Geology topics

D. Gottfried

Publications and source records attributed to D. Gottfried.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS1995

Evolution of tholeiitic diabase sheet systems in the eastern United States: examples from the Culpeper Basin, Virginia-Maryland, and the Gettysburg Basin, Pennsylvania

High-TiO2, quartz-normative (HTQ) tholeiite sheets of Early Jurassic age have intruded mainly Late Triassic sedimentary rocks in several early Mesozoic basins in the eastern US. Field observations, petrographic study, geochemical analyses and stable isotope data from three HTQ sheet systems were used to develop a general model of magmatic differentiation and magmatic-hydrothermal interaction for HTQ sheets. The three sheet systems have remarkably similar major-oxide and trace-element compositions. Cumulus and evolved diabase in comagmatic sheets separated by tens of kilometers are related by igneous differentiation. Differentiated diabase in all three sheets have petrographic and geochemical signatures and fluid inclusions indicating hydrothermal alteration beginning near magmatic temperatures and continuing to relatively low temperatures. Sulfur and oxygen isotope data are consistent with a magmatic origin for the hydrothermal fluid. -from Authors

Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia↗

USGS1993

Emplacement and differentiation of the york haven diabase sheet, Pennsylvania

Many of the high-Ti quartz-normative tholeiitic intrusive sheets in the early Mesozoic rift basins of the Eastern USA exhibit lateral differentiation from mafic cumulate units, through diabase, to relatively evolved iron-rich rock types. We have investigated a representative example in detail, the York Haven sheet in the Gettysburg basin of south-central Pennsylvania. It ranges in thickness from 330 m to 675 m, and we have sampled it from base to top along four separate stratigraphic sections evenly spaced over the extent of the intrusion. The easternmost section (York Haven) is entirely basaltic bronzite cumulate (average 15 vol. % bronzite), whereas the westernmost (Reesers Summit) consists of diabase and low-MgO diabase with a middle to upper 'sandwich zone' of ferrogabbro. The intervening sections feature rock types transitional between the two end-member sequences. Chemically, the rock series shows a gradual east to west depletion of compatible elements (Mg, Ca, Ni, and Cr), and enrichment of incompatible elements [Ti, Fe, Na, K, P, Cu, Zr, Th, Ta, Hf, Sb, Cs, As, platinum group elements (PGEs), and rare earth elements (REEs)].We suggest two main processes for the trends observed in the York Haven sheet. First, flow differentiation during ascent and lateral injection of the parental magma produced a tongue of basaltic bronzite cumulate that thins from southeast to northwest and passes laterally into diabase, and, at the distal end of the intrusion, into low-MgO diabase. Then, in the latter stages of crystallization, densitydriven hydrothermal fluids transported incompatible elements westward, into structurally higher parts of the intrusion. Reaction of this residual aqueous fluid with partly crystallized low-MgO diabase produced a zone of ferrogabbro rich in hydrothermal replacement products (e.g., Cl-amphibole, biotite, ferrohypersthene, and skeletal ilmenite) and precipitates (e.g., quartz, fayalite, Cl-apatite, sulfides, and PGE minerals). © 1993 Oxford University Press.

Pennsylvania↗

USGS1978

Regional implications of Triassic or Jurassic age for basalt and sedimentary red beds in the South Carolina coastal plain

Whole rock potassium-argon ages for samples of subsurface basalt recovered near Charleston, South Carolina, are interpreted to indicate a Triassic or Jurassic age for the basalt and underlying sedimentary red beds. This age is consistent with existing evidence indicating that an early Mesozoic basin is present in the subsurface of a large part of the coastal plain of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama.

South Carolina↗

USGS1974

Iridium in some calcic and calc-alkalic batholithic rocks of the western United States

Neutron-activation determinations of Ir in rocks of the Southern California and Boulder (Montana) batholiths show that the Ir content is low and variable in both batholiths, extending over 1 to 2 orders of magnitude and having a combined median of 0.006 ppb Ir. The data suggest that the calc-alkalic Boulder batholith (0.002–0.5 ppb Ir, median 0.007) may be slightly enriched in Ir relative to the calcic Southern California batholith (< 0.001–0.12 ppb Ir, median 0.005). No conspicuous relationship between Ir content and differentiation parameters is evident; however, the Boulder batholith rocks do show a slight tendency to concentrate Ir in the more mafic rocks. Our results in conjunction with previous analyses of mafic rocks leads to a crustal-abundance estimate of 0.03 ppb Ir

Chemical Geology↗

USGS1973

Aspects of the magmatic geochemistry of bismuth

Bismuth has been determined in 74 rocks from a differentiated tholeiitic dolerite, two calc-alkaline batholith suites and in 66 mineral separates from one of the batholiths. Average bismuth contents, weighted for rock type, of the Great Lake (Tasmania) dolerite, the Southern California batholith and the Idaho batholith are, 32, 50 and 70 ppb respectively. All three bodies demonstrate an enrichment of bismuth in residual magmas with magmatic differentiation. Bismuth is greatly enriched (relative to the host rock) in the calcium-rich accessory minerals, apatite and sphene, but other mineral analyses show that a Bi-Ca association is of little significance to the magmatic geochemistry of bismuth. Most of the bismuth, in the Southern California batholith at least, occurs in a trace mineral phase (possibly sulfides) present as inclusions in the rock-forming minerals.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1969

Distribution of scandium between coexisting biotite and hornblende in igneous rocks

Scandium analyses of more than 90 pairs of coexisting biotite and hornblende from igneous rocks of various provinces (including Southern California, Boulder, Sierra Nevada, Boulder Creek batholiths and the Jemez Mountains volcanic rocks) indicate that the distribution ratio (K d = Sc hornblende /Sc biotite ) for most samples closely approached that of an equilibrium distribution. Median K d values for the igneous samples range from 4.8 to 8.0, which are higher than similar values derived from published data on metamorphic samples and apparently not related to the mode of crystallization (volcanic, hypabyssal, or plutonic). A correlation between Kd and mafic index, (FeO + Fe 2 O 3 )/(FeO + Fe 2 O 3 + MgO) X 100, of both the minerals and the host rock, and between K d and SiO 2 content of the host rock, can be established only for the Southern California batholith samples. However, whether this correlation reflects temperature dependence, compositional dependence, or both, cannot be specified uniquely with present data. The present data also cast doubt on the validity of the so-called “scandium geothermometer.”

GSA Bulletin↗

USGS1968

Variation of Nb-Ta, Zr-Hf, Th-U and K-Cs in two diabase-granophyre suites

Concentrations of Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Th, U and Cs have been determined in samples of igneous rocks representing the diabase-granophyre suites from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and Great Lake, Tasmania. Niobium and tantalum have a three to fourfold increase with differentiation in each of the suites. The chilled margin of the Great Lake intrusion contains half the niobium and tantalum content (5.3 ppm and 0.4 ppm, respectively) of the chilled basalt from Dillsburg (10 ppm and 0.9 ppm, respectively). The twofold difference between the suites is correlated with differences in their titanium content. The average Nb Ta "> NbTa ratios for each suite are similar: 13.5 for the Great Lake suite, and 14.4 for the Dillsburg suite. The zirconium content of the two suites is essentially the same and increases from 50 to 60 ppm in the chilled margins to 240–300 ppm in the granophyres. Hafnium is low in the early formed rocks (0.5 –1.5 ppm and achieves a maximum in the granophyres (5–8 ppm). The Zr Hf "> ZrHf ratio decreases from 68 to 33 with progressive differentiation. In the Dillsburg suite thorium and uranium increase from 2.6 ppm and 0.6 ppm, respectively, in the chilled samples to 11.8 ppm and 3.1 ppm in the granophyres. The chilled margin of the Great Lake suite contains 3.2 ppm thorium and 9.8 ppm uranium; the granophyre contains 11.2 ppm thorium and 2.8 ppm uranium. The average Th U "> ThU ratios of the Dillsburg and Great Lake suites are nearly the same—4.1 and 4.4, respectively. Within each suite the Th U "> ThU ratio remains quite constant. Cesium and the K Cs "> KCs ratio do not vary systematically in the Dillsburg suite possibly because of redistribution or loss of cesium by complex geologic processes. Except for the chilled margin of the Great Lake suite, the variation of Cs and the K Cs "> KCs ratio are in accord with theoretical considerations. Cesium increases from about 0.6 ppm in the lower zone to 3.5 ppm in the granophyre; the K Cs "> KCs ratio varies from 10 × 10 3 in the lower zone to 6 × 10 3 in the granophyre. A comparison of the abundance of some of these elements is made with those reported on oceanic tholeiites from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Trace elements with large ionic radii (Th, U, Cs) are present in significantly greater concentrations in the two continental tholeiitic series than in the oceanic tholeiites. However, this does not seem to be true for lithophilic elements of smaller ionic radii (Zr and Nb). These trace element distribution patterns, when considered with other minor element and isotopic studies, indicate that 1. crustal contamination does not entirely account for differences between continental and oceanic tholeiites, and 2. the oceanic tholeiites do not necessarily delimit the geochemical characteristics of the mantle.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗