Jason Parizek
Jason Parizek

Assessing volumetric strains and mass balance relationships resulting from biotite-controlled weathering: implications for the isovolumetric weathering of the Boulder Creek Granodiorite, Boulder County, Colorado, USA

Jason Parizek
M.S. Candidate
Department of Geological Sciences
San Diego State University
Advisor Dr. Gary Girty

Wednesday, December 11th, 2013
CSL 422, 10:00am
watch Jason’s defense here

ABSTRACT

An important process often cited in the development of saprock and saprolite is the isovolumetric weathering of granitic bedrock. Evidence for isovolumetric weathering includes the observation that the texture of the granitic protolith often remains recognizable in its weathered products. In contrast to the above often cited view, results from a study of two sites located on the 1.65 Ga Boulder Creek Granodiorite near Boulder, Colorado, USA, show that weakly chemically altered saprock derived from tonalitic and granodioritic-tonalitic bedrock records volumetric strains on the order of 7.6%-8.5% and 7.9%-8.2% respectively. Furthermore, this dilation is likely due to the alteration of biotite to vermiculite during the early stages of weathering, and is associated with an expansion normal to the {001} cleavage of ~40%. Theoretical calculations of volumetric strains based on the modal biotite present in the protolith support such an interpretation.