Radiogenic strontium- and uranium-isotope tracers of water-rock interactions and hydrothermal flow in the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA
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Abstract
Natural radiogenic isotopes (primarily 87Sr/86Sr) from hot springs in the Upper Geyser Basin of the Yellowstone Plateau volcanic field and associated rocks were used to evaluate groundwater flow patterns, water-rock reactions, and the extent of mixing between various groundwater sources. Thermal waters have very low uranium concentrations and 234U/238U activity ratios near 1.0, which limit their utility as tracers in this reducing setting. Thermal waters have higher Sr concentrations (<22 ng/g) and a wide range of 87Sr/86Sr values that vary both temporally at individual discharge sites and between adjacent springs, indicating that conduits tap different subsurface reservoirs to varying degrees. Sr from local rhyolites have 87Sr/86Sr compositions that bound the range of values observed in groundwater throughout the basin. Non-boiling springs on the west flank of the basin discharge water with low 87Sr/86Sr consistent with flow through young volcanic rocks exposed at the surface. Boiling springs in the central basin have higher 87Sr/86Sr values reflecting interactions with older, more radiogenic volcanic rocks. Variability in upwelling thermal waters requires mixing with a low 87Sr/86Sr component derived from young lava or glacial sediments, or more likely, from deeper sources of hot groundwater circulating through buried Lava Creek Tuff having intermediate 87Sr/86Sr. Isotope data constrain basin-wide output of thermal water to 110–140 kg·s−1. Results underscore the utility of radiogenic Sr isotopes as valuable tracers of hydrothermal flow patterns and improve the understanding of temperature-dependent water-rock reactions in one of the largest continental hydrothermal systems on Earth.
Study Area
Publication type | Article |
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Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
Title | Radiogenic strontium- and uranium-isotope tracers of water-rock interactions and hydrothermal flow in the Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field, USA |
Series title | Geochemistry Geophysics, Geosystems |
DOI | 10.1029/2024GC011729 |
Volume | 25 |
Issue | 10 |
Year Published | 2024 |
Language | English |
Publisher | American Geophysical Union |
Contributing office(s) | Volcano Science Center |
Description | e2024GC011729, 29 p. |
Country | United States |
State | Wyoming |
Other Geospatial | Yellowstone Plateau Volcanic Field |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |