Title
The origin of continental carbonates in Andean salars: A multi-tracer geochemical approach in Laguna Pastos Grandes (Bolivia)
Date Issued
15 June 2020
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Muller E.
Gaucher E.C.
Durlet C.
Moreira M.
Rouchon V.
Louvat P.
Bardoux G.
Noirez S.
Bougeault C.
Vennin E.
Gérard E.
Chavez M.
Virgone A.
Ader M.
Université de Paris
Publisher(s)
Elsevier Ltd
Abstract
In continental volcanic settings, abundant carbonate precipitation can occur with atypical facies compared to marine settings. The (bio-)chemical processes responsible for their development and early diagenesis are typically complex and not fully understood. In the Bolivian Altiplano, Laguna Pastos Grandes hosts a 40-km2 carbonate platform with a great diversity of facies and provides an ideal natural laboratory to understand the processes responsible for the precipitation of carbonates in a continental province dominated by volcanism. In order to trace the origin of both water and solutes in the lagoon, the major element and stable isotope compositions (δ2H-δ18O, δ37Cl, δ7Li, δ11B and 87Sr/86Sr) of the spring and stream waters were characterized, as well as the stable isotope compositions (δ13C, δ15N) and noble gas isotope ratios of hydrothermal gases associated with spring waters. The results show that thermal springs discharging on the carbonate platform are close to saturation with calcite. PHREEQC modeling, together with fluid geochemistry and temperature estimated from a combination of geothermometers, indicate that Ca in these springs is inherited from the alteration of the volcanic bedrock by aqueous fluids heated at ∼225 °C and enriched in magmatic mantle-derived CO2. Our results clearly show that the main driver for the precipitation of modern carbonates in Laguna Pastos Grandes is the deeply sourced CO2, which boosts the alteration of volcanic rocks at depth.
Start page
220
End page
237
Volume
279
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Geoquímica, Geofísica
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85083668192
Source
Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta
ISSN of the container
00167037
Sponsor(s)
We would like to thank Total E&P Bolivia for field assistance (Serge Nicoletis, Jean-Pierre Meunier, Olivier-Daniel Moreau, Rozmarie Cuellar) and Total Lab (CSTJF, Pau, France; Carole Bortelle, Josiane Sentenac, Valérie Burg) for water analysis; Mathilde Mercuzot (Univ. Burgundy) for field and laboratory assistance (2016); Antoine Cogez for strontium isotopic analysis of volcanic rocks, Pierre Burckel for the chemical composition analysis of volcanic rocks, and BRGM (Catherine Guerrot team) for the chemical and isotopic measurements in water samples (2016). We would also like to thank Dr. Daniel Carrizo for providing the Chilean geological map. Particular thanks go to Magali Bonifacie for constructive discussion on chlorine isotope data. Funding was provided by Total EP R&D Carbonate Project (E. Poli). Parts of this work were supported by IPGP's multidisciplinary program PARI, and by the Paris–IdF region SESAME Grant no. 12015908. This is IPGP contribution No. 4062.
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus