Mineral inclusions in zircons of para- and orthogneiss from pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1, Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project

The pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1, Chinese Continental Scientific Drilling Project (CCSD), with depth of 432 m, is located in the Donghai area in the southwestern Sulu terrane. The core samples are mainly comprised of paragneiss, orthogneiss and ultramafic rock with minor intercalated layers of eclogite and phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite. All analyzed paragneiss and orthogneiss samples were overprinted on amphibolite facies retrograde metamorphism. Coesite and coesite-bearing ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) mineral assemblages were identified by Raman spectroscopy and electron microprobe analysis as inclusions in zircons separated from paragneiss, eclogite and phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite samples. In the paragneiss samples, UHP mineral inclusion assemblages mainly consist of Coe+Omp+Grt+Phe, Coe+Jd+Phe+Ap preserved in the mantles (M) and rims (R) of zircons. These UHP mineral inclusion assemblages yield temperatures of 814–852 °C and pressures of ≥28 kbar, presenting the P–T condition of UHP peak metamorphism of these country rocks. According to the mineral inclusions and cathodoluminescence images of zircons, the orthogneisses can be divided into two types: UHP (OG1) and non-UHP (OG2). In OG1 orthogneisses, low-pressure mineral inclusion assemblage, mainly consisting of Qtz+Phe+Ab+Ksp+Ap, were identified in zircon cores (C), while coesite or coesite-bearing UHP mineral inclusions were identified in the mantles (M) and rims (R) of the same zircons. These features suggest that the OG1 orthogneisses, together with the paragneisses, phengite-bearing kyanite quartzite and eclogite experienced widespread UHP metamorphism in the Sulu terrane. However, in the zircons of OG2 orthogneiss samples, no UHP mineral inclusions were found. Inclusions mainly comprised Qtz+Phe+Ap and were identified in cores (C), mantles (M) and rims (R) of OG2 zircons; the cathdoluminescence images of all analyzed zircons showed clear zonings from cores to rims. These features indicate that the OG2 orthogneisses in pre-pilot drillhole CCSD-PP1 did not experience UHP metamorphism. Therefore, we should not rule out the possibility that some orthogneisses in Sulu terrane might represent relatively low-pressure granitic intrusives emplaced after the UHP event.     

Fluids in metamorphic rocks

Basic principles for the study of fluid inclusions in metamorphic rocks are reviewed and illustrated. A major problem relates to the number of inclusions, possibly formed on a wide range of P–T conditions, having also suffered, in most cases, extensive changes after initial trapping. The interpretation of fluid inclusion data can only be done by comparison with independent P–T estimates derived from coexisting minerals, but this requires a precise knowledge of the chronology of inclusion formation in respect to their mineral host.

The three essential steps in any fluid inclusion investigation are described: observation, measurements, and interpretation. Observation, with a conventional petrographic microscope, leads to the identification and relative chronology of a limited number of fluid types (same overall composition, eventually changes in fluid density). For the chronology, the notion of GIS (Group of synchronous inclusions) is introduced. It should serve as a systematic basis for the rest of the study. Microthermometry measurements, completed by nondestructive analyses (mostly micro-Raman), specify the composition and density of the different fluid types. The major problem of density variability can be significantly reduced by simple considerations of the shape of density histograms, allowing elimination of a great number of inclusions having suffered late perturbations. Finally, the interpretation is based on the comparison between few isochores, representative of the whole inclusion population, and P–T mineral data. Essential is a clear perception of the relative chronology between the different isochores. When this is possible, as illustrated by the complicated case of the granulites from Central Kola Peninsula, a good interpretation of the fluid inclusion data can be done. If not, fluid inclusions will not tell much about the metamorphic evolution of the rocks in which they occur.     

Fluid inclusions in hydrothermal ore deposits

The principal aim of this paper is to consider some of the special problems involved in the study of fluid inclusions in ore deposits and review the methodologies and tools developed to address these issues. The general properties of fluid inclusions in hydrothermal ore-forming systems are considered and the interpretation of these data in terms of fluid evolution processes is discussed. A summary of fluid inclusion data from a variety of hydrothermal deposit types is presented to illustrate some of the methodologies described and to emphasise the important role which fluid inclusion investigations can play, both with respect to understanding deposit genesis and in mineral exploration. The paper concludes with a look to the future and addresses the question of where fluid inclusion studies of hydrothermal ore deposits may be heading in the new millenium.     

Fluid Inclusion Studies and Geochemistry of Rare Earth Elements of Hydrothermal Fluorites from Pöhrenk,Kirşehir,Central Turkey

Fluorite mineralization occurs along fractures and cracks of Middle Eocene and Pliocene limestones and marls in the north and northeast of the Pöhrenk region (Çiçekdagi, Kirsehir). Tb/Ca – Tb/La and Y/Ho ratios were obtained from REE contents of fluorites which have revealed that mineralization is of hydrothermal type. Negative Ce anomalies and positive Eu anomalies reflect that hydrothermal solutions once had high oxygen fugacity. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that homogenization temperatures of mineralization varied between 90°C and 200°C, and hydrothermal solutions are composed of NaCl + KCl + MgCl₂ + H₂O. In addition, salinity measurements show that hydrothermal solutions were mixed with meteoric or rock formation water. Geologic setting, REE geochemistry and fluid inclusion studies suggest that mineralization was deposited from a solution generated by mixing of magmatic and meteoric water under epithermal conditions.     

从包裹体研究探索太古代一些金矿的成矿机理

对太古代一些金矿包裹体研究结果表明,其含金的成矿流体为低盐度<10wt%NaCl,均一温度为170～400℃,CO_2的含量为中等,并含有一定量CH_4。在这些矿床中主要见到三种类型的包裹体:CO_2包裹体。H_2O-CO_2包裹体和水溶液包裹体。这三类包裹体常产于同一裂隙中或一个晶体中、或各产于不同的裂隙中、或其中之二共存于一裂隙中,并且其均一温度相近,但盐度和CO_2含量相差甚大,这表明发生了相分离。用质谱仪对这种同一世代的包裹体进行分析,证明的确存在着相分离,即从原始的H_2O-CO_2-NaCl流体,由于压力降低而发生相分离,形成CO_2和NaCl-H_2O流体,金就是在这种相分离的过程中沉淀出来。研究也表明,对于蚀变岩型金矿来说,引起金沉淀的因素除相分离外,流体与岩石的相互作用也可能是很重要的因素。对于含金的成矿流体来说,CO_2含量高是一个很重要的特点,也许可作为找矿的一种标志。     

Synthetic fluid inclusions - VI. Quantitative evaluation of the decrepitation behaviour of fluid inclusions in quartz at one atmosphere confining pressure

ABSTRACT The decrepitation behaviour of fluid inclusions in quartz at one atmosphere confining pressure has been evaluated using pure H₂O synthetic inclusions formed by healing fractures in natural quartz. Three different modes of non-elastic deformation, referred to as stretching, leakage or partial decrepitation, and total decrepitation have been observed. The internal pressure required to initiate non-elastic deformation is inversely related to inclusion size according to the equation: internal pressure (kbar) = 4.26 D^-0.423 where D is the inclusion diameter in microns. Regularly shaped inclusions require a higher internal pressure to initiate non-elastic deformation than do irregularly shaped inclusions of similar size. Heating inclusions through the α/β quartz inversion results in mechanical instability in the quartz crystal and leads to mass decrepitation of inclusions owing to structural mismatches generated by pressure gradients in the quartz around each inclusion. Long-term heating experiments (∼2 years) suggest that the internal pressure required to initiate non-elastic deformation does not decrease significantly with time and indicates that short-lived thermal fluctuations in natural systems should not alter the inclusion density and homogenization temperature. Inclusions that do exhibit decreased density (higher homogenization temperature) are, however, always accompanied by a change in shape from irregular to that of a negative crystal. Observations of this study are consistent with elasticity theory related to fracture generation and propagation around inclusions in minerals. These results indicate that an inclusion will not be influenced by a neighbouring inclusion, or other defect in the host phase, as long as the distance between the two is >2–4 diameters of the larger of the two inclusions.     

Sequential extraction—a useful tool for reservoir geochemistry?

Little is known about the microscale distribution and potential molecular fractionation of bitumen residing in reservoir rocks. Few data exist on the comparative organic geochemistry of hydrocarbons in authigenic inclusions formed in reservoir rocks and the bitumen in the pore space.A three step sequential extraction technique has been applied to clastic petroleum reservoir samples, using a suite of solvents with increasing polarity, in order to address these questions.In the analyzed samples the following main trends were observed: (i) the first extract represents > 95% of the total extract; (ii) the relative polar compound content increases going from the first to the last extract; (iii) the last extract has generally a slightly lower apparent maturity as assessed using biomarker parameters. Additionally a reduction in the degree of biodegradation from the first to the last extracts was observed, implying tentatively that biodegradation takes place dominantly in the center of the pores. Fluid inclusion extracts show distinct source characteristics, however the last extract appears to approach the fluid inclusion extract signature in some aspects.The use of sequential extraction as a routine tool in the reservoir geochemical context is judged to be limited: however it may help to solve specific problems.     

矿物流体包裹体研究在油气资源评价和油气勘探远景预测中的应用

矿物流体包裹体在油气资源评价及油气勘探远景预测中的应用是90年代应用石油地质学的一个重大进展,它不但为油气资源评价和勘探提供了崭新思路、方法和手段,而且为矿物包裹体学的应用和发展开辟了广阔前景。本文系统介绍并探索矿物包裹体在油气形成、演化、运移、聚集以及油气资源评价和勘探远景预测等方面的应用。     

Microanalysis of primary fluid inclusions in halite: constraints for an evaporitic sedimentation modeling. Application to the Mulhouse Basin (France)

The chemistry of the waters from which the evaporitic minerals crystallized in the lower part of the Salt IV unit of the Mulhouse Basin (France) has been investigated. The lithological and fluid inclusion data have been compared to the output data of the mass transfer program NEWEQUI which simulates the change in brine composition during its evaporation advancement. The results show that the evolution of the composition of the brine is compatible with the calculated sequence of evaporation of a parent water corresponding to a seawater modified by CaCl₂-rich hydrothermal water. In the studied sequence fluid inclusion data provide useful constraints for reconstructing the paleoenvironment controlling the evaporitic sedimentation. They also provide data on the water stratification in the basin and on its connectivity with the open sea, and important parameters controlling the productivity (possible sources for the nutrients) and the preservation of organic matter in the sediment.     

流体包裹体在沉积盆地分析中的应用

系统介绍并探索流体包裹体在沉积盆地分析研究中下列７个方面的应用：即岩相和古地理分析；层地层学研究；阐明盆地热事件；再造盆地构造沉降史：探讨沉积有机演化史；恢复盆地埋藏史；盆地地下水动力状况模拟。