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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS1975

Progressive metamorphism of schists recovered from a deep drill hole near Fairbanks, Alaska

In 1965, a deep test hole drilled near Eielson Air Force Base, Fairbanks district, Alaska, penetrated 9,774 ft (2,979.1 m) into schists of the metamorphic complex of the Yukon-Tanana Upland. Cores recovered from the test hole show that the section is dominated by calc-magnesian rocks with subordinate pelitic schists. Pelitic mineral assemblages define a progressive increase in metamorphic grade with depth, from the garnet to the kyanite isograd. Diopside first appears in the calc-magnesian schists that were cored at a depth of 9,766 ft (2,976.5 m), indicating the onset of the reaction: Tremolite + 3 calcite -f- 2 quartz→5 diopside + 3CO 2 +H 2 O. Ubiquitous staurolite and rare andalusite occur in the kyanite-bearing pelitic schists. Andalusite appears to have crystallized under postkinematic conditions, and the staurolite is apparently of both synkinematic and postkinematic origin. Hornblende and biotite from calc-magnesian schists sampled at depths of 7,142½ ft (2,176.9 m) and 9,766 ft (2,976.5 m) gave 40 K/ 40 Ar ages of 140±8 and 57.3±1.9 m.y., respectively. The hornblende age is believed to represent the age of the latest synkinematic metamorphism, and the biotite age appears to be an anomalously young one related to the outgassing of argon from biotite at greater depth in the section. Recent experimental data on andalusite-kyanite-sillimanite and staurolite equilibria and the stability field of calcite+quartz+tremolite versus diopside in calc-magnesian rocks suggest that the rocks recovered from the 8,218- to 9,770-ft (2,504.7- to 2,977.7-m) interval were synkinematieally recrystallized at crustal depths of 17 to 19 km and at temperatures of 515° to 580°C; the present thermal gradient (31.5°C/km) is similar to that which accompanied metamorphism in Jurassic time.

Alaska↗
USGS1976

Geology and Rb-Sr ages of reactivated Precambrian gneisses and granite in the Marenisco-Watersmeet area, northern Michigan

Rb-Sr dating of Precambrian W (lower Precambrian) gneisses and granitic rocks that form the cores of antiforms or domes mantled by metamorphosed Precambrian X (middle Precambrian) bedded rocks in the Marenisco-Watersmeet area, northern Michigan, shows that the rock systems have been disturbed to different degrees by complex tectonic and thermal events subsequent to primary crystallization. The disturbance is indicated by a lowering of the whole-rock Rb-Sr ages of many samples of gneiss from 2,600 m.y. or older to about 1,800 m.y. and by the scattering of data points, although some of the points can be fit to secondary isochrons; probably the major mechanism was redistribution of previously accumulated radiogenic Sr, which is indicated by the high initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of the resultant isochrons. The disturbance is interpreted as having resulted from internal cataclasis and recrystallization accompanied by metamorphic segregation and (or) partial melting during reactivation of the gneisses about 1,800 m.y. ago. Variations in the degree of reconstitution and mobility of individual bodies of basement rocks are indicated by differences in structural reconstitution of the basement rocks and in the metamorphic grade of the Precambrian X bedded rocks.

Michigan↗
USGS1990

Geology of crystalline rocks of northern Fiordland: details of the granulite facies Western Fiordland Orthogneiss and associated rock units

A c. 700 km2 area of northern Fiordland (South Island, New Zealand) is described in which Early Cretaceous high-pressure metamorphic rocks and virtually unmetamorphosed plutonic rocks occur. The dominant rocks are orthogneisses developed from synmetamorphic basic-intermediate intrusive complexes, the youngest and most widespread of which is the Early Cretaceous Western Fiordland Orthogneiss (WFO). The latter has undergone granulite facies metamorphism and occurs throughout much of western Fiordland. WFO was emplaced synkinematically in a subduction-related magmatic arc. A collisional event during or immediately following magma emplacement resulted in crustal thickening equivalent to onloading of a 20 km thick section over rocks already buried at mid-crustal depths. This event was responsible for peak load pressures of c. 12-13 kbar. The steeply dipping Surprise Creek Fault juxtaposes high-pressure metamorphic rocks of western and central Fiordland against virtually unmetamorphosed gabbroic rocks of the Early Cretaceous Darran Complex. -from Author

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics↗
USGS1989

Early Cretaceous vein-related garnet granulite in Fiordland, southwest New Zealand: a case for infiltration of mantle-derived CO2-rich fluids

Regionally extensive two-pyroxene granulite facies orthogneisses of Early Cretaceous age in Fiordland, southwest New Zealand, are criss-crossed by garnet-bearing feldspathic veins (and dikes) having associated marginal reaction zones of garnet granulite. The two-pyroxene granulites resulted from fluid-absent meta-morphism of a suite of synkinematic primary anhydrous intrusions. Subsequent restricted formation of garnet granulite in feldspathic compositions, and locally eclogite in ultramafic compositions, proceeded chiefly via reactions involving hornblende breakdown, and occurred in response to sharply increased load pressure and local lowering of water activity. The restricted occurrence of carbonate scapolite and -rich fluid inclusions in the vein areas suggests that water activity was lowered by infiltrating carbonic fluids. Infiltration occurred along pre-existing fracture systems, many of which were already filled with plagio-clase-rich veins and dikes. Published carbon isotope data for in scapolite within the veins indicates a mantle source. Open system behavior accompanying infiltration favored garnet stability by lowering bulk rock ferric/ferrous ratio and content. Fluid infiltration occurred at or near peak metamorphic pressure (~12 kbar at 650-700°C). Granulite metamorphism was of short duration (< 20 m.y.) and accompanied tectonic thickening in a subduction-related magmatic arc.

Journal of Geology↗
USGS2008

Sequential solvent extraction for forms of antimony in five selected coals

Abundance of antimony in bulk samples has been determined in five selected coals, three coals from Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui, China, and two from the Illinois Basin in the United States. The Sb abundance in these samples is in the range of 0.11-0.43 ??g/g. The forms of Sb in coals were studied by sequential solvent extraction. The six forms of Sb are water soluble, ion changeable, organic matter bound, carbonate bound, silicate bound, and sulfide bound. Results of sequential extraction show that silicate-bound Sb is the most abundant form in these coals. Silicate- plus sulfide-bound Sb accounts for more than half of the total Sb in all coals. Bituminous coals are higher in organic matterbound Sb than anthracite and natural coke, indicating that the Sb in the organic matter may be incorporated into silicate and sulfide minerals during metamorphism. ?? 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Journal of Geology↗
USGS2025

Gas emissions from the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine hydrothermal system, Clear Lake volcanic field, California

The Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine (SBMM) hydrothermal system offers insights into active degassing processes in the Clear Lake volcanic field (CLVF), a high-threat region based on its record of Holocene eruptions and proximity to populated areas. Here we present chemical and isotopic analyses of gas samples collected between 2015 and 2023, along with the first comprehensive CO 2 flux survey of the SBMM area conducted in 2023. Sampled gases are CO 2 - and CH 4 -rich (≥84 and 6 mol% in dry gas, respectively) with high mantle-derived helium contributions ( 3 He/ 4 He = 6.54–7.86 R C /R A ). Carbon isotopic compositions of CO 2 (δ 13 C = −10.0 to −9.5 ‰) and CH 4 (δ 13 C = −35.8 ‰) indicate mixed sources, with significant contributions from metamorphism of organic-rich Franciscan Complex rocks hosting the hydrothermal system. Modeling of gas compositions shows that scrubbing by interaction with air-saturated groundwater strongly influences observed compositional variability. From our CO₂ flux measurements, we estimate the deeply derived CO 2 emission rate from the SBMM hydrothermal area (0.2 km 2 ) at 240 t d −1 , comparable to many quiescently degassing volcanoes worldwide. We also provide a first-order estimate of CH 4 emissions at approximately 0.5 t d −1 . Our findings establish crucial baseline data for future volcanic monitoring efforts, enhancing detection capabilities for potential changes in this active hydrothermal system. This work contributes to the broader understanding of volatile contributions from volcanic and metamorphic sources to the global carbon budget, while highlighting the strong influence of bedrock geology on gas compositions in the CLVF.

California↗
USGS2011

The timing of tertiary metamorphism and deformation in the Albion-Raft River-Grouse Creek metamorphic core complex, Utah and Idaho

The Albion-Raft River-Grouse Creek metamorphic core complex of southern Idaho and northern Utah exposes 2.56-Ga orthogneisses and Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks that were intruded by 32-25-Ma granitic plutons. Pluton emplacement was contemporaneous with peak metamorphism, ductile thinning of the country rocks, and top-to-thewest, normal-sense shear along the Middle Mountain shear zone. Monazite and zircon from an attenuated stratigraphic section in the Middle Mountain were dated with U-Pb, using a SHRIMP-RG (reverse geometry) ion microprobe. Zircons from the deformed Archean gneiss preserve a crystallization age of 2532 ?? 33 Ma, while monazites range from 32.6 ?? 0.6 to 27.1 ?? 0.6 Ma. In the schist of the Upper Narrows, detrital zircons lack metamorphic overgrowths, and monazites produced discordant U-Pb ages that range from 52.8 ?? 0.6 to 37.5 ?? 0.3 Ma. From the structurally and stratigraphically highest unit sampled, the schist of Stevens Spring, narrow metamorphic rims on detrital zircons yield ages from 140-110 Ma, and monazite grains contained cores that yield an age of 141 ??2 Ma, whereas rims and some whole grains ranged from 35.5 ?? 0.5 to 30.0 ?? 0.4 Ma. A boudinaged pegmatite exposed in Basin Creek is deformed by the Middle Mountains shear zone and yields a monazite age of 27.6 ?? 0.2 Ma. We interpret these data to indicate two periods of monazite and metamorphic zircon growth: a poorly preserved Early Cretaceous period (???140 Ma) that is strongly overprinted by Oligocene metamorphism (???32-27 Ma) related to regional plutonism and extension. ?? 2011 by The University of Chicago.

Journal of Geology↗
USGS1978

Metamorphic forsterite and diopside from the ultramafic complex at the Tuolumne River, California

Metamorphic forsterite (Fo=98) and diopside (Wo:En:Fs=48.5:49.5:2.0) have been, formed from serpentinite within intensely sheared zones in the large ultramafic complex at the Tuolumne River near Sonora, Calif. Bladelike grains of forsterite are elongate, parallel to c , and have prominent idiomorphic faces developed in (010). Metamorphic diopside occurs as small grains, free of inclusions, in rocks containing forsterite. The formation of forsterite and forsterite +diopside in serpentinite probably took place by the following reactions: antigorite+magnesite→2 forsterite+ fluid 3 antigorite+calcite→4 forsterite+diopside+fluid Iron derived from the primary olivine and chromite has been oxidized almost entirely to magnetite and may be treated as an indifferent or accessory component. Stratigraphic reconstruction indicates that the total load pressures probably did not exceed 3 kilobars. At these pressures, the reaction should take place between 400° and 500°C with a fluid composition ranging from nearly pure H 2 O to less than 5 mole percent CO 2 . The restriction of forsterite and forsterite-f-diopside to shear zones may be attributed to the presence of carbonate in the rock prior to metamorphism and to the dilution of a CO 2 -bearing fluid phase by water coming from outside the area of the reaction.

California↗
USGS1999

40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of mesoproterozoic metamorphism in the Colorado Front Range

A low-pressure metamorphic episode in the Colorado Front Range has been identified by the presence of staurolite, andalusite, cordierite, and garnet porphyroblasts overprinting earlier assemblages. The overprinting assemblages and reaction textures are most consistent with porphyroblast growth on a prograde metamorphic path with peak temperatures exceeding ~525??C. Twenty-eight 40Ar/39Ar dates on hornblende, muscovite, biotite, and microcline were used to infer the age and thermal conditions of metamorphism. Muscovite and biotite 40Ar/39Ar ages fall mainly in the interval 1400-1340 Ma, consistent with cooling through the closure temperature interval of micas (~400??-300??C) after about 1400 Ma. In contrast, hornblende apparent ages (T(c)~500??-550??C) between 1600 and 1390 Ma reflect variable retention of radiogenic argon. Forward modeling of argon diffusion shows that the distribution of hornblende and mica ages is consistent with the partial resetting of argon systematics ca. 1400 Ma by a thermal pulse reaching maximum temperatures around 550??C and decaying within <20 m.yr. These temperatures match the conditions inferred from the overprinting assemblage; thus, muscovite and biotite ages are interpreted to date the cooling phase of this metamorphic event. This late metamorphism is broadly coeval with the intrusion of ca. 1400-Ma granitic plutons in the study area and throughout the southwestern United States. However, thermal effects are observed far from pluton margins, suggesting pervasive, regional crustal heating rather than restricted contact metamorphism. Our results suggest that ca. 1400-Ma metamorphism and plutonism are manifestations of a regional thermal episode that both partially melted the lower crust and pervasively metamorphosed middle crustal rocks.

Journal of Geology↗
USGS2008

40Ar/39Ar data for white mica, biotite, and K-feldspar samples from low-grade metamorphic rocks in the Westminster Terrane and adjacent rocks, Maryland

This report contains reduced 40 Ar/ 39 Ar data of white mica and K-feldspar mineral separates and matrix of a whole rock phyllite, all from low-grade metamorphic rocks of the Westminster terrane and adjacent strata in central Maryland. This report presents these data in a preliminary form, but in more detail than can be accommodated in todays professional journals. Also included in this report is information on the location of the samples and a brief description of the samples. The data contained herein are not interpreted in a geological context, and care should be taken by readers unfamiliar with argon isotopic data in the use of these results; many of the individual apparent ages are not geologically meaningful. This report is primarily a detailed source document for subsequent publications that will integrate these data into a geological context.

Maryland↗
USGS1991

The Briggs Creek Amphibolite, Klamath Mountains, Oregon: Its origin and dispersal

The Briggs Creek Amphibolite (BCA) in southwestern Oregon is an allochthonous slice of metamorphosed oceanic crust emplaced during the Nevadan orogenic event. Even though the evidence is not clear, the authors prefer to have the protolith for the BCA formed in a back‐arc basin contemporaneously as part of the Josephine Ophiolite during late Callovian to early Oxfordian. Although major rearrangement of some of the chemical elements took place during metamorphism, it is possible, by use of major and rare earth elements, to suggest that the BCA formed in an oceanic spreading centre rather than an island arc setting. Meta‐morphic mineral assemblages and composition of the hornblendes indicate that metamorphism attained amphibolite facies grade. Widespread occurrence of allochthonous blocks of BCA in Western Oregon indicate that its dispersion following metamorphism can be related to the accretionary history of the continental margin. Westward thrusting of these blocks of BCA over the Chetco Arc during the Nevadan orogenic event provided blocks that slid into the outboard active Early Cretaceous trench. These blocks were then incorporated into the downgoing subduction complex and overprinted by high P/T metamorphic assemblages. Tectonic blocks within the Early Cretaceous Otter Point trench melange (Franciscan Complex equivalent) contain amphibolites correlated with the BCA and overprinted by high P/T mineral assemblages.

Oregon↗
USGS1973

Blueschist metamorphism in the Yreka-Fort Jones area, Klamath Mountains, California

Blueschist is plentiful in the Yreka-Fort Jones area, eastern Klamath Mountains, adjacent to a belt of serpentinite that marks the boundary between two fundamental lithologic units, an eastern belt of early Paleozoic sedimentary and metamorphic rocks, and a western greenstone-chert assemblage of late Paleozoic and Triassic(?) age. The blueschists, which contain lawsonite and glaucophane or crossite, occur with phyllitic quartzite and siliceous phyllite of the Stuart Fork Formation, which is overthrust northwestward on the greenstone-chert terrane. The blueschist facies metamorphism probably was synchronous with Middle and Late Jurassic metamorphism of the Stuart Fork Formation. The blueschist-serpentinite terrane possibly marks the site of collision between the eastern Klamath plate and an oceanic western Paleozoic and Triassic plate.

California↗
USGS1975

Comparison of fission-track, K-Ar, and Rb-Sr radiometric age determinations from some granite plutons in Maine

Fission-track ages have been determined on eight apatite and four sphene concentrates separated from plutonic rocks in Maine. K-Ar and Rb-Sr ages for some of these rocks were previously published. In northeastern Maine the whole-rock Rb-Sr, biotite K-Ar, and apatite fission-track ages are concordant at 400-420 million years, whereas in south-central Maine the apatite fission-track age is 150 m.y. and the biotite K-Ar age is about 250 m.y. At intermediate positions along the traverse the whole-rock Rb-Sr, biotite K-Ar, and sphene fission-track ages agree fairly well in the range 390-325 m.y., but the apatite fission-track ages are all about 100 m.y. younger. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis of burial metamorphism and uplift as proposed in 1970 by Zartman, Hurley, Krueger, and Giletti to explain the abundance of Permian K-Ar ages in central New England.

Maine↗
USGS1974

Lunar highlands volcanism implications from Luna 20 and Apollo 16

Highlands materials sampled at the Apollo 16 and Luna 20 sites represent units of distinctive morphology that are widespread on the lunar nearside. Samples from the Apollo 16 site represent hilly and furrowed materials of the Descartes highlands and Cayley Formation. Materials were collected by Luna 20 from terrain resembling the Descartes terrain. Most photogeologic interpretations of these units favored volcanic origins, but the samples fail to support this interpretation. Luna 20 soil fragments are mainly glassy microbreccia with lithic inclusions of fine-grained hornfels; less than 3 percent of the fragments have textures of volcanic rocks, and most of these are likely crystalline products of impact melting. Apollo 16 soils formed on ejecta derived from a plutonic anorthosite-norite-troctolite suite. The similarity of Luna 20 soils indicates that these too formed as regolith on ejecta of anorthosite-norite-troctolitc composition. Interpretation of the samples from the two locations now suggests that hilly and furrowed terrains, previously thought to be of volcanic origin, are impact ejecta; in view of the plutonic nature of the source rocks and their extensive fusion and metamorphism, it is likely that the ejecta were derived from multiring basins. At one point, the Apollo 16 site, the Cayley Formation is composed of basin ejecta.

Journal of Research of the U.S. Geological Survey↗
USGS2001

SHRIMP-RG U-Pb zircon geochronology of mesoproterozoic metamorphism and plutonism in the southwesternmost United States

Mesoproterozoic intrusive and granulite‐grade metamorphic rocks in southern California have been inferred to be exotic to North America on the basis of perceived chronologic incompatibility with autochthonous cratonal rocks. Ion microprobe geochronology indicates that zircons in granulite‐grade gneisses, dated at 1.4 Ga using conventional methods, are composed of 1.68–1.80‐Ga cores and 1.19‐Ga rims. These Early Proterozoic gneisses were metamorphosed at extremely high temperatures and moderate pressures during emplacement of the 1.19‐Ga San Gabriel anorthosite complex. The lack of a 1.4‐Ga metamorphic event suggests that Proterozoic rocks in this region, rather than being exotic to North America, may in fact be a midcrustal window into Mesoproterozoic crustal evolutionary processes in southwestern North America.

California↗
USGS1976

Brannerite from the Penn Haven Junction uranium occurrence, Carbon County, Pennsylvania

Thorium-free brannerite has been identified in Upper Devonian uraniferous sandstone from Penn Haven Junction, Carbon County, Pa. The brannerite was located by a variation of the "Lexan" technique and is associated with galena, uraninite, and clausthalite. The angular thorium-free nature of the brannerite suggests that it formed by metamorphism of uranium-saturated leucoxene. As a result of the metamorphism some uranium may be in less soluble minerals than those found in the uranium deposits of the Western United States. For this reason, in-place leaching of the uranium may be impractical.

Pennsylvania↗
USGS1977

Geology and Rb-Sr age of Precambrian W Puritan Quartz Monzonite, northern Michigan

The Puritan Quartz Monzonite, in the western part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, composes a batholith at least 50 kilometres long and as much as 20 km wide on the south side of the Gogebic iron range. It is associated with subaqueous metavolcanic rocks assigned to the Precambrian W Ramsey Formation and with a complex gneissic unit of the same age. The quartz monzonite has a Rb-Sr isochron age of 2,710±140 million years and an initial 87 Sr/ 86 Sr of 0.7015±0.0017. The scatter of data points in excess of analytical error is interpreted as indicating that minor cataclasis and retrograde metamorphism produced slight open-system behavior in Precambrian X (circa 1,800 m.y.) time. The Puritan Quartz Monzonite and associated volcanic rocks are equated with similar Precambrian W greenstone-granite complexes in northern Minnesota, and clearly are a part of the Precambrian W greenstone terrane, as defined previously for the Lake Superior region.

Michigan, Wisconsin↗