Geology of Chief Joseph Pass, Wyoming: Crest of Rattlesnake Mountain anticline and escape path of the Eocene Heart Mountain slide

ABSTRACT Rattlesnake Mountain is a Laramide uplift cored by Archean gneiss that formed by offset along two reverse faults with opposing dips, the result being an asymmetric anticline with a drape fold of Cambrian–Cretaceous sediments. Rattlesnake Mountain was uplifted ca. 57 Ma and was a structural buttress that impeded motion of upper-plate blocks of the catastrophic Heart Mountain slide (49.19 Ma). North of Pat O’Hara Mountain anticline, Rattlesnake Mountain anticline has a central graben that formed ca. 52 Ma (U-Pb age on vein calcite in normal faults) into which O- and C-depleted fluids propagated upward with hydrocarbons. The graben is defined by down-dropped Triassic Chugwater shales atop the anticline that facilitated motion of Heart Mountain slide blocks of Paleozoic limestones dolomite (i.e., the Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite and Mississippian Madison Limestone) onto, and over, Rattlesnake Mountain into the Bighorn Basin. Heart Mountain fault gouge was also injected downward into the bounding Rattlesnake Mountain graben normal faults (U-Pb age ca. 48.8 ± 5 Ma), based on O and C isotopes; there is no anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility fabric present. Calcite veins parallel to graben normal faults precipitated from meteoric waters (recorded by O and C isotopes) heated by the uplifting Rattlesnake Mountain anticline and crystallized at 57 °C (fluid inclusions) in the presence of oil. Calcite twinning strain results from graben injectites and calcite veins are different; we also documented a random layer-parallel shortening strain pattern for the Heart Mountain slide blocks in the ramp region (n = 4; west) and on the land surface (n = 5; atop Rattlesnake Mountain). We observed an absence of any twinning strain overprint (low negative expected values) in the allochthonous upper-plate blocks and in autochthonous carbonates directly below the Heart Mountain slide surface, again indicating rapid motion including horizontal rotation about vertical axes of the upper-plate Heart Mountain slide blocks during the Eocene.

First investigation of perennial ice in Winter Wonderland Cave, Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA

Winter Wonderland Cave is a solution cave at an elevation of 3140 m above sea level in Carboniferous-age Madison Limestone on the southern slope of the Uinta Mountains (Utah, USA). Temperature data loggers reveal that the mean annual air temperature (MAAT) in the main part of the cave is −0.8 ∘C, whereas the entrance chamber has a MAAT of −2.3 ∘C. In contrast, the MAAT outside the cave entrance was +2.8 ∘C between August 2016 and August 2018. Temperatures in excess of 0 ∘C were not recorded inside the cave during that 2-year interval. About half of the accessible cave, which has a mapped length of 245 m, is floored by perennial ice. Field and laboratory investigations were conducted to determine the age and origin of this ice and its possible paleoclimate significance. Ground-penetrating-radar (GPR) surveys with a 400 MHz antenna reveal that the ice has a maximum thickness of ∼ 3 m. Samples of rodent droppings obtained from an intermediate depth within the ice yielded radiocarbon ages from 40±30 to 285±12 years. These results correspond with median calibrated ages from CE 1560 to 1830, suggesting that at least some of the ice accumulated during the Little Ice Age. Samples collected from a ∼ 2 m high exposure of layered ice were analyzed for stable isotopes and glaciochemistry. Most values of δ18O and δD plot subparallel to the global meteoric waterline with a slope of 7.5 and an intercept of 0.03 ‰. Values from some individual layers depart from the local waterline, suggesting that they formed during closed-system freezing. In general, values of both δ18O and δD are lowest in the deepest ice and highest at the top. This trend is interpreted as a shift in the relative abundance of winter and summer precipitation over time. Calcium has the highest average abundance of cations detectable in the ice (mean of 6050 ppb), followed by Al (2270 ppb), Mg (830 ppb), and K (690 ppb). Most elements are more abundant in the younger ice, possibly reflecting reduced rates of infiltration that prolonged water–rock contact in the epikarst. Abundances of Al and Ni likely reflect eolian dust incorporated in the ice. Liquid water appeared in the cave in August 2018 and August 2019, apparently for the first time in many years. This could be a sign of a recent change in the cave environment.

A characterization of microbial diversity in the Winter Wonderland Ice Cave, Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA

<p>Winter Wonderland is an ice cave in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah, USA. The cave, which has an entrance at 3140 m a.s.l., extends 245 m into a north facing cliff of Mississippi Madison Limestone. The cave was discovered by the U.S. Forest Service in 2014. Winter Wonderland Ice Cave likely originated in the Late Mississippian to Early Pennsylvanian when joints opened up in the vadose zone. The interior of the cave is perennially below freezing with ice covering sections of the floor to a thickness of at least 2 m. Seasonally, meltwater from the epikarst enters the cave, pools on the surface of the older ice and freezes, creating a layered ice mass containing organic matter dating back several centuries. As this water freezes, cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) precipitate and are incorporated in the ice. In this study, ice, water, and mineral precipitates in the cave were investigated for the presence of microorganisms adapted to this extreme environment. Samples were collected to investigate the microbial communities that may be present within the Winter Wonderland ice cave, identify what they are, and investigate whether the composition of the microbial community changes spatially within the cave and between sample types. An intact block of ice (18x10x10 cm), liquid water samples (n=8), and 13 CCC samples were collected in August 2019. The ice block was removed from a vertical exposure of ice at the back of the cave using a hand saw, water was collected from a pool on the ice surface, and the CCCs were sampled from the surface of the ice in multiple sections of the cave. The water samples were analyzed for stable isotope composition to better understand water source and freezing history. Crystallographic study of oriented slides cut from the ice revealed that the ice crystallized vertically with some variation in crystal size. All samples were also investigated with fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry, and DNA sequencing to reveal the abundance and type of microorganisms. Preliminary fluorescence microscopy and SEM imaging reveals the presence of cocci and bacilli type microorganisms within water samples and ~10um wide eukaryotic organisms within the CCCs, suggesting that the CCCs may provide much needed nutrients for the microbes or that the CCCs themselves are products of biomineralization.</p>

Subsurface Reinterpretation of Ordovician and Devonian Strata in Southwest Wyoming with Implications for Upwarping Across the Transcontinental Arch

A new interpretation of the subsurface geometries of the Ordovician Bighorn Dolomite and overlying Devonian strata across southwestern Wyoming arises from revising the stratigraphy in a core from the Mountain Fuel Supply UPRR #11–19–104–4 well drilled on the crest of the Rock Springs Uplift in 1962. One of only a few wells to penetrate all or part of the Lower Paleozoic succession in the subsurface of southwestern Wyoming, the well was almost continuously cored through the Devonian–Cambrian succession. From a reinterpretation of the stratigraphy in the core, 22 ft of Bighorn Dolomite is recognized based on the characteristic Thalassinoides bioturbation fabric in skeletal dolowackestone typical of Late Ordovician subtidal carbonate facies ranging from Nevada to Greenland along the western margin of the Great American Carbonate Bank. This lithology is in complete contrast with the alternating dolomitic flat-pebble conglomerate and dolomudstone of the underlying Cambrian Gallatin Limestone and the cyclical units of brecciated anhydritic dolomudstone and quartzose sandstone of the overlying Devonian Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation. Stratigraphic re-interpretation yields insights regarding Ordovician–Devonian stratal geometries across southwestern Wyoming. More widespread than previously portrayed, the Bighorn Dolomite pinches out on the eastern flank of the Rock Springs Uplift. Similar to past interpretations, Devonian strata pinch out east of the Rock Springs Uplift at Table Rock Field. A true-geometry multi-datumed stratigraphic cross section yields insights not obtainable by mapping. Regionally, top truncation of stratigraphic units below the base-Madison Limestone unconformity normally progresses stratigraphically deeper eastward. However, in southwestern Wyoming, the Devonian Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation overlaps the older Bighorn Dolomite by marked onlap across the Rock Springs Uplift and then pinches out by top truncation/onlap near Table Rock Field, forming an “abnormal” overlap relationship along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch. The underlying Bighorn Dolomite shows little to no onlap onto the underlying Cambrian section, but is markedly top truncated below the Lower Member of the Jefferson Formation. Comparing proportions of onlap versus top truncation for the two formations constrains the timing of two successive upwarping episodes along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch across southwestern Wyoming. The first is arguably Middle Devonian, and the second spans the Devonian–Mississippian boundary. Two subtle and different angular unconformities created by these two episodes imply a persistent fold or tilt axis that sequentially was reactivated along the northern margin of the Transcontinental Arch in southwestern Wyoming.

Reactivity of supercritical sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide in a carbonate reservoir: An experimental investigation of supercritical fluid-brine-rock interactions relevant to the Madison Limestone of Southwest Wyoming

Managing impure carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuel-based generation of electricity is required for successful implementation of carbon capture, utilization, and storage. Impurities in carbon dioxide, particularly [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text], are geochemically more reactive than the carbon dioxide and may adversely impact a carbon dioxide storage reservoir by generating additional acidity. Hydrothermal experiments are performed to evaluate geochemical and mineralogic effects of injecting [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] fluid into a carbonate reservoir. The experimental design is based on a natural carbon dioxide reservoir, the Madison Limestone on the Moxa Arch of Southwest Wyoming, which serves as a natural analog for geologic cosequestration of sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. Idealized Madison Limestone ([Formula: see text]) and [Formula: see text] brine ([Formula: see text], initial [Formula: see text]) reacted at reservoir conditions (110°C and 25 MPa) for approximately 165 days (3960 h). Carbon dioxide fluid containing 500 ppmv sulfur dioxide was injected and the experiment continued for approximately 55 days (1326 h). Sulfur dioxide partitions out of the supercritical carbon dioxide phase and dissolves into coexisting brine on the time scale of the experiments (55 days). Injecting supercritical [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] or pure supercritical carbon dioxide into a brine-limestone system produces the same in situ pH (4.6) and ex situ pH (6.4–6.5), as measured 28 h after injection because dissolution of calcite buffers in situ pH. Precipitation of anhydrite sequesters injected sulfur and, coupled with dissolution of calcite, effectively buffers the amount of dissolved calcium to the same concentrations measured in limestone-brine experiments injected with pure carbon dioxide. Supercritical [Formula: see text]-[Formula: see text] does not enhance the sequestration potential of a carbonate reservoir relative to pure supercritical carbon dioxide. Our results substantiate predictions from natural analog studies of the Madison Limestone that anhydrite traps sulfur and carbonate minerals ultimately reprecipitate and mineralize carbon in carbonate reservoirs.