Search

The characteristics and genesis of the calcite veins in Carboniferous basalt in the east slope of Mahu Sag, Junggar Basin are investigated based on observation of cores and thin sections; analyses of X-ray fluorescence, in situ major, trace and rare earth elements (REE), carbon, oxygen and strontium isotopes, fluid inclusions, as well as basin modeling. There are three periods of calcite fillings. The Period I calcite is characterized by low Mn content, flat REE pattern, strong negative cerium (Ce) anomaly, weak to moderate negative Eu anomaly, and light carbon isotopic composition, indicating the formation of the calcite was affected by meteoric water. The Period II calcite shows higher Mn and light REE contents, weak positive Ce anomaly and slight positive europium (Eu) anomaly, and a little heavier carbon isotopic composition and slightly lower strontium isotope ratio than the Period I calcite, suggesting that deep diagenetic fluids affected the formation of the Period II calcite to some extent. The Period III calcite is rich in iron and manganese and has REE pattern similar to that of the Period II calcite, but the cerium and europium enomalies vary significantly. The Period I and II calcites were formed in shallow diagenetic environment at approximately 250–260 Ma, corresponding to Late Hercynian orogeny at Late Permian. The Period III calcite was probably formed in the Indo-China movement during Late Triassic. It is believed that the precipitation of calcite in basalt fractures near unconformity was related to leaching and dissolution of carbonates in the overlying Lower Permian Fengcheng Formation by meteoric water, which destructed the Carboniferous weathering crust reservoirs in early stage. Relatively high quality reservoirs could be developed in positions with weak filling and strong late dissolution, such as structural high parts with Fengcheng Formation missing, distant strata from Fengcheng Formation vertically, buried hills inside lake basin, etc.

The extensional Val Roveto Fault, which is the longest exhumed potentially-seismogenic structure of central Apennines, Italy, is examined to constrain earthquake-related fluid circulation and fluid sources within shallow carbonate-hosted faults. The study focuses on fault-related comb and slip-parallel veins that are calcite-filled and cut through the principal surface of the Val Roveto Fault. We observe multiple crack-and-seal events characterized by several veining episodes, probably related to different slip increments along the fault plane. We show that vein calcite precipitated in Late Pleistocene time below the present-day outcrop level at a maximum depth of similar to 350 m and temperatures between 32 and 64 degrees C from meteoric-derived fluids modified by reactions with crustal rocks and with a mantle contribution (up to similar to 39%). The observed warm temperatures are not compatible with a shallow (

Linking the architecture of structural conduits with the hydrothermal fluids migrating from the reservoir up to the surface is a key-factor in geothermal research. A contribution to this achievement derives from the study of spring-related travertine deposits, but although travertine depositional systems occur widely, their feeding conduits are only rarely exposed. The integrated study carried out in the geothermal Gölemezli area, nearby the well-known Pamukkale area (Denizli Basin, western Anatolia, Turkey), focused on onyx-like calcite veins (banded travertine) and bedded travertine well exposed in a natural cross-section allowing the reconstruction of the shallower part of a geothermal system. The onyx-like veins represent the thickest vein network (> 150 m) so far known. New field mapping and structural/kinematic analyses allowed to document a partially dismantled travertine complex (bedded travertine) formed by proximal fissure ridges and distal terraced/pools depositional systems. The banded calcite veins, WNW-trending and up to 12 m thick, developed within a > 200 m thick damaged rock volume produced by parallel fault zones. Th/U dating indicates a long lasting (middle-late Pleistocene) fluids circulation in a palaeo-geothermal system that, due to its location and chemical characteristics, can be considered the analogue of the nearby, still active, Pamukkale system. The isotopic characteristics of the calcite veins together with data from fluid inclusions analyses, allow the reconstruction of some properties (i.e. temperature, salinity and isotopic composition) and processes (i.e. temperature variation and intensity of degassing) that characterized the parent fluids and the relation between degassing intensity and specific microfabric of calcite crystals (elongated/microsparite-micrite bands), controlled by changes/fluctuations of the physico-chemical fluid characteristics. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

The Nankai Trough subduction zone in southwest Japan is a typical convergent margin where the Philippine Sea plate subducts in the northwest direction beneath the Eurasian plate, and devastating earthquakes have repeatedly occurred in this region in the past. In order to investigate the evolution of the stress state in the subduction zone, we analyzed deformation microstructures and the preferred orientation of calcite grains in two cuttings of calcite veins from Hole C0002F that was drilled through the inner wedge of the Nankai accretionary prism during the Integrated Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 338 in 2012. For both samples collected at depths of 1,085.5 and 1,885.5 meters below the sea floor (mbsf), the c-axes of calcite grains are preferentially oriented perpendicular to the vein wall, which is indicative of competitive growth of calcite during the vein opening caused by a vein normal extension. Also, mechanical e-twins were developed in both samples, and these are inferred to have been developed under the same stress field as that responsible for the formation of calcite veins based on the paleostress analyses in grains with e-twins. For the calcite vein retrieved at the depth of 1,885.5 mbsf, kink bands were also developed by the compression in the direction perpendicular to the vein wall, which is indicative of stress reversal after the formation of mechanical e-twins. Although we could not reach a definite conclusion for the cause of the stress reversal, it could have occurred during either fold development or seismic cycles in the Nankai accretionary prism.