F.A. Podosek | Geology Reports

USGS1991

Strontium isotopic constraints on the origin of ore-forming fluids of the Viburnum Trend, southeast Missouri

We have measured 87 Sr 86 Sr "> 87Sr86Sr and Rb and Sr concentrations in several minerals, primarily sulfides, spanning the paragenesis of hydrothermal mineralization in the Viburnum Trend in southeast Missouri. Separate measurements were made for fluid inclusions opened by crushing or thermal decrepitation and for the solids. For comparison, measurements were also made on samples of probable local aquifers, the Bonneterre Formation and the Lamotte Sandstone. For some of the samples, concentrations of K, Ca, Cl, Na, and Mg are also reported. In several cases 87 Sr 86 Sr ratios "> 87Sr86Srratios are different (higher) in the solids than in the fluid inclusions. We have investigated the possibility that either type of sample gives spurious results, e.g., that the fluid inclusions are secondary or contaminated by host dolomite, or that Sr in the solids reflects a detrital rather than an authigenic source. Consideration of mass balance, overall solute chemistry, and examination of non-sulfide dissolution residue, however, suggests that both types of sample reflect primary fluid Sr composition. We thus adopt the working hypothesis that Sr isotopic composition in fluids at the time of hydrothermal mineralization was highly variable. The observed results for the Viburnum Trend do not conform well to expected trends for Mississippi Valley-type (MVT) mineralization based primarily on analyses of gangue carbonates, barite, and fluorite. Fluid inclusion Sr in some of the Viburnum Trend samples is more radiogenic than in the host dolomite but only moderately so; in other samples, notably main-stage octahedral galena, fluid inclusion Sr composition is within the range observed for the host dolomite. In contrast, Sr in some of the sulfides is very radiogenic, much more so than previously reported for MVT minerals, and is very radiogenic early in the paragenesis (pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite), less radiogenic during main-stage ore deposition, and again more radiogenic in later paragenetic stages.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗

USGS1990

Actinide abundances in ordinary chondrites

Measurements of 244 Pu fission Xe, U, Th, and light REE (LREE) abundances, along with modal petrographic determinations of phosphate abundances, were carried out on equilibrated ordinary chondrites in order to define better the solar system Pu abundance and to determine the degree of variation of actinide and LREE abundances. Our data permit comparison of the directly measured Pu/ U ratio with that determined indirectly as ( Pu / Nd ) × ( Nd / U ) assuming that Pu behaves chemically as a LREE. Except for Guareña, and perhaps H chondrites in general, Pu concentrations are similar to that determined previously for St. Séverin, although less precise because of higher trapped Xe contents. Trapped 130 Xe 136 Xe "> 130 Xe 136 Xe ratios appear to vary from meteorite to meteorite, but, relative to AVCC, all are similar in the sense of having less of the interstellar heavy Xe found in carbonaceous chondrite acid residues. The Pu/U and Pu/Nd ratios are consistent with previous data for St. Séverin, but both tend to be slightly higher than those inferred from previous data on Angra dos Reis. Although significant variations exist, the distribution of our Th/U ratios, along with other precise isotope dilution data for ordinary chondrites, is rather symmetric about the CI chondrite value; however, actinide/(LREE) ratios are systematically lower than the CI value. Variations in actinide or LREE absolute and relative abundances are interpreted as reflecting differences in the proportions and/or compositions of more primitive components (chondrules and CAI materials?) incorporated into different regions of the ordinary chondrite parent bodies. The observed variations of Th/U, Nd/U, or Ce/U suggest that measurements of Pu/U on any single equilibrated ordinary chondrite specimen, such as St. Séverin, should statistically be within ±20–30% of the average solar system value, although it is also clear that anomalous samples exist.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗