Infiltration Of Meteoric Fluids Research Articles

Footwall refrigeration versus footwall hydration: Reassessing steep thermal gradients below detachment faults with in situ SIMS oxygen isotope analysis

The extensional detachment systems of metamorphic core complexes (MCC) have the potential to facilitate significant fluid movement between Earth's surface and the warm, ductile middle crust. One long-standing and influential detachment fault-fluid interaction model called the “footwall refrigeration hypothesis” (Morrison and Anderson, 1998) postulates that cool meteoric fluids circulating downward along a detachment can facilitate large-scale heat loss at depth before rocks are exhumed by faulting. Stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen have long been recognized as potentially useful tracers of surface-to-depth fluid flow in core complexes; however, typical sampling methods and the competing effects between temperature and fluid composition have made oxygen isotope signatures of meteoric fluid infiltration difficult to detect and/or interpret in the rock record.Here, we use in situ δ18O measurements by secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) to address the rock record of meteoric fluid interactions and temperature variation within the Whipple Mountains MCC footwall beneath the Whipple detachment fault (WDF). The micro-scale sampling of SIMS (10 µm diameter x 1–2 µm deep pits) allows investigation of isotope variability as a function of mineral geochemistry and microstructure and enables more accurate interpretation of the causes of isotope variability. In the Whipple footwall mylonites, quartz and epidote show grain-to-grain oxygen-isotope variability within samples and as a function of distance from the main detachment. Approaching the WDF, both quartz and epidote show increasing spread toward low δ18O values. The lowest SIMS-measured δ18O epidote values require exchange with a low δ18O, meteoric fluid at high temperature. However, SIMS data also reveal that meteoric fluid-rock interactions were spatially heterogeneous at the scale of individual grains, resulting in local preservation of metamorphic quartz-epidote oxygen isotope equilibrium unaffected by infiltrating meteoric fluid. Within preserved metamorphic domains at all investigated structural levels of the WDF footwall, quartz and epidote δ18O values are tightly clustered and yield similar fractionations (∆18Oqz-ep). For samples from the longest footwall traverse, these ∆18Oqz-ep values are 4.0 ± 0.4‰, consistent with δ18O equilibrium at 521+43/-37 °C. We conclude that there is no evidence of a large paleo-thermal gradient associated with the Whipple Detachment Fault (i.e., no evidence for footwall refrigeration).

Multiscale discrete fracture network modelling of shallow-water carbonates: East Agri Valley Basin, Southern Italy

We investigate the multiscale geometrical and dimensional properties of fracture and fault networks crosscutting Lower Jurassic to Cretaceous shallow-water carbonate rocks. The carbonates are exposed along the flanks of the Viggiano Mt., on the eastern side of the High Agri Valley Basin of southern Italy. Furthermore, we employ the results of field and digital structural analyses to derive the input parameters for subsequent Discrete Fracture Network modelling (DFN) of geocellular volumes whose dimension and architecture resemble those of the investigated sites. DFN modelling is carried out for geocellular volumes representing the studied bed packages (5m-side volumes), outcrops (50m-side volumes), and reservoir-scale carbonate cliffs (500m-side volumes). Notably, modelling is obtained considering the minimum mechanical aperture value obtained in the field for porosity computations and theoretical values of fracture hydraulic aperture for permeability computations. This is because the mechanical aperture values and roughness profiles collected in the field along single fractures are unreliable due to weathering and localized karst-related dissolution. Our findings reveal that a scale-dependent geometry characterizes the Cretaceous carbonates over three orders of magnitude. These results support previously published data, and contrast with those obtained for the Lower Jurassic carbonates, which suffer of some bias due to the quality of the exposures. After DFN modelling, we show that the amount of computed fracture porosity is mainly due to the SB and NSB fractures, and that equivalent permeability is greater within faulted rock volumes. In terms of horizontal permeability, which is the most reliable result after DFN modelling, we document near isotropic horizontal permeability ellipses at all scales of observations. At individual outcrops, we note that the permeability ellipses are elongated parallel to the dominant fault sets that denotes how localized strain affects the directionality of fluid flow. Finally, we summarize the original data in a conceptual model illustrating the modalities of meteoric fluid infiltration through the vadose zone, and then subsequent horizontal flow in the phreatic zone present within the fracture carbonates at shallow depths.

Timing and duration of meteoric water infiltration in the Quiberon detachment zone (Armorican Massif, Variscan belt, France)

Assessing the geochemical signature and the role of fluids in a key Variscan detachment zone demonstrates the link between crustal deformation, thermo-mechanical events and Variscan mineralization. We document meteoric fluid infiltration into the ductile segment of the Late-Carboniferous Quiberon detachment zone (QDZ), when synkinematic muscovite and tourmaline crystallized and equilibrated with deuterium-depleted surface-derived fluids during high-temperature deformation. Titanium-in-muscovite thermometry supported by microstructures indicate that syntectonic isotope exchange between fluids and hydrous minerals occurred above 500 °C. 40Ar/39Ar muscovite data (∼319–∼303 Ma) and U(–Th)/Pb geochronology on zircon, monazite and apatite (∼318–∼305 Ma) from syntectonic leucogranites together with microstructural and geochemical (U and REE contents) data suggest that meteoric fluid-rock-deformation interaction started at ∼320 Ma and played a major role in leaching uranium at ∼305 Ma. U–Th/Pb data (∼330–∼290 Ma) from migmatites located below the QDZ strengthen the idea that meteoric fluid infiltration, detachment activity, syntectonic leucogranite emplacement and migmatization were coeval and allowed the development of a sustained hydrothermal system.

Locally Derived, Meteoric Fluid Infiltration Was Responsible for Widespread Late Paleozoic Illite Authigenesis in the Appalachian Basin

AbstractIsotopic and geochronologic investigation of authigenic, K‐bearing clays in the Appalachian Plateau of the northeastern U.S. Midcontinent yields new insights about the tectonic and diagenetic history of the North American sedimentary cover sequence. In situ texture analysis by High Resolution X‐ray Texture Goniometry indicates preservation of bedding‐parallel diagenetic fabrics with burial depths of 2–5 km, and illite mineralization temperatures are spatially variable, ranging from 80 to 190 °C, correlating to similar depths of 3–6 km. The mineralizing geofluid is surface derived, with δD values ranging from −48‰ to −72‰ (in the range of predicted Pangea meteoric fluid). In addition, we find that mineralizing fluid δD values increase away from the orogenic front, consistent with a rain shadow effect from the high elevation Appalachian orogen. The age of authigenic illite is constrained by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to 308–318 Ma, reflecting Upper Carboniferous diagenesis. We postulate that far‐field stress transmission from continent‐continent collision created regional permeability pathways for surface fluids, altering the hydrologic architecture of the brittle crust and allowing meteoric fluid infiltration into upper crustal rocks. This interpretation challenges the popular view of tectonically forced, lateral fluid flow from the Appalachian orogen (squeegee hypothesis).

From Submarine to Subaerial Out‐of‐Sequence Thrusting and Gravity‐Driven Extensional Faulting: Gran Sasso Massif, Central Apennines, Italy

AbstractThrust wedge evolution is typically characterized by out‐of‐sequence thrusting, which can occur in both submarine and subaerial conditions to maintain the balance between gravitational and tectonic forces. The Gran Sasso Massif, in Central Italy, is a high topography region where the kinematics and environmental conditions of deformation of some fault zones are still controversial, and this bears important implications for the Central Apennines orogenic wedge evolution. To obtain further constraints on fault activity in the Gran Sasso Massif, we studied the Monte Camicia and Vado di Ferruccio thrusts using structural, petrographical, and geochemical analyses. Such dataset allowed us to constrain the structural‐diagenetic evolution of the studied faults, which has first‐order implications in the characterization of their paleo‐hydraulic properties. Our results indicate that in the Vado di Ferruccio out‐of‐sequence thrust, pressure solution‐mediated mass transfer promoted low‐permeability conditions in the fault core that led to a semiclosed fluid circulation, pore fluid overpressuring, and dolomite crystallization in submarine conditions. In contrast, the Monte Camicia out‐of‐sequence thrust was characterized by dominant cataclasis in subaerial conditions, which facilitated meteoric fluid infiltration. By considering both fault zones as belonging to the same thrust system at crustal scale, we interpret these differences as indicating the occurrence of multiple pulses of thrusting during the exhumation of this sector of the Central Apennines, up to Quaternary times, when extensional faulting eventually dissected the thrust stack. This caused extensional reactivation of the Monte Camicia Thrust and related alteration in vadose zone conditions, leading to porosity enhancement, dolomite dissolution, and calcitization.

Infiltration of meteoric water in the South Tibetan Detachment (Mount Everest, Himalaya): When and why?

AbstractThe South Tibetan Detachment (STD) in the Himalayan orogen juxtaposes low‐grade Tethyan Himalayan sequence sedimentary rocks over high‐grade metamorphic rocks of the Himalayan crystalline core. We document infiltration of meteoric fluids into the STD footwall at ~17–15 Ma, when recrystallized hydrous minerals equilibrated with low‐δD (meteoric) water. Synkinematic biotite collected over 200 m of structural section in the STD mylonitic footwall (Rongbuk Valley, near Mount Everest) record high‐temperature isotopic exchange with D‐depleted water (δDwater = −150 ± 5‰) that infiltrated the ductile segment of the detachment most likely during mylonitic deformation, although later isotopic exchange cannot be definitively excluded. These minerals also reveal a uniform pattern of middle Miocene (15 Ma) 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages. The presence of low‐δD meteoric water in the STD mylonitic footwall is further supported by hornblende and chlorite with very low δD values of −183‰ and −162‰, respectively. The δD values in the STD footwall suggest that surface‐derived fluids were channeled down to the brittle‐ductile transition. Migration of fluids from the Earth's surface to the active mylonitic detachment footwall may have been achieved by fluid flow along steep normal faults that developed during synconvergent extension of the upper Tethyan Himalayan plate. High heat flow helped sustain buoyancy‐driven fluid convection over the timescale of detachment tectonics. Low δD values in synkinematic fluids are indicative of precipitation‐derived fluids sourced at high elevation and document that the ground surface above this section of the STD had already attained similar‐to‐modern topographic elevations in the middle Miocene.

Meteoric fluid infiltration in the Argentine Precordillera fold-and-thrust belt: Evidence from H isotopic studies of neoformed clay minerals

Fluids in the upper crust can affect the strength properties, composition, and mineralization of rock units, but the source(s) of these fluids and their transport during deformation are not well understood. Stable isotopic studies of clay-rich rocks, particularly newly formed illitic clays, shed light on the source of geofluids involved during faulting and folding. Hydrogen isotopic (δD) measurements of fault gouge and folded clay-rich sediments from the Argentine Precordillera show meteoric, surface-sourced fluid involvement during Miocene faulting. The δD composition of neoformed clay minerals is between -70‰ and -90‰ ± 2‰. The associated composition of fluids ranges from -57‰ to -72‰ ± 10‰, matching values for a surface-derived source. Regional Miocene meteoric fluid infiltrated down into the evolving fold-and-thrust belt, accumulated in basin sediments, and was subsequently expelled by the overriding rock units during late Miocene shortening. A systematic increase in δD signature with deformation age is preserved that matches regional climatic changes during late Miocene aridification, cooling, and glacial expansion.

Meteoric fluid infiltration in crustal-scale normal fault systems as indicated by δ18O and δ2H geochemistry and40Ar/39Ar dating of neoformed clays in brittle fault rocks

Both the sources and pathways of fluid circulation are key factors to understanding the evolution of low-angle normal fault (LANF) systems and the distribution of mineral deposits in the upper crust. In recent years, several reports have shown the presence of meteoric waters in mylonitic LANF systems at mid-crustal conditions. However, a mechanism for meteoric water infiltration to these mid-crustal depths is not well understood. Here we report paired δ 18 O and δ 2 H isotopic values from dated, neoformed clays in fault gouge in major detachments of the southwest United States. These isotopic values demonstrate that brittle fault rocks formed from exchange with pristine to weakly evolved meteoric waters at multiple depths along the detachment. 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating of these same neoformed clays constrains the Pliocene ages of fault-gouge formation in the Death Valley area. The infiltration of ancient meteoric fluids to multiple depths in LANFs indicates that crustal-scale normal fault systems are highly permeable on geologic timescales and that they are conduits for efficient, coupled flow of surface fluids to depths of the brittle-plastic transition.

Reconstruction of Holocene paleohydrological and sedimentological characteristics of Umm Ar-Rimam basin (northern Kuwait)

The paleohydrological and sedimentological characteristics of a playa lake in northern Kuwait (Arabian Gulf) are reconstructed using sedimentological, geochemical, and isotopic techniques. The sequence consists of up to 8 cycles of S-poor, alluvial sediments capped by a thin organic soil interbedded with gravity-fall calcrete sediments. The succession is locally derived from mainly Quaternary sediments and is regressive with upsection filling of the subsiding basin by cycles of sheetwash flow in response to climatic change. There is no natural, open-water lake water as indicated by low total organic carbon (TOC) data, but the presence of incised calcrete yardangs suggests that more extensive open-water conditions were operative in the past. Stable isotope (δ18O‰ and δ13C‰) values of the authigenic carbonates indicate the following three distinct processes: evaporation, meteoric fluid infiltration, and rapid per-descensum flow (rapid downward movement of water and playa sediment through pipes) through a porous, clastic sequence. Because evaporites are scarce, other factors besides evaporation action control chemical and isotopic compositions of the per-decensum lake fluids. Consequently, the isotopic composition cannot be interpreted exclusively as an indicator of salinity or evaporation ratio. The degassing of CO2 during groundwater discharge may explain the enriched carbon isotope values for the authigenic carbonates precipitated in the sediments. Hydrologically closed lake water bodies tend to show low negative carbonate oxygen and carbon isotopic signatures. Isotopically negative δ13C values imply a strong input of soil-zone carbon to the groundwater of the top 60 cm of the sediment. Lakes that are hydrologically closed and evaporate or equilibrate with atmospheric CO2 will tend to have low negative δ18O and δ13C values in the carbonates as reported by Talbot (Chem Geol: Isotope Geosci Sect 80(4):261–279, 1990). Biologically active lakes will tend toward lower δ13C of dissolved carbon due to the photosynthetic effects of 12C withdrawal as reported by Dunagan and Driese (J Sed Res 69:772–783, 1999). Increased biological activity during sedimentation may account for low carbon isotope values where plants were abundant, but in shrinkage-dominated systems (those of clay-rich soil subjecting to wet-dry conditions), carbon isotopes will be largely inherited from the calcretic limestones in the land extending landward of the coast and not influenced by coastal processes (known as hinterland), such as Umm Ar-Rimam depression. This basin does not fit the classic shallow playa-type basins of the Arabian Peninsula but rather the recharge playas of the southwestern USA.

Hydrothermal mineralization in the sandstone–hosted Hangjinqi uranium deposit, North Ordos Basin, China

Tabular–type uranium ore deposits (the Hangjinqi and Daying deposits) have recently been found in the Middle Jurassic Zhiluo Formation, north of the Ordos Basin, China. Petrographic observations, the chemical composition of U minerals determined by EMPA and fs–LA–ICP–MS, whole rock geochemistry and the microthermometric study of fluid inclusions have been integrated to characterize the genetic conditions of the U mineralization in the Hangjinqi sandstone–hosted deposit. Two different groups of U minerals have been identified. One group includes coffinite(I) associated with vanadium–rich micas. Coffinite(I) is enriched in vanadium (V) and devoid of iron (Fe) and yttrium (Y) and has a LREE–enriched chondrite–normalized REE pattern. The U minerals of this group are similar to meteoric fluid infiltration related deposits. The second group has coeval coffinite(II) and coarsely crystalline calcite cement. Coffinite(II) is enriched in Y and Fe and depleted in V and is marked by a flat chondrite–normalized REE pattern, which is compatible with typical hydrothermal genetic deposits with high–salinity mineralizing fluids. The temperature and salinity of the primary aqueous inclusions in the ore–stage calcite are 120–180°C and 8.00–16.34% (eq. wt% NaCl), respectively. These mineral assemblages, temperatures and salinities indicate that the Hangjinqi deposit was affected by two distinct types of ore–bearing fluids: low–salinity meteoric waters and high–salinity hydrothermal fluids. The meteoric fluids event began at 97±5Ma with the titling of the northern Ordos Basin and the uplift of the Hetao region to the north. Hydrothermal U mineralization occurred since 39±2Ma with the rifting of the Hetao graben. Thus, the previous biogenic model for the U mineralization should be modified in the uraniferous region of the north Ordos Basin.

Hydrogen and 40Ar/39Ar isotope evidence for multiple and protracted paleofluid flow events within the long‐lived North Anatolian Keirogen (Turkey)

AbstractWe present a new approach to identifying the source and age of paleofluids associated with low‐temperature deformation in the brittle crust, using hydrogen isotopic compositions (δD) and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of authigenic illite in clay gouge‐bearing fault zones. The procedure involves grain‐size separation, polytype modeling, and isotopic analysis, creating a mixing line that is used to extrapolate to δD and age of pure authigenic and detrital material. We use this method on samples collected along the surface trace of today's North Anatolian Fault (NAF). δD values of the authigenic illite population, obtained by extrapolation, are −89 ± 3‰, −90 ± 2‰, and −97 ± 2‰ (VSMOW) for samples KSL, RES4‐1, and G1G2, respectively. These correspond to δD fluid values of −62‰ to −85‰ for the temperature range of 125°C ± 25°, indistinguishable from present‐day precipitation values. δD values of the detrital illite population are −45 ± 13‰, −60 ± 6‰, and −64 ± 6‰ for samples KSL, G1G2, and RES4‐1, respectively. Corresponding δD fluid values at 300°C are −26‰ to −45‰ and match values from adjacent metamorphic terranes. Corresponding clay gouge ages are 41.4 ± 3.4 Ma (authigenic) and 95.8 ± 7.7 Ma (detrital) for sample G2 and 24.6 ± 1.6 Ma (authigenic) and 96.5 ± 3.8 Ma (detrital) for sample RES4‐1, demonstrating a long history of meteoric fluid infiltration in the area. We conclude that today's NAF incorporated preexisting, weak clay‐rich rocks that represent earlier mineralizing fluid events. The samples preserve at least three fluid flow pulses since the Eocene and indicate that meteoric fluid has been circulating in the upper crust in the North Anatolian Keirogen since that time.

Eocene and Miocene extension, meteoric fluid infiltration, and core complex formation in the Great Basin (Raft River Mountains, Utah)

Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) in the North American Cordillera reflect the effects of lithospheric extension and contribute to crustal adjustments both during and after a protracted subduction history along the Pacific plate margin. While the Miocene-to-recent history of most MCCs in the Great Basin, including the Raft River-Albion-Grouse Creek MCC, is well documented, early Cenozoic tectonic fabrics are commonly severely overprinted. We present stable isotope, geochronological (40Ar/39Ar), and microstructural data from the Raft River detachment shear zone. Hydrogen isotope ratios of syntectonic white mica (δ2Hms) from mylonitic quartzite within the shear zone are very low (−90‰ to −154‰, Vienna SMOW) and result from multiphase synkinematic interaction with surface-derived fluids. 40Ar/39Ar geochronology reveals Eocene (re)crystallization of white mica with δ2Hms ≥ −154‰ in quartzite mylonite of the western segment of the detachment system. These δ2Hms values are distinctively lower than in localities farther east (δ2Hms ≥ −125‰), where 40Ar/39Ar geochronological data indicate Miocene (18–15 Ma) extensional shearing and mylonitic fabric formation. These data indicate that very low δ2H surface-derived fluids penetrated the brittle-ductile transition as early as the mid-Eocene during a first phase of exhumation along a detachment rooted to the east. In the eastern part of the core complex, prominent top-to-the-east ductile shearing, mid-Miocene 40Ar/39Ar ages, and higher δ2H values of recrystallized white mica, indicate Miocene structural and isotopic overprinting of Eocene fabrics.

Porosity and surface area evolution during weathering of two igneous rocks

During weathering, rocks release nutrients and store water vital for growth of microbial and plant life. Thus, the growth of porosity as weathering advances into bedrock is a life-sustaining process for terrestrial ecosystems. Here, we use small-angle and ultra small-angle neutron scattering to show how porosity develops during initial weathering under tropical conditions of two igneous rock compositions, basaltic andesite and quartz diorite. The quartz diorite weathers spheroidally while the basaltic andesite does not. The weathering advance rates of the two systems also differ, perhaps due to this difference in mechanism, from 0.24 to 100mmkyr−1, respectively. The scattering data document how surfaces inside the feldspar-dominated rocks change as weathering advances into the protolith. In the unaltered rocks, neutrons scatter from two types of features whose dimensions vary from 6nm to 40μm: pores and bumps on pore–grain surfaces. These features result in scattering data for both unaltered rocks that document multi-fractal behavior: scattering is best described by a mass fractal dimension (Dm) and a surface fractal dimension (Ds) for features of length scales greater than and less than ∼1μm, respectively. In the basaltic andesite, Dm is approximately 2.9 and Ds is approximately 2.7. The mechanism of solute transport during weathering of this rock is diffusion. Porosity and surface area increase from ∼1.5% to 8.5% and 3 to 23m2g−1 respectively in a relatively consistent trend across the mm-thick plagioclase reaction front. Across this front, both fractal dimensions decrease, consistent with development of a more monodisperse pore network with smoother pore surfaces. Both changes are consistent largely with increasing connectivity of pores without significant surface roughening, as expected for transport-limited weathering. In contrast, porosity and surface area increase from 1.3% to 9.5% and 1.5 to 13m2g−1 respectively across a many cm-thick reaction front in the spheroidally weathering quartz diorite. In that rock, Dm is approximately 2.8 and Ds is approximately 2.5 prior to weathering. These two fractals transform during weathering to multiple surface fractals as micro-cracking reduces the size of diffusion-limited subzones of the matrix. Across the reaction front of plagioclase in the quartz diorite, the specific surface area and porosity change very little until the point where the rock disaggregates into saprolite.The different patterns in porosity development of the two rocks are attributed to advective infiltration plus diffusion in the rock that spheroidally fractures versus diffusion-only in the rock that does not. Fracturing apparently diminishes the size of the diffusion-limited parts of the spheroidally weathering rock system to promote infiltration of meteoric fluids, therefore explaining the faster weathering advance rate into that rock.

Giant quartz vein formation and high-elevation meteoric fluid infiltration into the South Armorican Shear Zone: geological, fluid inclusion and stable isotope evidence

Giant quartz veins associated with the South Armorican Shear Zone record important fluid circulation during the Hercynian period. Regional-scale mapping of veins allows two groups of veins to be identified, on the basis of their geometric relationship with the South Armorican Shear Zone. Veins in the first group are parallel to the shear zone, whereas those in the second group developed in a direction oblique to it. The former probably record infiltration of fluids along permeable pathways in highly deformed zones; the latter may represent crustal-scale tension gashes in the regional context. Most quartz veins have δ 18 O values between 10 and 16‰ indicating a mid-crustal origin for the fluids. Microthermometry on fluid inclusions from euhedral quartz indicates that late fluids were mostly aqueous with very low salinity (0–1.7 wt% eq.) and with homogenization temperatures ranging between 150 and 270 °C. Together with very low δ 18 O values of some euhedral quartz, down to −2‰, these features argue for a surface origin. Corresponding δ 18 O fluid values estimated near −11‰ are probably related to the high palaeo-elevation of meteoric precipitation. Scarce, but significant, H 2 O–CO 2 fluid inclusions in euhedral quartz indicate a metamorphic contribution. These were probably sourced from the exhumed metamorphic basement in the southern part of the region.

Oligo‐Miocene extensional tectonics and fluid flow across the Northern Snake Range detachment system, Nevada

The Northern Snake Range (Nevada) represents a spectacular example of a metamorphic core complex and exposes a complete section from the mylonitic footwall into the hanging wall of a fossil detachment system. Paired geochronological and stable isotopic data of mylonitic quartzite within the detachment footwall reveal that ductile deformation and infiltration of meteoric fluids occurred between 27 and 23 Ma. 40Ar/39Ar ages display complex recrystallization‐cooling relationships but decrease systematically from 26.9 ± 0.2 Ma at the top to 21.3 ± 0.2 Ma at the bottom of footwall mylonite. Hydrogen isotope (δD) values in white mica are very low (−150 to −145 ‰) within the top 80–90 m of detachment footwall, in contrast to values obtained from the deeper part of the section where values range from −77 to −64 ‰, suggesting that time‐integrated interaction between rock and meteoric fluid was restricted to the uppermost part of the mylonitic footwall. Pervasive mica‐water hydrogen isotope exchange is difficult to reconcile with models of 40Ar loss during mylonitization solely by volume diffusion. Rather, we interpret the 40Ar/39Ar ages of white mica with low‐δD values to date syn‐mylonitic hydrogen and argon isotope exchange, and we conclude that the hydrothermal system of the Northern Snake Range was active during late Oligocene (27–23 Ma) and has been exhumed by the combined effects of ductile strain, extensional detachment faulting, and erosion.

U redox fronts and kaolinisation in basement-hosted unconformity-related U ores of the Athabasca Basin (Canada): late U remobilisation by meteoric fluids

Proterozoic basement-hosted unconformity-related uranium deposits of the Athabasca Basin (Saskatchewan, Canada) were affected by significant uranium redistribution along oxidation–reduction redox fronts related to cold and late meteoric fluid infiltration. These redox fronts exhibit the same mineralogical and geochemical features as the well-studied uranium roll-front deposits in siliclastic rocks. The primary hydrothermal uranium mineralisation (1.6–1.3 Ga) of basement-hosted deposits is strongly reworked to new disseminated ores comprising three distinctly coloured zones: a white-green zone corresponding to the previous clay-rich alteration halo contemporaneous with hydrothermal ores, a uranium front corresponding to the uranium deposition zone of the redox front (brownish zone, rich in goethite) and a hematite-rich red zone marking the front progression. The three zones directly reflect the mineralogical zonation related to uranium oxides (pitchblende), sulphides, iron minerals (hematite and goethite) and alumino-phosphate-sulphate (APS) minerals. The zoning can be explained by processes of dissolution–precipitation along a redox interface and was produced by the infiltration of cold (<50°C) meteoric fluids to the hydrothermally altered areas. U, Fe, Ca, Pb, S, REE, V, Y, W, Mo and Se were the main mobile elements in this process, and their distribution within the three zones was, for most of them, directly dependent on their redox potential. The elements concentrated in the redox fronts were sourced by the alteration of previously crystallised hydrothermal minerals, such as uranium oxides and light rare earth element (LREE)-rich APS. The uranium oxides from the redox front are characterised by LREE-enriched patterns, which differ from those of unconformity-related ores and clearly demonstrate their distinct conditions of formation. Uranium redox front formation is thought to be linked to fluid circulation episodes initiated during the 400–300 Ma period during uplift and erosion of the Athabasca Basin when it was near the Equator and to have been still active during the last million years. A major kaolinisation event was caused by changes in the fluid circulation regime, reworking the primary uranium redox fronts and causing the redistribution of elements originally concentrated in the uranium-enriched meteoric-related redox fronts.

Fingerprinting a multistage metamorphic fluid–rock history: Evidence from grain scale Sr, O and C isotopic and trace element variations in high-grade marbles from East Antarctica

Granulite grade marble layers interlayered with metapelitic granulites from Lützow Holm Bay, East Antarctica, provide insight into fluid–rock interactions during burial to and exhumation from lower crustal levels. Sub-millimeter scale strontium, oxygen and carbon isotope variations along with LA-ICPMS trace element geochemistry and mineral chemistry of texturally characterized carbonates and associated minerals helped to reconstruct the multistage metamorphic fluid history. Fluid–rock interaction dating back to prograde metamorphism are still preserved in consistently low oxygen and high strontium isotope compositions ( δ 18O = 12‰; 87Sr/ 86Sr (550Ma) = 0.7248) within a massif dolomitic marble layer that escaped significant later metasomatism. In most marbles, total re-crystallization and isotopic resetting occurred in the presence of “externally derived” hyper-saline fluids that circulated along the carbonate layers during the early stages of prograde metamorphism. This leads to a trend of increased radiogenic Sr in marbles towards the value of associated metapelitic rocks that have 87Sr/ 86Sr (550Ma) of 0.764. LA-ICPMS studies on trace elements in carbonate and associated silicate minerals at different textural settings, distinguished using cathodoluminescence microscopy, revealed multiple metasomatic events during retrograde metamorphism. Trace element contents of Ba, Sr, Pb and U gave compelling evidence for metasomatic alteration that postdate the exsolution of carbonate at ~ 600 ºC, which can be correlated with the fluids released from the crystallization of anatectic melts and pegmatites. Subsequently, meteoric fluid infiltration occurred at a shallower level of the crust and caused extreme oxygen isotopic heterogeneity ( δ 18O = 14.7 ~ − 4.9‰) and imprinted high concentration of fluid mobile elements. Taken together our results emphasize the importance of integrating textural and chemical heterogeneities to reveal the multiple episodes of fluid–rock interaction processes in a dynamic continental crust, which has major implications on migration of fluids and material and help in formulating models on the geodynamic evolution of crust.

Time scales of deformation and exhumation in extensional detachment systems determined by high-spatial resolution in situ UV-laser 40Ar/ 39Ar dating

Once dated with adequate precision, intra grain recrystallization microstructures in deformed minerals provide valuable information about the tectonic and kinematic history of shear zones and entire orogens. We present combined in situ UV-laser 40Ar/ 39Ar geochronology and stable isotope data to decipher the relationships between intra grain recrystallization microstructures and 40Ar/ 39Ar ages in muscovite fish from extensional mylonite of the Porsgrunn–Kristiansand Shear Zone, Southern Norway. Texturally controlled UV-laser 40Ar/ 39Ar dating of isotopically and compositionally distinct cores, rims, and tips of muscovite fish resolves intra grain age variations on the micrometer scale. Twenty-eight in situ UV-laser 40Ar/ 39Ar analyses from two muscovite cores yield a weighted mean age of 891.2 ± 2.9 Ma, interpreted to date synkinematic neocrystallization of muscovite. The integrated 880.2 ± 2.8 Ma ( n = 30 analyses) weighted mean age of rims and tips is in good agreement with observed recrystallization relationships which suggest that rims and tips of the muscovite fish record the final increments of the ductile deformation history. Diffusion considerations based on published argon diffusion rates and peak temperature estimates from oxygen isotope thermometry show that the 40Ar/ 39Ar ages are unlikely to be disturbed during cooling. The 11.0 ± 4.0 my core-to-rim age difference together with the stable isotope data are consistent with protracted ductile deformation, extensional detachment faulting, and meteoric fluid infiltration occurring over this time interval. This approach combining X-ray element mapping, stable isotope geochemistry, and in situ UV-laser 40Ar/ 39Ar dating allows well-characterized microstructures to be analyzed with high precision and permits direct determination of the time scales of deformation in crustal-scale shear zones.

Isotopic composition and origin of geothermal waters at Caldetes (Maresme—Barcelona)

Several thermal springs occur within the Catalan Coastal Ranges, mainly located along bounding faults of horst–graben systems. Most of the springs are located in the Vallès-Penedès graben, where they correspond to local topography-driven flow systems. The Caldetes thermal water spring cannot be explained easily in these terms. From the chemical and isotopic composition of these waters, a recharge area at an elevation of at least 600m is inferred, most likely in the Montseny massif some 20km NW of Caldetes. We propose a deep flow system with infiltration of meteoric fluids from the Montseny massif. Fluids then pass through tertiary units of the Vallès-Penedès graben and infiltrate faults and fracture zones that are connected to the bounding faults of the Barcelona halfgraben. Fluids finally ascend along these faults and are discharged as thermal waters at Caldetes.

Meteoric fluid infiltration in the middle crust during shearing: examples from the Arunta Inlier, central Australia

Alice Springs age (300–400Ma) shear zones that dissect the SE Reynolds Range, central Australia, are substantially hydrated compared to their host lithologies, indicating the influx of externally derived fluids during shearing. Low δ18O values from the sheared rocks suggest that the fluids were meteoric. Shearing occurred at greenschist-facies conditions, indicating that the surface-derived fluids penetrated into the ductile crust and that the network of shear zones were connected with the surface. These data show that the Earth's surface is an important reservoir for fluids during shearing and rehydration of metamorphic terranes.