Sulfide formation in reservoir carbonates of the Devonian Nisku Formation, Alberta, Canada: An ion microprobe study
- Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
- Univ. of Alberta (Canada)
The processes affecting sulfur during diagenesis in carbonates have been investigated by ion microprobe analysis of {sigma} {sup 34}S values of pyrite, marcasite, and anhydrite from the Devonian Nisku Formation in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin. Pyrite and marcasite from three Nisku wells have {sigma}{sup 34}S ranging between -35 and +20{per_thousand}. The {sigma}{sup 34}S values increase b6y up to 50{per_thousand} with increasing well depth in two different Nisku wells, and {sigma}{sup 34}S also increases by up to 15{per_thousand} as grain size increases form 40 to over 100 {mu}m in individual samples. The appearance of native sulfur is accompanied by an increase of up to 30{per_thousand} in pyrite {sigma}{sup 34}S values. Bulk and ion probe analyses of anhydrite are relatively uniform ({sigma}{sup 34}S = +22 to +30{per_thousand} CDT). The predominately low {sigma}{sup 34}S values of Nisku sulfides indicate bacterial sulfate reduction. Textural relations indicate that Fe-sulfide formation in Nisku carbonates may have occurred by two different mechanisms. Much of the sulfide has {sigma}{sup 34}S values that suggest that it was associated with bacterial sulfate reduction, although most Fe-sulfides did not form until after pervasive matrix dolomitization (depths of 300-1000 m). Other sulfide may have formed later, during deep ({approximately}4km) burial via thermochemical sulfate reduction. The range in {sigma}{sup 34}S values in a single thin section and correlations between pyrite morphology and isotopic values suggest that sulfate reduction was a very localized process, and that the sulfate reduction environment varied considerably on a small scale. 61 refs., 10 figs., 1 tab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-84OR21400
- OSTI ID:
- 530431
- Journal Information:
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 60, Issue 2; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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