Triple oxygen isotopes of meteoric hydrothermal systems – implications for palaeoaltimetry

Abstract

We use triple oxygen isotopes of altered granitic rocks to determine the isotope composition of meteoric waters in a fossil hydrothermal system, the low 18 O Eocene Idaho Batholith, originally studied by In doing so we: 1) test whether meteoric water values estimated from previous 18 O and D analyses on quartz, feldspar and biotite are robust and 2) determine the palaeoelevation of the Eocene highlands that are presently constrained primarily by the 18 O and D of paired muscovite and quartz from core complexes and altered granites.