Temperature distribution and anomalies in the crystalline basement of the tataria arch

We made temperature measurements in the crystalline basement of the superdeep and deep boreholes located in the central-eastern part of the East European platform. The basement in the studied region is characterized by an average heat flow of 60 mW m⁻². Our experiments have revealed temperature anomalies in the crystalline basement that we interpreted as unconsolidated zones. The studies indicate that fluid injection anomalies, sheet flow and overflow zones and gas anomalies can be detected by temperature measurements.     

北海盆地维京地堑渐新统砂岩侵入体形态特征及成因

砂岩侵入体是由处于浅埋藏阶段、尚未固结的砂质沉积物发生液化并侵入到上覆盖层所形成的一类软沉积物变形,在北海盆地维京地堑渐新统地层中非常发育。为探讨砂岩侵入体的形态特征及诱发机制,通过高分辨率三维地震及测井资料,利用地震反射结构分析、地震相干切片等手段对砂岩侵入现象进行了识别;并结合多边形断层系统、流体充注与砂岩侵入之间的关联性,对砂岩侵入体的成因机制进行了分析。结果表明:在地震剖面上可识别的砂岩侵入体多呈V型或W型强振幅反射特征,其横向展布规模约1~2 km,垂向侵入高度约100~200 m;流体的大规模充注及多边形断层诱发盖层破裂是形成砂体内部超压并诱发其发生液化的关键因素。砂岩侵入体在形成之后可以作为流体运移通道,对强化流体的垂向运移具有重要意义;并且砂岩侵入体本身即可作为油气的有利储集体。因此识别并分析砂岩侵入体的成因机理,对盖层封闭性评价及油气勘探具有重要指导意义。     

Hydrothermal fluid geochemistry at the Chah-Firuzeh porphyry copper deposit,Iran: Evidence from fluid inclusions

The Chah-Firuzeh porphyry copper deposit is located in 35 km north of Shahre Babak (Kerman province). It is associated with granodioriteic intrusive of Miocene age which intruded Eocene volcanosedimentary rocks. Copper mineralization was accompanied by both potassic and phyllic alteration. Field observations and petrographic studies demonstrate that the emplacement of Chah-Firuzeh pluton took place in several intrusive pulses, each with associated hydrothermal ore fluid formation that was also associated with hydrostatic pressure increasing respect to that of lithostatic pressure (and fracturing development-relative boiling) by circulated fluid. Copper is concentrated as a very early hydrothermal mineralized phase in the evolution of the hydrothermal system. Early hydrothermal alteration produced a potassic assemblage (orthoclase–biotite) in the central deep part of the stock. Alteration ore fluids could be classify into two groups of liquid-reach, containing solid phases, high temperature (390 to 500 °C) high salinity (more than 60 wt.% NaCl equiv.) and gas-rich, high temperature (311 to 570 °C), no solid phase and with low salinities. These magmatic source fluids illustrate sever boiling process and also are the responsible for the both potassic alteration, quartz group I and II veins and chalcopyrite deposition. Propylitic alteration occurred by the liquid-rich, low temperature (241 to 390 °C) and Ca-rich fluid with meteoric origin. Continuous decreasing temperature let the meteoric water diffusion into the system, mixed with magmatic fluids and descending the salinities down to the 1 wt.% NaCl equiv. and leaching the Cu from vein groups II and III by sever thermodynamic anarchies from potassic to the phyllic alteration zones. Phyllic alteration and copper leaching resulted from the inflow of oxidized and acidic meteoric waters with decreasing temperature of the system followed by the incursion of this fluid into and its convection in upper part of the system. A late episode of boiling occurred in the apical the phyllic zone, and was associated with significant copper deposition. Based on the field observation on sharp alteration and related mineralization, it is possible to conclude that all these procedures have been controlled by local faults that could be active even before the pluton injection. These faults and the new form ones (which have been formed after injection), could crash the hosted rocks, and act as physical dams to restrict and limit the mineralization in special strikes and zones within the Cah-Firuzeh ore deposit.     

Metamorphism in oceanic layer 3, Gorringe Bank,eastern Atlantic

Gorringe Bank is an anomalously high structure of the eastern part of the north Atlantic, which was known to be composed of mantle-derived peridotites (layer 4) and gabbros (layer 3). During the submersible cruise CYAGOR II in 1981, the contact between layer 4 and layer 3 was observed on Mount Gettysburg and interpreted as tectonic. The overlying series of gabbro was extensively sampled on both mounts composing the bank, Gettysburg and Ormonde. Coarse-grained to pegmatoid clinopyroxene gabbros predominate and are associated with differentiated rocks (ferrogabbros and diorites). Cumulate gabbros are missing. The gabbroic section sampled is therefore interpreted as the upper part of the plutonic section. Most samples were strongly recrystallized during two distinct events. Metamorphism occurred close to the ridge axis, from interaction of a seawater-derived fluid with still hot gabbros. High temperature shear zones favoured fluid circulation, but the water/rock ratio — estimated from the sodium input — was very small in undeformed rocks (<1). The low W/R ratio explains the strong evolution of the fluid phase and therefore some particular compositions of secondary minerals. Low temperature alteration occurred when the gabbros were tectonically emplaced close to the sea bottom.     

Fault–valve action and vein development during strike–slip faulting: An example from the Ribeira Shear Zone, Southeastern Brazil

Fluid inclusion microthermometry and structural data are presented for quartz vein systems of a major dextral transcurrent shear zone of Neoproterozoic–Cambrian age in the Ribeira River Valley area, southeastern Brazil. Geometric and microstructural constraints indicate that foliation–parallel and extensional veins were formed during dextral strike–slip faulting. Both vein systems are formed essentially by quartz and lesser contents of sulfides and carbonates, and were crystallized in the presence of CO₂–CH₄ and H₂O–CO₂–CH₄–NaCl immiscible fluids following unmixing from a homogeneous parental fluid. Contrasting fluid entrapment conditions indicate that the two vein systems were formed in different structural levels. Foliation–parallel veins were precipitated beneath the seismogenic zone under pressure fluctuating from moderately sublithostatic to moderately subhydrostatic values (319–397 °C and 47–215 MPa), which is compatible with predicted fluid pressure cycle curves derived from fault–valve action. Growth of extensional veins occurred in shallower structural levels, under pressure fluctuating from near hydrostatic to moderately subhydrostatic values (207–218 °C and 18–74 MPa), which indicate that precipitation occurred within the near surface hydrostatically pressured seismogenic zone. Fluid immiscibility and precipitation of quartz in foliation–parallel veins resulted from fluid pressure drop immediately after earthquake rupture. Fluid immiscibility following a local pressure drop during extensional veining occurred in pre-seismic stages in response to the development of fracture porosity in the dilatant zone. Late stages of fluid circulation within the fault zone are represented dominantly by low to high salinity (0.2 to 44 wt.% equivalent NaCl) H₂O–NaCl–CaCl₂ fluid inclusions trapped in healed fractures mainly in foliation–parallel veins, which also exhibit subordinate H₂O–NaCl–CaCl₂, CO₂–(CH₄) and H₂O–CO₂–(CH₄)–NaCl fluid inclusions trapped under subsolvus conditions in single healed microcracks. Recurrent circulation of aqueous–carbonic fluids and aqueous fluids of highly contrasting salinities during veining and post-veining stages suggests that fluids of different reservoirs were pumped to the ruptured fault zone during faulting episodes. A fluid evolution trending toward CH₄ depletion for CO₂–CH₄–bearing fluids and salinity depletion and dilution (approximation of the system H₂O–NaCl) for aqueous–saline fluids occurred concomitantly with decrease in temperature and pressure related to fluid entrapment in progressively shallower structural levels reflecting the shear zone exhumation history.     

碳酸盐岩储层测井评价方法

从碳酸盐岩储层类型划分、储层参数表征、流体性质判别到数学方法的应用等4个方面,系统总结厘定了国内外碳酸盐岩储层测井评价的方法技术,通过对比分析各种评价方法可知:根据一定的数学算法,综合利用常规测井和成像测井不仅能很好地识别储层类型,而且能实现对储层参数的半定量、定量计算评价。利用常规测井和测井新技术资料(电测井和声波测井)计算出缝洞储层的各项物性参数,在此基础上,结合常规测井、核磁共振测井和偶极横波测井能进一步判别出流体性质。通过与岩心分析结果比较,该储层参数计算方法不仅有效,而且简单可行。数学算法和测井新技术资料在复杂碳酸盐岩储层评价中发挥不可替代的作用,能解决复杂碳酸盐岩储层的计算评价问题。以碳酸盐岩储层特征及流体性质为切入点,结合各种地质、地震和测井资料,借助数学算法,准确地识别储层类型与判别流体性质,并精确求解碳酸盐岩储层特别是缝洞储层的物性参数,将是碳酸盐岩储层测井评价的重点及发展方向。     

Low-density CO2-rich fluid inclusions from charnockites of southwestern Madurai Granulite Block, southern India; implications on graphite mineralization

Characterization of fluid inclusions in graphite-bearing charnockites from the southwestern part of the Madurai Granulite Block in southern India reveals a probable relation with the formation and break down of graphite during the high-grade metamorphism. The first-generation monophase pure CO₂ inclusions, the composition of which is confirmed by laser Raman spectroscopy, recorded moderate density (0.77–0.87 g/cc) corresponding to low tapping pressure (around 2 kb) than that of the peak granulite-facies metamorphism. The precipitation of graphite, as inferred from graphite inclusions and δ¹³C values of the graphite from the outcrops, is interpreted as the cause of this lowering of fluid density. An intermediate generation of pseudosecondary inclusions resulted from the re-equilibration or modification of the first-generation fluids and the CO₂ formed is interpreted to be the oxidation product from graphite. The youngest generation of fluids which caused widespread retrogression of the granulites is a low-temperature (350 °C) high-saline (32.4–52.0 wt% NaCl equivalent) brine. Carbon isotope data on the graphite from the charnockites show δ¹³C values ranging from −11.3 to −19.9‰, suggesting a possibility of mixing of carbon sources, relating to earlier biogenic and later CO₂ fluid influx. Combining the information gathered from petrologic, fluid inclusion and carbon stable isotope data, we model the fluid evolution in the massive charnockites of the southwestern Madurai Granulite Block.     

Textural evidence for recent co-seismic circulation of fluids in the Nojima fault zone, Awaji island, Japan

The Hirabayashi borehole (Awaji Island, Japan) was drilled by the Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ) 1 year after the Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake (1995, M_JMA=7.2). This has enabled scientists to study the complete sequence of deformation across the active Nojima fault, from undeformed granodiorite to the fault core. In the fault core, different types of gouge and fractures have been observed and can be interpreted in terms of a complex history of faulting and fluid circulation. Above the fault core and within the hanging wall, compacted cataclasites and gouge are cut by fractures which show high apparent porosity and are filled by 5–50 μm euhedral and zoned siderite and ankerite crystals. These carbonate-filled fractures have been observed within a 5.5-m-wide zone above the fault, but are especially abundant in the vicinity (1 m) of the fault. The log-normal crystal size distributions of the siderite and ankerite suggest that they originated by decaying-rate nucleation accompanied by surface-controlled growth in a fluid saturated with respect to these carbonates. These carbonate-filled fractures are interpreted as the result of co-seismic hydraulic fracturing and upward circulation of fluids in the hanging wall of the fault, with the fast nucleation of carbonates attributed to a sudden fluid or CO₂ partial pressure drop due to fracturing. The fractures cut almost all visible structures at a thin section scale, although in some places, the original idiomorphic shape of carbonates is modified by a pressure-solution mechanism or the carbonate-filled fractures are cut and brecciated by very thin gouge zones; these features are attributed to low and high strain-rate mechanisms, respectively. The composition of the present-day groundwater is at near equilibrium or slightly oversaturated with respect to the siderite, calcite, dolomite and rhodochrosite. Taken together, this suggests that these fractures formed very late in the evolution of the fault zone, and may be induced by co-seismic hydraulic fracturing and circulation of a fluid with a similar composition to the present-day groundwater. They are therefore potentially related to recent earthquake activity (<1.2 Ma) on the Nojima fault.     

Use of two-dimensional electric resistivity and ground penetrating radar for archaeological prospecting at the ancient capital of Egypt

Two-dimensional (2-D) resistivity and ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys facilitate tracing of buried archaeological relics at the archaeological site of the Tell El Rabi'a, southwestern Cairo. These surveys also provide information on variations in depth of the groundwater table, which affect both exhumed and buried archaeological remains. The 2-D electrical resistivity profiles obtained show some high anomalies (up to 6900 Ω m). Based upon on-site calibration at partly exhumed sites, such anomalies are interpreted as pillar crowns and wall-like structures of hard limestone of the Hathour temple. The low background resistivities are interpreted to represent riverine deposits with differing moisture (or saturation) characteristics. The results of the GPR survey show three forms of high-amplitude radar anomalies, denoted as “P, H and R”. The “P” anomalies have semi-hyperbolic shapes, which suggest the presence of thin buried walls. The second, near-horizontal group of anomalies, “H”, may be either due to the presence of thick buried walls or arise from coincidental parallel alignment of survey lines with buried linear structures. The third group of GPR anomalies “R” is composed of chaotic reflections, and interpreted to depict buried stone-filled chambers. Some un-exhumed parts of the study area show weak radar reflections with occasional highly attenuated radar signals. These phenomena are ascribed to differing compaction and moisture characteristics of riverine soil layers. Recommendations with regard to archaeological site-excavation, preservation of archaeological relics, and soil conservation are submitted.     

Faulting and fluid flow in porous rocks and sediments: implications for mineralisation and other processes

Faults in sedimentary rocks can act as fluid pathways or barriers to flow and display a range of deformation styles. These features can be explained by behaviours observed in deformation experiments on sedimentary rocks that reveal a transition from dilatant brittle faulting and permeability enhancement to cataclasis and permeability reduction, with increasing porosity, grain size and confining pressure. This transition implies that faults in sedimentary rocks are unlikely to act as fluid pathways shallower than ~3 km, unless the sediments have undergone early cementation, or have been exposed following burial and uplift. This has important implications for many geological processes, including fluid circulation in geothermal systems, formation of sediment-hosted mineral deposits and earthquakes in subduction zones. Stratiform Zn–Pb deposits that have been interpreted as syngenetic, seafloor deposits could instead be interpreted as early epigenetic deposits representing the depth at which faults change from fluid pathways to barriers.     

Mineral exploration under cover: Characterizing mineralizing fluid systems

Mineral exploration in areas of little bedrock exposure must increasingly rely on the predictive quality of geological, geochemical and geophysical data. In this contribution analysis of fluid inclusions is used to characterize fluid systems associated with alteration and mineralization in two locations in South Australia. In the Curnamona Province, fluids related to albitization and calc-silicate alteration with associated brecciation evolve from a saline sodic composition to a metalliferous, saline fluid also found associated with sulphide mineralization. The microthermometric distinction of inclusion types is evidence for pressure fluctuation as a cause for breccia formation. In the Central Gawler Craton gold province fluid inclusion studies have characterized the compositional and constrained the physical conditions of mineralizing fluids. Regionally identified low salinity CO₂-bearing fluids at temperatures < 350 °C and pressures < 1.5 kbar indicate a shallow-level orogenic [Groves, D.I., Goldfarb, R.J., Gebre-Mariam, M., Hagemann, S.G., Robert, F., 1998. Orogenic gold Deposits: A proposed classification in the context of their crustal distribution and relationship to other gold deposit types. Ore Geology Reviews, 13, 7–27.] or intrusion-related [Lang, J.R., Baker, T., 2001. Intrusion related gold systems: the present level of understanding. Mineralium Deposita, 36, 477–489.] setting for the mineralization.     

A gravity study of the precambrian rocks in the malumfashi area of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Gravity measurements in the Malumfashi area of Nigeria show large negative Bouguer anomalies ranging from — 33 mGal to — 65 mGal and free-air anomalies distributed about a mean of +15 mGal. A regional anomaly ranging from about −56 mGal in the southwestern part to about −44 mGal in the northeastern part of the area is tentatively correlated with a gradual thinning of the crust from southwest to northeast.Negative residual anomalies in the area correlate well with granite bodies thus confirming the acidic (low density) nature of the Older Granites. Positive residual anomalies of values up to about +12 mGal are associated with the schist bodies in the area. From two-dimensional modelling using approximate density values, it is estimated that the schists in the area vary in thickness from 4 to 5 km and the granite bodies have thicknesses of the order of 4 km.High-gravity gradients of up to 6 mGal/km at some contact areas between the schists and granitic bodies are attributed to sharp contacts and magmatic sloping is thought to be the most likely mode of emplacement of the granites in the area. The Bouguer anomalies observed over the schists have a maximum of only − 34 mGal. These values are considered too low to allow the existence of more mafic rocks at depth and the schists in the Malumfashi area are therefore believed to have evolved in an ensialic environment.     

联合核磁共振测井与Thomeer模型评价碳酸盐岩储层饱和度

碳酸盐岩储层孔隙类型多样、孔隙结构复杂,传统的饱和度评价模型无法表征岩石的微观结构,给饱和度评价工作带来了极大的困难。针对该问题,本文以毛管压力曲线资料与核磁共振测井资料为基础,提出了结合核磁共振测井的Thomeer饱和度模型。分析压汞资料的孔隙系统结构信息,利用Thomeer函数拟合得到多孔隙类型的毛管压力曲线分布,将复杂的孔隙结构表征为多条Thomeer曲线的共同作用。核磁共振测井是唯一能够连续定量表征储层孔隙结构特征的测井方法,利用核磁共振横向弛豫时间谱参数T2算术平均值(T2LM)与核磁孔隙度(MPHS),结合R35岩石物理分类计算Thomeer参数Bv、Pd、G和最大孔喉直径模态元素Porositon,构建复杂孔隙结构碳酸盐岩的饱和度评价模型,该模型解决了实验手段无法开展连续地层孔隙结构评价研究的问题。将该模型应用到中东X油田复杂孔隙结构碳酸盐岩储层进行饱和度评价,与J函数模型、阿尔奇公式进行对比。结果表明该联合模型方法相比于J函数模型与阿尔奇公式,相对误差分别从0.496、0.442降低到0.272,且能较好地表征变化趋势,无论是在高饱和度储层还是低饱和度储层,都取得了较好的应用效果。该模型可以最大程度上避免复杂孔隙碳酸盐岩储层带来的影响,提高饱和度评价精度。     

Development of secondary porosity in the Fairholme carbonate complex (southwest Alberta, Canada)

Because of their economic importance as hydrocarbon reservoirs, the Upper Devonian dolomitized carbonate reefs in southwest Alberta have been the subject of several studies. Still, there is no consensus on the process of matrix dolomitization and furthermore, the process of vug development is not often addressed. The studied outcrops show features of an early diagenetic matrix-selective dolomitization by a Late Devonian seawater-derived fluid. Seepage reflux dolomitization combined with latent reflux is proposed, which best explains most chemical characteristics. The cements in the vugs are precipitated from warm saline, ⁸⁷Sr-enriched fluids and testify to thermogenic sulphate reduction based on the presence of sulphur, CO₂ and H₂S in inclusions, relatively high homogenization temperatures and depleted δ¹³C values, which sets constraints on the timing of vug formation. Secondary porosity may be created by the mixing of formation water with a tectonically and topographically driven fluid and by the dissolution of anhydrite nodules.     

Compositions of magmatic hydrothermal fluids determined by LA-ICP-MS of fluid inclusions from the porphyry copper–molybdenum deposit at Butte, MT

We analyzed 85 fluid inclusions from seven samples from the porphyry Cu–Mo deposit in Butte, MT, using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The Butte deposit formed at unusually great depth relative to most porphyry deposits, and fluid inclusions in deep veins trapped a low-salinity, CO₂-bearing, magmatically derived, supercritical fluid as a single aqueous phase. This fluid is interpreted to be the parent fluid that cooled, decompressed, unmixed, and reacted with wall rock to form the gigantic porphyry Cu deposit at Butte. Few previous analyses of such fluids exist.Low-salinity, aqueous fluids from the earliest veins at Butte are trapped in deep veins with biotite-rich alteration envelopes (EDM veins). These veins, and the Butte quartz monzonite surrounding them, host much of the Butte porphyry Cu mineralization. Twenty fluid inclusions in one EDM quartz vein are dominated by Na, K, Fe (from 0.1 to 1 wt.%) and contain up to 1.3 wt.% Cu. These inclusions contain only small amounts (tens of ppm) of Pb, Zn, and Mn, and typically contain Li, B, Ca, As, Mo, Ag, Sn, Sb, Ba, and W in less than detectable quantities. The abundance of Cu in early fluids indicates that a low-salinity, Cu-rich, aqueous ore fluid can be directly produced by aqueous fluid separation from a granitic magma. Similar inclusions (eight) in an early deep quartz–molybdenite vein with a K-feldspar selvage have similar compositions but contain significantly less Cu than most inclusions in the biotite-altered vein. Analyzed inclusions in both veins contain less than detectable concentrations of Mo even though one is molybdenite-bearing.Low-salinity, CO₂-bearing aqueous fluids are also trapped in pyrite–quartz veins with sericitic selvages. These veins cut both of the above vein types and contain inclusions that were trapped at lower pressure and temperature. Thirty-nine inclusions in two such veins have compositions similar to early fluids, but are enriched by up to a factor of 10 in Mn, Pb, and Zn relative to early fluids, and are slightly depleted in Fe. Many of these inclusions contain as much or more Cu than early fluids, although little chalcopyrite is found in or around pyrite–quartz veins.Eighteen halite-bearing inclusions from three veins from both chalcopyrite-bearing and barren veins with both K-silicate and sericitic selvages were analyzed as well. Halite-saturated inclusions are dominated by Na, K, Fe, and in some inclusions Ca. Whereas these inclusions are significantly enriched in Ca, Mn, Fe, Zn, and Pb, fluids in all three veins contain significantly less Cu than early, high temperature, low-salinity inclusions.Analyses of all inclusion types show that whereas bulk-salinity of the hydrothermal fluid must be largely controlled by the magma, fluid–rock interactions have a significant role in controlling fluid compositions and metal ratios. Cu concentrations range over an order of magnitude, more than any other element, in all four samples containing low-salinity inclusions. We infer that variations are the result of fluid trapping after different amounts of fluid–rock reaction and chalcopyrite precipitation. Enrichment, relative to early fluids, of Mn, Pb, and Zn in fluids related to sericitic alteration is also likely the result of fluid–rock reaction, whereby these elements are released from biotite and feldspars as they alter to sericite. In halite-bearing inclusions, concentrations of Sr, Ca, Pb, and Ba are elevated in inclusions from the pyrite–quartz vein with sericitic alteration relative to halite-bearing inclusions from unaltered and potassically altered samples. Such enrichment is likely caused by the breakdown of plagioclase and K-feldspar in the alteration envelope, releasing Sr, Ca, Pb, and Ba.     

As–(Ag) sulphide veins in the Spanish Central System: further evidence for a hydrothermal event of Permian age

The Spanish Central System (SCS) has been subjected to repeated deformation and fluid flow events which have produced both sulphide-bearing and barren vein systems. Although several hydrothermal episodes took place between 300 and 100 Ma, fluid circulation during the Permian was especially important, giving rise to a range of different types of deposits. This study presents a multidisciplinary approach leading to the characterisation of the chemistry and age of the hydrothermal fluids that produced the As–(Ag) mineralised stockwork of Mónica mine (Bustaviejo, Madrid). Fluid inclusion data indicate the presence of two different fluids. An initial ore stage (I) formed from a low- to moderate salinity (3–8 wt.% eq. NaCl) H₂O–NaCl–CO₂–CH₄ fluid, at minimum trapping temperature of 350±15 °C and 0.3 kbar. A second H₂O–NaCl fluid is found in three types of fluid inclusions: a high temperature and low salinity type (340±20 °C; 0.8–3.1 wt.% eq. NaCl) also associated to ore stage I, a moderate temperature and very low salinity type (160–255 °C; 0–1.5 wt.% eq. NaCl) represented in ore stage III, and a very low temperature and hypersaline type (60–70 °C; 30–35 wt.% NaCl), unrelated to the mineralising stages and clearly postdating the previous types. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating on muscovite from the early As–Fe stage (I) has provided an age of 286±4 Ma, synchronous with the late emplacement phases of La Cabrera plutonic massif (288±5 Ma) and with other Permian hydrothermal events like Sn–W skarns and W–(Sn) sulphide veins. δ¹⁸O of water in equilibrium with stage I quartz (5.3–7.7‰), δD of water in equilibrium with coexisting muscovite (−16.0‰ to −2.0‰), and sulphide δ³⁴S (1.5–3.6‰) values are compatible with waters that leached metamorphic rocks. The dominant mechanism of the As–(Ag) deposition was mixing and dilution processes between aqueous–carbonic and aqueous fluids for stage I (As–Fe), and nearly isobaric cooling processes for stages II (Zn–Cu–Sn) and III (Pb–Ag). The origin and hydrothermal evolution of As–(Ag) veins is comparable to other hydrothermal Permian events in the Spanish Central System.     

Origin of coarse-crystalline calcite cement in Early Ordovician carbonate rocks, Ordos basin, northern China: Insights from oxygen and carbon isotopes and fluid inclusion microthermometry

The calcite cement in the Lower Ordovician Majiagou Formation in the Ordos basin in northern China can be subdivided into three groups based on preliminary results of oxygen and carbon isotopes and fluid inclusion microthermometry. Group 1 has low oxygen isotopes (− 14‰ to − 18‰), low T_h values (92–103 °C), and low salinities (1.7–4.9 wt.% NaCl equivalent) and is interpreted to have precipitated during early burial from porewater influenced by meteoric water. Group 2 has much higher oxygen isotope values (− 5‰ to − 8‰), which, coupled with the higher T_h values (136–151 °C), suggest that the calcite was precipitated from fluids that were significantly enriched in ¹⁸O, possibly resulting from fluid–rock reaction during burial. Group 3 occurring along fractures is characterized by high salinities (21–28 wt.% NaCl equivalent) and is interpreted to have been precipitated from locally preserved residual evaporitic brines. The occurrence of primary hydrocarbon inclusions and its low carbon isotopes (− 11‰ to − 15‰) suggest that precipitation of group 3 calcite took place in the presence of hydrocarbons.     

Ophiolite belts and the collision of island arcs in the Arabian Shield

The Arabian Shield is divided into several segments by ophiolite zones. The segments display features of island arcs with respect to their magmatic evolution as well as their mineralization.The northern part of the “Hulayfah—Hamdah ophiolite belt” which cuts the Arabian Shield in a north—southerly direction, has been sampled and described. Serpentinized ultramafics, gabbros, doleritic dike rocks and basalts are the most important members. The ophiolite belt is marked by magnetic anomalies with amplitudes of 200–500 gammas.In conclusion, the Arabian Shield is considered to be built up of several generations of juxtaposed volcanic arcs of Late Proterozoic age. The arcs have been closely swept together squeezing out the trench-fill sediments in the case of the Hulayfah—Hamdah belt. Cratonization was completed by the end of the Precambrian.     

P-T-X-controlled element transport through granulite-facies ternary feldspar from Lofoten,Norway

Fluid transport on the grain-scale controls many rock properties and governs chemical exchange. Charnockites from Lofoten indicate fluid penetration into ternary alkali feldspars controlled by their microtextures. In a process of fluid infiltration at granulite-facies conditions (∼600°C and 8–11 kbar), tiny pyroxenes enclosed in alkali feldspar reacted to amphiboles, which are always spatially connected to perthitic albite. Investigation of these microtextures by TEM imaging of Focused Ion Beam (FIB) prepared foils revealed that pyroxenes in contact with albite lamellae show dissolution features. An amorphous Fe- and Cl-bearing material interpreted to be a residuum of the percolating fluid was found within albite lamellae. Textures and mineral compositions indicate that a Cl-rich aqueous fluid attacked the lamellae, which then provided pathways for further fluid flow. A correspondence was found between feldspar compositions, their microtexture and their degree of alteration as a result of their permeability for fluids at specific temperatures. Hence, in addition to pressure and temperature, small variations of feldspar composition can strongly influence the fluid permeability of feldspathic rocks under lower crustal conditions.     

From outcrop and petrographic studies to basin-scale fluid flow modelling: The use of the Albanian natural laboratory for carbonate reservoir characterisation

The Albanian fold-and-thrust belt and the Peri-Adriatic Depression are well documented by means of seismic reflection profiles, GPS reference points, potential data, wells and outcrops. The continuous Oligocene to Plio-Quaternary sedimentary records help to constrain both the burial history of Mesozoic carbonate reservoirs, the timing of their deformation, and the coupled fluid flow and diagenetic scenarios.Since the mid-90s, the Albanian foothills were used as a natural laboratory to develop a new integrated methodology and work flow for the study of sub-thrust reservoir evolution, and to validate on real case studies the use of basin modelling tools as well as the application of new analytical methods for the study petroleum systems in tectonically complex areas.The integration of the interactions between petrographic and microtectonic studies, kinematic, thermal and fluid flow basin modelling, is described in detail. The fracturing of the reservoir intervals has a pre-folding origin in the Albanides and relates to the regional flexuring in the foreland. The first recorded cement has a meteoric origin, implying downward migration and the development of an earlier forebulge in the Ionian Basin. This fluid, which precipitates at a maximum depth of 1.5 km, is highly enriched in strontium, attesting for important fluid–rock interaction with the Triassic evaporites, located in diapirs. From this stage, the horizontal tectonic compression increases and the majority of the fluid migrated under high pressure, characterised by brecciated and crack-seal vein. The tectonic burial increased due to the overthrusting, that is pointed out by the increase of the precipitation temperature of the cements. Afterwards, up- or downward migration of SO₄²⁻, Ba²⁺ and Mg²⁺-rich fluids, which migrated probably along the décollement level, allows a precipitation in thermal disequilibrium. This period corresponds to the onset of the thrusting in the Ionian Zone. The last stage characterised the uplift of the Berati belt, developing a selective karstification due likely to the circulation of meteoric fluid.The main results of the fluid flow modelling show that the Upper Cretaceous–Paleocene carbonate reservoirs in the Ionian zone have been charged from the Tortonian onward, and that meteoric fluid migration should have intensely biodegraded the hydrocarbon in place. Concerning the migration paths, it has been demonstrated that the thrusts act principally as flow barriers in Albania, mainly due the occurrence of evaporites (non-permeable), except in the foreland, where they do not occur.