| Abstract: | Oxygen isotope analyses of propylitized andesites from the Con Virginia and California mines allow construction of a detailed, three-dimensional image of the isotopic surfaces produced by the convective fluid flows that deposited the famous Big Bonanza orebody. On a set of intersecting maps and sections, the ??18O isopleths clearly show the intricate and conformable relationship of the orebody to a deep, ~500 m gyre of meteoric-hydrothermal fluid that circulated along and above the Comstock fault, near the contact of the Davidson Granodiorite. The core of this gyre (??18O = 0 to 3.8???) encompasses the bonanza and is almost totally surrounded by rocks having much lower ??18O values (-1.0 to -4.4???). This deep gyre may represent a convective longitudinal roll superimposed on a large unicellular meteoric-hydrothermal system, producing a complex flow field with both radial and longitudinal components that is consistent with experimentally observed patterns of fluid convection in permeable media. |
| Genre: | Article |
| ProdID: | 70022535 |
| Citation Author: | Criss, R. E.; Singleton, M. J.; Champion, D. E. |
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| Citation End Page: | 142 |
| Citation Issue: | 1 |
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| Citation Language: | English |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | Economic Geology |
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| Citation Number Of Pages: | 12 |
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| Citation Search Results Text: | Three-dimensional oxygen isotope imaging of convective fluid flow around the big bonanza, comstock lode mining district, Nevada; 2000; Article; Journal; Economic Geology; Criss, R. E.; Singleton, M. J.; Champion, D. E. |
| Citation Start Page: | 131 |
| Citation Volume: | 95 |
| Citation Year: | 2000 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Three-dimensional oxygen isotope imaging of convective fluid flow around the big bonanza, comstock lode mining district, Nevada; 2000; Article; Journal; Economic Geology; Criss, R. E.; Singleton, M. J.; Champion, D. E. |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/outside_thumb.jpg |
| Date Other: | Sat, 1 Jan 2000 00:00 -0600 |
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