Browsing by Author "Steele-MacInnis, Matthew"
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- PVTX and Raman Spectral Properties of Fluids at Elevated Pressures and TemperaturesSublett, David Matthew Jr. (Virginia Tech, 2020-01-08)Fluids are associated with a wide range of physical and chemical processes in the Earth, including transporting and concentrating important ore elements such as Cu, Au, Zn, and Pb. Significant amounts of fluid may be generated as a result of dehydration or decarbonation reactions, and the volatile content of a magma is directly linked to the explosivity of eruptions. In most cases, small amounts of the fluids involved in the formation or alteration of rocks are trapped within minerals in the form of fluid inclusions. These fluid inclusions may be studied to understand the composition and pressure and temperature of the original fluid involved in the geologic process of interest, however, an understanding of the composition of the fluid as well as how the fluid behaves under changing pressure and temperature conditions is essential to reconstruct the fluid evolution path based on data obtained from fluid inclusions. Several analytical techniques are involved in the study of fluids, including fluid inclusion microthermometry and Raman spectroscopy. Microthermometry is the heating/cooling of fluid inclusions to observe and record temperatures of phase changes which, in turn, are used to determine properties such as salinity (based on the freezing point depression of liquid), or density based on the temperature at which all phases within the fluid inclusion homogenize to a single phase. Raman spectroscopy is a non-destructive analytical technique that measures the vibrational frequency of molecules in a given material. The Raman spectral properties of fluids act as a "fingerprint" of the chemical species within the fluid and serve to identify both the presence of chemical species, such as H2O, N2, CO2, and CH4, and the density of the fluid. Microthermometric and Raman spectroscopic experiments involving synthetic fluid systems are necessary to elucidate the pressure-volume-temperature-composition (PVTX) and Raman spectral behavior of the fluid systems, which then aids in the study and characterization of natural fluids. In chapter 1, the partitioning of NaCl and KCl between coexisting immiscible fluid phases during boiling is experimentally determined at temperatures and pressures relevant to magmatic-hydrothermal systems using synthetic fluid inclusions. The partitioning behavior is then combined with literature data to calculate the Na/K ratio of the original silicate melt phase in a magma body before the exsolution of a fluid phase. In chapter 2, we explore the Raman spectral behavior of N2, CO2, and CH4 in pure, single-component systems from PT conditions corresponding to the liquid-vapor curve to elevated temperatures and pressures, and relate the changes in the spectral behavior to changes in the bonding environment of the molecules through intermolecular attraction and repulsion. In chapter 3, the observations and relationships determined for pure fluids and described in chapter 2 are used to explore the Raman spectral properties of N2, CO2, and CH4 in the N2-CO2-CH4 ternary system and the manner in which the spectral behavior of each component in the system varies with changing temperature, pressure, molar volume, and fugacity.
- Quartz precipitation and fluid inclusion characteristics in sub-seafloor hydrothermal systems associated with volcanogenic massive sulfide depositsSteele-MacInnis, Matthew; Han, Liang; Lowell, Robert P.; Rimstidt, J. Donald; Bodnar, Robert J. (De Gruyter, 2012-05-13)Results of a numerical modeling study of quartz dissolution and precipitation in a sub-seafloor hydrothermal system have been used to predict where in the system quartz could be deposited and potentially trap fluid inclusions. The spatial distribution of zones of quartz dissolution and precipitation is complex, owing to the fact that quartz solubility depends on many inter-related factors, including temperature, fluid salinity and fluid immiscibility, and is further complicated by the fact that quartz exhibits both prograde and retrograde solubility behavior, depending on the fluid temperature and salinity. Using the PVTX properties of H2O-NaCl, the petrographic and microthermometric properties of fluid inclusions trapped at various locations within the hydrothermal system have been predicted. Vapor-rich inclusions are trapped as a result of the retrograde temperature-dependence of quartz solubility as the convecting fluid is heated in the vicinity of the magmatic heat source. Coexisting liquid-rich and vapor-rich inclusions are also trapped in this region when quartz precipitates as a result of fluid immiscibility that lowers the overall bulk quartz solubility in the system. Fluid inclusions trapped in the shallow subsurface near the seafloor vents and in the underlying stockwork are liquid-rich with homogenization temperatures of 200–400°C and salinities close to that of seawater. Volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits represent the uplifted and partially eroded remnants of fossil submarine hydrothermal systems, and the relationship between fluid-inclusion properties and location within the hydrothermal system described here can be used in exploration for VMS deposits to infer the direction towards potential massive sulfide ore.
- Shift in the Raman symmetric stretching band of N-2, CO2, and CH4 as a function of temperature, pressure, and densitySublett, D. Matthew, Jr.; Sendula, Eszter; Lamadrid, Hector M.; Steele-MacInnis, Matthew; Spiekermann, Georg; Burruss, Robert C.; Bodnar, Robert J. (2020-03)The Raman spectra of pure N-2, CO2, and CH4 were analyzed over the range 10 to 500 bars and from -160 degrees C to 200 degrees C (N-2), 22 degrees C to 350 degrees C (CO2), and -100 degrees C to 450 degrees C (CH4). At constant temperature, Raman peak position, including the more intense CO2 peak (nu+), decreases (shifts to lower wave number) with increasing pressure for all three gases over the entire pressure and temperature (PT) range studied. At constant pressure, the peak position for CO2 and CH4 increases (shifts to higher wave number) with increasing temperature over the entire PT range studied. In contrast, N-2 first shows an increase in peak position with increasing temperature at constant pressure, followed by a decrease in peak position with increasing temperature. The inflection temperature at which the trend reverses for N-2 is located between 0 degrees C and 50 degrees C at pressures above similar to 50 bars and is pressure dependent. Below similar to 50 bars, the inflection temperature was observed as low as -120 degrees C. The shifts in Raman peak positions with PT are related to relative density changes, which reflect changes in intermolecular attraction and repulsion. A conceptual model relating the Raman spectral properties of N-2, CO2, and CH4 to relative density (volume) changes and attractive and repulsive forces is presented here. Additionally, reduced temperature-dependent densimeters and barometers are presented for each pure component over the respective PT ranges. The Raman spectral behavior of the pure gases as a function of temperature and pressure is assessed to provide a framework for understanding the behavior of each component in multicomponent N-2-CO2-CH4 gas systems in a future study.
- Thermodynamics of geologic fluidsSteele-MacInnis, Matthew (Virginia Tech, 2013-05-07)Fluids play a vital role in essentially all geologic environments and processes, and are the principal media of heat and mass transfer in the Earth. The properties of geologic fluids can be diverse, as fluids occur at conditions ranging from ambient temperatures and pressures at Earth's surface, to extreme temperatures and pressures in Earth's deep interior. Regardless the wide ranges of conditions at which geologic fluids occur, fluid properties are described and governed by the same fundamental thermodynamic relationships. Thus, application of thermodynamic principles and methods allows us to decipher the properties and roles of geologic fluids, to help understand geologic processes. Fluid inclusions in minerals provide one of the best available tools to study the compositions of geological fluids. Compositions of fluid inclusions can be determined from microthermometric measurements, based on the vapor-saturated liquidus conditions of model chemical systems, or by various microanalytical techniques. The vaporsaturated liquidus relations of the system H2O-NaCl-CaCl2 have been modeled to allow estimation of fluid inclusion compositions by either microthermometric or microanalytical methods. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) in deep saline formations represents one option for reducing anthropogenic CO2 emissions into Earth's atmosphere. Availability of storage volume in deep saline formations is a significant component of injection and storage planning. Investigation of the volumetric properties of CO2, brine and CO2-saturated brine reveals that storage volume requirements are minimized when CO2 dissolves into brine. These results suggest that a protocol involving brine extraction, CO2 dissolution and re-injection may optimize CCS in deep saline formations. Numerical modeling of quartz dissolution and precipitation in a sub-seafloor hydrothermal system was used to understand the role of fluid-phase immiscibility ("boiling") on quartz-fluid interactions, and to predict where in the system quartz could deposit and trap fluid inclusions. The spatial distribution of zones of quartz dissolution and precipitation is complex, owing to the many inter-related factors controlling quartz solubility. Immiscibility exerts a strong control over the occurrence of quartz precipitation in the deeper regions of fluid circulation.