Search USGS⌕ Search

Geology topics

H. E. Belkin

Publications and source records attributed to H. E. Belkin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2001

Geological and geochemical characteristics of high arsenic coals from endemic arsenosis areas in southwestern Guizhou Province, China

Southwest Guizhou Province is one of the most important areas of disseminated, sediment-hosted-type Au deposits in China and is an important area of coal production. The chemistry of most of the coals in SW Guizhou is similar to those in other parts of China. Their As content is near the Chinese coal average, but some local, small coal mines contain high As coals. The highest As content is up to 3.5 wt.% in the coal. The use of high As coals has caused in excess of 3000 cases of As poisoning in several villages. The high As coals are in the Longtan formation, which is an alternating marine facies and terrestrial facies. The coals are distributed on both sides of faults that parallel the regional anticlinal axis. The As content of coal is higher closer to the fault plane. The As content of coal changes greatly in different coal beds and different locations of the same bed. Geological structures such as anticlines, faults and sedimentary strata control the distribution of high As coals. Small Au deposits as well as Sb, Hg, and Th mineralization, are found near the high As coals. Although some As-bearing minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, realgar (?), As-bearing sulfate, As-bearing clays, and phosphate are found in the high As coals, their contents cannot account for the abundance of As in some coals. Analysis of the coal indicates that As mainly exists in the form of As5+ and As3+, perhaps, combined with organic compounds. The occurrence of such exceptionally high As contents in coal and the fact that the As is dominantly organically associated are unique observations. ?? 201 Elsevier Science Ltd.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1999

Health impacts of domestic coal use in China

Domestic coal combustion has had profound adverse effects on the health of millions of people worldwide. In China alone several hundred million people commonly burn raw coal in unvented stoves that permeate their homes with high levels of toxic metals and organic compounds. At least 3,000 people in Guizhou Province in southwest China are suffering from severe arsenic poisoning. The primary source of the arsenic appears to be consumption of chili peppers dried over fires fueled with high-arsenic coal. Coal samples in the region were found to contain up to 35,000 ppm arsenic. Chili peppers dried over high-arsenic coal fires adsorb 500 ppm arsenic on average. More than 10 million people in Guizhou Province and surrounding areas suffer from dental and skeletal fluorosis. The excess fluorine is caused by eating corn dried over burning briquettes made from high-fluorine coals and high-fluorine clay binders. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons formed during coal combustion are believed to cause or contribute to the high incidence of esophageal and lung cancers in parts of China. Domestic coal combustion also has caused selenium poisoning and possibly mercury poisoning. Better knowledge of coal quality parameters may help to reduce some of these health problems. For example, information on concentrations and distributions of potentially toxic elements in coal may help delineate areas of a coal deposit to be avoided. Information on the modes of occurrence of these elements and the textural relations of the minerals and macerals in coal may help predict the behavior of the potentially toxic components during coal combustion.

Conference Paper↗
USGS1999

Understanding Vesuvius magmatic processes: Evidence from primitive silicate-melt inclusions in medieval scoria clinopyroxenes (Terzigno formation)

Microthermometric investigations of silicate-melt inclusions and electron microprobe analyses were conducted on experimentally homogenized silicate-melt inclusions and on the host clinopyroxenes from 4 scoria samples of different layers from the Mt. Somma-Vesuvius medieval eruption (Formazione di Terzigno, 893 A.D.). The temperature of homogenization, considered the minimum trapping temperature, ranges from 1190 to 1260 ± 5 °C for all clinopyroxene-hosted silicate melt inclusions. The major and minor-element compositional trends shown by Terzigno scoria and matrix glass chemical analysis are largely compatible with fractional crystallization of clinopyroxene and Fe-Ti oxides. Sulfur contents of the homogenized silicate-melt inclusions in clinopyroxene phenocrysts compared with that in the host scoria show that S has been significantly degassed in the erupted products; whereas, Cl has about the same abundance in the inclusions and in host scoria. Fluorine is low (infrequently up to 800 ppm) in the silicate-melt inclusions compared to 2400 ppm in the bulk scoria. Electron microprobe analyses of silicate-melt inclusions show that they have primitive magma compositions (Mg# = 75-91). The composition of the host clinopyroxene phenocrysts varies from typical plinian-related (Mg#≥85) to non plinian related (Mg#≤85). The mixed source of the host clinopyroxenes and primitive nature of the silicate-melt inclusions implies that these phenocrysts, in part, may be residual and/or have a polygenetic origin. The similar variation trends of major and minor-elements between homogenized silicate-melt inclusions from the Terzigno scoria, and silicate-melt inclusions in olivine and diopside phenocrysts from plinian eruptions ( Marianelli et al., 1995) suggest that the trapped inclusions represent melts similar to those that supplied the plinian and sub-plinian magma chambers. These geochemical characteristics suggest that the Vesuvius magmatic system retained a vestige of the most recent plinian event.

Mt. Somma-Vesuvius↗
USGS1999

Preliminary study on the mode of occurrence of arsenic in high arsenic coals from southwest Guizhou Province

Coal samples from high arsenic coal areas have been analyzed by electron micropbe analyzer (EMPA), scanning electron microscopy with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer (SEM-EDX), X-ray diffinction analysis (XRD), low temperature ashing (LTA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS), instnunent neutron activation analysis (INAA) and wet chemical analysis. Although some As-bearing minerals such as pyrite, arsenopyrite, realgar (?), As-bearing sulfate, and As-bearing clays are found in the high arsenic coals, their contents do not account for the abundance of arsenic in the some coals. Analysis of the coal indicates that arsenic exists mainly in the form of A s 5+ and A s 3+ , combined with compounds in the organic matrix. The occurrence of such exceptionally high arsenic contents in coal and the fact that the arsenic is dominantly organically associated are unique observations. The modes of occurrence of arsenic in high As-coals are discussed.

Science in China, Series D: Earth Sciences↗
USGS1998

Pre-eruptive volatile content, melt-inclusion chemistry, and microthermometry of interplinian Vesuvius lavas (pre-AD 1631)

Silicate-melt inclusions from lavas and pyroclastics from a selected suite of pre-A.D. 1631 interplinian Mt. Somma-Vesuvius lavas and scoria have been experimentally homogeneized and studied by microthermometry, electron microprobe (EMPA) and secondary-ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to examine pre-eruptive volatile content and magma evolution. The melt inclusions have a bubble about 0.06% their volume, uncommonly contain non-condensable gas but do not contain any dense fluid phases. Clinopyroxene-hosted inclusions yield homogenization temperatures (Th) from 1170 to 1260??C, most between 1220 and 1240??C; plagiclase-hosted inclusions have Th from 1210 to 1230??C; these values are typical for the Vesuvius environment. The dominant factor controlling major element variability in the inclusions is clinopyroxene fractionation; MgO varies from 5 to 3 wt%, SiO2 varies from 60 to 48 wt%. total alkalis vary from 15 to 4 wt%, and CaO varies from 13 to 5 wt%. H2O varies from 2.7 to 0.6 wt% and is decoupled from incompatible element evolution suggesting vapor saturation during trapping. Chlorine and F vary from 1.- wt% to 0 and 0.63 to 0 wt%, respectively. Bulk rock and limited matrix glass analyses show that the lavas lost about half of their F and Cl content except for the A.D. 472-1631 lava which contains similar Cl abundances as the bulk rock. SO3 varies from 0.5 to 0 wt% and compared with matrix glass and bulk rock demonstrate that the lavas have lost essentially all sulfur. The samples can be classified into three age groups, ??? 25 000 yr B.P., 25 000-17 000 yr B.P., and A.D. 472-1631. There is a systematic increase in some components, e.g., total alkalis, SO3, Cl, Li, B, and Sr with the youth of the sample and a decrease in others, e.g., Zr and Y. However, on average these samples seem less evolved than later A.D. 1631-1944 lavas.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1996

Magmatic (silicates/saline/sulfur-rich/CO2) immiscibility and zirconium and rare-earth element enrichment from alkaline magma chamber margins : Evidence from Ponza Island, Pontine Archipelago, Italy

Fluid inclusions were measured from a feldspathoid-bearing syenite xenolith entrained in trachyte from Ponza, one of the islands of the Pontine Archipelago, located in the Gulf of Gaeta, Italy. The feldspathoid-bearing syenite consists mainly of potassium feldspar, clinopyroxene, amphibole, biotite, titanite, manganoan magnetite, apatite with minor nosean, Na-rich feldspar, pyrrhotite, and rare cheralite. Baddeleyite and zirkelite occur associated with manganoan magnetite. Detailed electron-microprobe analysis reveals enrichments in REE, Y, Nb, U, Th as well as Cl and F in appropriate phases. Fluid inclusions observed in potassium feldspar are either silicate-melt or aqueous inclusions. The aqueous inclusions can be further classified as. (1) one-phase vapor, (2) two-phase (V + L) inclusions, vapor-rich inclusions with a small amount of CO2 in most cases; homogenization of the inclusions always occurred in the vapor phase between 359 and 424??C, salinities vary from 2.9 to 8.5 wt. % NaCl equivalent; and. (3) three-phase and multiphase inclusions (hypersaline/sulfur-rich aqueous inclusions sometimes with up to 8 or more solid phases). Daughter minerals dissolve on heating before vapor/liquid homogenization. Standardless quantitative scanning electron microscope X-ray fluorescence analysis has tentatively identified the following chloride and sulfate daughter crystals; halite, sylvite, glauberite. arcanite, anhydrite, and thenardite. Melting of the daughter crystals occurs between 459 and 536??C (54 to 65 wt. % NaCI equivalent) whereas total homogenization is between 640 and 755??C. The occurrence of silicate-melt inclusions and high-temperature, solute-rich aqueous inclusions suggests that the druse or miarolitic texture of the xenolith is late-stage magmatic. The xenolith from Ponza represents a portion of the peripheral magma chamber wall that has recorded the magmatic/hydrothermal transition and the passage of high solute fluids enriched in chlorides, sulfur, and incompatible elements.

European Journal of Mineralogy↗
USGS1994

Geochemistry and argon thermochronology of the Variscan Sila Batholith, southern Italy: source rocks and magma evolution

The Sila batholith is the largest granitic massif in the Calabria-Peloritan Arc of southern Italy, consisting of syn to post-tectonic, calc-alkaline and metaluminous tonalite to granodiorite, and post-tectonic, peraluminous and strongly peraluminous, two-mica??cordierite??Al silicate granodiorite to leucomonzogranite. Mineral 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic analyses document Variscan emplacement and cooling of the intrusives (293-289 Ma). SiO2 content in the granitic rocks ranges from ???57 to 77 wt%; cumulate gabbro enclaves have SiO2 as low as 42%. Variations in absolute abundances and ratios involving Hf, Ta, Th, Rb, and the REE, among others, identify genetically linked groups of granitic rocks in the batholith: (1) syn-tectonic biotite??amphibole-bearing tonalites to granodiorites, (2) post-tectonic two-mica??Al-silicate-bearing granodiorites to leucomonzogranites, and (3) post-tectonic biotite??hornblende tonalites to granodiorites. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns display variable values of Ce/Yb (up to ???300) and generally small negative Eu anomalies. Degree of REE fractionation depends on whether the intrusives are syn- or post-tectonic, and on their mineralogy. High and variable values of Rb/Y (0.40-4.5), Th/Sm (0.1-3.6), Th/Ta (0-70), Ba/Nb (1-150), and Ba/Ta (???50-2100), as well as low values of Nb/U (???2-28) and La/Th (???1-10) are consistent with a predominant and heterogeneous crustal contribution to the batholith. Whole rock ??18O ranges from ???+8.2 to +11.7???; the mafic cumulate enclaves have the lowest ??18O values and the two-mica granites have the highest values. ??18O values for biotite??honblende tonalitic and granodioritic rocks (9.1 to 10.8???) overlap the values of the mafic enclaves and two-mica granodiorites and leucogranites (10.7 to 11.7???). The initial Pb isotopic range of the granitic rocks (206Pb/204Pb ???18.17-18.45, 207Pb/204Pb ???15.58-15.77, 208Pb/204Pb ???38.20-38.76) also indicates the predominance of a crustal source. Although the granitic groups cannot be uniquely distinguished on the basis of their Pb isotope compositions most of the post-tectonic tonalites to granodiorites as well as two-mica granites are somewhat less radiogenic than the syn-tetonic tonalites and granodiorites. Only a few of the mafic enclaves overlap the Pb isotope field of the granitic rocks and are consistent with a cogenetic origin. The Sila batholith was generated by mixing of material derived from at least two sources, mantle-derived and crustal, during the closing stages of plate collision and post-collision. The batholith ultimately owes its origin to the evolution of earlier, more mafic parental magmas, and to complex intractions of the fractionating mafic magmas with the crust. Hybrid rocks produced by mixing evolved primarily by crystal fractionation although a simple fractionation model cannot link all the granitic rocks, or explain the entire spectrum of compositions within each group of granites. Petrographic and geochemical features characterizing the Sila batholith have direct counterparts in all other granitic massifs in the Calabrian-Peloritan Arc. This implies that magmatic events in the Calabrian-Peloritan Arc produced a similar spectrum of granitic compositions and resulted in a distinctive type of granite magmatism consisting of coeval, mixed, strongly peraluminous and metaluminous granitic magmas. ?? 1994 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1993

Mercury, arsenic, antimony, and selenium contents of sediment from the Kuskokwim River, Bethel, Alaska, USA

The Kuskokwim River at Bethel, Alaska, drains a major mercury-antimony metallogenic province in its upper reaches and tributaries. Bethel (population 4000) is situated on the Kuskokwim floodplain and also draws its water supply from wells located in river-deposited sediment. A boring through overbank and floodplain sediment has provided material to establish a baseline datum for sediment-hosted heavy metals. Mercury (total), arsenic, antimony, and selenium contents were determined; aluminum was also determined and used as normalizing factor. The contents of the heavy metals were relatively constant with depth and do not reflect any potential enrichment from upstream contaminant sources. ?? 1993 Springer-Verlag.

Environmental Geology↗
USGS1993

Sampling and major element chemistry of the recent (A.D. 1631-1944) Vesuvius activity

Detailed sampling of the Vesuvius lavas erupted in the period A.D. 1631-1944 provides a suite of samples for comprehensive chemical analyses and related studies. Major elements (Si, Ti, Al, Fetotal, Mn, Mg, Ca, Na, K and P), volatile species (Cl, F, S, H2O+, H2O- and CO2), and ferrous iron (Fe2+) were determined for one hundred and forty-nine lavas and five tephra from the A.D. 1631-1944 Vesuvius activity. The lavas represent a relatively homogeneous suite with respect to SiO2, TiO2, FeOtotal, MnO and P2O5, but show systematic variations among MgO, K2O, Na2O, Al2O3 and CaO. The average SiO2 content is 48.0 wt.% and the rocks are classified as tephriphonolites according to their content of alkalis. All of the lavas are silica-undersaturated and are nepheline, leucite, and olivine normative. There is no systematic variation in major-element composition with time, over the period A.D. 1631-1944. The inter-eruption and intra-eruption compositional differences are the same magnitude. The lavas are highly porphyritic with clinopyroxene and leucite as the major phases. Fractionation effects are not reflected in the silica content of the lavas. The variability of MgO, K2O, Na2O, and CaO can be modelled as a relative depletion or accumulation of clinopyroxene. ?? 1993.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1993

Fluid inclusion studies of ejected nodules from plinian eruptions of Mt. Somma-Vesuvius

Mt. Somma-Vesuvius (Naples, Italy) has erupted potassium-rich and silica-undersaturated products during a complicated history of plinian and non-plinian events. Coarse-grained cognate nodules are commonly found in the pyroclastics and are upper crustal in origin. We examined cumulate and subeffusive nodules from the 3800 y.B.P. Avellino. A.D. 79 Pompei, and A.D. 472 Pollena eruptions. Silicate-melt and liquid-vapor fluid inclusion studies in clinopyroxene from both types of nodules have been used to assess the fluids attending crystallization and to place constraints on the pressure and temperature of nodule formation. Thermometric and volumetric data from primary and pseudosecondary CO2-H2O and CO2 and coeval silicate-melt fluid inclusions indicate that they were trapped at a pressure of ???1 to ???2.5 kbar at ???1200??C. This suggests a crystallization depth of ???4 to ???10 km. The H2O-bearing fluid inclusions are abundant from plinian eruptions in contrast to non-plinian eruptions where H2O-bearing fluid inclusions were rare. The presence of primary H2O-CO2 fluid inclusions indicates that an immiscible, supercritical H2O-CO2 fluid was in the nodule-forming environment. The H2O-bearing fluid inclusions in plinian nodules may record a higher pre-eruptive H2O content in the bulk magma that is dramatically reflected in the eruption dynamics. ?? 1993.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1991

Rock chemistry and fluid inclusion studies as exploration tools for ore deposits in the Sila batholith, southern Italy

The Sila batholith is the focus of an extensive petrogenetic research program, which includes an assessment of its potential to host granite-related ore deposits. Univariate and multivariate statistical techniques were applied to major- and minor-element rock geochemical data. The analysis indicates that the highest potential for mineralization occurs in corundum-normative, peraluminous, unfoliated, relatively late-stage plutons. The plutons are enriched in Rb, Nb, Ta and U, but depleted in Fe, Mg and Sr. The K/Rb, Ba/Rb, Rb/Sr and Rb 3 /Ba·Sr·K indices and high R -factor scores of Si-K-Rb are typical of mineralized granitic rocks. A reconnaissance fluid inclusion study indicates that the sub-solidus rock was infiltrated by solutions of widely different temperatures (50–416°C) and variable salinities (0 to ∼26 wt.% NaCl equivalent). The higher-temperature solutions probably represent granite or magmatic-related Hercynian fluids, whereas the lower-temperature fluids may be either Hercynian or Alpine in age. Fluids with characteristics typical of mineralized “porphyry” systems have not been recognized.

Journal of Geochemical Exploration↗
USGS1989

The campi flegrei (Italy) geothermal system: A fluid inclusion study of the mofete and San Vito fields

A fluid inclusion study of core from the Mofete 1, Mofete 2, Mofete 5, San Vito 1, and San Vito 3 geothermal wells (Campi Flegrei, Campania, Italy) indicates that the hydrothermal minerals were precipitated from aqueous fluids (??CO2) that were moderately saline (3-4 wt.% NaCl equiv.) to hypersaline (> 26 wt.% NaCl equiv.) and at least in part, boiling. Three types of primary fluid inclusions were found in authigenic K-feldspar, quartz, calcite, and epidote: (A) two-phase [liquid (L) + vapor (V)], liquid-rich inclusions with a range of salinity; (B) two-phase (L + V), vaporrich inclusions with low salinity; and (C) three-phase [L + V + crystals (NaCL)], liquid-rich inclusions with hypersalinity. Results of microthermometric and crushing studies are reported for twenty drill core samples taken from the lower portions of the five vertical wells. Data presented for selected core samples reveal a general decrease in porosity and increase in bulk density with increasing depth and temperature. Hydrothermal minerals commonly fill fractures and pore-spaces and define a zonation pattern, similar in all five wells studied, in response to increasing depth (pressure) and temperature. A greenschist facies assemblage, defined by albite + actinolite, gives way to an amphibolite facies, defined by plagioclase (andesine) + hornblende, in the San Vito 1 well at about 380??C. The fluid inclusion salinity values mimic the saline and hypersaline fluids found by drilling. Fluid inclusion V/L homogenization temperatures increase with depth and generally correspond to the extrapolated down-hole temperatures. However, fluid inclusion data for Mofete 5 and mineral assemblage data for San Vito 3, indicate fossil, higher-temperature regimes. A limited 87Sr/86Sr study of leachate (carbonate) and the leached cores shows that for most samples (except San Vito 3) the carbonate deposition has been from slightly 87Sr-enriched fluids and that Sr isotopic exchange has been incomplete. However, San Vito 3 cores show an approach to fluid/rock Sr equilibrium with a fluid similar to modern ocean water in 87Sr/86Sr ratio. The Campi Flegrei volcanic system has evolved undersaturated products, mostly trachyte, and defines a large (??? 12 km) caldera. The hydrothermal system developed in this location can be used as an analog for fossil systems in similar trachytic environments. The potential for ore mineralization is expressed by the recognition, from fluid inclusion and drilling data, of ore-forming environments such as boiling and brine stratification. ?? 1989.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1987

Evidence for Late-Paleozoic brine migration in Cambrian carbonate rocks of the central and southern Appalachians: Implications for Mississippi Valley-type sulfide mineralization

Many Lower Paleozoic limestones and dolostones in the Valley and Ridge province of the central and southern Appalachians contain 10 to 25 weight percent authigenic potassium feldspar. This was considered to be a product of early diagenesis, however, 40 Ar 39 Ar "> 40 Ar 39 Ar analyses of overgrowths on detrital K-feldspar in Cambrian carbonate rocks from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Tennessee yield Late Carboniferous-Early Permian ages (278–322 Ma). Simple mass balance calculations suggest that the feldspar could not have formed isochemically, but required the flux of multiple pore volumes of fluid through the rocks, reflecting regional fluid migration events during the Late-Paleozoic Alleghanian orogeny. Microthermometric measurements of fluid inclusions in overgrowths on detrital K-feldspar and quartz grains from unmineralized rocks throughout the study area indicate homogenization temperatures from 100° to 200°C and freezing point depressions of −14° to −18.5°C (18–21 wt.% NaCl equiv). The apparent similarity of these fluids to fluid inclusions in ore and gangue minerals of nearby Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) deposits suggests that the regional occurrences of authigenic K-feldspar and MVT mineralization may be genetically related. This hypothesis is supported by the discovery of authigenic K-feldspar intergrown with sphalerite in several mines of the Mascot-Jefferson City District, E. Tennessee. Regional potassic alteration in unmineralized carbonate rocks and localized occurrences of MVT mineralization are both explainable by a gravity-driven flow model, in which deep brines migrate towards the basin margin under a hydraulic gradient established during the Alleghanian orogeny. The authigenic K-feldspar may reflect the loss of K during disequilibrium cooling of the ascending brines. MVT deposits are probably localized manifestations of the same migrating fluids, occurring where the necessary physical and chemical traps are present.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗