Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Calcium Isotopes In Natural And Experimental Carbonated Silicate Melts, Matthew Maloney

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The calcium stable isotopic compositions of mantle-sourced rocks and minerals were investigated to better understand the carbon cycle in the Earth’s mantle. Bulk carbonatites and kimberlites were analyzed to identify a geochemical signature of carbonatite magmatism, while inter-mineral fractionation was measured in co-existing Ca-bearing carbonate and silicate minerals. Bulk samples show a range of composition deviating from the bulk silicate Earth δ^44/40Ca composition indicating signatures of magmatic processes or marine carbonate addition to source materials. Δ^44/40Ca_{carbonate-silicate} values range from -0.55‰ to +1.82‰ and positively correlate with Ca/Mg ratios in pyroxenes. A series of experiments designed …

Stable Cu, Fe, And Ni Isotopic Systematics Of The Sudbury Offset Dikes And Associated Rocks, Peter Christoffersen

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The stable isotope ratio compositions of Fe, Ni, and Cu (δ⁵⁶Fe, δ⁶⁰Ni, and δ⁶⁵Cu) are reported for the first time in rocks from the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC). Massive sulfide ores, Quartz Diorite (QD), Inclusion bearing Quartz Diorite (IQD), and rocks from members of the Main Mass of the SIC were analyzed. The objective was to better understand the origin(s) and source(s) of the Offset Dikes and the associated sulfide mineralization. Based on stable isotope ratios and petrographic observations, two distinct types of sulfide mineralization hosted within the Offset Dikes are identified. Massive sulfide …

Geochemistry Of The Dome Mine Ankerite Veins: Insights Into The Multi-Stage Enrichment Of A World-Class Orogenic Gold Deposit, Jessica M. Stromberg

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Dome Mine in the world-class Timmins camp has produced over 16 Moz of gold during its 108 year production history. This gold endowment is the result of multistage enrichment of which the first stage is a set of ankerite veins that extend over 5,400 m in strike and 1,500 m vertically. A deposit wide geochemical study of the Dome ankerite veins was undertaken to characterize their genesis, geochemistry, and role in the deposit mineralization history. Samples and mapping from new and historic mine workings, bulk rock geochemistry, and stable isotope geochemistry were used to constrain the depositional context of …

Depositional And Environmental Controls On Oxygen And Carbon Isotope Compositions Of Late Pleistocene To Mid-Holocene Shelly Fauna From The Huron Basin, Ontario, Canada, Jane Wilson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of aragonitic mollusc shells were analyzed from nine sites in the Huron Basin, Ontario, Canada. These sites represent three lake phases spanning the Late Pleistocene to the mid-Holocene (Algonquin, Transitional, and Nipissing) and three depositional environments (fluvial, estuarine, and lacustrine). Depositional environment controls mollusc δ¹⁸O more strongly than climate. The source of carbon and climate control the δ¹³C of the shelly fauna. Shells from fluvial sites are most depleted of ¹⁸O and exhibit the greatest antipathetic δ¹³C-δ¹⁸O covariation. This reflects the dynamic nature of this system. Lacustrine sites have …

Enstatite Achondrites As Indicators Of Processes And Environments In The Early Solar System, Diego David Uribe

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This thesis investigates the processes and environments of formation of the anomalous enstatite achondrites NWA 4301, Zakłodzie, and NWA 8173 to determine how they relate to other enstatite meteorites (chondrites, impact melt rocks, aubrites, and so-called “primitive enstatite achondrites”). Observations of Zakłodzie and NWA 4301 showed both meteorites may share a common parent body, but experienced different metamorphic conditions. Different zonation patterns in plagioclase, silica polymorphs and associations, and sulfide assemblages indicate Zakłodzie experienced higher metamorphic temperatures and cooled faster than NWA 4301, therefore NWA 4301 was buried deeper in the parent body relative to Zakłodzie. In NWA 8173, mineral …

Using Fluid-Mobile Elements To Decipher An Aqueous History Preserved In The Sedimentary Rocks Of Gale Crater, Mars, Jeff A. Berger

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Fluid-mobile elements preserve a record of the aqueous history of Mars in the sedimentary rocks of Gale Crater, and they are traceable with the rover Curiosity’s Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS). This is the fundamental principle behind the scientific questions addressed in the four main chapters of this dissertation. First, we conducted a field study at Hawai’i, an established Mars analogue, to investigate sedimentary processes and alteration in rocks comparable to those in Gale Crater. We conclude that open system, circumneutral weathering is very limited in Gale rocks; acid sulfate alteration and sedimentary mixing of diverse rocks is likely. Second, …

Cu-Pd Mineralization And Exploration Geochemistry Of The Eastern Gabbro, Coldwell Alkaline Complex, On, Canada, Yonghua Cao

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Eastern Gabbro forms the northern and eastern margin of the Coldwell Alkaline Complex. It contains three magma series: the barren meta-basalt, the Layered Series, and the Marathon Series which hosts all known PGE mineralization. The Marathon Series can be distinguished from other Series using the combination of portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) and benchtop scanning electron microscope (bSEM). Whole-rock Ba, Mg# (molar Mg/(Mg+Fe)*100), Zr and V/Ti values acquired from pXRF, and Mg#s of olivine and clinopyroxene, and anorthite content (molar Ca/(Ca+Na)*100) of plagioclase acquired from bSEM-EDS are key parameters. The Layered Series generally contains higher Ba and lower V/Ti than …

An Evaluation Of The Lithologies And Geochemistry Of The Upper Beaver Deposit Of The Kirkland Lake Area, Katherine E. Feick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Upper Beaver Cu-Au deposit contains a unique style of mineralization in the Larder Lake and Kirkland Lake areas in terms of mineralization, alteration style, and age. This study aims to use company-provided data, supplemented with focused data collection, to evaluate what information can be attained from company-provided geochemical data. The evaluation uses a combination of hand sample, petrographic, geochemical, statistical, and microprobe analytical methods.

Lithogeochemical analyses indicated that the altered igneous host rock is calc-alkaline in composition and is most likely part of the diorite-monzonite suite. Further, exploratory data analysis of Au and Cu mineralization identified that there are …

Sedimentology And Geochemistry Of The Mixed Carbonate-Siliciclastic Espanola Formation, Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup, Bruce Mines-Elliot Lake Area, Ontario, Canada, Mansour H. Al-Hashim

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Espanola Formation of the Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup is a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic succession. Detailed sedimentological analysis of the formation in the Bruce Mines-Elliot Lake region reveals 17 sedimentary lithofacies, which comprise three distinct lithofacies associations. The lithofacies associations represent, in ascending order, shoreface, offshore, and nearshore (or lagoon) depositional environments along a wave- and storm-dominated shallow siliciclastic marine shelf. Major, trace, and rare earth element analyses of the siliciclastic component indicate derivation from a mainly granodioritic Archean upper continental crust with some contributions from mafic volcanic and/or sedimentary rocks. The results show that the source rocks were subjected to relatively …

Geochemical Constraints Of The Gold Mineralization Sources From The South Mine Complex And The Main/’04 Breaks, Macassa Mine, Kirkland Lake, Ontario, Liana K.T. Stammers

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Kirkland Lake Gold’s Macassa Mine is a lode gold deposit in the Abitibi Greenstone. It has two systems of mineralization: the Main/’04 Breaks, and the South Mine Complex (SMC). The objective of this work was to constrain mineralization sources between these systems using geochemical signatures. The SMC has different structure, mineralogy, alteration, trace- and major-elements composition, and δ¹⁸O values. The Main/’04 is a series of faults with thin alteration dipping south 60-85º. The SMC is a series of structurally controlled zones dipping southeast 25-50° with wide alteration. It is interpreted to be a Riedel Shear between the ’04 …

A Stable Isotope Investigation Of Pollen From Pinery Provincial Park, Southwestern Ontario, Canada, Deana M. Schwarz

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Pollen is a useful proxy for reconstructing paleoclimate; however, the relationship between its stable isotopic composition and the environment in which it forms is still poorly understood. We examine the stable oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen isotope compositions of pollen from tree (coniferous and deciduous), grass (C₃ and C₄), and marsh species from Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario, and its environs, and maple and oak tree species from eight localities across the United States of America, to (i) determine the major environmental influences on pollen δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, and δ¹⁵N values, (ii) examine the …

A Regional Chemical Characterization And Analysis Of Groundwater In Eastern Ontario, Laura M. Colgrove

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

This study utilizes 234 samples to provide a regional characterization and analysis of groundwater chemistry in eastern Ontario, Canada, where elevated TDS, Na and halogens occur in shallow groundwater. Water-types, PCA and mapping are used to investigate the processes and features controlling the chemistry. The chemical patterns are associated with glaciomarine deposits (extent, thickness) and bedrock topography, which modulate residence time and flow-path of groundwater. These determine the relative effects of recharge, ion exchange, salinization and organic breakdown on groundwater chemistry. Anomalous chemistry east of Ottawa (brackish-to-saline TDS; elevated water δ¹⁸O; elevated Na, Cl, I, CH₄, …

The Character And Distribution Of Cu-Pge Mineralization At The Geordie Lake Deposit Within The Coldwell Complex, Ontario, Imran Meghji

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Cu-PGE mineralization at the Geordie Lake Deposit (GLD) is spatially associated with weak to intense actinolite and albite alteration within gabbro and troctolite. Previous studies have determined a magmatic, and magmatic-hydrothermal origin of the deposit. The most significant Cu-PGE occurrence in the GLD is dominantly stratiform, and in contact with a basal syenite. Similar patterns of REE with progressive enrichment from troctolite, to gabbro, and basal syenite indicate that these lithologies are genetically linked. Major element geochemistry shows no discernable variation between the altered and unaltered samples. Whole rock δ¹⁸O analyses were conducted in equal intervals down the …

Emplacement Of The Foy, Hess And Pele Offset Dykes At The Sudbury Impact Structure, Canada, Eric A. Pilles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure is the remnant of what is generally considered to have been an ~150–200 km diameter impact basin in central Ontario, Canada. The so-called Offset Dykes are impact melt dykes that are found concentrically around – and extending radially outward from – the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC), a ~3 km thick differentiated impact melt sheet. The dykes are typically composed of two main phases of granodiorite: an inclusion- and sulfide-rich granodiorite in the centre of the dyke, and an inclusion- and sulfide-poor granodiorite along the margins of the dyke. This study uses a combination of …

Inter- And Intra-Annual C And N Isotopic Variability Of C3 And C4 Grasses In A Temperate-Humid Dune Environment, Roshni R. Patel

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Seasonal and annual variations in foliar δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of a C₃ grass Ammophila breviligulata and a C₄ grass Calamovilfa longifolia from the sand dunes of Pinery Provincial Park in southern Ontario, Canada were investigated to assess isotopic variability at a single site within a temperate-humid climatic zone. This work quantifies seasonal δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N variation, tests for correlation of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N with weather parameters, and evaluates the isotopic responses of these grasses to location within the dune system. Throughout the 2014 growing season, there …

Stable Isotope Paleolimnology Of Barry Lake, Ontario, Canada Since Ad - 1268, Zijun Liu

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The paleolimnology of Barry Lake, SE Ontario, Canada is described using mineralogy, magnetic susceptibility, carbon:nitrogen ratio, mass accumulation rates, grain-size, δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C of authigenic calcite and mollusc aragonite, δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N of organic matter, and archival records. These sediments span the Medieval Warm Period (MWP), Little Ice Age (LIA), and human settlement. Interval I proxies (AD 1268-1350, MWP) indicate warmer and drier conditions and elevated lacustrine production. Interval II (AD 1350-1615) was cooler and wetter, with lower lacustrine production and low-oxygen conditions causing loss of shelly fauna. Interval III (AD 1615-1850, …

Factors Controlling The Composition And Lithofacies Characteristics Of The Paleoproterozoic Bar River Formation, Huronian Supergroup, Rohan Dj Aranha

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The Bar River Formation of the Paleoproterozoic Huronian Supergroup is one of the earliest sedimentary formations deposited following Earth’s Great Oxidation Event. Ten quartz-rich lithofacies were identified near Flack Lake, Ontario. Lithofacies associations resemble multiple, stacked tidal inlet fill sequences, common to mesotidal shorelines. Sedimentary structures, such as herringbone cross-stratification, reactivation surfaces, and wave ripples, support tidal and wave action. Paleocurrent patterns are bimodal to polymodal with a mean paleoflow to the southeast. Potential sources northwest of the study area include Archean Superior Province rocks and the Paleoproterozoic Lorrain Formation. Major and trace element, and oxygen isotope geochemistry support either …

Carbon And Nitrogen Isotopic Investigations Of The Late Pleistocene Paleoecology Of Eastern Beringia, Yukon Territory, Using Soils, Plants And Rodent Bones, Farnoush Tahmasebi

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During the late Pleistocene (130-12 ka), Beringia, a largely ice-free land located in the Mammoth Steppe Ecosystem, was home to a large grazing community of megafauna. Many of these animals, including the woolly mammoth, became extinct at the terminal Pleistocene. Assessment of the paleoenvironment, nutrient cycling and foraging ecology in Beringia should help to understand the role of climate change in their extirpation. Such information might also help to explain the curiously higher δ¹⁵N of woolly mammoths relative to other coeval herbivores.

This study assessed eastern Beringian paleoecology using stable nitrogen (N) and carbon (C) isotopic analyses of …

Identification Of Ancient Maya Agriculture In The Periphery Of Motul De San José, Alexandra E. Smofsky

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Agricultural systems were investigated in the Motul de San José periphery, an ancient Maya polity in Guatemala, using soil geochemical techniques. The δ¹³C values of soil organic matter delineated areas of ancient maize agriculture at the satellite center of Kante’t’u’ul. A new method to locate areas of former cacao cultivation or processing was developed using HPLC to detect theobromine, an alkaloid of the cacao plant, preserved in soils. Extraction of spiked soils revealed that theobromine adsorption is inversely correlated with organic matter content of soils. Detection of naturally occurring theobromine was successful, demonstrating its utility as a tracer. …

Nitrate Sources In The Old Ausable River Channel And Adjacent Aquifers In Pinery Provincial Park, Ontario Canada, Samuel Dj Russell

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Old Ausable River Channel (OARC) is located parallel to the shoreline of Lake Huron between the towns of Grand Bend and Port Franks, Ontario, Canada. Largely isolated from other water bodies, OARC water levels are mostly maintained by shallow groundwater. It is periodically in a state of eutrophication; a state commonly attributed to local anthropogenic nitrate loading. The primary goal of this work is to identify and quantify the sources of nitrate in the OARC watershed by measuring the oxygen and nitrogen isotope compositions of nitrate.

We have developed a dual method approach to measure the δ¹⁵N, …

The Effects Of Dissolution On The Silicon And Oxygen Isotope Compositions Of Silica Phytoliths, Andrea Prentice

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The δ³⁰Si and δ¹⁸O values of silica phytoliths have applications for reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions. This study examines the effect of partial dissolution and burning of phytoliths on their isotopic compositions, dissolution behaviour, and physical characteristics (specific surface area, mean particle size, and visual appearance) and discusses problems with the use of phytolith δ¹⁸O and δ³⁰Si values that have been modified in soils in paleoclimate reconstruction. Dissolution experiments were conducted in batch reactors under a range of pH (4-10) and temperature (4-44˚C) conditions. The δ¹⁸O and δ³⁰Si values of …

Runoff Generation In A Tropical Dry Forest Watershed: Processes, Patterns And Connectivity, Kegan K. Farrick

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The lack of understanding regarding the controls that govern runoff generation in tropical dry forests represent a critical gap in the hillslope and catchment hydrology literature. Tropical dry forests account for approximately 42% of the global tropical forests, but represent less than 1% of the forest hydrology literature. Three complementary studies were undertaken in a small tropical dry forest watershed, Mexico, to assess the controls that govern the retention and release of a rainfall in the catchment as runoff. In the first study, the high soil surface hydraulic conductivities, absence of a water repellent surface and low rainfall intensities during …

A Surface Chemistry Study Of The Effects Of Zinc Sulphate On Sphalerite During Flotation Separation At The Laronde Mine, Dennis M. Laliberty

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The LaRonde mine is a gold-rich VMS deposit in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt of Canada. Like many polymetallic ore deposits, loss of sphalerite occurs during the Cu circuit of flotation separation at the mill. Zinc sulphate was tested as a sphalerite depressant. XRD, TOF-SIMS and XPS were used to examine the mineralogy and surface chemistry of ore samples collected at select stages of the milling process in the mill and in the laboratory. Data analyses showed that ZnSO4 likely promotes sulphoxyl and hydroxide adsorption to the sphalerite surface inhibiting Cu activation. Addition of ZnSO4 in the LaRonde mill has reduced …

The Late Quaternary Paleolimnology Of Lake Ontario, Ryan Hladyniuk

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We examined the oxygen isotopic composition of biogenic carbonates, carbon and nitrogen abundances and isotopic compositions of bulk organic matter (OM), and the abundances and carbon isotopic compositions of individual n-alkanes (C₁₇ to C₃₅) for samples from three, 18 m long sediment cores from Lake Ontario in order to: (i) assess how changing environmental parameters affected the hydrologic history of Lake Ontario, and (ii) evaluate changes in organic productivity and sources since the last deglaciation. Knowledge of the hydrologic and ecological behaviour of the Lake Ontario basin during past climate change provides insight into its future …

Shear Zone Influence On The Emplacement Of A Giant Pegmatite: The Whabouchi Lithium Pegmatite, Quebec,Canada, Laurisha Bynoe

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The Whabouchi pegmatite is within a transpressional high-strain zone of a metamorphosed volcano-sedimentary belt. A well-developed subvertical transposition foliation and a subvertical stretching lineation are present in this zone. The main body of the Whabouchi pegmatite is parallel to the transposition foliation and branching veinlets from this body have been folded and boudinaged by shear zone deformation. Thus suggesting that the Whabouchi pegmatite intruded syn-kinematically during the deformation of the shear zone. Previously, the Whabouchi pegmatite gave a zircon age of 2577 + 14Ma. The Whabouchi pegmatite is linked geochemically and geochronologically to a large pegmatite body to the south …

Hydrology And Biogeochemistry Of A Bog-Fen-Tributary Complex In The Hudson Bay Lowlands, Ontario, Canada, Thomas A. Ulanowski

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL) contains 26 Gt C sequestered in a 2 meter thick layer of peat which blankets a quarter of Ontario, Canada. The hydrological and chemical influence of the HBL peatlands to surface waters is recognized, but information on peatland runoff processes and the evolution of groundwater through this vast, carbon-rich landscape remain scant. This study focused on elucidating the groundwater flow patterns of a bog-fen-tributary complex in the central region of the HBL, and estimating exports of groundwater, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total (THg), and methyl (MeHg) mercury during the 2011 ice-free season. Hydrometric data, combined …

Isotopic Fingerprinting Of Shallow And Deep Groundwaters In Southwestern Ontario And Its Applications To Abandoned Well Remediation, Mitchell E. Skuce

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abandoned hydrocarbon wells in southwestern Ontario can act as conduits for Sulphur water, brines, and hydrocarbons from deep Paleozoic bedrock aquifers. Such leakage may pose a threat to shallow groundwater and the environment. Cost-effective plugging of these wells requires knowledge of the sources of the leaking fluids. This study characterizes the isotopic compositions (δ18OH2O, δ2HH2O, δ34SSO4, δ18OSO4, δ13CDIC, 87Sr/86Sr) of groundwaters in the region, which are distinct in different bedrock formations. A Bayesian mixing model was applied to these data to develop a tool for identifying the source(s) of leaking fluids. The geochemical data also improve our understanding of groundwater …

The Latte Gold Zone, Kaminak's Coffee Gold Project, Yukon, Canada: Geology, Geochemistry, And Metallogeny, Eric Buitenhuis

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The Latte Gold Zone is hosted within complexly tectonically imbricated metamorphic rocks of the Yukon-Tanana terrane. Snowcap assemblage psammitic schist and amphibolite with exotic Slide Mountain ultramafics overthrusts unidentified arc metavolcanics which in turn overthrust the Late Permian Sulphur Creek orthogneiss. Rapid unroofing of the Dawson Range during the Mid-Cretaceous culminated in dextral movement along the Coffee Creek fault system. A set of stacked, ESE–WNW trending, steeply dipping brittle fault structures served as conduits for gold-bearing fluids. Core-logging, detailed petrography, microprobe analysis, and PIMA investigations indicate that Latte is an epizonal orogenic gold deposit. Gold is hosted within arsenian pyrite …

Origins Of Stable Isotopic Variations In Late Pleistocene Horse Enamel And Bone From Alberta, Nicolle S. Bellissimo

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Oxygen and carbon isotopic measurements of coevally formed bone and tooth enamel bioapatite from a modern equid show that these tissues record drinking water and diet isotopic signals in an identical fashion. Hence, data for both tissues can be combined to track movement, dietary changes, and seasonal variability over the animal’s lifetime, and climatic variability over longer time periods. This tool was tested for horses using ten paired tooth and bone samples to reconstruct conditions in Alberta during the Late Pleistocene. While post-mortem isotopic alteration confounded interpretation of the results, two key findings emerged: (i) pre- and post-Last Glacial Maximum …

Mapping And Zircon Geochronology Of The Lyon Inlet Boundary Zone, Nunavut; A Crustal Scale Break In The Churchill Province, Nikolas B. Ganderton

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An important aspect of geology is the understanding of processes that created and modified continents and their resources. Knowledge of the age of formation and metamorphism of crystalline crust is thus important, and has been pursued in a recently discovered crustal-scale boundary on the southern Melville Peninsula (Nunavut, Canada) through field mapping, U-Pb zircon geochronology and electron beam analysis. This >250km-long crustal feature is termed here the Lyon Inlet Boundary Zone (LIBZ). Three samples from a 15 by 20 km map area reveal a complex Archean history with the dominant granitoid unit crystallizing at 2770±38 Ma and metamorphosed at 2670±36 …