Investigations of the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins using /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar thermochronology: Applications to petroleum exploration: Final report, September 1, 1982 to March 31, 1987

Technical Report · Wed Jul 01 04:00:00 EDT 1987

OSTI ID:6168068

Harrison, T M

Our work has demonstrated the potential of /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar age spectrum analysis of detrital microclines in revealing thermochronological information. By irradiating feldspars with a known dose of fast neutrons, and isotopically distinct but chemically identical form of the daughter (/sup 39/Ar) is produced from potassium, making the /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar ratio of a geological sample implicitly proportional to age. If the sample has experienced heating in the temperature range approx.100/sup 0/ to 200/sup 0/C for geological time, the transport kinetics of /sup 40/Ar in microcline are sufficiently rapid to cause partial outgassing of the sample which can be revealed during analysis. Given that we can obtain sample intensive diffusion parameters as a by-product of the experiment, a partially outgassed K-spar can yield information related to both the ages of crystallization and reheating as well as the temperature of the heating event. Detrital microcline separates analyzed from deep drill cores from a variety of basins yield encouraging results and demonstrate the utility of this approach - especially when combined with results from apatite fission track analyses. In summary, /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar analysis of detrital microcline crystals can yield thermochronologic information in the temperature-time range of petroleum maturation and provides this technique with potential, as both a useful exploration tool, and as a means of probing the fundamental geodynamic processes of sedimentary basin evolution.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Albany (USA). Dept. of Geological Sciences
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-82ER13013
• OSTI ID: 6168068
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/13013-4; ON: DE87012092
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
020200 -- Petroleum-- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
400101 -- Activation
Nuclear Reaction
Radiometric & Radiochemical Procedures
58 GEOSCIENCES
580100* -- Geology & Hydrology-- (-1989)
ACTIVATION ANALYSIS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ARGON 39
ARGON 40
ARGON ISOTOPES
BARYON REACTIONS
BARYONS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-PLUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ELEMENTARY PARTICLES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
FAST NEUTRONS
FELDSPARS
FERMIONS
GEOLOGIC STRUCTURES
GEOTHERMOMETRY
HADRON REACTIONS
HADRONS
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MICROCLINE
MINERALS
NEUTRON REACTIONS
NEUTRONS
NUCLEAR REACTIONS
NUCLEI
NUCLEON REACTIONS
NUCLEONS
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
POTASSIUM 40
POTASSIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
SEDIMENTARY BASINS
SILICATE MINERALS
STABLE ISOTOPES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES