A demonstration of an affinity between pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting

Geochemical Transactions

Research Article

Paula Lindgren¹  Nils G Holm²  Curt Broman²  John Parnell³ 

[1] Department of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Glasgow, UK;Department of Geological Sciences, Stockholm University, 106 91, Stockholm, Sweden;Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, AB24 3UE, Aberdeen, UK;

关键词: Calcite;    Pyrite;    Bitumen;    Fluid Inclusion;    Hydrothermal Fluid;   

DOI  :  10.1186/1467-4866-12-3

 received in 2010-11-22, accepted in 2011-02-07,  发布年份 2011

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

One of the key-principles of the iron-sulphur world theory is to bring organic molecules close enough to interact with each other, using the surface of pyrite as a substrate in a hydrothermal setting. The present paper explores the relationship of pyrite and organic matter in a hydrothermal setting from the geological record; in hydrothermal calcite veins from Carboniferous limestones in central Ireland. Here, the organic matter is accumulated as coatings around, and through, pyrite grains. Most of the pyrite grains are euhedral-subhedral crystals, ranging in size from ca 0.1-0.5 mm in diameter, and they are scattered throughout the matrix of the vein calcite. The organic matter was deposited from a hydrothermal fluid at a temperature of at least 200°C, and gives a Raman signature of disordered carbon. This study points to an example from a hydrothermal setting in the geological record, demonstrating that pyrite can have a high potential for the concentration and accumulation of organic materials.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© Lindgren et al; licensee Chemistry Central Ltd. 2011. This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.