Fluid Inclusion Studies

1st Edition - September 5, 2024
Imprint: Elsevier
Authors: Guoxiang Chi, Matthew Steele-Mcinnis
Language: English
Paperback ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 9 0 9 8 - 8
eBook ISBN:
9 7 8 - 0 - 4 4 3 - 1 5 6 1 9 - 9

Fluid inclusions are samples of paleo-fluids entrapped in minerals and can provide indispensable information about the compositions of the fluids, and the temperature and pr… Read more

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Fluid inclusions are samples of paleo-fluids entrapped in minerals and can provide indispensable information about the compositions of the fluids, and the temperature and pressure conditions of the host mineral formation. The principles are well established and generally easy to understand; however, many researchers underestimate the complexities of the subject and make some common mistakes in data collection and interpretation. On the other hand, some researchers overestimate the difficulties and uncertainties in practice and tend to downplay the usefulness of fluid inclusions. Fluid Inclusion Studies aims to help readers overcome these problems by providing a comprehensive analysis of the foundational principles and demonstrating how these principles should be followed in practice, through examples of study methods and applications.

This book is a powerful tool in the field of the Earth science. Fluid Inclusion Studies aims to provide a practical guide for beginners of fluid inclusion study and includes chapters that highlight the diverse applications of fluid inclusions in a wide variety of geologic settings and processes.

Cover image
Title page
Table of Contents
Copyright
Preface
Part 1. Principles
Part 1: Principles of fluid inclusion studies
Chapter 1. Geofluids
1.1. Occurrences of geofluids
1.2. Types of geofluids
1.3. Characterization of geofluids and related geologic processes
1.4. Fluid flow systems and driving forces
Chapter 2. Classification of fluid inclusions
2.1. Classification of fluid inclusions based on chemical composition
2.2. Classification of fluid inclusions based on phase assemblages at room temperature
2.3. Classification of fluid inclusions based on behavior of homogenization
Chapter 3. Genesis of fluid inclusions
3.1. Timing of fluid inclusion entrapment relative to the host mineral
3.2. Mechanisms of fluid inclusion entrapment
3.3. Postentrapment changes of fluid inclusions
3.4. Homogeneous versus heterogeneous entrapment
Chapter 4. Phase analysis
4.1. Systems, phases, and components
4.2. Equilibrium between phases
4.3. Some notes on metastability
4.4. The phase rule
4.5. Introduction to phase diagrams
4.6. Principles of microthermometry
Chapter 5. General principles and approaches of fluid inclusion study
5.1. Selection of fluid inclusions for study
5.2. Conditions for obtaining reliable PVTX information from fluid inclusions
5.3. Fluid inclusion assemblage concept
5.4. Practical approaches
Part 2. Methods
Part 2: Methods of fluid inclusion studies
Chapter 6. Sample selection and preparation
6.1. Selection of samples for fluid inclusion studies
6.2. Preparation of sections for fluid inclusion study
Chapter 7. Fluid inclusion petrography
7.1. Determination of paragenetic position of targeted host minerals
7.2. Types of fluid inclusions and their descriptions
7.3. Modes of occurrence of fluid inclusions
7.4. Differentiating primary, pseudosecondary, and secondary fluid inclusions
7.5. Use and misuse of the fluid inclusion assemblage concept
Chapter 8. Microthermometry
8.1. Preparation and documentation of microthermometric data
8.2. Heating-freezing stage and calibration
8.3. Planning the heating and cooling runs
8.4. Measurement of phase change temperatures in cooling runs
8.5. Measurement of phase change temperatures in heating runs
8.6. The cycling and sequential freezing techniques
8.7. Metastability problems in microthermometry
8.8. Microthermometric study of fluid inclusions in some opaque minerals
Chapter 9. Melt inclusions
9.1. Philosophy of melt inclusion analysis
9.2. General features of melt inclusions
9.3. Microthermometry of melt inclusions
9.4. Chemical microanalysis of melt inclusions
9.5. Volatiles in melt inclusions
Chapter 10. Chemical analysis of fluid inclusions
10.1. Overview of analytical methods for fluid inclusions
10.2. Raman spectroscopy
10.3. LA-ICP-MS analysis of fluid inclusions
10.4. SEM-EDS analysis of decrepitates of individual fluid inclusions
10.5. Other single fluid inclusion analysis methods
10.6. Bulk fluid inclusion analyses
Chapter 11. PVTX modeling
11.1. One-component systems
11.2. Two-component systems
11.3. Three-component systems
11.4. Four (or more) component systems
Chapter 12. Data presentation and interpretation
12.1. Tables showing microthermometric measurement and calculation results
12.2. Graphical presentations of the data and calculation results
12.3. Interpretation of P-T conditions, fluid states, and processes
Part 3. Applications
Part 3: Applications of fluid inclusions
Chapter 13. Application in mineral deposits
13.1. Use of fluid inclusions to help determine mineral deposit types
13.2. Evaluation of fluid P-T-X conditions and evolution of mineralization systems
13.3. Key evidence for fluid immiscibility and fluid mixing
13.4. Supporting evidence for the sources of ore-forming fluids
13.5. Supporting evidence for the sources and transport of metals
13.6. Supporting evidence for fluid flow mechanisms related to mineralization
13.7. Application of fluid inclusions in mineral exploration
Chapter 14. Application in diagenesis and oil and gas deposits in sedimentary basins
14.1. Use of fluid inclusions to determine diagenetic environments
14.2. Use of fluid inclusions to constrain burial history of sedimentary basins
14.3. Use of fluid inclusions to study petroleum systems and their P-T conditions
14.4. Application of fluid inclusions in oil and gas exploration
Chapter 15. Application in magmatic systems
15.1. Melt generation
15.2. Melt–melt and melt–fluid immiscibility
15.3. Melt mixing
15.4. Magma ascent, emplacement, and eruption
15.5. Transition from magmatic to hydrothermal stages
Chapter 16. Application in metamorphic systems
16.1. Metamorphic conditions, processes, and metamorphic fluids
16.2. Preservation and/or re-equilibration of fluid inclusions in metamorphic systems
16.3. Using fluid inclusions to help reconstruct P-T evolution of metamorphic systems
16.4. Information on composition of metamorphic fluids from fluid inclusions
Chapter 17. Application in structural geology
17.1. Interrelationships between structures and geofluids
17.2. Fluid pressure fluctuation recorded by fluid inclusions as an indicator of structural processes
17.3. Use of fluid inclusion planes to study fluid-structural relationships
17.4. Use of deformation of fluid inclusions in structural study
Chapter 18. Other applications of fluid inclusions
18.1. Constraints on paleoenvironments on Earth surface
18.2. Information on life in terrestrial and extraterrestrial environments
18.3. Cycling of volatiles in the framework of global tectonics
Index

Guoxiang Chi

Guoxiang Chi, PhD, PGeo, is a Professor in the Department of Geology at the University of Regina, Canada. He received a BSc from Fuzhou University (China) in 1983, MSc from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1986, and PhD from the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi in 1992. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Quebec at Chicoutimi from 1992 to 1993, and at the Geological Survey of Canada from 1994 to 1995. He then worked at the Geological Survey of Canada as a research scientist from 1996 until he joined the University of Regina in 2002. Dr. Chi’s research interest is mainly in the field of economic geology, mineralization hydrodynamics, uranium geology, and geofluids, with an emphasis on application of fluid inclusion, stable isotope, and numerical modeling techniques. He has published over 180 journal papers and is currently an Associate Editor of Ore Geology Reviews and Acta Geologica Sinica.

Affiliations and expertise

University of Regina, Canada

Matthew Steele-Mcinnis

Matthew Steele-MacInnis is a Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Alberta. He received a BSc in Earth Sciences from Memorial University in 2008 and a PhD from Virginia Tech in 2013. He was a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at ETH Zürich from 2013 to 2015 and an assistant professor at the University of Arizona from 2015 to 2017, when he moved to the University of Alberta. Matt has been awarded a CAREER grant from the US National Science Foundation, the Hisashi Kuno Award from the American Geophysical Union, the Young Scientist Award from the Mineralogical Association of Canada, and the SGA Young Scientist Award from the Society for Geology Applied to Mineral Deposits. His research interests include all the aspects of the properties and roles of fluids in geologic systems, especially when it comes to the formation of mineral deposits. He has published 100 journal papers and is currently an Associate Editor of American Mineralogist, The Canadian Journal of Mineralogy and Petrology, and Mineralium Deposita.

Affiliations and expertise

University of Alberta, Canada

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