The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland
The Skaergaard Intrusion of East Greenland is unusual in that the trace sulfide assemblage is characterized by unusually high Cu/S ratios, containing abundant chalcopyrite and bornite (Cu5FeS4), the latter otherwise rare in most layered intrusions. Explanations for the high Cu/S ratio range from the...
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ftdukeunivdsp:oai:localhost:10161/15237 2023-11-12T04:16:32+01:00 The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland Li, Chao Boudreau, Alan 2017 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15237 unknown https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15237 Geology Geochemistry Mineralogy magma degassing Skaergaard intrusion sulfide Master's thesis 2017 ftdukeunivdsp 2023-10-17T09:44:26Z The Skaergaard Intrusion of East Greenland is unusual in that the trace sulfide assemblage is characterized by unusually high Cu/S ratios, containing abundant chalcopyrite and bornite (Cu5FeS4), the latter otherwise rare in most layered intrusions. Explanations for the high Cu/S ratio range from the parent magma inheriting low S concentration from the mantle source to suggestions that S was lost to hydrothermal fluids as the intrusion cooled. The sulfide assemblage beneath the Au- and PGE-rich Platinova Reef show the common replacement of the sulfide assemblage with a Ti-poor magnetite. A non-equilibrium thermodynamic analysis of modal variations is consistent with the general reaction of chalcopyrite --> bornite + magnetite + S (lost) and that the original Cu:S mass ratio of the magma that crystallize the Lower Zone was ~1:1. In addition, a comparison with other hot spot and flood basalt provinces suggest that these magmas begin to degas while still at mantle depths and can lose significant S to shallow level degassing. It is concluded that degassing of the parent Skaergaard magma prior to solidification and continuous S loss during crystallization both contributed to the overall high Cu/S ratio of the Skaergaard system. More generally, variations in the Cu/S ratio of sulfides in basaltic systems may be a useful indicator of the extent of magma degassing. Master Thesis East Greenland Greenland Duke University Libraries: DukeSpace Greenland |
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Duke University Libraries: DukeSpace |
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ftdukeunivdsp |
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unknown |
topic |
Geology Geochemistry Mineralogy magma degassing Skaergaard intrusion sulfide |
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Geology Geochemistry Mineralogy magma degassing Skaergaard intrusion sulfide Li, Chao The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
topic_facet |
Geology Geochemistry Mineralogy magma degassing Skaergaard intrusion sulfide |
description |
The Skaergaard Intrusion of East Greenland is unusual in that the trace sulfide assemblage is characterized by unusually high Cu/S ratios, containing abundant chalcopyrite and bornite (Cu5FeS4), the latter otherwise rare in most layered intrusions. Explanations for the high Cu/S ratio range from the parent magma inheriting low S concentration from the mantle source to suggestions that S was lost to hydrothermal fluids as the intrusion cooled. The sulfide assemblage beneath the Au- and PGE-rich Platinova Reef show the common replacement of the sulfide assemblage with a Ti-poor magnetite. A non-equilibrium thermodynamic analysis of modal variations is consistent with the general reaction of chalcopyrite --> bornite + magnetite + S (lost) and that the original Cu:S mass ratio of the magma that crystallize the Lower Zone was ~1:1. In addition, a comparison with other hot spot and flood basalt provinces suggest that these magmas begin to degas while still at mantle depths and can lose significant S to shallow level degassing. It is concluded that degassing of the parent Skaergaard magma prior to solidification and continuous S loss during crystallization both contributed to the overall high Cu/S ratio of the Skaergaard system. More generally, variations in the Cu/S ratio of sulfides in basaltic systems may be a useful indicator of the extent of magma degassing. |
author2 |
Boudreau, Alan |
format |
Master Thesis |
author |
Li, Chao |
author_facet |
Li, Chao |
author_sort |
Li, Chao |
title |
The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
title_short |
The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
title_full |
The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
title_fullStr |
The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
The origin of high Cu/S sulfides in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland |
title_sort |
origin of high cu/s sulfides in the skaergaard intrusion, east greenland |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15237 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
East Greenland Greenland |
genre_facet |
East Greenland Greenland |
op_relation |
https://hdl.handle.net/10161/15237 |
_version_ |
1782333593936199680 |