Thursday October 15th, Dr. Michael Flowerdew of CASP, Cambridge, on “All about feldspars: their utility in critical minerals research, sediment provenance, and their influence on sandstone CCS reservoirs.”

Thursday October 15th, Dr. Michael Flowerdew of CASP, Cambridge, on “All about feldspars: their utility in critical minerals research, sediment provenance, and their influence on sandstone CCS reservoirs.”
Abstract
The abundance, composition and physical properties of feldspar mean that its research spans many geological disciplines and applications. This utility will be showcased through three linked case studies. Firstly, feldspar Pb isotopic composition is used to locate mineralised lithospheric boundaries within the Lewisian Complex Precambrian gneiss terrane, and advocate for a “two-plate” model for the formation of the Complex. Secondly, the Pb composition and texture of feldspars in the Lower Cretaceous Captain Sandstone in the Central North Sea show that it was sourced from the erosion of a portion of the Lewisian Complex, both directly and via recycling from strata themselves sourced from the Complex, and (3) illustrate though a combination of its feldspar composition and texture and experimental work, how the Captain sandstone, the primary reservoir for the Acorn CCS project, responds to CO2-rich fluids under reservoir conditions, raising possible Acorn project model inaccuracies regarding the impact of feldspar on CO2 injectivity and capacity.