Glaciation techniques

Indicator mineral techniques are one of the main exploration methods for gold and diamonds in glaciated terrain. This case study has documented indicator minerals for Ni-Cu deposits. These minerals can be used in tandem with gold and diamond indicators to assess the mineral potential of broad regions and at local scales. 

The sedimentary maps were developed using standard cave mapping techniques and techniques generally used for mapping unconsolidated surface deposits. With virtually no disturbance to the deposits in the cave, it was possible to reconstruct the sedimentary record of the caves of Lime Creek. The cave sediment record made it possible to determine the speleogenesis of the caves and to evaluate the effects of glaciation on karst development. 

Nilsson, G., 1973. Nickel prospecting and the discovery of the Mjoevattnet mineralisation, northern Sweden a case history of the use of combined techniques in drift-covered glacial terrain. In Prospecting in Areas of Glaciated Terrain. Instn. Min. Metall., London, pp. 97-109. 

For this study, humic and fulvic materials obtained from a small glaciated bog were separated into five size fractions by using hollow-fiber ultrafiltration techniques. The major cations associated with these organics are reported as a measure of the natural binding capacity of each size range. The structural characteristics and carboxylate content of each group were studied by CIR spectroscopy the results are compared with those obtained by traditional Fourier transform infrared techniques. To aid in spectral interpretation, results were compared to those for selected model polyelectrolytes and simple acids. 

The advent of C-datlng technique provided an opportunity to more closely describe the rise in relative sea level since the last worldwide glaciation. Application of the technique to salt-marsh samples yielded quantitative evidence for the continuity and vertical extent of sea-level rise both worldwide (Shepard, 1963 Scholl and Stuiver, 1967 Milliman and Emory, 1968) and in southern New England (Barghoorn, 1953 Fair-bridge, 1961 Redfield, 1967). Radiocarbon dating of salt marshes revealed that the vertical development of the deposits has evidently kept pace with... 

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