UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Winter 2013 Examination Period

School of Earth Sciences

Year 2 Examination

EXAM PAPER CODE EASC20010J

GEOCHEMISTRY

TIME ALLOWED

2 Hours

Students must answer 4 out of the following 5 questions.

Each question has equal weighting. For questions with multiple parts the weighting of
each section is indicated as a percentage.

Answer each question in a separate booklet and make sure you attach any figures to
the booklets with your working.

Other instructions

Non-programmable and non-graphing calculators may be used in this examination.

TURN OVER ONLY WHEN TOLD TO START WRITING

1. The abundance in the Earths crust of the precious metal Pt is orders of magnitude less
than another economically important metal, Nd. Briefly describe the main processes
which lead to this crustal depletion of Pt relative to Nd.

2. A tropical lake has a d18O= -4.0 when full in the winter. In the summer evaporation
reduces the volume of the lake and the residual lake water has a d18O= +1.2.

a) Assuming that the difference is the oxygen isotopic composition of the water is caused
by Rayleigh distillation (fractional vapour loss) alone, what fraction of the lake
evaporates between winter and summer?
You will need to know that aliquid-vapour = 1.008 and assume that this remains constant
during the evaporation of the lake. Remember R/R = F a-1 (you are expected to recall the
meaning of the constituent terms). [40%]

b) Sketch the variation in d18O of the lake-water and co-existing water vapour as it
evolves from winter to summer conditions. [30%]

c) In the autumn a heavy rain-storm delivers water with d18O=-2.0 to the lake, which
before the storm had a d18O=+1.2. After this storm the lake has d18O = +0.5. What is
fractional mass of the rain-swollen lake contributed by the storm? [30%]

3. a) A lava is analysed and has [40K] = 2.9x10-8 mol/g and [40Ar] = 1.1x10-9 mol/g. Using
these data and the following activity constants, l40K(total)=5.543x10-10 a-1,
l40K(EC)/l40K(Total)=0.1048, calculate an age for the lava eruption. [50%]

b) The sample may have experienced a) incomplete initial degassing or b) subsequent

diffusive gas loss. Describe how these scenarios will influence the value of your
calculated age relative to true sample age. [30%]
40
c) How might you identify diffusive gas loss by stepped-heating Ar/39Ar analyses? [20%]

4. Fig 1 shows a curve for the model evolution of the continental crust (the Stacey and
Kramers curve).

A contaminated soil sample is shown by point A. This is produced by mixing of soil

generated from a young rocks (<100Ma) with Pb derived from an old Pb ore.

a) Graphically, work out the composition of the old Pb ore contaminant (assuming the Pb
ore lies on the growth curve, i.e. it is conformable). [30%]
b) What fraction of Pb in sample A is derived from the contaminating Pb ore? [30%]

c) Use the 206Pb/204Pb from a) to calculate the age of the Pb ore, given that the Stacey and
Kramers curve assumes a constant 238U/204Pb = 10 (as measured at present day). l(238U) =
1.551x10-10 a-1. [30%]

d) Another Pb ore deposit is shown as point B. This contains Pb concentrated from a

fragment of continental crust formed at the same time as the first ore but with a different
238
U/204Pb ratio. How does the 238U/204Pb of the portion of continental crust from which
ore B was derived compare to the average value of Stacey and Kramers? [10%]

5. Fig 2 shows a plot of the natural logarithm of the specific activity (disintegration per
minute per gram) of 230Th measured in samples from different depths (reported in m) in a
marine sediment column.

a) The surface sample has an activity of 20dpm/g of 230Th. How many atoms of 230Th are
present in each gram of this sediment sample? l(230Th) = 9.195x10-6 a-1 [20%]

b) Use the graph to calculate a sedimentation rate for the upper part of this sediment core.
[40%]

c) To make the calculation above you have had to assume that the amount of 230Th supplied
to the sediment has remained constant.
What suggests that this is a reasonable assumption? [10%]
What controls the amount of 230Th supplied to the sediment pile? [10%]

d) If you interpret the change in slope of the lower part of the core to represent a change in
sedimentation rate, does the lower part of the core represent higher or lower
sedimentation rates? [20%]
 16.00
15.50 B
15.00
14.50
Pb

A
204

14.00
Pb/
207

13.50
13.00
12.50
12.00
10.00 11.00 12.00 13.00 14.00 15.00 16.00 17.00 18.00 19.00 20.00
206 204
Pb/ Pb
Fig. 1
Candidate No:.
 ln(230Th) dpm/g
1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
0
0.2
0.4
Depth (m)

0.6
0.8
1
1.2
Fig. 2
Candidate No:.