http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/1909824095

Final Technical Report

This collaborative research project between Georgia State University (Prof. Elliott) and Oklahoma University (Profs. Elmore and Engle) is aimed at understanding further the measurement of the timing of geologic processes causing diagenetic events (e.g. burial metamorphism, thrust sheet burial, basinwide fluid migration, contact metamorphism) through combined application of paleomagnetic analyses and K-Ar age determination of illite. These diagnenetic events are known to heat rocks to temperatures sufficient to form crude oil and natural gas. Thus, improved knowledge of the timing of diagenetic events lead to improved burial history models for the exploration of crude oil and natural gas (e.g. Pevear, 1999). Our principal working hypothesis is that the authigenesis of magnetic mineral phases results also from the conversion of smectite to illite and the ages of these diagenetic events can be constrained by comparing the ages of chemical remanent magnetizations (CRMs) to independently measurements of K-Ar age of diagenetic illite. In this study, we have tested the hypothesized connection between smectite to illite (i.e clay diagenesis) and remagnetization by conducting K-Ar dating of authigenic illites in units in Scotland and Montana (e.g., Elliott et al., 2006a; Elliott et al., 2006b).

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