Determining timescales of natural carbonation of peridotite in the Samail Ophiolite, Sultanate of Oman
Name
827831680-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
28.37 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
e9f2377f41da9cde23044130c5cc619c
Author(s)
Mervine, Evelyn Martinique
Advisor(s)
Susan E. Humphris and Kenneth W. W. Sims.
Date Issued
2012
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Determining timescales of the formation and preservation of carbonate alteration products in mantle peridotite is important in order to better understand the role of this potentially important sink in the global carbon cycle and also to evaluate the feasibility of using artificially-enhanced, in situ formation of carbonates in peridotite to mitigate the buildup of anthropogenic CO₂ emissions in the atmosphere. Timescales of natural carbonation of peridotite were investigated in the mantle layer of the Samail Ophiolite, Sultanate of Oman. Rates of ongoing, low-temperature CO₂ uptake were estimated through ¹⁴C and ²³⁰Th dating of carbonate alteration products. Approximately 1-3 x 10⁶ kg CO₂/yr is sequestered in Ca-rich surface travertines and approximately 10⁷ kg CO₂/yr is sequestered in Mg-rich carbonate veins. Rates of CO₂ removal were estimated through calculation of maximum erosion rates from cosmogenic 3He measurements in partially-serpentinized peridotite bedrock associated with carbonate alteration products. Maximum erosion rates for serpentinized peridotite bedrock are ~5 to 180 m/Myr (average: ~40 m/Myr), which removes at most 10⁵-10⁶ kg CO₂/yr through erosion of Mg-rich carbonate veins.
Description
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Marine Geology and Geophysics (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2012.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references.
Subjects
Joint Program in Marine Geology and Geophysics.
Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
MIT Department
Joint Program in Marine Geology and Geophysics
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
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