Other Projects:
UGROW 2020 Research

The Heat is on: An Exploration of Thermal Metamorphic Rocks in the Wichita Mountains

This research project was undertaken as part of the 2020 UGROW cohort.

My research project partner was L. Stancik and the supervising mentor was Chair & Prothro Distinguished Associate Professor of Geological Science Dr. J.D. Price.

Project Abstract

Our study compares three metamorphic rocks exposed in the Wichita Mountains in southwestern Oklahoma. These are the products of hornfels-grade metamorphism induced by adjacent 532-530 Ma magmatism associated with the opening of the Southern Oklahoma Aulacogen. We examine three sample sites: MQ (Meers Quartzite), DMTP (Davidson Meta-rhyolite at Thomas Point), and DMHC (Davidson Meta-rhyolite at Holy City). The former has received prior scrutiny, but the Davidson Meta-rhyolite is poorly defined. An in-depth study has not been performed since the 1980s.

This study outlines the similarities and differences of these rocks and constrains their origins. The study uses several methods for the analysis: optical petrography, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) characterization of polished samples for more detailed structural data, X-ray powder diffractometry (XRD) for mineral compositions, and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis of fused powder for elemental composition.

The study finds that MQ has elevated silica, a high quartz content, and contains sillimanite, a mineral indicating a formation above 900℃. As determined in older work, it is a high-temperature meta-sandstone. DMTP is more iron-rich and finer-grained than its counterparts with a texture that relates to argillite (claystone). DMHC alone contains feldspar, is geochemically similar to other nearby igneous rocks, and exhibits granophyric (feldspar and quartz) intergrowth, a feature present in many of the neighboring granites. These are not meta-rhyolites.

The results suggest DMTP to be a mafic- rich meta-claystone and DMHC to be a meta-granite - both products of much lower temperature alteration. Both of the sample areas should be remapped to reflect these new findings.