Large molybdenum isotope variations trace subsurface fluid migration along the Dead Sea transform

Uri Ryb; Yigal Erel; Alan Matthews; Yoav Avni; Gwyneth Gordon; Ariel Anbar

doi:10.1130/G25331A.1

Large molybdenum isotope variations trace subsurface fluid migration along the Dead Sea transform

Uri Ryb, Yigal Erel, Alan Matthews, Yoav Avni, Gwyneth Gordon, Ariel Anbar

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

20 Scopus citations

Abstract

Large (-0.6‰ to +2.3‰) δ^97/95Mo variations occur in molybdenum-enriched iron oxide veins located in anticlines adjacent to the Dead Sea transform, and are thought to reflect the solutions from which the veins formed because of efficient scavenging of Mo by iron oxides. The wide range of δ^97/95Mo values occurs in a paleohydrologic setting in which dense, concentrated, evaporitic marine brines in the Dead Sea Rift valley (δ^97/95Mo ∼1.6‰) penetrated and interacted with sedimentary rocks of the rift flanks, which included Cretaceous bituminous chalks (δ^97/95Mo 0.8‰-1.2‰), before intermixing with Fe-bearing groundwater containing molybdenum of igneous and clastic origin. The δ^97/95Mo values higher than seawater (1.6‰-2.3‰) are attributed to Rayleigh isotopic fractionation along the path of the brine migration. Molybdenum isotopes thus reveal a powerful potential to trace the sources and processes governing subsurface metalliferous fluid migration.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	463-466
Number of pages	4
Journal	Geology
Volume	37
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1130/G25331A.1
State	Published - Sep 8 2009

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geology

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title = "Large molybdenum isotope variations trace subsurface fluid migration along the Dead Sea transform",

abstract = "Large (-0.6‰ to +2.3‰) δ97/95Mo variations occur in molybdenum-enriched iron oxide veins located in anticlines adjacent to the Dead Sea transform, and are thought to reflect the solutions from which the veins formed because of efficient scavenging of Mo by iron oxides. The wide range of δ97/95Mo values occurs in a paleohydrologic setting in which dense, concentrated, evaporitic marine brines in the Dead Sea Rift valley (δ97/95Mo ∼1.6‰) penetrated and interacted with sedimentary rocks of the rift flanks, which included Cretaceous bituminous chalks (δ97/95Mo 0.8‰-1.2‰), before intermixing with Fe-bearing groundwater containing molybdenum of igneous and clastic origin. The δ97/95Mo values higher than seawater (1.6‰-2.3‰) are attributed to Rayleigh isotopic fractionation along the path of the brine migration. Molybdenum isotopes thus reveal a powerful potential to trace the sources and processes governing subsurface metalliferous fluid migration.",

author = "Uri Ryb and Yigal Erel and Alan Matthews and Yoav Avni and Gwyneth Gordon and Ariel Anbar",

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T1 - Large molybdenum isotope variations trace subsurface fluid migration along the Dead Sea transform

AU - Ryb, Uri

AU - Erel, Yigal

AU - Matthews, Alan

AU - Avni, Yoav

AU - Gordon, Gwyneth

AU - Anbar, Ariel

PY - 2009/9/8

Y1 - 2009/9/8

N2 - Large (-0.6‰ to +2.3‰) δ97/95Mo variations occur in molybdenum-enriched iron oxide veins located in anticlines adjacent to the Dead Sea transform, and are thought to reflect the solutions from which the veins formed because of efficient scavenging of Mo by iron oxides. The wide range of δ97/95Mo values occurs in a paleohydrologic setting in which dense, concentrated, evaporitic marine brines in the Dead Sea Rift valley (δ97/95Mo ∼1.6‰) penetrated and interacted with sedimentary rocks of the rift flanks, which included Cretaceous bituminous chalks (δ97/95Mo 0.8‰-1.2‰), before intermixing with Fe-bearing groundwater containing molybdenum of igneous and clastic origin. The δ97/95Mo values higher than seawater (1.6‰-2.3‰) are attributed to Rayleigh isotopic fractionation along the path of the brine migration. Molybdenum isotopes thus reveal a powerful potential to trace the sources and processes governing subsurface metalliferous fluid migration.

AB - Large (-0.6‰ to +2.3‰) δ97/95Mo variations occur in molybdenum-enriched iron oxide veins located in anticlines adjacent to the Dead Sea transform, and are thought to reflect the solutions from which the veins formed because of efficient scavenging of Mo by iron oxides. The wide range of δ97/95Mo values occurs in a paleohydrologic setting in which dense, concentrated, evaporitic marine brines in the Dead Sea Rift valley (δ97/95Mo ∼1.6‰) penetrated and interacted with sedimentary rocks of the rift flanks, which included Cretaceous bituminous chalks (δ97/95Mo 0.8‰-1.2‰), before intermixing with Fe-bearing groundwater containing molybdenum of igneous and clastic origin. The δ97/95Mo values higher than seawater (1.6‰-2.3‰) are attributed to Rayleigh isotopic fractionation along the path of the brine migration. Molybdenum isotopes thus reveal a powerful potential to trace the sources and processes governing subsurface metalliferous fluid migration.

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Large molybdenum isotope variations trace subsurface fluid migration along the Dead Sea transform

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