ISSN:
1525-1314
Source:
Blackwell Publishing Journal Backfiles 1879-2005
Topics:
Geosciences
Notes:
Abstract In well NJ-15 of the Nesjavellir geothermal field, Iceland, the transition of discrete smectite into discrete chlorite has been studied from drill cuttings recovered at depths of less than 1714 m and over a continuous range of temperatures between 60 and 300° C. At temperatures below 180° C, the clay fractions contain mixtures of di- and trioctahedral smectites, whose layer charge increases with depth. Between 200 and 240° C, discrete smectites have transformed into smectite-rich, randomly interstratified chlorite and smecite (R0 C/S). Because the abundance of chlorite interlayers in this C/S is generally 〈20%, its presence can be detected only by electron microprobe techniques and not by X-ray diffraction. Between 245 and 265° C, both regularly (R1) and randomly interstratified C/S are the predominant layer silicates. Discrete chlorite first appears at approximately 270° C and coexists with minor amounts of R0 C/S at higher temperatures. R0 and R1 C/S form a nearly complete compositional series between trioctahedral saponite and discrete chlorite end-members. The interlayer cation and Si content of smectites and C/S decrease with increasing temperature. The Mg/(Mg + Fe) content of smectite, C/S, and chlorite is unrelated to temperature. The percentage of chlorite in C/S, as determined by electron microprobe analyses, increases continuously with increasing temperature, except for occurrences of smectite-rich C/S in fresh basaltic dykes which have not thermally equilibrated with the higher grade country rocks.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1525-1314.1991.tb00558.x
Permalink