The Origins of Sulfate in Cenozoic Non-Marine Evaporites in the Basin and-Range Province, Southwestern North America
Cenozoic evaporites (gypsum and anhydrite) in southwestern North America have wide ranges of δ<sup>34</sup>S (−30 to +22‰; most +4 to +10‰) and δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>SO4</sub> (+3 to +19‰). New data are presented for five basins in southern Arizona. The evaporites w...
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
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MDPI AG
2021
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| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/99749d4523ca4a1ca0b7d8623463ab8b |
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| Sumario: | Cenozoic evaporites (gypsum and anhydrite) in southwestern North America have wide ranges of δ<sup>34</sup>S (−30 to +22‰; most +4 to +10‰) and δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>SO4</sub> (+3 to +19‰). New data are presented for five basins in southern Arizona. The evaporites were deposited in playas or perennial saline lakes in closed basins of Oligocene or younger age. Very large accumulations in Picacho, Safford and Tucson Basins have isotope compositions plotting close to a linear δ<sup>34</sup>S-δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>SO4</sub> relationship corresponding to mixing of two sources of sulfur: (1) sulfate recycled from Permian marine gypsum and (2) sulfate from weathering of Laramide-age igneous rocks that include porphyry copper deposits. In the large evaporites, sulfate with δ<sup>34</sup>S > +10‰ is dominantly of Permian or Early Cretaceous marine origin, but has locally evolved to higher values as a result of bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR). Sulfate with δ<sup>34</sup>S < −10‰ formed following exposure of sulfides, possibly formed during supergene enrichment of a porphyry copper deposit by BSR, and have values of δ<sup>18</sup>O<sub>SO4</sub> higher than those of local acid rock drainage because of participation of evaporated water in BSR. Accumulations of 30 to 100 km<sup>3</sup> of gypsum in Picacho and Safford Basins are too large to explain as products of contemporaneous erosion of Permian and Laramide source materials, but may represent recycling of Late Cretaceous to Miocene lacustrine sulfate. |
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