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Geology topics

I. Friedman

Publications and source records attributed to I. Friedman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1982

The oxygen isotope composition of granitoid and sedimentary rocks of the southern Snake Range, Nevada

Six diverse intrusive igneous types are exposed as discrete outcrops within an area of 900 km2 in the southern Snake Range, White Pine County, Nevada. The previously recognized variety among these igneous types is reflected in the wide range of ??18O values (-1.1 to 13.4 permil) found in these rocks. This range of ??18O values probably results from differences in source material and post-crystallization history of the different intrusive types. The Jurassic intrusive of the Snake Creek-Williams Canyon area represents the chemical equivalent of a large part of a differentiation sequence, with the entire range of composition (63-76 percent SiO2) exposed over a horizontal distance of about five km. The rather regular increase of ??18O values from the most mafic to the most felsic parts of this pluton, together with ??18O values determined for constituent minerals recovered from five of the samples, supports a fractional crystallization model. The high ??18O values found (10.2-12.2 permil) indicate that the magma likely was derived from or assimilated sedimentary materials. Nine samples of the Cretaceous two-mica granite of the Pole Canyon-Can Young Canyon area have ??18O values in the range 10.6-12.1 permil. These high ??18O values, an initial87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7165, and the presence of muscovite along with an accessory mineral suite limited to monazite, apatite, zircon, and an allanite-like mineral, characterize this intrusive mass as an S-type granite. It probably formed through anatexis of late Precambrian pelitic rocks. The granitoid rock exposed in the Young Canyon-Kious Basin area is Tertiary (32 m.y.). Most of this intrusive has been cataclastically deformed as a result of late (18 m.y.) movement on the overlying Snake Range decollement. The undeformed portion of this intrusive has ??18O values of 8.7-10.0 permil. However, the deformed portion of this intrusive has ??18O values as low as -1.1 permil, apparently resulting from isotopic exchange between this rock and ground water at the time of cataclasis. Although the igneous types exposed in the southern Snake Range differ petrologically and range in age from Jurassic to Tertiary, most have relatively high ??18O values compared with other granitoid rocks of the Basin-Range Province. ?? 1982 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1981

The origin of epigenetic graphite: Evidence from isotopes

Stable carbon isotope ratios measured in syngenetic graphite, epigenetic graphite, and graphitic marble suggests that syngenetic graphite forms only by the metamorphism of carbonaceous detritus. Metamorphism of calcareous rocks with carbonaceous detritus is accompanied by an exchange of carbon between the two, which may result in large changes in isotopic composition of the non-carbonate phase but does not affect the relative proportions of the two reactants in the rock. Epigenetic graphite forms only from carbonaceous material or preexisting graphite. The reactions involved are the water gas reaction (C + H 2 O → CO + H 2 ) at 800–900°C, and the Boudouard reaction (2CO → C + CO 2 ), which probably takes place at temperatures about 50–100°C lower.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1980

Oxygen isotopic determinations of sequentially erupted plagioclases in the 1974 magma of Fuego Volcano, Guatemala

Plagioclases in the 1974 high-Al basalt from Fuego Volcano have ??O18 values of +6.0 to +8.5 per mil. Meteoric water cannot have played a significant role in Fuego's magma. Large, weakly zone clear phenocrysts had ??O18 values in the accepted mantle range, while patchyzoned and oscillatory-zoned plagioclases inferred to have formed later and shallower levels have slightly heavier oxygen isotopic ratios. ?? 1980 Intern. Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior.

Bulletin Volcanologique↗
USGS1980

Gas and hydrogen isotopic analyses of volcanic eruption clouds in Guatemala sampled by aircraft

Gas samples were collected by aircraft entering volcanic eruption clouds of three Guatemalan volcanoes. Gas chromatographic analyses show higher H2 and S gas contents in ash eruption clouds and lower H2 and S gases in vaporous gas plumes. H isotopic data demonstrate lighter isotopic distribution of water vapor in ash eruption clouds than in vaporous gas plumes. Most of the H2O in the vaporous plumes is probably meteoric. The data are the first direct gas analyses of explosive eruptive clouds, and demonstrate that, in spite of atmospheric admixture, useful compositional information on eruptive gases can be obtained using aircraft. ?? 1980.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗
USGS1979

Origin of dolomite in Miocene Monterey Shale and related formations in the Temblor Range, California

Dolomites in thick sections of Miocene Monterey Shale and related formations in the Temblor Range of California acquired their isotopic compositions as they formed at shallow depth in the original sediment rich in organic matter, and retained the composition against the vicissitudes of burial diagenesis. The oxygen isotopes of dolomites of successive beds record changes in temperature of bottom water while the carbon isotopes of the same samples indicate changes in the kind of microbial activity (sulfate reduction vs carbohydrate fermentation) that prevailed at shallow depths in the sediment. In an auxiliary study, two samples of dolomite from sediments of Cariaco Basin off Venezuela (DSDP site 147) were found to have ??5C13 of -14.1 and -9.8 per ml PDB, although they occur in a heavy-carbon zone containing bicarbonate as heavy as +8.4 per ml. These dolomites probably originated at shallow depth in the light-carbon zone of microbial sulfate reducers and were buried under later sediments down into the heavy-carbon zone of microbial fermenters of carbohydrates without losing their original light-carbon composition. ?? 1979.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1979

Recent developments in uranium exploration using the U.S. Geological Survey's mobile helium detector

A mobile mass spectrometer to measure He concentrations has been developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. This instrument has been tested in areas of known uranium deposits, and He anomalies have been found in both soil gas and water. A gas sample is collected in a hypodermic syringe, injected into the spectrometer, and analyzed for He. Over 100 analyses a day can be performed with a sensitivity of 10 parts per billion (ppb). One detailed study conducted in Weld County, Colorado, shows that values for He in soil gas can be contoured to outline an anomalous area and that the anomaly is displaced from the deposit in the direction of groundwater flow. Other studies include the Schwartzwalder uranium mine, Jefferson County, Colorado, where He anomalies may be related to geologic structure; near Ambrosia Lake, New Mexico, where the location of He anomalies are related to groundwater movement; and tests for diurnal effects showing only slight variations probably related to soil-moisture content. ?? 1979.

Journal of Geochemical Exploration↗
USGS1977

Application of Sr and O isotope relations to the petrogenesis of the alkaline rocks of the Red Hill complex, New Hampshire, USA

The Red Hill ring complex in central New Hampshire is composed of apparently cogenetic syenites, nepheline-sodalite syenite, and granite. The ages and petrogenetic relations among five of the six recognized units have been investigated by rubidiumstrontium and oxygen isotope analysis of whole rocks and separated minerals. Whole-rock samples from three syenite units are consistent with a single Rb-Sr isochron which gives an age of 198??3 m.y. and an initial (87Sr/86Sr)o ratio of 0.70330??0.00016 (??2 sigma; ??=1.42?? 10-11y-1). However, Sr isotope data for two other units, nepheline syenite and granite, are not consistent with this isochron but rather indicate higher initial ratios which range from 0.7033 to about 0.707. Whole-rock O isotope analyses give ??18O values which range from+6.2 to+9.3??? Sr and O isotope analyses on mineral separates indicate that observed whole-rock variations in (87Sr/86Sr)o are primary and are not due to any secondary process. The fact that the isotope systematics correlate with rock type, suggests that crustal interaction is likely to have played a significant role in the development of this over-and undersaturated association. Such process(es), while still not fully delineated, could be of fundamental importance to the genesis of associations of critically undersaturated and oversaturated intrusives. The data support the idea that interaction between magmas and crustal materials strongly influenced the compositional relations of similar complexes elsewhere including those of the White Mountain magma series. ?? 1977 Springer-Verlag.

Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology↗
USGS1976

Studies of quaternary saline lakes-II. Isotopic and compositional changes during desiccation of the brines in Owens Lake, California, 1969-1971

Owens Lake is an alkaline salt lake in a closed basin in southeast California. It is normally nearly dry, but in early 1969, an abnormal runoff from the Sierra Nevada flooded it to a maximum depth of 2·4 m. By late summer of 1971, the lake was again nearly dry and the dissolved salts recrystallized. Changes in the chemistry, pH, and deuterium content were monitored during desiccation. During flooding, salts (mostly trona, halite, and burkeite) dissolved slowly from the lake floor. Their concentration in the lake waters increased as evaporation removed water and salts again crystallized, but winter temperatures caused precipitation of some salts and the following summer warming caused their solution, resulting in seasonal variations in the concentration patterns of some ions. The pH values (9·4–10·4) changed with time but showed no detectable diurnal pattern. The deuterium concentration increased during evaporation and appeared to be in equilibrium with vapor leaving the lake according to the Rayleigh equation. The effective α(D/H in liquid/D/H in vapor) decreased as salinity increased; the earliest measured value was 1·069 [as total dissolved solids (TDS) of lake waters changed from 136,200 to 250,400 mg/1]and the last value (calc.) was 1·025 (as TDS changed from 450,000 to 470,300 mg/1). Deuterium exchange with the atmosphere was apparently small except during late desiccation stages when the isotopic contrast became great. Eventually, atmospheric exchange, combined with decreasing α and lake size and increasing salinity, stopped further deuterium concentration in the lake. The maximum contrast between atmospheric vapor and lake deuterium contents was about 110%.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1976

Oxygen isotopes of some trondhjemites, siliceous gneisses, and associated mafic rocks

Analyses of oxygen isotopes in whole-rock samples of 58 Precambrian and Phanerozoic trondhjemites and siliceous gneisses and of 28 cogenetic mafic to intermediate rocks from North America, Fennoscandia, and southern Africa give the following results: 1. (1) 47 trondhjemites, tonalites, and mostly Archean acidic gneisses that apparently are not isotopically disturbed show an overage δ 15 O +7.3‰ "> +7.3‰ and a range of 5.2–8.9‰; 11 other samples are slightly to moderately disturbed and show higher values; and 2. (2) the mafic rocks show a wide range of δ-values, from about 0–9‰ but the undisturbed ones give an average δ 18 O of 5.2‰ "> 5.2‰ . The δ 18 O values of the trondhjemitic intrusives and siliceous gneisses of similar composition are lower than those of most granitic rocks and support models for derivation of these rocks from basaltic parents. This approach, however, cannot be used to determine if individual bodies formed by differentiation or by partial melting.

Precambrian Research↗
USGS1974

Meteoric water in magmas

Oxygen isotope analyses of sanidine phenocrysts from rhyolitic sequences in Nevada, Colorado, and the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field show that δ 18 O decreased in these magmas as a function of time. This decrease in δ 18 O may have been caused by isotopic exchange between the magma and groundwater low in 18 O. For the Yellowstone Plateau rhyolites, 7000 cubic kilometers of magma could decrease in δ 18 O by 2 per mil in 600,000 years by reacting with water equivalent to 3 millimeters of precipitation per year, which is only 0.3 percent of the present annual precipitation in this region. The possibility of reaction between large magmatic bodies and meteoric water at liquidus temperatures has major implications in the possible differentiation history of the magma and in the generation of ore deposits.

Colorado, Nevada, Wyoming↗
USGS1974

Water and carbon in rusty lunar rock 66095

Lunar rock 66095 contains a hydrated iron oxide and has an unusual amount of water for a lunar rock (140 to 750 parts per million), 90 percent of which is released below 690°C. The δof water released at these low temperatures varies from -75 to -140 per mil relative to standard mean ocean water (SMOW). The small amount of water released between 690° and 1300°C has a δ of about -175 ±25 per mil SMOW. These δ values are not unusual for terrestrial water. The δ 18 O of water extracted from 110° to 400°C has a value of +5± I per mil SMOW, similar to the value for lunar silicates from rock 66095 and different from the value of -4 to -22 per mil found for samples of terrestrial rust including samples of rusted meteoritic iron. The amount of carbon varies from 11 to 59 parts per million with a δ 13 C from -20 to -30 per mil relative to Pee Dee belemnite. Only very small amounts of reduced species (such as hydrogen, carbon monoxide, and methane) were found, in contrast to the analyses of other lunar rocks. Although it is possible that most of the water in the iron oxide (goethite) may be terrestrial in origin or may have exchanged with terrestrial water during sample return and handling, evidence presented herein suggests that this did not happen and that some lunar water may have a δD that is indistinguishable from that of terrestrial water.

Science↗
USGS1973

Isotopic composition of oil-field brines from Kettleman North Dome, California, and their geologic implications

Deuterium and O 18 analyses were made on 25 formation-water samples from Miocene (Temblor Formation) and Eocene (McAdams Formation) reservoir rocks at Kettleman North Dome oil field, California, and on three surface water samples from Reef Ridge located about three miles to the west of the field. The δO 18 values obtained generally increase with depth and most probably are due to temperature controlled exchange reactions with carbonate cement and dissolved carbonate species. The δD values obtained seem to be controlled primarily by the membrane behavior of shales modifying the assumed original values. The contribution of isotopic exchange between water and clays cannot be evaluated at present. The isotopic data support the conclusions based on a detailed study of geology, hydrodynamics, and formation water geochemistry ( Kharaka , 1971) which indicate that: 1. The Temblor Formation waters are probably meteoric in origin concentrated chemically and isotopically by shale membranes, and 2. The McAdams Formation waters were most probably obtained by squeezing the original interstitial marine connate waters of deposition from the underlying Mesozoic sediments.

California↗
USGS1973

Obsidian hydration dates glacial loading?

Three different groups of hydration rinds have been measured on thin sections of obsidian from Obsidian Cliff, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming . The average thickness of the thickest (oldest) group of hydration rinds is 16.3 micrometers and can be related to the original emplacement of the flow 176,000 years ago (potassium-argon age). In addition to these original surfaces, most thin sections show cracks and surfaces which have average hydration rind thicknesses of 14.5 and 7.9 micrometers. These later two hydration rinds compare closely in thickness with those on obsidian pebbles in the Bull Lake and Pinedale terminal moraines in the West Yellowstone Basin, which are 14 to 15 and 7 to 8 micrometers thick, respectively. The later cracks are thought to have been formed by glacial loading during the Bull Lake and Pinedale glaciations, when an estimated 800 meters of ice covered the Obsidian Cliff flow.

Wyoming↗
USGS1972

Studies of quaternary saline lakes-I. Hydrogen isotope fractionation in saline minerals

Borax, gaylussite, nahcolite and trona were synthesized in aqueous solution at temperatures ranging from 8° to 35°C. Except for borax, deuterium was always depleted in these hydrated minerals relative to the solutions from which they were crystallized. In borax, no significant fractionation was found. The fractionation factor of D H "> DH for the trona-water system exhibited a marked temperature dependence. By combining the deuterium contents of trona and the solution from which trona was crystallized, the following thermometer scale was obtained: In ( D H ) trona ( D H )water = 1.420 × 10 4 T 2 + 23.56 T "> (DH) trona(DH)water =1.420 × 104T2+23.56T (1) An attempt to establish a geothermometer based on C 13 C 12 "> C13C12 fractionation between carbonate minerals and carbonate ions in aqueous solution was not successful.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS1972

Deuterium content of snow as an index to winter climate in the Sierra Nevada area

The winter of 1968-69 produced two to three times the amount of precipitation in the Sierra Nevada area, California and Nevada, as the winter of 1969-70. The deuterium content in snow cores collected at the end of each winter at the same sites, which represents the total snowfall of each interval, shows a depletion in 1968-69 of approximately 20 per mil. The higher snowfall in 1968-69 and the depletion of deuterium can be explained by an uncommonly strong westward flow of cold air over and down the western slopes of the Sierras, which interacted with an eastward flow of moist Pacific air that overrode and mixed with the cold air; this resulted in precipitation that occurred in greater than normal amounts and at a lower than normal temperature. Pluvial periods of the Pleistocene may have had the same shift in air-mass trajectory as the wet 1968-69 year. Snow cores collected in the normal 1970-71 winter have deuterium concentrations that resemble those of the normal 1969-70 winter. Small and nonsystematic differences in samples from these two normal winters are due to variations in climatic character as well as to factors inherent in the sampling sites.

California, Nevada↗