Abstract
The Silurian Salina Group of the Michigan Basin consists of halite, carbonates, and shales. The halite was probably deposited when seawater became restricted over what is now southern Michigan. The halite consists of: (1) beds containing only chevrons, and (2) beds composed of chevron and cumulate crystals. This indicates shallow depositional waters. The primary fluid inclusions along growth bands in these crystals are well preserved and unaltered. These cubic, all-liquid inclusions, ranging in size from >1 to 150 μm, represent Silurian surface waters.
These all-liquid inclusions were cooled in order to nucleate a vapor bubble. After cooling, inclusions were warmed slowly and the homogenization of the vapor bubbles to liquid was observed. The homogenization temperatures ranged from 19.8°C to 59.0°C, with the majority of the measurements falling below 40.0°C. Validity of this temperature data is strongly suggested by: (1) reproducibility of homogenization temperatures within 1°C; and (2) similar homogenization temperatures within individual growth bands ranging between 4–10°C. Therefore, these homogenization temperatures represent Silurian shallow water temperatures.
In modern shallow evaporative settings, the water temperatures and the air temperatures are very similar. Since petrography of the halite beds indicates shallow water deposition, these homogenization temperatures may be good proxies for Silurian air temperatures.
This may be among the first quantitative Silurian climate data. Paleoclimate data such as these may give new insights into modern climate and future climate trends.
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Losey, A.B., Benison, K.C. Silurian paleoclimate data from fluid inclusions in the Salina Group halite Michigan Basin. Carbonates Evaporites 15, 28–36 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03175646
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03175646