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Genesis of Lower Cretaceous lacustrine pistomesite in Baiyinchagan Sag, Erlian Basin, China: evidence from mineralogy and geochemical characteristics

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Abstract

The Lower Cretaceous Tenggeer Formation in Baiyinchagan Sag is a lacustrine argillaceous deposit. Thin section, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microprobe (EMPA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses show that large amounts of ferromagnesian carbonates occur extensively. The ferromagnesian carbonate has similar content of FeO and MgO, and it is defined as pistomesite. Associated minerals, e.g., dolomite, analcime, natrolite, barite, and talc are recognized. The crystals of pistomesite are mostly euhedral hexagonal in laminae, bands, grains, and fractures. Few rhombohedral crystals appeared at the rim of the grains. This specific occurrence of pistomesite and mineral associations is uncommon and rare in lacustrine deposits. EMPA and EDS analysis results show that within a single crystal, the Mg/Fe ratio decreases from 1.37 to 0.73 from the core to the edge, which indicates that the formation temperature of the crystal core is the highest and that it gradually decreases to the rim. The crystallization pattern requires a high temperature and sufficient growth space. The pistomesite in laminae, bands, grains, and fractures has similar values of δ18OVPDB ranging from − 16.3 to − 12.9‰ and δ13CVPDB ranging from 2.6 to 5.4‰. Several samples from grains are isotopically distinct, withδ18OVPDB ranging from − 6.9 to − 5.1‰ and δ13CVPDB ranging from − 1.3 to 1.2‰. The measurement data of fluid inclusions indicate that the pistomesite is formed at high temperature, with homogenization temperature from 241 to 295 °C and salinities from 16.24 to 18.72 eq. Wt % NaCl. Some fluid inclusions in grains tend to have distinctly low values, with homogenization temperature from 128 to 156 °C and salinities from 7.42 to 16.39 eq. Wt % NaCl. These results suggest that the pistomesite deposits of the Tenggeer Formation might have a hydrothermal precipitation origin. It is considered that the hydrothermal fluids might be from the underlying intermediate–basic magmatic intrusions, leaching metals from these rocks and forming the ferromagnesian carbonate deposits. But in post-diagenetic process, some grains that disseminated in the lacustrine mudstone are metasomatized. The pistomesite recrystallized and replaced the host minerals via porewater solutions.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Zhongyuan Oil Field for their help in collecting core samples and other data. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and editors for their insightful comments that helped improved the manuscript.

Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Numbers: 41472094 and 41972097).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Exploration and Development Research Institute, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu, 610000, China

    Chen Su

  2. College of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Chen Su, Dakang Zhong & Peng Qin

  3. State Key Laboratory of Petroleum Resource and Prospecting, China University of Petroleum, Beijing, 102249, China

    Chen Su, Dakang Zhong & Peng Qin

  4. Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Zhongyuan Oilfield, Sinopec, Zhengzhou, 450000, China

    Yanyan Ma

  5. Exploration Division, PetroChina Southwest Oil & Gasfield Company, Chengdu, 610000, China

    Su Huang

  6. Henan Zhuoyue Construction Engineering Co., Ltd, Zhengzhou, 450000, China

    Xi Ren

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Su, C., Zhong, D., Ma, Y. et al. Genesis of Lower Cretaceous lacustrine pistomesite in Baiyinchagan Sag, Erlian Basin, China: evidence from mineralogy and geochemical characteristics. Arab J Geosci 15, 1711 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-11002-8

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