Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska
Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1989 Volcanic and non-volcanic partings occur in coal beds of the Neogene Beluga and Sterling Formations along the shores of the Kenai lowland, Alaska. The partings were systematically characterized to determine their potential geological applicat...
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ftunivalaska:oai:scholarworks.alaska.edu:11122/9348 2023-05-15T13:14:47+02:00 Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Reinink-Smith, Linda Margareta Hopkins, David M. 1989 http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9348 unknown http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9348 Geology Mineralogy Geochemistry Dissertation phd 1989 ftunivalaska 2023-02-23T21:37:15Z Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1989 Volcanic and non-volcanic partings occur in coal beds of the Neogene Beluga and Sterling Formations along the shores of the Kenai lowland, Alaska. The partings were systematically characterized to determine their potential geological applications: Two-thirds of the partings originated as air-fall tephra. Of these, partly altered, Pliocene tephra typically contain volcanic glass + feldspar $\pm$ montmorillonite $\pm$ quartz $\pm$ kaolinite $\pm$ opal-CT. Highly altered Miocene partings are characterized by feldspar $\pm$ kaolinite $\pm$ montmorillonite $\pm$ quartz $\pm$ crandallite $\pm$ altered volcanic glass, where crandallite appears to have formed by replacement of volcanic glass prior to clay formation. About one-third of the partings are of detrital origin and contain detrital chlorite + illite + smectite + quartz $\pm$ feldspar $\pm$ siderite $\pm$ kaolinite. A Pliocene pumice parting near the top of the Sterling Formation was correlated from the northwestern to the southeastern Kenai lowland on the basis of similar glass morphologies, an absence of opaque minerals, and geochemical similarities. A crystal-tuff near the middle of the section could be traced across the Kenai lowland as one or two ash-falls, based on inertinite contents of adjacent coal, mineralogy, and geochemistry. Some other prominent tephras could not be correlated. The tephra partings are time-equivalent to DSDP cores from the Gulf of Alaska and along the Aleutian Island chain. Tephras occur every 125-500 yr in the lower part of the Beluga Formation, and their deposition probably coincides with a volcanic pulse 10.5 m.y. ago. This pulse is not well recorded in nearby DSDP cores. In the upper part of the Beluga Formation, during volcanic quiescence, tephras are recorded at an average rate of one every 9,000 yr. Time equivalent DSDP cores show a near absence of tephras. A volcanic pulse occurred during the deposition of the lower Sterling Formation, about 7.5 m.y. ago, with ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Aleutian Island Beluga Beluga* Alaska University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA Fairbanks Gulf of Alaska |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Alaska: ScholarWorks@UA |
op_collection_id |
ftunivalaska |
language |
unknown |
topic |
Geology Mineralogy Geochemistry |
spellingShingle |
Geology Mineralogy Geochemistry Reinink-Smith, Linda Margareta Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
topic_facet |
Geology Mineralogy Geochemistry |
description |
Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1989 Volcanic and non-volcanic partings occur in coal beds of the Neogene Beluga and Sterling Formations along the shores of the Kenai lowland, Alaska. The partings were systematically characterized to determine their potential geological applications: Two-thirds of the partings originated as air-fall tephra. Of these, partly altered, Pliocene tephra typically contain volcanic glass + feldspar $\pm$ montmorillonite $\pm$ quartz $\pm$ kaolinite $\pm$ opal-CT. Highly altered Miocene partings are characterized by feldspar $\pm$ kaolinite $\pm$ montmorillonite $\pm$ quartz $\pm$ crandallite $\pm$ altered volcanic glass, where crandallite appears to have formed by replacement of volcanic glass prior to clay formation. About one-third of the partings are of detrital origin and contain detrital chlorite + illite + smectite + quartz $\pm$ feldspar $\pm$ siderite $\pm$ kaolinite. A Pliocene pumice parting near the top of the Sterling Formation was correlated from the northwestern to the southeastern Kenai lowland on the basis of similar glass morphologies, an absence of opaque minerals, and geochemical similarities. A crystal-tuff near the middle of the section could be traced across the Kenai lowland as one or two ash-falls, based on inertinite contents of adjacent coal, mineralogy, and geochemistry. Some other prominent tephras could not be correlated. The tephra partings are time-equivalent to DSDP cores from the Gulf of Alaska and along the Aleutian Island chain. Tephras occur every 125-500 yr in the lower part of the Beluga Formation, and their deposition probably coincides with a volcanic pulse 10.5 m.y. ago. This pulse is not well recorded in nearby DSDP cores. In the upper part of the Beluga Formation, during volcanic quiescence, tephras are recorded at an average rate of one every 9,000 yr. Time equivalent DSDP cores show a near absence of tephras. A volcanic pulse occurred during the deposition of the lower Sterling Formation, about 7.5 m.y. ago, with ... |
author2 |
Hopkins, David M. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Reinink-Smith, Linda Margareta |
author_facet |
Reinink-Smith, Linda Margareta |
author_sort |
Reinink-Smith, Linda Margareta |
title |
Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
title_short |
Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
title_full |
Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska |
title_sort |
origin, character, application and correlation of tephra partings in tertiary coal beds of the kenai peninsula, alaska |
publishDate |
1989 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9348 |
geographic |
Fairbanks Gulf of Alaska |
geographic_facet |
Fairbanks Gulf of Alaska |
genre |
Aleutian Island Beluga Beluga* Alaska |
genre_facet |
Aleutian Island Beluga Beluga* Alaska |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/11122/9348 |
_version_ |
1766265406767497216 |