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This study reports data from the Upper Cambrian Conasauga Group and overlying Copper Ridge Formation of the Central Appalachian region, eastern U.S.A. Geochemical, isotopic and petrographic analysis of core material was carried out to constrain the extent of marine anoxia and to characterize sediment fluxes on the carbonate platform and continental shelf of Laurentia contemporaneous with the Steptoean Positive Carbon Isotope Excursion (SPICE), a Late Cambrian global marine anoxic event. Carbonate rocks (primarily dolostone) record a positive δ13Ccarb excursion starting in the middle Nolichucky Formation, reaching its peak (+4.3‰) at the boundary between the Maynardville and Copper Ridge formations. Strontium isotope ratios in the dolostone units are only slightly offset from the expected Cambrian seawater values, suggesting minimal post-diagenetic disturbance of isotopic and trace element systematics. Selective leaching of carbonate units reveal upward decreasing trends in dissolved redox-sensitive trace metals (e.g., U, Ni, V) indicative of drawdown from regional and global marine anoxia during the peak of the Late Cambrian SPICE event.

This study investigates the mineralization occurring at the interface between injected hydraulic fracturing fluids and steel production casing during the shut-in period of unconventional shale wells. Mild steel coupons were reacted with synthetic hydraulic fracturing fluids with varying base fluid and dissolved gas concentrations. Experiments were carried out in an autoclave system set at 50 °C and 2000 PSI for 2 and 14 days. Physical and mineralogical changes to the steel coupons’ surface were characterized using an FEI Quanta 600 field emission gun (FEG) scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a PANalytical XPert Pro diffractometer. Barite precipitation occurred ubiquitously during the first 48 h in all experimental scenarios. Sulfate radicals created from degradation and reduction of ammonium persulfate breakers facilitate barite formation. Concomitant barite and corrosion related precipitates on the sample surfaces suggest iron hydroxy salts act as nucleation sites for mineral scale growth. These results suggest hydraulic fracturing fluids may have deleterious effects on the wellbore before production of the well begins.