Investigations of the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins using /sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar thermochronology: applications to petroleum exploration. Progress report, April 1, 1983-March 31, 1985

Technical Report · Thu Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1984

OSTI ID:6279752

Harrison, T M

/sup 40/Ar//sup 39/Ar age spectrum analyses of microclines separated from a variety of deep drill cores (Albuquerque Basin, New Mexico; Fenton Hill, New Mexico; North Sea) have been confirmed the viability of using detrital microcline as a monitor of the thermal evolution of sedimentary basins, and provided new understanding of the response of this system to a variety of geological environments. Results from the Albuquerque Basin yield a model thermal history which integrates well with the existing view of basin evolution. Age spectra of basement microclines from deep drill holes at Fenton Hill, New Mexico, reveal surprisingly short estimates of heating duration that confirms a recent analysis of the local heat flow. Preliminary results on North Sea samples suggests that while useful thermal information can be obtained using this approach on samples at temperatures hovering about 100/sup 0/C, temperatures greater than 115/sup 0/C are required to produce sufficient /sup 40/Ar* loss for an unambiguous thermal analysis. Improvements in extraction furnace design have allowed better resolution of inter-sample variability of Ar diffusion parameters calculated from /sup 39/Ar loss during heating (approx. 33 to 37 kcal-mol/sup -1/). 6 references, 6 figures.

• Research Organization: State Univ. of New York, Albany (USA). Dept. of Geological Sciences
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-82ER13013
• OSTI ID: 6279752
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/13013-2; ON: DE85004281
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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AGE ESTIMATION
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ARGON ISOTOPES
ATLANTIC OCEAN
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
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GEOTHERMOMETRY
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ISOTOPE DATING
ISOTOPE RATIO
ISOTOPES
LIGHT NUCLEI
MICROCLINE
MINERAL RESOURCES
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