--> Abstract: Testing the Limits of Dolomite Clumped Isotope Thermometry, by Ian Winkelstern; #90199 (2014)

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Testing the Limits of Dolomite Clumped Isotope Thermometry

Ian Winkelstern
Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
[email protected]

Abstract

Despite the fact that dolomite is an important reservoir rock, its formation is poorly understood. Carbonate clumped isotope thermometry is a new technique with the potential to answer many long-standing diagenetic and paleoenvironmental questions, but it has yet to be fully applied to dolomite. I propose to use the carbonates of a 14,000+ foot core drilled into Andros Island, Bahamas as test case to compare clumped isotope values of dolomites and calcites formed at similar temperatures and subjected to identical diagenetic conditions. By analyzing samples taken from a range of depths and diagenetic conditions, I will examine the resilience of clumped isotope signals in each carbonate type. Dolomite is an inherently stable diagenetic phase, and therefore its clumped isotope signatures may be more resilient than those in coexisting calcites. This project will experimentally evaluate the potential of clumped isotope studies utilizing dolomite. If the technique can be used to accurately measure dolomite formation temperature, it will be possible to more fully understand the conditions required to form the mineral itself, and dolomite clumped isotope thermometry could be applied to solving a wide variety of geological problems.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90199 © 2014 AAPG Foundation 2014 Grants-in-Aid Projects