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USGS · 70220180

The systematics of chlorine, lithium, and boron and δ37Cl, δ7Li, and δ11B in the hydrothermal system of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field

Jeffrey T. Cullen·Shaul Hurwitz·Jaime D. Barnes·John C Lassiter·Sarah Penniston-Dorland·Anette Meixner·Frederike Wilckens·Simone A Kasemann·R. Blaine McCleskey
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Abstract

Chlorine, lithium, and boron are trace elements in rhyolite but are enriched in groundwater flowing through rhyolite because they tend to partition into the fluid phase during high‐temperature fluid‐rock reactions. We present a large data set of major element and δ 37 Cl, δ 7 Li, and δ 11 B compositions of thermal water and rhyolite from Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field (YPVF). The Cl/B, Cl/Li, δ 37 Cl (−0.2‰ to +0.7‰), and δ 11 B (−6.2‰ to −5.9‰) values of alkaline‐chloride thermal waters reflect high‐temperature leaching of chlorine, lithium, and boron from rhyolite that has δ 37 Cl and δ 11 B values of +0.1‰ to +0.9‰ and −6.3‰ to −6.2‰, respectively. Chlorine and boron are not reactive, but lithium incorporation into hydrothermal alteration minerals result​s in a large range of Cl/Li, B/Li, and δ 7 Li (−1.2‰ to +3.8‰) values in thermal waters. The relatively large range in δ 7 Li values of thermal waters reflects a large range of values in rhyolite. Large volumes of rhyolite must be leached to account for the chloride, lithium and boron fluxes, implying deep groundwater flow through rhyolite flows and tuffs representing Yellowstone's three eruptive cycles (∼2.1 Ma). Lower Cl/B values in acid‐sulfate waters result from preferential partitioning of boron into the vapor phase and enrichment in the near‐surface water condensate. The Cl/B, Cl/Li, δ 7 Li (−0.3‰ to +2.1‰), and δ 11 B (−8.0‰ to −8.1‰) values of travertine depositing calcium‐carbonate thermal waters which discharge in the northern and southern YPVF suggest that chlorine, lithium, and boron are derived from Mesozoic siliciclastic sediments which contain detrital material from the underlying metamorphic basement.

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Geochemistry, Geophysics, GeosystemsArticle
90° N90° S · 180° W ← longitude → 180° E
Source-reported bounding extent: 44.19795903948531° to 44.972570682240644° latitude; -111.0113525390625° to -109.9456787109375° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Jeffrey T. Cullen, Shaul Hurwitz, Jaime D. Barnes, John C Lassiter, Sarah Penniston-Dorland, Anette Meixner, Frederike Wilckens, Simone A Kasemann, R. Blaine McCleskey. 2021-04-20. The systematics of chlorine, lithium, and boron and δ37Cl, δ7Li, and δ11B in the hydrothermal system of the Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020gc009589

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