Pattern formation in Mississippi valley-type deposits - identifying one of nature's fundamental processes in geologic systems

Kelka, Ulrich (2017) Pattern formation in Mississippi valley-type deposits - identifying one of nature's fundamental processes in geologic systems. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Printed Thesis Information: https://eleanor.lib.gla.ac.uk/record=b3268927

Abstract

Nature has a range of distinct mechanisms that cause initially heterogeneous systems to break their symmetry and form patterns. The study of pattern formation and the behaviour of non-linear systems have interested scientists across many disciplines from physics, chemistry, biology, and economics to geosciences. In study, a new mechano-chemical process that leads to the formation of complex periodic wave- or stripe-like zebra patterns in rocks will be presented. The genesis of periodically banded dolostones, which host lead-zinc mineralization, has been studied for several years, because an evolutionary relationship between the banded dolomites and mineralized areas is highly likely. To date, a complete generic model has not been formulated for the formation of these zebra rocks and there is an ongoing debate on the exact processes leading to the genesis of the pattern. In the first part of this work, new analytical findings obtained from zebra dolomites from Peru and Germany will be presented. The zebra dolomites from Germany have never been described before and represent the first known zebra dolomite deposit in Germany. Based on the analytical finding, a numerical and an analytical model were developed in the second part of this thesis. The combination of the numerical and the analytical model yields a new approach to the zebra pattern formation based on one of nature’s fundamental processes for wave-like pattern formation in geological systems. This approach also includes a new inversion routine based on the spacing of the respective pattern.

Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
Qualification Level: Diploma
Keywords: Pattern formation, zebra dolomites, Mississippi valley-type deposits.
Subjects: Q Science > QE Geology
Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences > Earth Sciences
Funder's Name: European Commission (EC)
Supervisor's Name: Koehn, Dr. Daniel
Date of Award: 2017
Depositing User: Ulrich Kelka
Unique ID: glathesis:2017-8146
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 09 May 2017 13:40
Last Modified: 08 Jun 2017 15:38
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/8146

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