Isotopic and geochemical characterization of fossil brines of the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone and Ironton–Galesville Formation from the Illinois Basin, USA

Labotka, Dana M.; Panno, Samuel V.; Locke, Randall A.; Freiburg, Jared T.

doi:10.1016/j.gca.2015.06.013

Cited by 32 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…To conclude, when the whole Paris Basin hydrogeological scenario is considered, it shares numerous similarities with the fluid flow histories recorded in other intracratonic basins with comparable architecture, such as the Illinois Basin (Stueber & Walter, ; Labotka et al ., ) or the Michigan Basin (Wilson & Long, ). Indeed, these basins also experienced late stage infiltration of meteoric fluids into more ancient saline evaporative waters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

et al. 2017

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The reconstruction of past diagenetic conditions in sedimentary basins is often under-constrained. This results from both the analytical challenge of performing the required analyses on the minute sample amounts available from diagenetic mineral phases and the lack of tracers for some of the diagenetic parameters. The carbonate clumped isotope thermometry (D 47 ) opens new perspectives for unravelling the temperatures of diagenetic phases together with the source of their parent fluids, two parameters that are otherwise impossible to constrain in the absence of exploitable fluid inclusions.Here is reported the study of a large number of sedimentary and diagenetic carbonate phases (from Middle Jurassic reservoirs of the Paris Basin depocentre) by combining detailed petrographic observations with a large number of D 47 data (n > 45) on a well-documented paragenetic sequence, including calcite and dolomite burial cements. The data reveal carbonate crystallization at temperatures between 29°C and 98°C from fluids with d 18 O water values between À7& and +2&, in response to the progressive burial and uplift of the Paris Basin, throughout 165 Myr of basin evolution. Coupled with the time-temperature evolution previously estimated from thermal maturity modelling, these temperatures allow determining the timing of four successive cementation episodes. The overall data set indicates a history of complex water mixing with a significant contribution of hypersaline waters from the Triassic aquifers migrated upward along faults during the Cretaceous subsidence of the basin. Subsequent large-scale infiltrations of meteoric waters induced a dilution of these pre-existing brines in response to the Paris Basin uplift in the Tertiary. Overall, the data presented here allow proposing an integrated approach to characterize the cementation events affecting the studied carbonate reservoir units, based on temperature, oxygen isotope composition and salinity of the parent fluids as well as on petrographic grounds.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

et al. 2017

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“…The very low Cl/Br mass ratio of this groundwater (149 to 216; Panno, ISGS, unpublished data) suggests that the salinity originates from a mixture of brines from the underlying Cambrian and Ordovician strata, and perhaps crystalline basement brines (Table S1, Supporting Information). The upwelling of crystalline basement brines at least into lower Cambrian strata is likely, based on work by Panno et al () and Labotka et al (, ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…The salinity of the groundwater within the basin is typically stratified (Panno and Hackley ) with most shallow groundwater containing Na and Cl − concentrations in sand and gravel aquifers between 1 and 15 mg/L for each ion (Panno et al ). The sources of the Na‐Ca‐Cl‐type brines of the Illinois Basin were studied by Stueber et al (), Walter et al (), Stueber and Walter (, ), Panno et al (), and Labotka et al (, ). These studies suggested, based on halide–halide and halide–cation ratios, and stable isotopes ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr, δ D and δ 18 O), that brines of the Illinois Basin originated as evaporated seawater and are composed of four geochemically distinct fluid regimes (Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian–Devonian, and Mississippian–Pennsylvanian).…”

Section: Geology and Hydrogeology Of The Illinois Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recharge and Groundwater Flow Within an Intracratonic Basin, Midwestern United States

et al. 2017

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The conservative nature of chloride (Cl − ) in groundwater and the abundance of geochemical data from various sources (both published and unpublished) provided a means of developing, for the first time, a representation of the hydrogeology of the Illinois Basin on a basin-wide scale. The creation of Cl − isocons superimposed on plan view maps of selected formations and on cross sections across the Illinois Basin yielded a conceptual model on a basin-wide scale of recharge into, groundwater flow within and through the Illinois Basin. The maps and cross sections reveal the infiltration and movement of freshwater into the basin and dilution of brines within various geologic strata occurring at basin margins and along geologic structures. Cross-formational movement of brines is also seen in the northern part of the basin. The maps and cross sections also show barriers to groundwater movement created by aquitards resulting in areas of apparent isolation/stagnation of concentrated brines within the basin. The distribution of Cl − within the Illinois Basin suggests that the current chemical composition of groundwater and distribution of brines within the basin is dependent on five parameters: (1) presence of bedrock exposures along basin margins; (2) permeability of geologic strata and their distribution relative to one another; (3) presence or absence of major geologic structures; (4) intersection of major waterways with geologic structures, basin margins, and permeable bedrock exposures; and (5) isolation of brines within the basin due to aquitards, inhomogeneous permeability, and, in the case of the deepest part of the basin, brine density effects.

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“…Porewaters were sampled through a single, multi-level observation well at two and six discrete depths in the Upper and Lower units, respectively (the low permeability of the Middle unit precluded sampling). While the Upper unit has been shown to have experienced minor dilution (Panno et al, 2013;Labotka et al, 2015), both Upper and Lower porewaters were recently interpreted as dominated by modified Cambrian seawater (Labotka et al, 2016), illustrating the long-standing isolation of these brines.…”

Section: Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Table 1 Porewaters sampled at nine discrete depths within the MSS from a single, multi-level observation well. All data except the δ 37 Cl and δ 81 Br were measured at the ISGS (Panno et al, 2013;Labotka et al, 2015 In the Lower unit, δ 37 Cl and δ 81 Br are respectively enriched by +0.67 ‰ and +1.15 ‰. Given the thickness of the sediment column (~180 m), these variations are typically within the equilibrium range for temperatures between 50 °C (current temperature of the aquifer) and 130 °C (maximal cementation temperature; Fishman, 1997;Pollington et al, 2011) -see Figure 2.…”

Section: Lettermentioning

confidence: 99%

The gravitas of gravitational isotope fractionation revealed in an isolated aquifer

Giunta¹,

Devauchelle²,

Ader³

et al. 2017

Geochem. Persp. Let.

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Despite the ubiquitous effects of gravitation on Earth, its potential influence on relative distribution of isotopic substances has remained elusive -and so far only identified in confined gaseous systems (Craig et al., 1988;Severinghaus et al., 1996Severinghaus et al., , 1998). Yet, in a motionless and chemically homogeneous water column, dissolved isotopic substances must be distributed according to their masses. Here we report the first resolvable isotopic variations resulting from gravitational effects on solutes, identified on dissolved chloride (Cl -) and bromide (Br -) in a sedimentary aquifer from the Illinois Basin (USA). We show that the correlations between depth and both 37 Cl/ 35 Cl and 81 Br/ 79 Br -varying by 1.1 ‰ and 1.6 ‰ respectively -reflect the evolution toward a gravity-diffusion equilibrium of porewater in the sediment column. This observation reveals that these deep groundwaters have been mostly stagnant for at least 20 Myr, possibly up to 300 Myr. As chloride and bromide are often conservative in groundwater systems, we highlight their essential role in unravelling the hydrodynamics and residence times of isolated aquifers. Furthermore, this study reveals gravitational fractionation as a viable process, potentially affecting other isotopic systems in various geological settings. LetterWith the growing need to sequester anthropogenic material (CO 2 and nuclear waste) in stable geological formations, the characterisation of hydrodynamics and residence time of deep groundwaters is a first order societal challenge. In order to demonstrate the sustainability of sequestration sites on long timescales, it is crucial to justify that fluid movement and/ or mixing with other reservoirs are limited. Long residence time groundwaters revealed by the accumulation of radiogenic noble gases suggest that some aquifers in sedimentary basins remained isolated for millions of years (Marty et al., 2003;Clark et al., 2013), or even billions of years in deeper fracture-controlled systems in crystalline bedrock (Holland et al., 2013). However, the accuracy of this technique depends on the estimation of crucial parameters such as the average porosity, the content of radioactive elements (U, Th and K) within host rocks, as well as assuming a closed system (Lippmann et al., 2003). Unfortunately, these parameters are often poorly constrained. Here we expand upon the largely ignored historic concept of solute gravitational settling within a static water column (Russell et al., 1933) and present the first evidence that isotopic ratios can be affected by this process, providing a new tool to constrain the degree and timing of isolation for sedimentary aquifers.If fluids within an aquifer are sufficiently isolated to become effectively motionless (i.e. no net advective component), the transport of solutes will be dominated by diffusion, but the Earth's gravitational field would prevent complete homogenisation of solute concentrations by tending to concentrate solute species downward. At equilibrium, the vertical dist...

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Isotopic and geochemical characterization of fossil brines of the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone and Ironton–Galesville Formation from the Illinois Basin, USA

Cited by 32 publications

References 46 publications

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

Recharge and Groundwater Flow Within an Intracratonic Basin, Midwestern United States

The gravitas of gravitational isotope fractionation revealed in an isolated aquifer

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Isotopic and geochemical characterization of fossil brines of the Cambrian Mt. Simon Sandstone and Ironton–Galesville Formation from the Illinois Basin, USA

Cited by 32 publications

References 46 publications

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ47) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ47) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

Recharge and Groundwater Flow Within an Intracratonic Basin, Midwestern United States

The gravitas of gravitational isotope fractionation revealed in an isolated aquifer

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Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre

Basin‐scale thermal and fluid flow histories revealed by carbonate clumped isotopes (Δ₄₇) – Middle Jurassic carbonates of the Paris Basin depocentre