Variations in Oxygen Isotope Abundances in Rock Minerals

Citation

Clayton, Robert Norman (1955) Variations in Oxygen Isotope Abundances in Rock Minerals. Dissertation (Ph.D.), California Institute of Technology. doi:10.7907/SN3M-5S20. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechETD:etd-11242003-105309

Abstract

Analytical techniques for determination of oxygen isotope abundances in silicates and oxides have been investigated. The reduction of compounds with carbon at high temperatures gives reliable results only from a few important minerals, including quartz and iron oxides. Liberation of oxygen from compounds using fluorine has more wide-spread application, but is more susceptible to errors by contamination. Oxygen isotope analyses have been made on nineteen natural samples of quartz and associated carbonates, and on seventeen samples of quartz and associated iron oxides. It has been found that, for suitable samples, the isotopic fractionation measured between two associated minerals can be used to fix the temperature at which the minerals crystallized. Several geological problems are discussed on the basis of the oxygen isotope data. In cases where the geological evidence is clear-cut, the conclusions from the isotope analyses are in complete agreement with those from geological reasoning.

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