EcoomicGeology

Vol. 87, 1992, pp. 352-365

OrganicMatter Diagenesis
asthe Key to a UnifyingTheoryfor the
Genesisof TabularUranium-Vanadium Depositsin the
Morrison Formation, ColoradoPlateau
PAULA L. HANSLEY AND CHARLES S. SPIRAKIS

U.S.Geological
Survey,Box25046,Mail Stop939,DenverFederalCenter,Denver,Colorado80225

Abstract

Interstitial,epigeneticamorphous organicmatteris intimatelyassociated with uraniumin

theGrantsuraniumregiononthesouthernpartoftheColoradoPlateauin northwestern New
Mexicoandis considered essentialto geneticmodelsfor thesedeposits.In contrast,uranium
mineralsareintimatelyassociated with authigenicvanadiumchloriteandvanadiumoxidesin
amorphous organicmatter-poororesof the SlickRockandHenryMountainsminingdistricts
on the northernpart of the plateau,andtherefore,in somegeneticmodelsamorphous or-
ganicmatter is not consideredcrucialto the formationof thesedeposits.Differencesin
organicmattercontentcanbe explainedby recognizing thatamorphous organicmatter-poor
depositshavebeensubjectedto moreadvancedstagesof diagenesis thanamorphous organic
matter-richdeposits, duringwhichorganiccompounds were brokendown,solubilized,and
removedduringvariousdiageneticstages(e.g., sulfatereduction,methanogenesis, and or-
ganicacidproduction).Mostdiageneticalterations (e.g.,dissolution
of frameworkgrainsand
cementsandprecipitationof coarse-grained coffinite,vanadiumclays,andvanadiumoxides)
characteristic of amorphousorganicmatter-poordepositsoccurredwhentemperatures ex-
ceeded80C--a temperaturetypicalof the organicacidstageof diagenesis.
Two factorscombinedto assurethat a highpercentageof the amorphous organicmatter
wasremovedfromtheMorrisonFormationduringdiagenesis: thefactthattheorganicmatter
washumic(andthereforehighlyoxygenated), andthat the juxtapositionof authigenicsmec-
tite and amorphous organicmatteron grainrimsfacilitatedclay mineral-organic catalysis
reactionsleadingto the breakdownof large organicmoleculesinto smaller,soluble
molecules.
Evidencethat amorphous organicmatterwasinvolvedin the genesisof organicmatter-
poor,aswell asorganicmatter-rich,deposits includesthe presence of leachediron-titanium
oxidesandstronglyetchedgarnets(bothattributedto leachingby organicacids),the grada-
tion fromorganicmatter-richto organicmatter-poordeposits in the Grantsuraniumregion,
theinversecorrelationbetweentheamountof amorphous organicmatterandtheintensityof
diagenetic alteration,the ubiquitousoccurrence of amorphous organicmatterinclusions in
coffinitc,and the similarityin geometryof tabularuranium-vanadium oresand Holocene
humatedeposits.By recognizingthat amorphous organicmatterwascrucialto the initial
concentrationof uranium(even in thosedepositsthat presentlycontainlittle amorphous
organicmatter)andby recognizing the effectsof the variousstages of diagenesisonthe ore,
onegeneticmodelmaybe appliedto all of the sandstone-hosted, tabular-typeuranium-vana-
diumdepositsin the MorrisonFormationon the ColoradoPlateau.

Introduction (Grangeret al., 1961), but notfor the genesisof or-

Tim genesisof tabular-type,sandstone-hosted, ura- ganic matter-poor depositscharacteristicof the
nium-vanadium (U-V) depositsin the UpperJurassic HenryMountains mining(Northrop,1982)andSlick
Morrison Formation on the Colorado Plateau has Rock(Breit, 1986) districtson the northernpart of
longbeen debated.Detrital plant materialis locally the plateau(Fig. 1). We proposethat amorphous or-
abundantthroughoutthe Morrison,but epigenetic ganic matter was crucialto the formation of all of
amorphous organicmatter (noncellularorganicmat- thesedeposits andthatpresentdifferences amongde-
ter of Hatcher et al., 1986) is commononly in U-V positsare largelydue to varyingdegreesof postore
depositsof the MorrisonFormationin the Grantsura- diagenesis.
nium region on the southernpart of the Colorado Most samplesexaminedin this studywere col-
Plateau.Amorphousorganicmatter,whichwasintro- lectedfrom the WestwaterCanyonMemberof the
duced into ore zonesin a solubleform, is considered MorrisonFormationin eight coresfrom a line of
to be essentialfor the genesisof organicmatter-rich holes,which were drilled as part of the Mariano
depositscharacteristic of the Grantsuraniumregion Lake-LakeValleydrillingproject(Kirket al., 1986),

0361-0128/92/1315/352-14$3.00 352
 MORRISON FM. ORGANIC MATTER DIAGENESIS 353

of theplateauin the SlickRockandHenryMountains

districts,the SaltWashMemberisthe majororehost.
I Orebodiestypicallydisplaya blanketlikegeometry
and appearsuspended in tuffaceous,fluvial sand-
stones.Thicknesses of U-V depositsrangefroma few
centimeters to a fewtensof meters;their lengthsmay
reach 1,000 m. Severalhorizontalore layerssepa-
[ GrdJunction
ratedby barrensandstones commonlylie aboveone
another.U-Pb isotopeages,whichrangefrom 132
Mb Ma (Ludwiget al., 1984) in the Grantsuraniumre-
HENRY MOUNTAINS
', SLICKROCK gionto a minimumageof 115 Ma in the HenryMoun-
tainsdistrict(K. R. Ludwig,pers.commun.,1991),
MINING
IDT i
RICT indicate that the initial concentration of U occurred
duringearlydiagenesis.
i Col' Grantsuranium region
UTAH
ARIZONA
, NEW
CO Primaryore (reducedorewhichhasundergone lit-
tle alterationsinceitsformationduringearlydiagen-
dome
esis)is a fine-grainedmixtureof urano-organic com-
I 7,7a
plexes,cryptocrystalline colfinite,and amorphous
organicmatter that commonlyfills primary pores
(Fig. 3A; Granger, 1968; Webster, 1983; Hansley,
1986, 1988).The U3Os/V205ratiorangesfrom2:1 to
1:2 (Finch, 1967). Hatcher et al. (1986) foundthat
the amorphous organicmatterishighlyaromaticwith
a relativelyhigh O/C ratio (0.2 to 0.3) and deter-
o 30 minedthat it originatedashumicacidsderivedfrom
'"o Kilometers plant material.Iron hasbeen leachedfrom iron-tita-
niumoxideminerals(Fe-Ti oxides)creatinga zoneof
low magneticsusceptibility above,within, and to a
FIG. 1. Indexmapof three majoruranium-vanadium mining lesserextent,belowore zones(seeFig. 2; Adamset
regionsin the MorrisonFormationon the ColoradoPlateauand al., 1974;Reynoldset al., 1986). Frameworksilicate
locationsof coresfromwhichsamples were takenin the Grants grainsare generallyunalteredandauthigenic smec-
uranium region.
tite occursasgraincoatings andporefillingsin unal-
tered primary ore-bearingand equivalentsand-
crossingthe Grantsuraniumregion;coreCC-12 was stones.Isotopicallylight pyrite (avg34S= -35%0;
drilledfor the Departmentof Energyaspart of its Jensen, 1963)andcalcite(13C= -11.93 to -16.05%0;
ChacoCanyonproject(seeFig. 1). A crosssectionof Leventhal,1980) arealsocommonlypresent.
the coresshowinglocationsof ore zonesappearsin A distinctalterationzone with sharpupper and
Figure 2. More than 100 ore-bearingsamplesfrom lower boundariesthat pinchesout updip in appar-
minesin other partsof the Grantsuraniumregion entlyhomogeneous WestwaterCanyonsandstones is
were examined.In addition,the petrologyanddia- presentin the cores(seeWhitney, 1986, fig. 11;
genesisof ore-bearingsamplesfrom the SaltWash WhitneyandNorthrop,1987). Mostore in thiszone
Memberof the MorrisonFormationin the Henry is reduced,but it containslessamorphous organic
MountainsminingandSlickRockdistrictswascom- matter(Fig. 3B andC) andmorecoffinitc(Fig. 3D)
paredto that of the Grantssamples.Sampleswere thanprimaryoreandisassociated withawidevariety
studiedprimarilywith the petrographic microscope of postprimary ore diageneticalterationsincluding
in plane-polarized andreflectedlight,scanning elec- ankeriteandferroancalcitecements,regularlyinter-
tronmicroscope, andelectronmicroprobe(seeHans- stratifiedillite-smectite(>0.2 I; Whitney, 1986),
ley, 1986, for a completediscussion of methods). skeletalizedand albitized plagioclase,potassium
feldspar overgrowths,microcrystallineadularia,
GeneralCharacteristics of the Deposits quartzandamorphous silica,anhydrite,andtwogen-
Tabular-type,sandstone-hosted, U-V depositsin erationsof Fe-richchlorite(HansIcy,1986, 1988).
the MorrisonFormationare widely distributedon Moderatelyto stronglyetchedgarnetsoccurin this
the Colorado Plateau.In the Grantsuraniumregion, zone,whereasgarnetsareunetchedin apparently ho-
theWestwaterCanyonMemberof the MorrisonFor- mogeneous sandstonesaboveor below (seeFig. 2;
mationisthe principalorehost;onthe northernpart Hansley,1987).
354 P. L. HANSLEYAND C. S. SPIRAKIS

SOUTH= 60 km INORTH
DAKOTA

1 3 4 SANDSTONE
5 6 7 7a CC-1

II / III
.1250

950

F 3OO
0
R

350
M
A
T
I
0
N

[]SEVERE
[] ETCHING,
MOST
GARNETS I25
MODERATE METERS
TO STRONGETCHING,MANYGARNETS
SURFACE ETCH-PATTERN, MANY GARNETS

URANIUMMINERALIZATION
-- ABOVE THIS MAGNETIC SUSCEPTIBILITY IS LESS
THAN 500 MICRO S.I. UNITS (Reynolds el a1.,1988)

FIG.2. Crosssectionof coresshowingthe locationof uraniumore (U > 1,000 ppm)zones(seeFig. 1

for locations
of cores).Low magneticsusceptibilityzonecoincides
with iron-titaniumoxidealteration
zonewhichis shownabovethe dashed 'line;the etchedgarnetzoneis designated by variouspatterns.
ModifiedfromHansley(1986, fig. 7).

Unalteredprimaryore hasan organicC/U ratio of bearingchlorite, V oxides,dolomite,minor pitch-

approximately 1 (e.g.,core3), orecontaining moder- blende,and isotopically light pyrite (348= -26 to
ate amountsof amorpho,us organicmatter (organic -40%0) as a matrix in sandstonepores (Northrop,
C/U < 1) exhibitsminorpostorediageneticalteration 1982; Northrop and Goldhaber,eds., 1990). Ore
(e.g., core 4), and ore containingvery little amor- zonescontainup to severalpercentdetritalorganic
phousorganicmatter (organicC/U , 1) hasintense matter,but unlikeprimaryore in the Grantsuranium
postorediageneticalteration(e.g., cores7, 7a, and regioncoextensive U andamorphous organicmatter
CC-12; Hansley, 1986, 1988). The ore-bearingin- occur only rarely, and then, only near compacted
terval in core 4 is characterizedby chlorite over- plant debris(Northropand Goldhaber,eds., 1990).
growthson amorphous organicmatter-smectite grain Detrital Fe-Ti oxideshavebeen altered to TiO2 up-
coatings,coffinitecrystals(<2 m in length)embed- dip andup hydrologicgradientfrom ore-bearingin-
ded in amorphousgrain coatingscontainingminor tervals(Northropand Goldhaber,eds., 1990). Two
organicC, andmoderatedevelopmentof secondary distinct morphologiesof authigenicvanadiferous,
porosity(Fig. 3B); ore in cores7, 7a, and CC-12 is type II-b chlorite(an early "houseof cards"and a
characterized by coffinite,chloriticgrainrims,traces late rosettechlorite)were foundin ore-bearingsand-
of amorphousorganicmatter, and well-developed stones(Whitney and Northrop, 1986). Authigenic
secondary porosity(Fig. 3C, D). In the deepestore quartzovergrowths, potassium feldspar,andV oxides
zonein core7, colloformaggregates of coarselycrys- clearly postdate early V chlorite (Whitney and
talline coffinite(up to 10 m in length)containing Northrop, 1986). Barrensandstones overlyingand
inclusions of TiO2 and organicC locallyfill primary underlyingore zonescontainup to 12 vol percent
andsecondary pores(Hansley,1986). A similarsuite quartz overgrowths(Wanty et al., 1990). Quartz
of diageneticalterationsassociated with amorphous grainsare partiallyreplacedby ore minerals;plagio-
organicmatter-poorore wasnotedin manyore-bear- clasegrainsin ore are skeletalizedand commonly
ing samples from otherpartsof the Grantsuranium filled in by calcite(Northrop,1982). Calciteis the
region. most abundant cement in barren sandstones but is
generallyscarcein ore zones(Wanty et al., 1990).
HenryMountains miningdistrict Dolomiteis intergrownwith coffinireandhaslocally
Unoxidizedtabular-typeU-V ore consists of a mix- replacedcalcite,but it, too, is more abundantin
ture of coffinirecrystals(2-6 m in length)andV- barren sandstones above and below ore zones
 MORRISOH
FM.ORGANIC
MATTER
DIAGEIqESIS 355

iv

FIe.3. Photomicrographs
takeninplane-polarized lightshowing theinverse correlationbetween the
amount ofamorphous organic
matterandtheintensity ofdiageneticalteration in thecores.A. Primary
ore(o)withamorphous organicmatter-rich orecoatings ongrainrimsandmatrix inpores fromcore3.
Notelackof framework grainalteration.Q = quartzgrain,v = void.B. Ore (o)withchlorite(cl)on
amorphous organicmatter-bearinggrainrimsshowing development of intergranular porosity(v) and
intragranular
secondaryporosity(iv)in skeletalplagioclase.
Ca-- calcite;
p -- pyrite,q -- quartz,core4.
C.Amorphous organicmatter-poororeshowing moredevelopment ofchlorite (cl)onamorphous organic
mattergrainrims,intragranular
porosity (iv),calciteremnant(ca),andverylittleamorphous organic
matter-bearing
ore(o)underlyingchloriterims.Kf = potassiumfeldspar,q = quartz;core7. D. Scanning
electronmicrographofamorphous organic matter-poor oreshowing elongate coffinitecrystals
(co)and
siliceous
microspheres
embedded inamorphous, carbonaceous,anduraniferous substrate.

(NorthropandGoldhaber, eds.,1990).The iaCval- andmontroseite) crystals fill poresrimmedby chlo-

uesof authigenicdolomitein the mineralizedinter- rite and cut acrossearlier authigenicphases.Semi-
val average-2.3 per mil (relativeto the PDB stan- quantitative electronmicroprobe analyses of grain
dard);iaCvaluesof dolomitein barrenSaltWash coatings in Al-coatedpolishedsections revealedU,
sandstones are lighter, averaging-4.0 per mil Si, Mg, V, and Fe; organicC contentswere two to
(Northrop,1982, fig. 1-10). three times backgroundvalues.Rare garnetsare
In thepresentstudy,scanning electronmicroscopy deeplyetchedin ore-bearing sandstonesandequiva-
of ore fromthe TonyM minein the Henry Mountains lent barren Salt Wash sandstones.
miningdistrictrevealedpoorlyformed1- to 2-/m Slick Rock district
coffinitecrystalsembeddedin amorphousorganic
matter-bearing graincoatings(Fig. 4A) underlying Tabular-type U-V ore (excluding oxidized,carno-
larger coffinitecrystalsand abundantV chloritein tite-richore) in the SlickRockdistrict(seeFig. 1)
pores(Fig.4B, C). Vanadiumoxide(paramontroseitegenerally consistsof a fine-grained matrixof V sili-
356 P. L. HANSLEYAND C. S.SPIRAKIS
FIG. 4. Scanningelectronmicrographs
of uranium-vanadium
orefromtheHenryMountains miningdistrict.A. Overviewofore
containing V chlorite(cl) andmontroseitc (m). Arrowpointsto
inside,concavesurface ofgraincoating.B.Lowerportionofgrain
coatingshownabovearrowin (A) is the magnified, insidesurface
ofgraincoatingthatconsists ofelongate(grayishwhite)1-to3-/m
coffinitc(co)crystalsembedded in amorphous organicmatter
(black).C. Typicalpore-fillingmatrixof V chlorite(cl),montro-
seitc(m),andcoffinitc(co)thatovedies graincoatings.
cates(V chlorite, V illite-smectite,and roscoelite),
cofflnite, uraninite, montroseitc,and isotopically
lightpyrite (Weekset al., 1959; Breit, 1986; Fig. 5).
The UaOs/VO5
ratiovariesfrom1:2 tb 1:20(Finch,
1967). Abundantcoalifieddetrital organicmatteris
presentin and aroundore zones.Detrital Fe-Ti ox-
idesareleachedof re in andaboveore-bearinginter-
vals(Shawe,'1976). Quartzand feldspargrainsare
stronglycorrodedand 5 to 15 vol percentquartz
overgrowthsare abundantin altered sandstones in-
eludingthosecontainingore zones(Shawe,1976).
Authigeniccalcite,dolomite,barite, hematite,kao-
linitc, andsecondaryporosityalsooccurin ore-bear-
ing sandstones(Breit, 1986; Meunieret al., 1987).
During the presentstudy, scanningelectronmi-
croscopyof ore from the Centennialmine revealed
that the highestconcentrations of U are in amor-
phousgrain-coatingmaterial(Fig. 6A), which con-
tainsmicron-sizecofflnite(Fig. 6B), and that pores
are filledwith V silicatesandV oxides.Energy-dis-
persivespectraof grain coatingsshowedU, Si, AI,
Mg, re, K, and minor V peaks;organicC was not
detected.Frameworksilicategrainsaremorealtered
than in other districts:quartz grainsare corroded,
(rare)plagioclasegrainsare replacedby authigenic
cements,andgarnetsare eitherabsentor, if present,
aremoredeeplyetchedthanin the othertwomining
regions.
In theSaltWashMembernearBeclabitodome(see
Fig. 1) southof theSlickRockdistrict,etchedgarnets
occuronlyin thepartof the SaltWashwhichcontains
amorphousorganicmatter-poorU-V ore; garnetsin
petrologicallysimilarsandstones aboveand below
ore-bearing intervalsareunetched.In the intervalof
FIG.5. Photomicrograph of partlyoxidizeduranium-vanadium
ore that formsa matrixin quartzosesandstone of the SaltWash
Member in the Slick Rock district. Ore is a mixture of vanadium
clays,roscoelite,and minor coffinitc.Q = detritalquartzgrain.
Calcite(ca)hasreplacedplagioclase grains.Comparetextureof
uranium-vanadium oreto the uraniumore in Figure3. Plane-po-
larizedlight.
 MORRISON FM. ORGANIC MATTER DIAGENESIS 357

teraction).Granger(1968)and(Grangeret al., 1980)

suggested thataninterfacebetweena meteoricwater
carryingsolublehumicandfulvicacids(derivedfrom
Its eitherterrestrialorganicmatterin the MorrisonFor-
mation or organic-richLower Cretaceousunits no
longerpresent)and a brine causedprecipitationof
the humate in tabular bodies. On the other hand,
Squyres(1980) believedthat aninterfacewasnotre-
quired.He proposedthat humicacid-bearing solu-
tionsderivedfromdecayingplantmaterialin fluvial
sandstones of the Morrison Formation that reacted
with detritalmineralseventuallybecameoverloaded
with cationssuchasCa andFe, condensed intoa gel,
and finally precipitated.Expandingon this idea,
Turner-Peterson andFishman(1986) suggested that
the amorphousorganicmatter, derived from the
mudfiatfaciesof the BrushyBasinMember(Turner-
Peterson,1985; Adams,1986), precipitatedby a
mechanism calledcationloading(or cationscaveng-
ing;FishmanandTurner-Peterson, 1986).
In contrast,Sanford(1990a,b) showedby regional
paleohydrological modelingthat during early dia-
genesisof the MorrisonFormationa solutioninter-
facewouldhavebeenpresentbetweenanunderlying
salineregionalflowsystemanddilutelocalflowsys-
tem. The U deposits formedin areasof regionaldis-
chargewhere regionalgroundwater carryingdis-
solvedsaltsfrom underlyingevaporitesformed a
density-stabilizedinterfacewith a U- andhumicacid-
bearing dilute shallow ground water. Sanford
(1990b) suggested that humateassociated with the
ColoradoPlateau tabular-typeU-V depositsmay
haveprecipitatedat thisinterfaceasdoeshumatein
fresh-waterlensesoverlyingbrinesin coastalaquifers
FIG. 6. Scanningelectronmicrographsof uranium-vanadium
from the Centennialmine, SlickRockdistrict.A. today.For a modernanalogue,
ore in sandstone he citesSwanson and
Insideview of graincoating(large,concave,fine-grained
areain Palacas (1965) who proposed that tabular layersof
centerof picture)thatcontains
elements includingU, V, Fe, Ti, Si, humate-cemented sandstone formed when humic
Ca,andK andsubmicron-size colfinitecrystals.
Surrounding pores acidsderivedfromthe degradation of plantmaterial
arefilledwitha mixtureof vanadium oxides(montroseite and/or were solubilized in rainwater and carried downward
paramontroseite,vo)andvanadiumsilicates(V illite and/orroscoe-
lite,vs).B.Close-upviewofpoorlyformedcolfinite (co)in until they precipitatedat a freshwater-seawater
crystals in-
grain coating. terface.As the interfaceroseandfell in responseto
seasonalwettingand drying,tabularhumatelayers
precipitated at different stratigraphiclevels--a
etchedgarnets,garnetsare lessabundant.This pat- meansof formingmultiplehumatelayersandpossi-
tern istypicalin that etchedgarnetsoccurin all ore- bly multipleore layers.
bearingand stratigraphically equivalentsandstones In all of thesegeneticmodelssomeU andV are
of the Salt Wash Member that have been examined assumed to havebeentransported in solubleorganic
on the ColoradoPlateau(Hansley,unpub.data). complexes with additional enrichment occurring
soonafterdepositionof the humate.
Previous Ore Genesis Models
HenryMountains
miningdistrict
Grantsuraniumregion
In studiesof tabular-typeV-U ore in the Henry
In theGrantsuraniumregionwhereamorphous or- Mountainsminingdistrict,PetersonandTurner-Pe-
ganicmatteris'always presentin primaryore, itsori- terson(1980) andPeterson(1980) firstproposedthe
gin andemplacement is an essential
part of genetic lacustrine-humate modelin which they suggested
models.Variousmodelsdisagreeasto the sourceof that amorphous organicmatterin ore zoneswasde-
the amorphous organicmatterandonthe mechanism rived from solubleorganiccomplexes that were ex-
for its precipitation(e.g.,fluid-rockvs.fluid-fluidin- pelledfrom favorablegraylacustrinemudstones lo-
358 I'. L. HANSLEYAND C. S. SPIRAKIS

cated above and below the ore zones into Salt Wash tiple layers are believed to representshort-term
sandstones duringcompaction.Theseorganicacids shifts in an interface and indicate how transient inter-
then congealedinto tabularlayersduringearlydia- faces can be.
genesis andwerethe locifor the concentration of U Goldhaberet al. (1991) alsocalculatedthat 1.6
andV. The presenceof amorphous organicmatteron X 10 7 m3 of water was needed to deliver V to a 1-m
grainrimsin manyorezonesledthemto characterize X 1,000-m-long tubeof oneof the fourV orelayers,
the Henry Mountainsore depositsas"humaterich." andtheybelievedthisvolumeof watercouldflowin
Becausesomeore zonesarepresentlyamorphous or- 103yr. Aswith Si, the flowrate canbe calculated as
ganic matter poor, Petersonand Turner-Peterson follows:[(1.6 X 107m3)(4)]/[(0.4 m)(10a yr)]. The
(1980) suggested that someof this organicmatter resultis anunreasonable flowrate of 1.6 X 10s m/yr.
waslostduringdiageneticprocesses. The lacustrine- If a reasonableflowrateof 1 m/yr isinsertedintothe
humatemodelhasbeen questioned,however,be- equation,thenthe requireddurationof mineraliza-
causeof hydrologicconstraints (Sanford,1990a, b) tioncanbe calculated as160 m.y.Evenif aninterface
andthe low amountsof organicmatterin the Brushy couldbe maintainedfor 160 m.y., the rocksare only
Basin Member. 130 m.y. old!
Northrop(1982), Northropand Goldhaber(eds., If aninterfacewasinvolvedin the genesis of tabu-
1990), andWanty et al. (1990) in refininga model lar U-V deposits,the precipitationof humateat a
firstproposed by Fischer(1947) advocated thattabu- short-livedinterfacesimilarto thatdescribed by San-
lar U-V depositsin the Henry Mountainsminingdis- ford (1990a, b) is muchmorelikely thanis a long-
trict formedwhereconcentrations of detritalorganic lived (lOS-lOs yr) interface.
matter were intersectedby an interfacebetweena
sulfate-richbrine and a U- and V-bearingmeteoric Slick Rock district
water. They did not consideramorphousorganic
matter essentialfor U concentrationand reduction, In oneoftheearliergeneticmodels, Shawe(1976)
and they did not recognizethat the ore and many suggested that the U-V ores formed wherealkaline
associated reducing compactional water from the Upper
authigenicmineralsmayhaveformeddur- taceousMancos Shale encountered concentrations Cre-
of
ingvariousstagesof normaldiagenesis. A numberof
humicacidin the vicinityof carbonaceousmaterialin
problemswiththeirdata,interpretations, andhydrol-
the SaltWash Member.Alternatively,Breit (1986)
ogywerediscussed by Spirakis(1991). In particular,
proposedthat the U-V oresformedwhenoxidizedU
Wanty et al. (1990) calculatedthatwith a reasonable
flowrate of 1 m/yr, 10s yr were requiredto deliver and V speciestransportedin groundwatersthrough
Salt Wash channel sandstones encountered a reduc-
sufficientsilicato form the abundantquartz over-
ing environment,suchasHS associated with micro-
growthscogeneticwith ore.After it waspointedout
that their calculationwasfor only 1 ma of ore (Spira- bial alterationof plantfragments. He also suggested
kis, 1991), they revisedtheir massbalancecalcula- that the present aspect of the ore is the result of a
tion (Goldhaberet al., 1991) anddeterminedthat3.1 complex, multistage, postore diagenetic history in-
cludingthe influxof warm,deepbasinandcool,me-
X 109ma of silica-bearing waterhadto flowthrough teoric fluidsalongfaultsinto SaltWashsandstones
eachtubeof a 1-m2 area(with40% porosity)along (Breit et al., 1990).
the fluidinterface.Thiscalculation wasonlyfor one
of the foursilicalayerswhichtheybelievedformed A Unifying Model.'AmorphousOrganicMatter
sequentially. They claimedthat suchflowwasconsis- Diagenesisand Relationshipto
tent with their originalestimatethat the ore formed Tabular U-V Deposits
in aslittle as100,000 yr; however,they did notjus-
tify (orevenmention)thattherequiredflowratewas Noneof the precedingmodelsfully addressed the
now an unreasonable 310,000 m/yr. The flow rate potentialeffectsof diagenesis on amorphous organic
equalsthe volumeof waterper layer,timesthe four matter-bearingtabular-typeU-V deposits.We be-
layers, divided by the area that the water flows lievethatvariableamounts of solublehumicorganic
through(lessthan 40% of a m2),dividedby time: matterprecipitatedin tabularlayersby reactionsat
[(3.1 X 109m)(4)l/[(0.4m)(10 s yr)]. Flow rates aninterface,by cationscavenging, or perhapsa com-
closerto reasonable may be compatiblewith their binationof the two duringearlydiagenesis in all of
model if the duration of mineralization is extended to thesedeposits. We proposethatsubsequent diagene-
the ageof the hostrocks,l0 s yr, but eventhen, un- sisof thishumicamorphous organicmatter(during
usuallyhighflowrates(near300 m/yr) arerequired, whichmuchof it wasremobilizedand/ordestroyed)
andit is difficultto imaginehow an interfacecould canexplainmanyof the presentdifferencesamong
remainstablefor l0 s yr despitetectonicmovement, the deposits. Thus,the originof tabular-typeU-V de-
climatechange,andchemicaldiffusionacross the in- positsin the MorrisonFormationon the Colorado
terface.Holocenehumatedeposits thatoccurin mul- Plateaucan be linked into one geneticmodel--a
 MORRISON FM. ORGANIC MATTER DIAGENESIS 359

modelin whichamorphous organicmatterwascriti- texturesbetween the amorphousorganicmatter-

cal to the initial concentration of U. poor Grantsore (Fig. 3B-D) and oresof the Slick
Rock(Fig. 5) andHenry Mountains(Fig. 4) districts
Evidence for theformerpresence of amorphous areevidencethatamorphous organicmatterwasorig-
organicmatterin all tabular-typeU-V oresof the inallypresentin the amorphous
organicmatter-poor
Morrison Formation
Salt Wash ores as well.
Adamset al. (1974)andReynolds
et al. (1986)con-
cluded that alteration of Fe-Ti oxides in the Grants Diagenesis of tabular-typeU-V orescomparedto
uraniumregionwascausedby humicacid-bearing so- normal diagenesis of organicsediments
lutionsduringearlydiagenesis. AlteredFe-Ti oxides, In normaldiagenesis aswell asin the U-V deposits,
identicalto thosein the Grantsuraniumregion,that a widevarietyof chemicalprocesses, includingoxi-
are foundin andup hydrologicgradientfromamor- dation,sulfatereduction,methanogenesis, hydroly-
phousorganicmatter-poorore zonesin the Slick sis,clay-mineralcatalysis, isomerization, andproton-
RockandHenryMountainsdistricts,implythat solu- ation, degradelarge organicmoleculesduringdia~
ble organicacidsmigratedthroughSaltWashsand- genesis. Accordingto TissotandWelte (1984), 15 to
stonesduringearly diagenesis in thesedistrictsas 50 percentof organicmattercanbe lostthroughmi-
well. The inversecorrelationbetweenamorphous or- crobial decay alone; additionalfunctionalgroups
ganicmattercontentandintensityof diageneticalter- cleavefromlargeorganicmoleculesduringthermal
ation as observed in the Grants cores--where amor- maturation. Humateisa highlyoxygenated molecule,
phousorganicmatter-bearing, unalteredore-bearing therefore,it is particularlysusceptible to beingdis-
sandstonegradesinto amorphousorganicmatter- solvedand removedduringdiagenesis: humicand
poor,highlyaltered,ore-bearingsandstone (Fig.3A- fulvicacidshavean averageratioof carboxylgroups
D)--implies removalof solubleorganicmatterfrom to carbonof 1:12and1:6,respectively, andfora mol-
amorphous organicmatter-deficient oresduringdia- ecule to be solublethe minimumratio of carboxyl
genesis. The abundance of coffinitcin theseoresand groupsto carbonis 1:12 (Thurman,1985). During
the fact that virtuallyall reportedcoffinitccrystals early diagenesis CO2 and H20 are lost easily,and
are dark green to black due to inclusionsof amor- weaklybondedoxygenated functionalgroups(e.g.,
phousorganicmattersuggest a relationbetweenthe carbonylgroups)cleavefrom aromatichumiccores.
destruction of amorphous organicmatterandthefor- Also,becauseof the closeproximityof smectiteand
mationof coffinitc(HansIcy,1988).The presenceof amorphous organicmatter,conditions were optimal
graincoatingsenrichedin organicC andcoffinitcin throughout diagenesis of the MorrisonFormationfor
the HenryMountainsore (seeFig. 4), andthe occur- synergistic claymineral-organic reactions(e.g.,clay
rence of submicron-size coffinitccrystalsin amor- mineralcatalysis; Theng,1974). In thisprocess, the
phousgraincoatings in SlickRockore(seeFig. 6B)-- conversion of smectite to ordered illite-smectite is fa-
the identicallocationof amorphous organicmatter cilitatedby organic-induced reductionof ferric to
andU in amorphous organicmatter-richoresof the ferrousiron in randommixed layer illite-smectite
Grantsuraniumregion,is a further indicationthat (Eslingeret al., 1979), and conversely, mixedlayer
the initial localizationof U wascontrolledby early illite-smectiteacceleratesthe crackingof organic
diageneticreactionsinvolvingamorphousorganic compounds (SurdamandCrossey,1985; Crosseyet
matter--even in now amorphousorganicmatter- al., 1986; Kharakaet al., 1986). Furthermore,be-
poor ores.Even thoughamorphous organicmatter causeclaymineralshaveaninherentaciditydueto a
wasnot detectedin graincoatingsin the SlickRock chargedeficiency, theycanbehaveasbothLewisand
district, the presenceof U in the sametwo textural Bronstedacids(Theng,1974). The net resultof this
locationsas in the Grantsoresmakesa compelling acidicbehaviorof claymineralsis the degradation of
comparison. The similarityin shape(tabular)of the large,adsorbedorganicmolecules intosmaller(more
multiple,closelyspacedamorphous organicmatter- soluble)moleties.All of theseprocesses mayhavere-
richorelayersto Holocenehumatedeposits suggestsmovedamorphous organicmatterduringdiagenesis
a similarprecipitationmechanism for both deposits; of the U-V deposits.
namely,at a stratifiedfluid interface.The tabular, Comparison of thenormalprogression of alteration
peneconcordant nature of amorphousorganicmat- duringburialdiagenesis (e.g.,fromlow to hightem-
ter-poorore layersandtheir otherclosesimilarities peratures)of organic-bearing sedimentsto the ob-
to amorphous organicmatter-richorelayersimplies servedsequence of diagenetic eventsin samples from
that they, too, formedby the samemechanism. Fi- coresof thisstudy(HansIcy,1986, 1988) andto ob-
nally,the gradationfromamorphous organicmatter- servations madein other U-V districtsshowsmany
rich to amorphousorganicmatter-poorore in the similarities(Fig. 7).
Grantsuraniumregion,andthe similarities in authi- In contrastto normaldiagenesis in whichmostor-
genicphases,parageneticsequence,and alteration ganicmatter is depositedwith the sediments,amor-
360 P. L. HANSLEY AND C. S. SPIRAKIS

GENERALIZED DIAGENESIS

DIAGENETIC TABULAR DEPOSITS ORGANIC-RICH SEDIMENTS

STAGE
1
Toc Concentrationof CarboxylicAcids(mg/L)
10 100 1000 10,000
20

Surf ate Epigenetic

organic
matter I llite/smectite
Smectite, illite/smectite
Reduction 13C-depleted
calcite 13C-depleted
calcite
40 32S-enriched
pyrite 32S-enriched
pyrite
Altered Fe-Ti oxides

13 - 13C-enriched
dolomite
Methanogenesis C-enriched dolomite
6O and calcite
and calcite

8O APPROXIMATE
THERMAL
LIMITOFBACTERIA
/

Skeletal plagioclase Aluminosilicate dissolution

Etched garnets Ordered illite/smectite
Organic100 Ordered illite/smectite Ferroan chlorite
Ferroan chlorite Albite
Acid
Albite Ferroan carbonates
Fe rroan carbonates Secondary
porosity
Secondaryporosity Petroleumgeneration
120 Diageneticallyalteredore /
Coarse coffinire /

THERMAL DESTRUCTION OF SHORT-CHAINED ORGANIC ACIDS

140

1Modified
from
Surdam
etal.(1989)
FIG. 7. Compositediagenesis in tabular-typeuranium-vanadium
depositsin sandstones of the Morri-
sonFormationon the ColoradoPlateaucomparedto the normaldiagenesis of organic-richsediments
superimposed upona diagram(modifiedfromSurdamet al., 1989)showing therelationbetweenorganic
acidconcentration (dashedline) andtemperature.Thissequence extendsthroughdeepestburialof the
MorrisonFormation,but it doesnot includealterationsrelatedto uplift andTertiary oxidation.Alter-
ationsare not necessarily
in parageneticorderwithin eachdiageneticstage.

phousorganicmatterin the tabularU-V deposits was Reductionof sulfate(probablyderivedfrom a re-

emplacedduringearly diagenesis. During earlydia- gionalsalineflowsystem)by organicmatterandpre-
genesis,dissolution of rhyoliticvolcanicashin the cipitationof isotopicallylight pyrite andcalciteare
MorrisonFormationprovideda sourceof the various characteristicof the early diagenesis of normalor-
elements(e.g., U, V[?],Si, A1,Mg, and S) which are ganic-bearing sediments(Berner,1980). In the case
enriched in ore. Alteration of ash also resulted in the of U-V deposits, the Eh dependence of U andV solu-
precipitationof grain-rimming smectitethroughout bility (HostetlerandGarrels,1962) andthe common
Morrisonsandstones (WatersandGranger,1953). As occurrenceof reductantsin U-V depositsare the
ashdissolved, the alkalinityof porewatersincreased basesfor the conclusion thatreduction(withor with-
(Smithet al., 1981), facilitatingdissolution
of humic out preconcentration by adsorption)of U andV was
compounds in the Morrison.As the organic-bearing the mechanism of concentration and stabilization of
waters migrated through sandstoneunits, they the primaryU-V ore. In manyore zones,the associa-
leachedFe fromFe-Ti oxidesleavinga TiO2residue. tion of U andV with isotopicallylight pyrite andcal-
The dissolvedhumicacidssubsequentlyaccumulated cite suggests that U andat leastsomeV were initially
as tabularlayersin apparentlyhomogeneous sand- concentrated in all deposits
duringsulfatereduction.
stones. Evidencefor methanogenesis, which occursafter
 MORRISON FM. ORGANIC MATTER DIAGENESIS 361

sulfatereduction,in the tabularoresis providedby tion of dolomiteformationby low pH valuesor to

the distributionof 13Cvaluesof authigenic dolomite dissolutionof dolomiteby locallyhighconcentrations
in the Henry Mountainsdeposits.During methano- of organicacidsin ore layers,especiallyin the subse-
genesis(Berner, 1980; Curtis and Coleman,1986), quentorganicacidstage.Althoughparagenetic rela-
isotopicallylight carbonis concentrated in methane tionsareunclearandmultiplestages of carbonateare
while isotopicallyheavy carbonis concentratedin present,dolomiteand calcitein the SlickRockdis-
carbondioxide (e.g., 2CH20 = 12CH4-1-13CO2). trict with 81C values almost identical to those in the
Goldhaberet al. (1991), however,arguedthat dolo- HenryMountainsore (Breit,1986) mayalsobe prod-
mite associated with the U-V ore cannot be methano- uctsof methanogenesis.
genic becausethey believed that sulfate inhibits Various lines of evidence indicate that the Morri-
methanogenesis. Sulfatemight alsoaffect dolomite sonFormationin all or partsof all districtshasbeen
formationby inhibitingdolomitenucleation(Baker subjectedto temperatures(80-120C) typicalof
andKastner,1981). In orderto accommodate Baker the organicacidstageof normaldiagenesis (Surdam
andKastner's conclusion, Northrop(1982)suggestedet al., 1989). In the Grants uranium region, the
that Mg andHCO diffusedout of the brine into the MorrisonFormation hasbeenburiedto app?xi-
overlying lowSO2waterorthatSOzwasflushed by mately2,000 m (Scott,1986). Usingthis depthand
meteoricwaterfromsitesof dolomiteprecipitation. an inferred geothermalgradientof 20C/km, the
Bothideasareincompatible with NorthropandGold- maximumtemperatureto which the Morrisonwas
haber's(1990) interfacemodel;flushingwouldde- subjectedwasapproximately 65C.Vitrinite reflec-
stroy the interface, and diffusionwould not allow a tancevalues(avgRo -- 0.55; five samples,213 mea-
sharpinterfaceto be maintained. Furthermore,SO2 surements; N. Bostick,writ. commun.,1986) on coal
woulddiffuseaswell asotherions.Flushing,how- from the Dakota Sandstone in this area corroborate
ever,is compatiblewith methanogenesis, becauseit the inferred temperature.However, in the distinct
removes SO;z. It is alsopossible thatbacteriologicalalterationzone in the Grantscores,isotope(oxygen
SO;z reductionremovedsufficientSOz from the and deuterium)valueson cogeneticchloriteandor-
pore water to allowmethanogenesis. On the other dered illite-smectitesuggestthat a warm fluid mi-
hand,Hardie(1987) citedseveralexamples of dolo- gratedupdipthroughWestwaterCanyonsandstones
miteformation in thepresence of highSO2activity, (WhitneyandNorthrop,1987). It isnotcertain,how-
and he suggested that the connectionbetweenor- ever, that heat from a warm solution could be so
ganicdolomiteandanoxicconditions maybe more tightly constrainedas to accountfor the abrupt
relatedto HCO productionthanto SO;z removal. changefrom alteredto unalteredore. As an alterna-
NorthropandGoldhaber(eds.,1990) notedthat do- tive to heat,the invadingsolutionmighthavehadan
lomite,whichformedduringSOz reduction,should unusualchemistrywhichtriggeredorganicacidpro-
be xzcenriched; instead, theyfoundthedolomite as- duction.For instance,deep basinfluidscommonly
sociated withU-V oreto be 3Cenriched--preciselycontain high concentrationsof carboxylic acids
whatis expectedfor methanogenic dolomite. (Kharakaet al., 1986) whichmayhavereactedwith
Noneof the isotopedatafromore-relateddolomite and solubilizedamorphousorganicmatter (P. G.
in Northrop (1982) or Northrop and Goldhaber Hatcher, pers. commun.,1990). Thus, even though
(eds.,1990) is from samplesbelow the mineralized burial reconstructions indicate that the Morrison has
interval.Only one carbonisotopevaluefrom dolo- not been subjectedto temperaturesof the organic
mite belowthe mineralizedintervalis presentedin acidstage,it hasapparentlybeenlocallyaltered--ei-
Wantyet al. (1990). The 813Cvalueof-5 per rail of therby warmerfluidsor by anunknownmechanism.
thissampleislighterthananyof the othersamples in In the Henry Mountainsdistrict,liptinitereflectance
the entiresamplesuite.A light carbonisotopevalue datafromnonradioactive graymudstones adjacentto
beneaththe mineralizedintervalis contraryto the ore zones and from mudstones in the Tidwell
conclusionthat isotopicallyheavy carbonwas de- Member(PetersonandTurner-Peterson, 1980) sug-
rived from a brine below the mineralized interval. If gest that regional temperaturesreached at least
thisonelight isotopevalueis truly representative of 100 C in the Salt Wash Member. Fluid inclusion data
dolomitebelow the mineralizedinterval, then the iso- on authigeniccalcitesin the UpperCretaceous Man-
topicallyheavy carbonin the mineralizedinterval cosShalein the SlickRockdistrict(Shawe,1976) and
wasmostlikely derivedfromwithinthe mineralized in the mineralized Salt Wash Member in southeast-
interval (consistentwith methanogenesis) and not ern Utah indicate that the fluids from which calcite
from below (seeSpirakis,1991, for further discus- precipitatedwere salineandsufficientlywarm(70-
sion). 90C;Meunier et al., 1987) to promotethe genera-
The fact that dolomite is less abundant in ore-bear- tionof organicacidsfromamorphous organicmatter.
inglayersthanin adjacentsandstones (Northropand Astemperatures exceeded80C,largehumicmole-
Goldhaber,eds.,1990) maybe due either to inhibi- culesbrokedownat a fasterrate,releasing evenmore
362 I'. L. HANSLEY AND C. S. SPIRAKIS

organicacids,and bacterial metabolismof organic The occurrence of V oxides and V chlorite in the
acidsceased.Organic acid-bearingsolutionshave centersof poresandthe factthat they cut acrossear-
been shown to be excellent solvents of carbonate and lier authigenicphasesstronglyindicatethat these
silicates including feldspars (Huang and Keller, mineralsprecipitatedduring later diagenesis.J. D.
1971; see Surdamet al., 1989, for additionalrefer- Meunier(pets.commun.)alsoconcluded onthebasis
ences),quartz(Iler, 1979;BennettandSiegel,1989), of texturalrelationships (e.g.,lackof U-V mineralsat
and garnet(HansIcy,1987). Peakgenerationof or- concavo-convex graincontacts,V claysandV oxides
ganicacidsoccursat aboutthe sametime asthe or- superimposed on quartzovergrowths, andcoffinitc
deringof illite-smectite(Crosseyet al., 1986), a pro- crystalsin calcite)thatthe presentaspectof the Slick
cesswhichreleaseselements(e.g.,Fe, Mg, Mn, Ca, RockU-V ore formedduringlate diagenesis. In addi-
Na, andSi) that maythenprecipitateasotherauthi- tion, Meunieret al. (1990) foundradiation-damaged
genicphasessuchasferroancarbonates (Fisherand rims, which now containno U, on detrital quartz
Land, 1986), albite(FisherandLand, 1986), ferroan grainscementedby V claysin SlickRockores,indi-
chlorite (Hower et al., 1976), and quartz over- catingthattherewasanearlierepisodeofU precipita-
growthsor chert (Burleyet al., 1985). Thus,organic tion followedby an episodeof U leachingduring
acidgenerationandconcomitant effectsmayaccount which much of the remainingamorphousorganic
for dissolutionof grainsand cementsand precipita- matter was removed. These observations are consis-
tion of authigenicmineralsasobservedin the ores. tent with our conclusion that in all districts there was
The widespreadcorrosionof quartz and feldspar an early stageof U mineralization andthen later U
grainsin diageneticallyaltered ore-bearingsand- redistributionduringwhichcoarse-grained coffinitc
stonesstronglysuggests that silicawasredistributed formed.Vanadiummay havebeenbroughtinto the
locallyratherthantransportedin by groundwateras SaltWashat the time of U redistributionby fault-re-
proposed by Goldhaberet al. (1991).The generation lated solutionsor, alternatively,thesesolutionsmay
of organicacidsin intimateassociation with quartz have redistributedearlier V phases.The higher V
grains,alongwith the abilityof organicacidsto leach contentsof many amorphousorganicmatter-poor,
and form complexeswith silica,would accountfor diagenetically alteredoresisconsistent with the sug-
the dissolutionand redistributionof quartz in and gestionthat V wasintroducedin later diagenesis--
surroundingthe ore zones.Organo-silicacomplexes duringthe organicacidstage.The widely divergent
canbebrokenby changes in Eh,pH, or ionicstrength U/V ratiosof primaryGrantsore maybe dueto the
(Iler, 1979). Suchchanges arelikelyto haveoccurred factthatdiagenetically alteredorewasnotpreviously
betweenthecenterandedgeoftheorganic-rich mass recognized.
in whichorganicacidswere formingand may have
Summaryand Conclusions
causedthe precipitationof silicain sandstones adja-
centto ores.In a modernanalogue,BennettandSie- The diagenesisof tabular U-V depositsin the
gel (1987, 1989) documentedsilicaleachingfrom MorrisonFormationon the ColoradoPlateauclosely
quartzandfeldspargrainsin organic-rich sediments paralleledthe normal diageneticsequencefor or-
andsubsequent silicaprecipitationin the higherEh ganic-bearingsediments(see Fig. 7). In essence,
environment just abovethe organic-richsediments. amorphous organicmatter-poorSaltWashoreisactu-
Destabilizationof organo-silicacomplexesby the ally diageneticallyalteredGrants-typeprimaryore.
aboveeffectsor perhapsthroughexchangeof Si for Althoughthe presentamountof amorphous organic
Ca, Mg, or other ionsmay haveprovidedthe high matterin manyof the oresis low, it is importantto
silicaactivity(about10-a';Hemingway,1982)neces- realizethat duringeachstageof diagenesis (particu-
sary to precipitate coffinRe.Dissolutionof quartz larlythe organicacidstage)amorphous organicmat-
grainsandsubsequent destabilizationof organo-silica ter was broken down, consumed,and remobilized.
complexes wouldalsohavepromotedclayformation The initial highoxygencontentof the humicamor-
in ore zones. phousorganicmatter and presenceof abundant
Becausewarm (>75C) organicacid-bearingsolu- smectiteensuredthat it hadthe potentialto be con-
tionsproducedetchedgarnetsidenticalto the natu- sumedduringore genesisand subsequent alteration
rallyetchedgarnetsin laboratoryexperiments, Hans- processes. Warm(?)and/orreactivefluidsmay have
ley (1987) suggested that organicacidsreleaseddur- reactedwith and solubilizedeven more amorphous
ing diageneticdegradationof amorphousorganic organicmatterasthey movedthroughthe morein-
matterin the organicacidstagecausedthe etchingof tenselyalteredore zones.
garnetsin the MorrisonFormation.The closeoverlap Accordingto our proposedmodel(whichincorpo-
betweenthe occurrenceof stronglyetchedgarnets rates ideas from others previouslycited), the se-
and altered ore zones,suchas in core CC-12 and in quencecriticalto formation of the presentaspectof
the vicinityof Beclabitodome,alsosupports thisin- tabular-typeU-V depositsin the MorrisonFormation
terpretation. includedthe following:
 MORRISON FM. ORGANIC MATTER DIAGENESIS 363

1. Duringearliestdiagenesis, of abun- cess,but rathertheyareunusually

dissolution well-preserved
de-
dant volcanicashreleasedU, Si, and other elements, positsthatwerenotsubjected
to intensepostoredia-
producedmoderatelyalkalinepore waters,and re- genetic processes.
suitedin formationof authigenicgrain-coating and
pore-fillingsmectite. Acknowledgments
2. These alkaline pore waters dissolvedhumic We greatlyappreciatethe reviewsand adviceof
acidsfromterrestrialorganicmatterin the Morrison manycolleagues includingRickSanford,SamAdams,
Formationwhile migratingthroughMorrisonstrata. Neil Fishman,ChristineTurner, and Terry Offield
3. Detrital Fe-Ti oxidegrainswere leachedof Fe throughoutthe longpreparationof thismanuscript.
by thesehumicacid-bearing solutions. We particularlythank the five reviewerswho cri-
4. Tabular layers of humate-impregnated sand- tiquedthe manuscriptfor Economic Geology.
The au-
stoneformedwhereamorphous organicmatterpre- thors, however,acceptfull responsibilityfor the
cipitated,possiblyat a solutioninterface.The hu- ideasandconclusions expressed in the manuscript.
mate precipitatedas a thin layer on top of grain-
coating smectite creating a chemically reactive February17, 1988;November22, 1991
association.
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