Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) data from the McArthur River ore deposit suggests a hydrothermal petroleum origin and a temperature gradient during ore formation. The dataset, sourced via the Australian Ocean Data Network, provides evidence for ore genesis in a marine diagenetic environment. These results have implications for exploration models, indicating a deeper metal source and the potential transport of hydrogen sulfide.
Use Cases
- Modeling hydrothermal fluid temperatures based on PAH isomer distributions.
- Investigating sulfur sources in sediment-hosted base metal deposits based on high-temperature brine transport evidence.
- Studying paleobiological information related to ancient hydrothermal microbial systems.
- Calibrating exploration models for similar deposits using inferred temperature ranges of 250-400°C.
Strengths
- Data provides strong evidence for a specific ore genesis model in a well-preserved deposit.
- Findings on PAH generation temperatures (250-400°C) contrast with previous estimates, offering new insights.
- The dataset integrates multiple lines of evidence including geochemical, geological, and mineralogical data.
Limitations
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
- Freshness should be verified despite a last updated date of 2026-06-27.
Provenance
- Source
- Australian Ocean Data Network
- Collection Method
- Likely contains geochemical measurements from ore and mudstone samples.
- Time Range
- Paleoproterozoic era
- Freshness
- Last updated 2026-06-27 19:26:03.673428
- Geography
- McArthur River deposit, Northern Australia