Basin brines

Eugster, H. P. and B. F. Jones, 1979, Behavior of major solutes during closed-basin brine evolution. American Journal of Science 279, 609-631. 

Hardie, L. A. and H. P. Eugster, 1970, The evolution of closed-basin brines. Miner-alogical Society of America Special Paper 3, 273-290. 

Leach, D. L., G. S. Plumlee, A. H. Hofstra, G. P. Landis, E. L. Rowan and J. G. Viets, 1991, Origin of late dolomite cement by C02-saturated deep basin brines evidence from the Ozark region, central United States. Geology 19, 348-351. 

Figure 19. Plot of Li isotopic composition vs. inverse Li concentration for lakes and basinal/oilfield brines. Lakes open circle = major global lakes (Chan and Edmond 1988 Falkner et al. 1997) semi-open circle = western U.S. closed basin lakes (Tomascak et al. 2003). Oilfield brines inverted triangle = Williston basin, Saskatchewan (Bottomley et al. 2003) diamond = Israeli oilfields (Chan et al. 2002d). Mine waters (Canadian Shield basinal brines) square = Yellowknife, NWT (Bottomley et al. 1999) triangle = Sudbury, Ontario, area (Bottomley et al. 2003) star = Thompson, Manitoba, area (Bottomley et al. 2003). Average composition of seawater is included for reference.

Reich, M., Palacios, C., Parada, M.A., Fehn, U., Cameron, E.M., Leybourne, M.I. Zuniga, A. 2008. Fluid inclusion, groundwater geochemistry, TEM and 36CI. Evidence for a genetic link between basinal brines and atacamite formation, Atacama Desert, Chile. Mineralium Deposita, 43, 663-675. 

Shanks, W.C., III, Woodruff, L.G., Jilson, G.A., Jennings, D.S., Modene, J.S., Ryan, B.D. 1987. Sulfur and lead isotope studies of stratiform Zn-Pb-Ag deposits. Anvil Range, Yukon Basinal brine exhalation and anoxic bottom-water mixing. Economic Geology, 82, 600-634. 

Characteristics often ascribed to MVT deposits include temperatures generally <200°C and deposition from externally derived fluids, possibly basinal brines. Sulfur isotope valnes from MVT deposits suggest two major sulfide reservoirs, one between -5 and +15%c and one greater than +20%c (Seal 2006). Both sulfide reservoirs can be related, however, to a common sea water sulfate source that has undergone different sulfur fractionation processes. Reduction of sulfate occurs either bacterially or by abiotic thermochemical reduction. High 5 S-values should reflect minimal fractionations associated with thermochemical reduction of sea water sulfate (Jones et al. 1996). 

A) The brines represent modified Paleozoic sea water or basinal brines (Kelly etal. 1986)... 

To avoid salt accumulation in the basin, brine is intermittently or continuously withdrawn, and salt water is supplied to maintain a reasonably constant level in the distiller basin. Because distillate and brine are warmer than the feed water, a heat exchanger may be used for heat conservation and higher yield. 

Solution property Kara-Kul Lake Orca Basin brine Red Sea brine Bannock II brine Dead Sea... 

Basinal Brines as a Source of Sulfur in High-Sulfur Coals. Sulfide minerals, such as pyrite and sphalerite, in coal seams may be deposited from basinal hydrothermal fluids. The occurrence of epigenetic sphalerite in Illinois Basin coals has been described by Hatch et al. (119) and Cobb (120). Whelan et al. (121) studied the isotopic composition of pyrite and sphalerite in coal beds from the Illinois Basin and the Forest City Basin, and suggested that some of the coals were affected by Mississippi Valley-type hydrothermal solutions. 

Figure 8 Flowchart of idealized evaporative evolution of a closed-basin brine, with relatively greater evaporative concentration toward the bottom. Solutes (Ca, Mg, SO4, CO3) refer to total charged aqueous species in equivalents, and CO3 refers to all aqueous CO2 species. Solute conditions are indicated by dashed boxes, and mineral precipitates are indicated by solid boxes (after Eugster and Hardie, 1978) (reproduced by permission of the Geological Society of America from Geol Soc. Am. Bull 1975, 86, 319-334).

A number of descriptive terms, including oilfield brine, basinal brine, basinal water, and formation water, have been used in the literature to describe deep aqueous fluids in sedimentary basins. No satisfactory overall classification system exists, due to the fact that these waters can be assessed by several different criteria. These include the sahnity of the water, the concentration and origin of various dissolved constituents, and the origin of the H2O, which is commonly different from that of the solutes. The following terminology has been extracted mainly from Han or (1987) and from Kharaka and Thordsen (1992). The interested reader should also consult White et al. (1963) and Sheppard (1986). 

Spatial variations in salinity put important constraints on the interpretation of the origin of basinal brines and on the quantification of diffusion, advection, and dispersion, which are responsible for subsurface solute transport. For example, lateral salinity plumes have been mapped around a number of shallow Gulf Coast salt domes (e.g., Bennett and Hanor, 1987), providing direct evidence for the dissolution of... 

It is generally agreed that most of the chloride in basinal brines has been derived from some combination of the subsurface dissolution of evaporites (e.g., Kharaka et al., 1985 Land, 1997) and the entrapment and/or infiltration of evaporated seawater (e.g.. Carpenter, 1978 Kharaka et al., 1987 Moldovanyi and Walter, 1992). Dissolution of halite produces waters dominated by sodium chloride. Evaporation of seawater produces waters having the general trends shown for ion-Br (Figure 5), Na-Cl (Figure 3) and Ca-Cl (Figure 4), but most formation waters have neither the cation (nor anion) composition of an... 

Figure 3 Concentrations of Na in basinal brines as a Figure 4 Concentrations of Ca in basinal brines...

Eastoe C. J., Long A., Land L. S., and Kyle J. R. (2001) Stable chloride isotopes in halite and brine from the Gulf Coast Basin brine genesis and evolution. Chem. Geol. 176, 343-360. 

Hanor J. S. (1996b) Controls on the solubilization of lead and zinc in basinal brines. In Carbonate-hosted Lead-Zinc Deposits, Economic Geology Special Publication 4 (ed. D. F. Sangster). Soc. Econ. Geologists IMC, Littleton, CO, pp. 483-500. 

Kharaka Y. K. and Carothers W. W. (1986) Oxygen and hydrogen isotope geochemistry of deep basin brines, Chapter 2. In Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (eds. P. Fritz and J. Ch. Fontes). Elsevier, Amsterdam, vol. II, pp. 305-360. 

Seewald J. S. (2001) Model for the origin of carboxylic acids in basinal brines. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 3779-3789. 

Potential external sources of concentrated fluids can be found on and adjoining every crystalline rock mass on the planet. Seawater and the derivatives of seawater such as evaporite deposits and sedimentary basin brines are the primary candidates for the external sources of salinity. Dilute seawaters from the Yoldia and Litorina stages of the Baltic Sea (<10" yr) are recorded as entering crystalline rocks along coastal sections of the... 

Continental-scale hydrologic forces can control the flow of basinal brines and are another major potential external source of saline fluids that may enter crystalline rock environments. Studies by Bottomley et al. (1999) suggest that hydraulic gradients in northwestern Alberta are such that brines are forced from Devonian strata into the underlying Canadian Shield. Similarly, it appears that western Canadian sedimentary basin brines have entered the Canadian Shield in some parts of the Lac du Bonnet batholith, Manitoba (Gascoyne et al., 1987). 

The high content of the pore fluids suggests that they could be derived from undiluted basinal brines whose is close to 0%c. The exchange of with the rock matrix... 

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