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University of Alberta University of Alberta Rocky Mountain Carbonate Spring Deposit Development by Dustin Kyle Rainey A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Earth and Atmospheric Sciences ©Dustin Kyle Rainey Fall 2009 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. Examining Committee Brian Jones, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Martin Sharp, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Karlis Muehlenbachs, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Robert Luth, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Douglas Schmitt, Physics Henry Chafetz, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences Department, University of Houston Abstract Relict Holocene carbonate spring deposits containing diverse biotic and abiotic depositional textures are present at Fall Creek cold sulphur springs, Alberta, Fairmont Hot Springs, British Columbia, and Hot Creek cold springs, British Columbia. The relict deposits are formed mainly of low-magnesium crystalline calcite contained in laterally continuous strata. Paleo-flow regimes were characterized by extensive sheet flow that increased the surface area of spring water exposed to the atmosphere. Calcite precipitated inorganically from spring water that attained CaCO3 supersaturation through agitation-induced CO2 degassing that was facilitated by elevated flow rates and a large surface area as spring water flowed down-slope. Thus, the deposits contain only minor amounts of detrital, mechanically deposited, and biogenic carbonate. Evaporation was only a minor contributor to CaCO3 supersaturation, mainly in quiescent environments. Photosynthetic CO2 removal did not measurably contribute to CaCO3 supersaturation. Calcite crystals precipitated in biotic facies formed from low to moderately supersaturated spring water, whereas abiotic dendrite crystals formed rapidly from highly supersaturated spring water. Calcite passively nucleated on cyanobacteria, bryophytes and macrophytes, and was probably facilitated by cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances. Cyanobacterial filaments and stromatolites are integral parts of all three deposits, whereas bryophytes were restricted to the Fall Creek and Hot Creek deposits. Diagenetic microbial degradation of crystalline calcite was common to all three deposits, but recrystallization was limited to the Fall Creek deposit. The amount and location of calcite precipitation relative to the 2+ - vents was controlled by the concentrations of Ca and HCO3 in solution, and discharge volume 2+ - fluctuations. Spring water with high [Ca ] and [HCO3 ] precipitated large amounts of calcite 2+ - proximal to the vents (e.g. Fairmont), whereas spring water with low [Ca ] and [HCO3 ] precipitated smaller quantities of calcite and required longer flow distances to achieve CaCO3 supersaturation (e.g. Hot Creek). Spring water discharge volumes were controlled mainly by seasonal to millennial fluctuations in meteoric precipitation. Modern spring systems are characterized by reduced discharge volumes, channeled flow, and minimal calcite precipitation. Currently, spring water does not precipitate calcite where it flows into streams prior to achieving critical CaCO3 supersaturation (e.g. Fall Creek). Preface Motivation can come from the strangest of places. I have spent hours observing the actions of my pet turtle, Popeye, in the closed system of her freshwater aquarium. Her shell, cold blood, and predatory nature speak to the efficiency of evolution, adaptation, and the expansiveness of geological time, even as she mistakes my fingers for goldfish and tries for a quick meal. The water that she swims in is very similar to many of the springs that I have had the pleasure of visiting – cyanobacteria rapidly colonize any surface exposed to light; microbes decompose organic matter; calcite precipitates on exposed glass and rocks where evaporation occurs – but impressive spring deposits do not develop. The reasons why are contained in this thesis, and without the aquarium, I probably would have missed a few conclusions. Acknowledgements I was lucky enough to receive the expertise and support of many people during my 14 year tenure at the University of Alberta. I must first thank my parents, for telling me to always stay in school (though I do not think that they intended for it to go on for this long). Thank you to Brian Jones, for providing the opportunity to undertake this thesis, and for teaching me how to be a better scientist and writer. Thanks to Denine and Dori for letting me follow in their footsteps. Thanks to the Carbonate/Springs research group, especially Sandy Bonny, whom was responsible for introducing me to my wife, Jenny Bonny; my best friend, main support and fellow science geek. Thanks to George Braybrook, whose expertise with the scanning electron microscope showed me how to see deeper than I ever have before. A thank you is deserved by a wonderful Yukon geological ambassador, Charlie Roots, with the Geological Survey of Canada, who graciously reviewed a complete draft of this thesis and provided constructive feedback. I am grateful to Duane Froese and Alberto Reyes for their assistance in preparing samples for radiocarbon dating. I appreciate the help of my field assistants – Michael Schultz, Sandy Bonny, Jasen Robalo, Alex McNeil and Ray Wheeler. I am grateful to Karlis Muehlenbachs for the use of his stable isotope laboratory. Thanks are also due to Jack Farrell, who provided a high-resolution air photo of the Fairmont Hot Springs resort, and to Dale Vitt for his assistance in bryophyte identification This research was supported by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada through grants provided to Brian Jones. Funding for fieldwork was subsidized with grants from the Mineralogical Association of Canada and the Geological Society of America. Reviews of earlier versions of the Fairmont manuscript by Dr. M. Pedley, and the Fall Creek manuscript by Drs. J. Andrews, J. Baldini, and G. Dix were helpful for improving the manuscripts. Table Of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................ pg. 1 References .......................................................................................... pg. 16 Chapter 2: Rapid cold water formation and recrystallization of relict bryophyte tufa at the Fall Creek cold springs, Alberta, Canada ............ pg. 22 Introduction ........................................................................................ pg. 22 Methods and materials ....................................................................... pg. 23 Terminology ....................................................................................... pg. 27 Geological setting .............................................................................. pg. 27 Deposit age ......................................................................................... pg. 28 Modern spring activity ....................................................................... pg. 30 Tufa components and petrography ..................................................... pg. 32 Calcite cements ...................................................................... pg. 33 Composite calcite crystals .......................................... pg. 33 Trigonal calcite crystals ............................................. pg. 35 Mosaic calcite crystals ............................................... pg. 35 Isopachous banded crystal-micrite couplets .............. pg. 38 Aggraded recrystallized calcite crystals ................................. pg. 38 Internal sediments .................................................................. pg. 41 Micrite ........................................................................ pg. 41 Peloids ........................................................................ pg. 41 Other sediments ......................................................... pg. 43 Tufa fluorescence ............................................................................... pg. 43 Bryophyte tufa development .............................................................. pg. 44 Stage I: Encrustation .............................................................. pg. 48 Stage II: Encapsulation .......................................................... pg. 48 Stage III: Cavity occlusion ..................................................... pg. 49 Stage IV: Diagenetic modification ......................................... pg. 50 Stable isotope results .......................................................................... pg. 51 Discussion .......................................................................................... pg. 53 Conclusions ........................................................................................ pg. 56 References .........................................................................................
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