The nature and possible origins of soluble salts in deeply weathered landscapes of eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
RH Gunn ◽  
DP Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Soluble Salts ◽  
Sea Salts ◽  
Soluble Ions ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Salt Affected Soils ◽  
Hydrologic Conditions

Extensive areas of salt-affected soils in eastern Australia occur on the exposed lower zones of lateritic profiles or in derived materials. Analyses of 96 samples of mottled and pallid zones collected in this study show that they generally contain appreciable soluble salts, predominantly sodium chloride, particularly where they developed in argillaceous sedimentary rocks which underlie about two-thirds of the area, and in some granitic rocks. Analyses of 96 samples of unweathered rocks indicate that some contain moderate to appreciable quantities of sodium and chloride, and it is suggested that these and other soluble ions accumulated in the lower zones as a result of deep weathering in the Mid-Tertiary. Atmospheric accessions of sea salts in rain or dry fallout at present rates account partly for the occurrence of salt-affected soil landscapes in some coastal areas but are unlikely sources of salts far inland. Soils formed in situ on weathered basalt, argillaceous sedimentary and granitic rocks which have been exposed at the surface since the Late Tertiary are not salt-affected, because climatic, topographic and hydrologic conditions are different from those of the Mid-Tertiary and only small volumes of rock are involved.

Corrigenda - The nature and possible origins of soluble salts in deeply weathered landscapes of eastern Australia

Soil Research ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 197
Author(s):  
RH Gunn ◽  
DP Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Soluble Salts ◽  
Sea Salts ◽  
Soluble Ions ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Salt Affected Soils ◽  
Hydrologic Conditions

Extensive areas of salt-affected soils in eastern Australia occur on the exposed lower zones of lateritic profiles or in derived materials. Analyses of 96 samples of mottled and pallid zones collected in this study show that they generally contain appreciable soluble salts, predominantly sodium chloride, particularly where they developed in argillaceous sedimentary rocks which underlie about two-thirds of the area, and in some granitic rocks. Analyses of 96 samples of unweathered rocks indicate that some contain moderate to appreciable quantities of sodium and chloride, and it is suggested that these and other soluble ions accumulated in the lower zones as a result of deep weathering in the Mid-Tertiary. Atmospheric accessions of sea salts in rain or dry fallout at present rates account partly for the occurrence of salt-affected soil landscapes in some coastal areas but are unlikely sources of salts far inland. Soils formed in situ on weathered basalt, argillaceous sedimentary and granitic rocks which have been exposed at the surface since the Late Tertiary are not salt-affected, because climatic, topographic and hydrologic conditions are different from those of the Mid-Tertiary and only small volumes of rock are involved.

Early Tertiary Anaconda Metamorphic Core Complex, southwestern Montana

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Michael O'Neill ◽  
Jeff D Lonn ◽  
David R Lageson ◽  
Michael J Kunk
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Shear Zones ◽  
Detachment Fault ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Metamorphic Core Complex ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Core Complex ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Metamorphic Core

A sinuous zone of gently southeast-dipping low-angle Tertiary normal faults is exposed for 100 km along the eastern margins of the Anaconda and Flint Creek ranges in southwest Montana. Faults in the zone variously place Mesoproterozoic through Paleozoic sedimentary rocks on younger Tertiary granitic rocks or on sedimentary rocks older than the overlying detached rocks. Lower plate rocks are lineated and mylonitic at the main fault and, below the mylonitic front, are cut by mylonitic mesoscopic to microscopic shear zones. The upper plate consists of an imbricate stack of younger-on-older sedimentary rocks that are locally mylonitic at the main, lowermost detachment fault but are characteristically strongly brecciated or broken. Kinematic indicators in the lineated mylonite indicate tectonic transport to the east-southeast. Syntectonic sedimentary breccia and coarse conglomerate derived solely from upper plate rocks were deposited locally on top of hanging-wall rocks in low-lying areas between fault blocks and breccia zones. Muscovite occurs locally as mica fish in mylonitic quartzites at or near the main detachment. The 40Ar/39Ar age spectrum obtained from muscovite in one mylonitic quartzite yielded an age of 47.2 + 0.14 Ma, interpreted to be the age of mylonitization. The fault zone is interpreted as a detachment fault that bounds a metamorphic core complex, here termed the Anaconda metamorphic core complex, similar in age and character to the Bitterroot mylonite that bounds the Bitterroot metamorphic core complex along the Idaho-Montana state line 100 km to the west. The Bitterroot and Anaconda core complexes are likely components of a continuous, tectonically integrated system. Recognition of this core complex expands the region of known early Tertiary brittle-ductile crustal extension eastward into areas of profound Late Cretaceous contractile deformation characterized by complex structural interactions between the overthrust belt and Laramide basement uplifts, overprinted by late Tertiary Basin and Range faulting.

Shallow groundwaters in weathered volcanic, granitic and sedimentary rocks in relation to dryland salinity in southern New South Wales

Soil Research ◽  
1985 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 355 ◽  
Author(s):  
RH Gunn
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Chloride ◽  
New South ◽  
Ionic Composition ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Water Levels ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Secondary Salinization ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Salt Affected Soils

Soils affected by secondary salinization were studied in six areas on the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales. All the salt-affected areas are underlain by, or occur in close proximity to, deeply weathered volcanic, granitic and sedimentary rocks which commonly contain stores of soluble salts, dominantly sodium chloride. The chemical composition of shallow groundwaters in the areas was monitored by piezometers for periods of up to two years. Water levels in the piezometers responded rapidly to rainfall, but the ionic composition of the waters generally remained fairly uniform. All waters are dominated by sodium chloride; those with the highest contents occurred in volcanic and granitic rocks, followed by Ordovician sediments and the lowest contents were in Silurian sediments. The chlorine contents in samples of weathered rocks follow a similar sequence. Electron microprobe analyses indicate that the chlorine-bearing minerals in the unaltered rocks are principally biotite, hornblende and potassium, sodium and calcium feldspars. No salt-affected soils were found in areas underlain by unweathered rocks.

A Road Section near Guy's Hill, Jamaica

1942 ◽  
Vol 79 (4) ◽  
pp. 241-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Matley ◽  
Frank Raw
Keyword(s):  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
Plutonic Rock ◽  
Igneous Rocks ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Section ◽  
Igneous Intrusions ◽  
Microscope Slides

The rocks exposed along the road between Linstead and Guy's Hill, Jamaica, were described by Dr. C. T. Trechmann in this magazine in 1936 (pp. 259–260). The chief object of his account was to prove that the igneous rocks there were intrusions later than the associated Cretaceous and Tertiary limestones, which, according to him, had been metamorphosed into hornfelses, some of which, he stated later (1937, p. 561), he knew to have an “igneous” appearance under the microscope, “which tends to support my contention that in Jamaica we have sedimentaries altered in situ into rocks that would ordinarily be classified as igneous.” Dissent from his descriptions and interpretations was expressed by C. A. M. (Matley, 1937, pp. 501–3), the criticisms being mainly based on an examination of Trechmann's own microscope slides by F. R. A visit to Jamaica by C. A. M. in 1939 allowed him to study this road and to collect a suite of rocks for petrological examination. The results show that Trechmann's interpretation cannot be sustained. There is no granodiorite or other plutonic rock present, no metamorphism hornfelsing the sedimentary rocks, and no igneous intrusions into the Tertiary limestones.

Late Mesozoic—Cenozoic clay mineral successions of southern Iran and their palaeoclimatic implications

Clay Minerals ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Khormali ◽  
A. Abtahi ◽  
H. R. Owliaie
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Sedimentary Rocks ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Humid Climate ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Late Mesozoic ◽  
Southern Iran ◽  
Transmission Electron

AbstractClay minerals of calcareous sedimentary rocks of southern Iran, part of the old Tethys area, were investigated in order to determine their origin and distribution, and to reconstruct the palaeoclimate of the area. Chemical analysis, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and thin-section studies were performed on the 16 major sedimentary rocks of the Fars and Kuhgiluyeh Boyerahmad Provinces.Kaolinite, smectite, chlorite, illite, palygorskite and illite-smectite interstratified minerals were detected in the rocks studied. The results revealed that detrital input is possibly the main source of kaolinite, smectite, chlorite and illite, whilein situneoformation during the Tertiary shallow saline and alkaline environment could be the dominant cause of palygorskite occurrences in the sedimentary rocks.The presence of a large amount of kaolinite in the Lower Cretaceous sediments and the absence or rare occurrence of chlorite, smectite, palygorskite and illite are in accordance with the warm and humid climate of that period. Smaller amounts of kaolinite and the occurrence of smectite in Upper Cretaceous sediments indicate the gradual shift from warm and humid to more seasonal climate. The occurrence of palygorskite and smectite and the disappearance of kaolinite in the late Palaeocene sediments indicate the increase in aridity which has probably continued to the present time.

Evidence of High Sea Level during Isotope Stage 5c in Queensland, Australia

1985 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Pickett ◽  
C. H. Thompson ◽  
R. A. Kelley ◽  
D. Roman
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level ◽  
New South ◽  
Good Condition ◽  
Coastal Dunes ◽  
Intertidal Sediments ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Eastern Australia ◽  
Maximum Period ◽  
High Dune

Thirty-nine species of scleractinian corals have been recovered from under a high dune on the western (mainland) side of North Stradbroke Island, eastern Australia. The corals are associated with thin intertidal sediments and their good condition implies burial in situ and preservation in a saturated zone. Most likely this occurred as the coast prograded and a large dune advanced into the littoral zone, burying intertidal sediments and coral. The species assemblage indicates a sheltered environment but one open to the ocean without wide fluctuations in salinity. Three species yielded a mean 230Th/234U age of 105,000 yr B.P. which is significantly younger than the nearest Pleistocene corals at Evans Head, New South Wales. The corals provide evidence of a sea stand near present sea level during isotope Stage 5c, which is considerably higher than previously suggested for this period. Their good condition implies that the overlying parabolic dune is of comparable age and formed during that high stand of sea level. Also, the isotope age provides a maximum period for the development of giant podzols in the podzol chronosequences on coastal dunes in southern Queensland.

Model of evolution of the Bella Coola – Ocean Falls Region, Coast Mountains, British Columbia

1968 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1429-1441 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Baer
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Granitic Rocks ◽  
Coast Mountains ◽  
Early Tertiary ◽  
Upper Paleozoic ◽  
Late Tertiary ◽  
Bella Coola

Granitic rocks and metavolcanics underlie most of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia between the fifty-second and the fifty-third parallel, about half-way between Vancouver and Prince Rupert. The age of most rocks is unknown. The area has been involved in at least two orogenic cycles. The oldest known supracrustal rocks (Upper Paleozoic?) have been metamorphosed to gneisses, deformed along northeasterly trends, and intruded by granitic plutons, probably early in the Mesozoic Era. These rocks formed the basement of disconformable Mesozoic sediments and volcanics. The basement and its Mesozoic cover were metamorphosed and deformed along northwesterly trends in the early Tertiary. In the late Tertiary (Pliocene?) post-kinematic granites were emplaced and basalts were extruded for a period extending to postglacial times. The model is possibly applicable to all of the Coast Mountains in Canada.

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