University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2019 Petrographic And Geochemical Attributes Of Silurian And Devonian Dolomitized Formations In The Huron Domain, Michigan Basin Marco Tortola University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Recommended Citation Tortola, Marco, "Petrographic And Geochemical Attributes Of Silurian And Devonian Dolomitized Formations In The Huron Domain, Michigan Basin" (2019). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 7740. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/7740 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). 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PETROGRAPHIC AND GEOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN DOLOMITIZED FORMATIONS IN THE HURON DOMAIN, MICHIGAN BASIN By Marco Tortola A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada © 2019 Marco Tortola PETROGRAPHIC AND GEOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF SILURIAN AND DEVONIAN DOLOMITIZED FORMATIONS IN THE HURON DOMAIN, MICHIGAN BASIN By Marco Tortola APPROVED BY: _______________________________________________________________ T. Bolisetti Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering _______________________________________________________________ J. Yang Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences ________________________________________________________________ I. S. Al-Aasm, Advisor Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences April 17, 2019 Author’s Declaration of Originality I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii Abstract This study provides a thorough examination of dolomitization and other related diagenetic processes in Silurian and Devonian carbonates of the eastern side of the Michigan Basin. Core samples from multiple deep boreholes were analyzed for petrographic, stable and Sr isotopes, fluid inclusions microthermometry and major, trace and rare-earth elements (REE) to characterize the nature of dolomitizing fluids, the paragegenesis of different types of dolomite, and the evolution of diagenetic pore fluids. Petrographic analysis indicates that both age groups are characterized by the presence of a pervasive replacive fine-crystalline (<50µm) dolomite matrix (RD1) and pervasive and selective replacive medium crystalline (>50-100µm) dolomite matrix (RD2 and RD3, respectively). In addition to these types, a coarse crystalline (>500 µm) saddle dolomite cement (SD) filling fractures and vugs is observed only in the Silurian rocks. Geochemical and fluid inclusion data suggest that the diagenesis of Silurian and Devonian formations can be attributed to two distinct fluid systems: (1) an earlier Silurian system with a marked negative shift in δ18O and δ13C values (dolomite δ18O average: - 6.72‰ VPDB; dolomite δ13C average: 1.12‰ VPDB), Sr isotopic composition slightly more radiogenic than coeval seawater, high temperatures (dolomite Th average: 110 ⁰C) and hypersaline signature (dolomite average: 26.8 wt.% NaCl eq); and (2) a later Devonian fluid system characterized by a less pronounced negative shift in δ18O and δ13C values (dolomite δ18O average: -5.74‰ VPDB; dolomite δ13C average: 2.99‰ VPDB), Sr isotopic composition in range with the postulated values for coeval seawater, lower temperatures (dolomite Th average: 83 ⁰C) and less saline signature (dolomite average: 20.8 wt.% NaCl eq). iv Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my parents for their continuous encouragement. v Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my supervisor Dr. Ihsan Al-Aasm for his guidance and support throughout the course of my study. I thank the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) for the generous founding. Dr. Richard Crowe is also thanked for the time spent with us in the field collecting samples and for his precious advice. I thank Melissa Price for her help with the stable isotopes. I also thank Kareem Kareem for the countless questions during my study. I would also thank my parents, my sister and my love Xhulia for encouraging me during tough moments. Lastly, I thank my graduate peers and all the faculty members and staff of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences of the University of Windsor. vi Table of Contents Author’s Declaration of Originality ................................................................................... iii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Dedication ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... x List of Plates .................................................................................................................... xiii List of Tables ................................................................................................................... xiv Chapter 1: Introduction and background ............................................................................ 1 1.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 1 1.2. Purpose of the study ............................................................................................. 1 1.3. Previous Studies: Dolomitization in the Huron Domain ...................................... 3 1.3.1. Silurian .......................................................................................................... 4 1.3.2. Devonian ....................................................................................................... 6 1.3.3. Studies of other Paleozoic formations in the Michigan Basin ...................... 8 Chapter 2: Geologic setting and stratigraphy .................................................................... 12 2.1. Geologic and tectonic setting ............................................................................. 12 2.2. Stratigraphy of the Silurian and Devonian formations in the study area ........... 14 2.2.1. Silurian ........................................................................................................ 15 2.2.2. Devonian ..................................................................................................... 17 Chapter 3: Materials and methods .................................................................................... 19 3.1. Sampling ............................................................................................................. 19 3.2. Petrography ........................................................................................................ 19 3.3. Oxygen and Carbon stable isotopes ................................................................... 21 3.4. Strontium isotopes .............................................................................................. 23 3.5. Fluid inclusion microthermometry ..................................................................... 24 3.6. Geochemical analysis ......................................................................................... 25 3.6.1. Major, minor and trace elements................................................................. 26 3.6.2. Rare Earth Elements (REE) ........................................................................ 27 Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................