The stable isotopic composition of pyrite (δ34Spyrite) and barite (δ34Sbarite, δ18Obarite) in marine sedimentary rocks provides a valuable archive for reconstructing the biogeochemical processes that link the sulfur, carbon, and iron cycles. Highly positive δ34Spyrite values that exceed coeval unmodified seawater sulfate (δ34Spyrite > δ34SSO4(SW)), have been recorded in both modern sediments and ancient sedimentary records and are interpreted to result from various biotic and abiotic processes under a range of environmental conditions. A host of processes, including basin restriction, euxinia, low seawater sulfate, dissimilatory microbial sulfate reduction, sulfide reoxidation, and sulfur disproportionation, have been suggested to account for the formation of highly positive δ34Spyrite values in marine environments. Significantly, determining which of these factors was responsible for the pyrite formation is impeded by a lack of constraints for coeval sulfate, with relatively few examples available where δ34Spyrite and proxies for δ34Ssulfate values (e.g., barite) have been paired at high resolution.
In the Selwyn Basin, Canada, the Late Devonian sedimentary system is host to large, mudstone-hosted bedded barite units. These barite units have been interpreted in the past as distal expressions of SEDEX mineralization. However, recent studies on similar settings have highlighted how barite may have formed by diagenetic processes before being subsequently replaced during hydrothermal sulfide mineralization. Coincidentally, highly positive δ34Sbarite values have been recorded in such barite occurring coevally with pyrite in diagenetic redox front, where sulfate reduction is coupled to anaerobic oxidation of methane (SR-AOM) at the sulfate methane transition zone (SMTZ). The mechanisms of sulfur cycling and concurrent processes are, nevertheless, poorly constrained.
Grema et al. (2021) integrate high-resolution scanning electron microscopy petrography of barite (+ associated barium phases) and pyrite, together with microscale isotopic microanalyses of δ34Spyrite, δ34Sbarite, and δ18Obarite of selected samples from the Late Devonian Canol Formation of the Selwyn Basin. Samples containing both barite and pyrite were targeted to develop paired isotopic constraints on the evolution of sulfur during diagenesis. We have focused on the precise mechanism by which highly positive δ34Spyrite values developed in the Canol Formation and discuss the implications for interpreting sulfur isotopes in similar settings.
This data report comprises microscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) analyses of the isotopic compositions of pyrite (δ34Spyrite; n= 200) and barite (δ34Sbarite; n= 485, δ18Obarite; n= 338) in nine stratigraphic sections of the Northwest Territories’ part of the Selwyn Basin. Microdrills of regions of interest (n= 54) were made on polished sections to obtain suitable subsamples, using a 4 mm diameter diamond core drill. Several representative subsamples were cast into 25 mm epoxy pucks, together with reference materials (RMs) of pyrite S0302A (δ34S V-CDT = 0.0 ± 0.2‰ (Liseroudi et al., 2021)) and barite S0327 (δ34SV-CDT = 11.0 ± 0.5 ‰; δ18OV-SMOW = 21.3 ± 0.2 ‰ (Magnall et al., 2016)). Microscale isotopic analyses were carried out using Cameca IMS1280 large-geometry secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) operated in multi-collector mode at the NordSIMS laboratory, Stockholm, Sweden. External analytical reproducibility (1 σ) was typically ± 0.04‰ δ34S for pyrite, ± 0.15‰ δ34S, and ± 0.12‰ δ18O for barite. The sample identification, location, and depth are reported in the data files.
South Wales is characterised by a rich variety of geologic formations and rocks of different ages and periods, and a large asymmetric syncline, as perhaps its most significant structural geological feature, extending from east to west over a length of approximately 96 km and 30 km from north to south, respectively. This oval-shaped syncline is part of the Variscan orogenic thrust and fold belt in Central Europe and covers some 2,700 km2, with coal-bearing rocks from the Upper Carboniferous (Westphalian Stage) deposited in the central syncline and older rocks outcropping in a peripheral belt around it. The coal-bearing sequence begins with Namurian grits and shales, overlain by the more productive Lower, Middle and Upper Coal Measures. A 3D structural geological model has been implemented for the central part of the South Wales Syncline and its bedrock geology. The oldest rocks in the model domain date back to the Pridoli Series from the uppermost Silurian, the youngest to the Westphalian Stage of the Upper Carboniferous. For model implementation, mainly open access data from the British Geological Survey (BGS) has been used.
The final 3D structural geological model covers the entire Central South Wales Syncline and is 32.8 km wide and 36.6 km long. In total, the 3D model includes 21 fault zones and the elevation depth of ten surfaces: (1) Top Upper Coal Measures Formation; (2) Top Middle Coal Measures Formation; (3) Top Lower Coal Measures Formation; (4) Top Millstone Grit Group; (5) Top Dinantian Rocks; (6) Top Upper Devonian Rocks; (7) Top Lower Devonian Rocks (sandstone dominated); (8) Top Lower Devonian Rocks (mudstone dominated); (9) Top Pridoli Rocks; (10) Top Ludlow Rocks (in parts).
The Mallik Anticline is a geologic structure in the Mackenzie Delta in the Canadian Arctic. Tectonics throughout the Cenozoic, with compressional phases in the early Eocene to the late Miocene, formed this large, domed structure that is today an important source of hydrocarbons. Gas hydrates occur in the clastic sedimentary rocks of the Oligocene to Pleistocene Kugmallite, Mackenzie Bay, and Iperk sequences, which were essentially formed by deltaic processes. The presence of hydrocarbon gases within the permafrost zone in the Canadian Arctic has led to extensive exploration and production activities in the region since the mid-1960s, and the investigations by geologists and geophysicists have already been published in numerous scientific articles to date.
The associated report (Chabab and Kempka, 2023) describes the implementation of the first field-scale 3D static geologic model of the Mallik site, which was created using data from well logs and 2D seismic reflection profiles. The dataset presented here provides elevation depths and thickness data of the three distinct sequence boundaries Kugmallit-Richards, Mackenzie Bay-Kugmallit and Iperk-Mackenzie Bay as well as fault data from the Mallik site.