr and 147Sm-143Nd geochronology to explore the thermal and tectonic histories of central Australian basins. The combined age data provide evidence for three major periods of fault reactivation throughout the Phanerozoic. While Carboniferous (323.3 ± 9.4 Ma) and Late Triassic ages (201.7 ± 9.3 Ma) derive from basin-wide hydrothermal circulation, Cretaceous ages (~128 to ~86 Ma) reflect episodic fluid flow events restricted to the synclinal Nappamerri Trough. Such events result from regional extensional tectonism derived from the transferral of far-field stresses to mechanically and thermally weakened regions of the Australian continent. Specifically, Cretaceous ages reflect continent-wide transmission of tensional stress from a > 2500 km long rifting event on the Eastern (and southern) Australian margin associated with break-up of Gondwana and opening of the Tasman Sea. By integrating 40Ar-39Ar, 87Rb-87Sr and 147Sm-143Nd dating, this study highlights the use of authigenic illite in temporally constraining the tectonic evolution of intracontinental basins that would otherwise remain unknown. Furthermore, combining Sr- and Ar-isotopic systems enables more accurate dating of authigenesis whilst significantly reducing geochemical pitfalls commonly associated with these radioisotopic dating methods.

The effects of low degree alteration on Sm-Nd and U-Pb isotope systematics in Eoarchean basalts from the Doolena Gap and Warralong Greenstone belts, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia

This research led to the discovery of one of the best preserved remnants of the Earth's surficial environment 3.47 billion years ago. These ancient volcanic and sedimentary rocks contain original minerals and textures that are rare in rocks of this age. The research concentrated on chemical analysis of volcanic rocks to differentiate secondary alteration from the primary magmatic signature. This study contributes to our understanding of melting processes and geochemical reservoirs in the early Earth, which is vital for forward modelling of Earth's geodynamic evolution.

Multiple sulfur isotope analyses support a magmatic model for the volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits of the Teutonic Bore volcanic complex, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia

We report sensitive high mass resolution ion microprobe, stable isotopes (SHRIMP SI) multiple sulfur isotope analyses (32S, 33S, 34S) to constrain the sources of sulfur in three Archean VMS deposits—Teutonic Bore, Bentley, and Jaguar—from the Teutonic Bore volcanic complex of the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, together with sedimentary pyrites from associated black shales and interpillow pyrites. The pyrites from VMS mineralization are dominated by mantle sulfur but include a small amount of slightly negative mass-independent fractionation (MIF) anomalies, whereas sulfur from the pyrites in the sedimentary rocks has pronounced positive MIF, with ∆33S values that lie between 0.19 and 6.20‰ (with one outlier at −1.62‰). The wall rocks to the mineralization include sedimentary rocks that have contributed no detectable positive MIF sulfur to the VMS deposits, which is difficult to reconcile with the leaching model for the formation of these deposits. The sulfur isotope data are best explained by mixing between sulfur derived from a magmatic-hydrothermal fluid and seawater sulfur as represented by the interpillow pyrites. The massive sulfide lens pyrites have a weighted mean ∆33S value of −0.27 ± 0.05‰ (MSWD = 1.6) nearly identical with −0.31 ± 0.08‰ (MSWD = 2.4) for pyrites from the stringer zone, which requires mixing to have occurred below the sea floor. We employed a two-component mixing model to estimate the contribution of seawater sulfur to the total sulfur budget of the two Teutonic Bore volcanic complex VMS deposits. The results are 15 to 18% for both Teutonic Bore and Bentley, much higher than the 3% obtained by Jamieson et al. (2013) for the giant Kidd Creek deposit. Similar calculations, carried out for other Neoarchean VMS deposits give value between 2% and 30%, which are similar to modern hydrothermal VMS deposits. We suggest that multiple sulfur isotope analyses may be used to predict the size of Archean VMS deposits and to provide a vector to ore deposit but further studies are needed to test these suggestions.

An approach to palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto (sea) area during the early Holocene

Olkiluoto Island is situated in the northern Baltic Sea, near the southwestern coast of Finland, and is the proposed location of a spent nuclear fuel repository. This study examined Holocene palaeoseismicity in the Olkiluoto area and in the surrounding sea areas by computer simulations together with acoustic-seismic, sedimentological and dating methods. The most abundant rock type on the island is migmatic mica gneiss, intruded by tonalites, granodiorites and granites. The surrounding Baltic Sea seabed consists of Palaeoproterozoic crystalline bedrock, which is to a great extent covered by younger Mesoproterozoic sedimentary rocks. The area contains several ancient deep-seated fracture zones that divide it into bedrock blocks. The response of bedrock at the Olkiluoto site was modelled considering four future ice-age scenarios. Each scenario produced shear displacements of fractures with different times of occurrence and varying recovery rates. Generally, the larger the maximum ice load, the larger were the permanent shear displacements. For a basic case, the maximum shear displacements were a few centimetres at the proposed nuclear waste repository level, at proximately 500 m b.s.l. High-resolution, low-frequency echo-sounding was used to examine the Holocene submarine sedimentary structures and possible direct and indirect indicators of palaeoseismic activity in the northern Baltic Sea. Echo-sounding profiles of Holocene submarine sediments revealed slides and slumps, normal faults, debris flows and turbidite-type structures. The profiles also showed pockmarks and other structures related to gas or groundwater seepages, which might be related to fracture zone activation. Evidence of postglacial reactivation in the study area was derived from the spatial occurrence of some of the structures, especial the faults and the seepages, in the vicinity of some old bedrock fracture zones. Palaeoseismic event(s) (a single or several events) in the Olkiluoto area were dated and the palaeoenvironment was characterized using palaeomagnetic, biostratigraphical and lithostratigraphical methods, enhancing the reliability of the chronology. Combined lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and palaeomagnetic stratigraphy revealed an age estimation of 10 650 to 10 200 cal. years BP for the palaeoseismic event(s). All Holocene sediment faults in the northern Baltic Sea occur at the same stratigraphical level, the age of which is estimated at 10 700 cal. years BP (9500 radiocarbon years BP). Their movement is suggested to have been triggered by palaeoseismic event(s) when the Late Weichselian ice sheet was retreating from the site and bedrock stresses were released along the bedrock fracture zones. Since no younger or repeated traces of seismic events were found, it corroborates the suggestion that the major seismic activity occurred within a short time during and after the last deglaciation. The origin of the gas/groundwater seepages remains unclear. Their reflections in the echo-sounding profiles imply that part of the gas is derived from the organic-bearing Litorina and modern gyttja clays. However, at least some of the gas is derived from the bedrock. Additional information could be gained by pore water analysis from the pockmarks. Information on postglacial fault activation and possible gas and/or fluid discharges under high hydraulic heads has relevance in evaluating the safety assessment of a planned spent nuclear fuel repository in the region.

Structural-stratigraphic reconstruction of the lower Whakataki formation, north island, New Zealand

This thesis details a Miocene aged sedimentary rock formation located in north island New Zealand. Mapping, stratigraphic logging and petrographic analysis of the rock formation ascertained that it was deposited in a deep-marine, tectonically active region. The work details the make-up of the sedimentary rocks using geochemistry and microscopy to define their origin. This definition was used to interpret the depositional model of the sediments detailing how they were transported and how they were emplaced.

Physical Properties of Deep Drill Cores : Implications for Meteorite Impact Effects and Crustal Structures

Physical properties provide valuable information about the nature and behavior of rocks and minerals. The changes in rock physical properties generate petrophysical contrasts between various lithologies, for example, between shocked and unshocked rocks in meteorite impact structures or between various lithologies in the crust. These contrasts may cause distinct geophysical anomalies, which are often diagnostic to their primary cause (impact, tectonism, etc). This information is vital to understand the fundamental Earth processes, such as impact cratering and associated crustal deformations. However, most of the present day knowledge of changes in rock physical properties is limited due to a lack of petrophysical data of subsurface samples, especially for meteorite impact structures, since they are often buried under post-impact lithologies or eroded. In order to explore the uppermost crust, deep drillings are required. This dissertation is based on the deep drill core data from three impact structures: (i) the Bosumtwi impact structure (diameter 10.5 km, 1.07 Ma age; Ghana), (ii) the Chesapeake Bay impact structure (85 km, 35 Ma; Virginia, U.S.A.), and (iii) the Chicxulub impact structure (180 km, 65 Ma; Mexico). These drill cores have yielded all basic lithologies associated with impact craters such as post-impact lithologies, impact rocks including suevites and breccias, as well as fractured and unfractured target rocks. The fourth study case of this dissertation deals with the data of the Paleoproterozoic Outokumpu area (Finland), as a non-impact crustal case, where a deep drilling through an economically important ophiolite complex was carried out. The focus in all four cases was to combine results of basic petrophysical studies of relevant rocks of these crustal structures in order to identify and characterize various lithologies by their physical properties and, in this way, to provide new input data for geophysical modellings. Furthermore, the rock magnetic and paleomagnetic properties of three impact structures, combined with basic petrophysics, were used to acquire insight into the impact generated changes in rocks and their magnetic minerals, in order to better understand the influence of impact. The obtained petrophysical data outline the various lithologies and divide rocks into four domains. Based on target lithology the physical properties of the unshocked target rocks are controlled by mineral composition or fabric, particularly porosity in sedimentary rocks, while sediments result from diverse sedimentation and diagenesis processes. The impact rocks, such as breccias and suevites, strongly reflect the impact formation mechanism and are distinguishable from the other lithologies by their density, porosity and magnetic properties. The numerous shock features resulting from melting, brecciation and fracturing of the target rocks, can be seen in the changes of physical properties. These features include an increase in porosity and subsequent decrease in density in impact derived units, either an increase or a decrease in magnetic properties (depending on a specific case), as well as large heterogeneity in physical properties. In few cases a slight gradual downward decrease in porosity, as a shock-induced fracturing, was observed. Coupled with rock magnetic studies, the impact generated changes in magnetic fraction the shock-induced magnetic grain size reduction, hydrothermal- or melting-related magnetic mineral alteration, shock demagnetization and shock- or temperature-related remagnetization can be seen. The Outokumpu drill core shows varying velocities throughout the drill core depending on the microcracking and sample conditions. This is similar to observations by Kern et al., (2009), who also reported the velocity dependence on anisotropy. The physical properties are also used to explain the distinct crustal reflectors as observed in seismic reflection studies in the Outokumpu area. According to the seismic velocity data, the interfaces between the diopside-tremolite skarn layer and either serpentinite, mica schist or black schist are causing the strong seismic reflectivities.

A Rodinian suture in western India: New insights on India-Madagascar correlations

We report detailed evidence for a new paleo-suture zone (the Kumta suture) on the western margin of southern India. The c. 15-km-wide, westward dipping suture zone contains garnet-biotite, fuchsite-haematite, chlorite-quartz, quartz-phengite schists, biotite augen gneiss, marble and amphibolite. The isochemical phase diagram estimations and the high-Si phengite composition of quartz-phengite schist suggest a near-peak condition of c. 18 kbar at c. 550 degrees C, followed by near-isothermal decompression. The detrital SHRIMP U-Pb zircon ages from quartz-phengite schist give four age populations ranging from 3280 to 2993 Ma. Phengite from quartz-phengite schist and biotite from garnet-biotite schist have K-Ar metamorphic ages of ca. 1326 and ca. 1385 Ma respectively. Electron microprobe-CHIME ages of in situ zircons in quartz-phengite schist (ca. 3750 Ma and ca. 1697 Ma) are consistent with the above results. The Bondla ultramafic-gabbro complex in the west of the Kumta suture compositionally represents an arc with K-Ar biotite ages from gabbro in the range 1644-1536 Ma. On the eastern side of the suture are weakly deformed and unmetamorphosed shallow westward-dipping sedimentary rocks of the Sirsi shelf, which has the following upward stratigraphy: pebbly quartzite/sandstone, turbidite, magnetite iron formation, and limestone; farther east the lower lying quartzite has an unconformable contact with ca. 2571 Ma quartzo-feldspathic gneisses of the Dharwar block with a ca. 1733 Ma biotite cooling age. To the west of the suture is a c. 60-km-wide Karwar block mainly consisting of tonalite-trondhjemite-granodiorite (TTG) and amphibolite. The TTGs have U-Pb zircon magmatic ages of ca. 3200 Ma with a rare inherited core age of ca. 3601 Ma. The K-Ar biotite cooling age from the TTGs (1746 Ma and 1796 Ma) and amphibolite (ca. 1697 Ma) represents late-stage uplift. Integration of geological, structural and geochronological data from western India and eastern Madagascar suggest diachronous ocean closure during the amalgamation of Rodinia; in the north at around ca. 1380 Ma, and a progression toward the south until ca. 750 Ma. Satellite imagery based regional structural lineaments suggests that the Betsimisaraka suture continues into western India as the Kumta suture and possibly farther south toward a suture in the Coorg area, representing in total a c. 1000 km long Rodinian suture. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Records of hydrologic data, Walton County, Florida

This report presents discharge, chemical analyses, temperatures, and specific conductance records collected at 25 surface-water sites and chemical analyses of ground water, well descriptions and records of ground-water levels collected at 164 ground-water sites. It also contains 35 logs of the sedimentary rocks penetrated in the drilling of wells and test borings ranging in depth from 147 to 625 feet. These hydrologic data were collected as part of an investigation of the water resources of the county. The interpretative results of the investigation are in the report entitled, "Water resources of Walton County," by C. A. Pascale (in preparation, 1971). (108 page document)

Manganese: Minerals, Microbes, and the Evolution of Oxygenic Photosynthesis

Oxygenic photosynthesis fundamentally transformed our planet by releasing molecular oxygen and altering major biogeochemical cycles, and this exceptional metabolism relies on a redox-active cubane cluster of four manganese atoms. Not only is manganese essential for producing oxygen, but manganese is also only oxidized by oxygen and oxygen-derived species. Thus the history of manganese oxidation provides a valuable perspective on our planet’s environmental past, the ancient availability of oxygen, and the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis. Broadly, the general trends of the geologic record of manganese deposition is a chronicle of ancient manganese oxidation: manganese is introduced into the fluid Earth as Mn(II) and it will remain only a trace component in sedimentary rocks until it is oxidized, forming Mn(III,IV) insoluble precipitates that are concentrated in the rock record. Because these manganese oxides are highly favorable electron acceptors, they often undergo reduction in sediments through anaerobic respiration and abiotic reaction pathways.

The following dissertation presents five chapters investigating manganese cycling both by examining ancient examples of manganese enrichments in the geologic record and exploring the mineralogical products of various pathways of manganese oxide reduction that may occur in sediments. The first chapter explores the mineralogical record of manganese and reports abundant manganese reduction recorded in six representative manganese-enriched sedimentary sequences. This is followed by a second chapter that further analyzes the earliest significant manganese deposit 2.4 billon years ago, and determines that it predated the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis and thus is supporting evidence for manganese-oxidizing photosynthesis as an evolutionary precursor prior to oxygenic photosynthesis. The lack of oxygen during this early manganese deposition was partially established using oxygen-sensitive detrital grains, and so a third chapter delves into what these grains mean for oxygen constraints using a mathematical model. The fourth chapter returns to processes affecting manganese post-deposition, and explores the relationships between manganese mineral products and (bio)geochemical reduction processes to understand how various manganese minerals can reveal ancient environmental conditions and biological metabolisms. Finally, a fifth chapter considers whether manganese can be mobilized and enriched in sedimentary rocks and determines that manganese was concentrated secondarily in a 2.5 billion-year-old example from South Africa. Overall, this thesis demonstrates how microbial processes, namely photosynthesis and metal oxide-reducing metabolisms, are linked to and recorded in the rich complexity of the manganese mineralogical record.

Geomorphology of a Portion of the Easternmost Ventura Basin

The Humphreys Quadrangle is a portion of the easternmost Ventura Basin underlain by a thick series of Tertiary sedimentary rocks. On these rocks a great variety of geomorphic forms have been molded by the processes of running water typical of a semi-arid climate and by several types of mass movement. Among the different categories of mass movement present, a new type, the siltflow, was observed.

The geomorphic forms of special interest present in the quadrangle are rock cones, open canyonheads, asymmetric canyons, and stream terraces and straths. The author urges the adoption of the definition of strath as that part of an old dissected valley floor, including the floors of tributary valleys, which was not part of the floodplain of the main valley stream.

An old erosion surface, the Puckett Mesa Surface, is present in the Humphreys Quadrangle which is correlative with certain of the older stream terraces. By correlating the variation of gradient and of fill of the stream terraces with post –Wisconsin climatic fluctuations the age of the Puckett Mesa Surface is set at approximately 6000 B.C. This correlation sets the probable age of the older Rancho La Brea deposits at 6000 to 8000 B. C. and the probable age of the Carpenteria brea deposits at 1000 to 1 B. C.