scholarly journals The Chemical Composition and Surface Texture of Transparent Heavy Minerals from Core LQ24 in the Changjiang Delta

Minerals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue ◽  
Yue ◽  
Panwar ◽  
Zhang ◽  
Jin
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Surface Texture ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Changjiang Delta

The assessment of textural and compositional modifications of detrital sediments is required to reconstruct past source to sink dynamics. The Changjiang Delta is an ideal location to study the sedimentary environment from the Pliocene to Quaternary transition. In the present study, we aim to decipher the response of heavy minerals to mechanical wear and chemical weathering since the Pliocene. With the application of a scanning electron microscope and an electron probe, the geochemistry and surface texture of different heavy minerals (amphibole, epidote, and tourmaline groups) with grain-size fractions of 32–63 µm and 63–125 µm were studied. The result shows that the surface texture of unstable minerals (amphibole, epidote) changed under strong chemical weathering in the Pliocene sediments. By contrast, unstable minerals of the Pleistocene sediments are relatively fresh and similar to those of the modern Changjiang sediment. The stable mineral tourmaline does not exhibit morphology changes in different chemical weathering conditions. No effect of grain size on geochemical composition is noticed. The single minerals of very fine sand and coarse silt show similar geochemical and morphological features. The integration of mineralogy, geochemical data, and grain size parameters yield a more precise understanding of the physical and chemical response of heavy minerals to different weathering conditions. The outcome of the study is also helpful in deciphering sediment provenance changes and environmental changes in the Changjiang basin.

scholarly journals Sedimentary environment and provenance of sandstones from the Qadir member in the Nayband Formation, Tabas block, east-central Iran

2021 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. A140920
Author(s):  
Ehsan Zamaniyan ◽  
Mohammad Khanehbad ◽  
Reza Moussavi-Harami ◽  
Asadollah Mahboubi
Keyword(s):  
Continental Margin ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Active Continental Margin ◽  
Central Iran ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Delta Front ◽  
Field Evidence ◽  
Nayband Formation ◽  
The Impact

Qadir Member of Nayband Formation, located in East of Central Iran, has developed to a great extent. Investigation of the lithofacies and sedimentary environment, resulted in identification of the deltaic and marine deposits. Based on field evidence and facies features, Qadir Member consists of two lithofacies, including carbonate and siliciclastic facies. The siliciclastic facies were identified as having four sandstone facies including Sr, Sh, Sp, St, three fine-grained lithofacies, including FI, Fm, Fl (Sr) / Sr (FI) and one coal facies. Also, regarding the field, laboratory studies, and identification of lithofacies, the coastal plain, deltaic (including deltaic plain, proximal delta front, distal delta front, and prodelta) and open marine environments were identified for Qadir Member which is is under the impact of tidal currents. The chemical weathering index (71%) indicated semi-arid to semi-humid conditions and plotting the geochemical data showed the provenance of re-cycling and active continental margin and because of Chemical Index of Alteration, the weathering rate was found to be rather medium to high. The geochemical diagrams also showed a probable source of the intermediate igneous and sedimentary rocks. The active continental margin conditions for this deposit could suggest the Neotethys subduction under Iran’s plate and volcanic activity at the end of Triassic, which coincided with the early Cimmerian orogeny in Alborz and Central East Iranian Microcontinent.

scholarly journals A geochemical and biostratigraphic approach to investigating regional changes in sandstone composition through time; an example from Paleocene–Eocene strata, Taranaki Basin, New Zealand

2020 ◽  
Vol 157 (9) ◽  
pp. 1473-1498
Author(s):  
Karen E. Higgs ◽  
Stuart Munday ◽  
Anne Forbes ◽  
Erica M. Crouch ◽  
Matthew W. Sagar
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Chemical Weathering ◽  
Heavy Minerals ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Trace Element Geochemistry ◽  
Early Eocene ◽  
Element Geochemistry ◽  
Major Element Composition ◽  
Early Eocene Climatic Optimum ◽  
Sandstone Composition

AbstractA geochemical and biostratigraphic approach has been applied to investigate the spatial and stratigraphic variability of Palaeogene sandstones from key wells in Taranaki Basin, New Zealand. Chronostratigraphic control is predominantly based on miospore zonation, while differences in the composition of Paleocene and Eocene sandstones are supported by geochemical evidence. Stratigraphic changes are manifested by a significant decrease in Na2O across the New Zealand miospore PM3b/MH1 early Eocene zonal boundary, at approximately 53.5 Ma. The change in Na2O is associated with a decrease in baseline concentrations of many other major (MnO, CaO, TiO2) and trace elements, and is interpreted to reflect a significant change in sandstone maturity. Paleocene sandstones are characterized by abundant plagioclase (albite and locally Na–Ca plagioclase), significant biotite and a range of heavy minerals, while Eocene sandstones are typically quartzose, with K-feldspar dominant over plagioclase, low mica contents and rare heavy minerals comprising a resistant suite. This change could reflect a change in provenance from local plutonic basement during the Paleocene Epoch to relatively quartz- and K-feldspar-rich granitic sources during Eocene time. However, significant quartz enrichment of Eocene sediment was also likely due to transportation reworking/winnowing along the palaeoshoreface and enhanced chemical weathering, driven in part by long-term global warming associated with the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum. The broad-ranging changes in major-element composition overprint local variations in sediment provenance, which are only detectable from the immobile trace-element geochemistry.

Palaeoclimatological interpretation of loess-paleosol sequences using log-ratio transformation of granulometric and geochemical data; Czech Republic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Šimíček ◽  
Ondřej Bábek ◽  
Karel Hron ◽  
Ivana Pavlů
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Size Distribution ◽  
Grain Size Distribution ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Clay Fraction ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Climatic Fluctuations ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Log Ratio

<p>The loess-paleosol sequences (LPS) are an important source of proxy data documenting climatic fluctuations in the Quaternary. Understanding the relationship between the grain size distribution and the geochemistry is crucial for the reliable palaeoclimatological and palaeoenvironmental interpretation of the LPS. For this purpose, the large granulometric (389 samples) and geochemical datasets (542 samples measured using EDXRF spectrometer) were acquired at four LPS in Moravia (eastern part of Czech Rep.). Czech loess represent an important part of the European loess belt, because they characterize region with alternating influence of the oceanic and continental macroclimate, modified by close contact to the front of both continental and alpine glaciation during glacial periods. Moreover, a very diverse geology is characteristic for the source area (the Bohemian Massif) of Czech loess. Therefore, distinguishing of provenance and transporting and post-deposition processes effects on the formation of the Czech LPS requires finding new approaches of statistical evaluation of datasets. Centered log-ratio (clr) transformation and scalar-on-function regression allow finding a relationship between the geochemical composition and the grain-size distribution of loess and soils. Centered log-ratio (clr) transformation was applied to the key elemental proxies of grain size, provenance and weathering and their spatial and stratigraphic distribution. Nearly all LPS samples are characteristic by bimodal grain-size distribution with the main modes corresponding to medium/coarse silt and clay fractions. The scalar-on-function regression shows that the grain-size control of the distribution of Al, Si, K, Ca, Fe, Rb, Sr and Zr is highly site-specific. The provenance signal is recorded especially in coarser-grained fractions transported for short distance. The content of the authigenic phyllosilicates in clay fraction, the alteration of feldspars and micas, low contents of K, and high values of Rb/Sr and Sr/Ca ratios reflect the intensity of weathering, which is highest in the weakly developed brown paleosols. The precipitation rates are suggested the most important microclimatic factor, which affect the intensity of loessification and pedogenic processes forming the Czech LPS.</p><p>This research was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GAČR) research project 19-017685.</p>

Unmixing grain-size distributions in lake sediments: a new method of endmember modeling using hierarchical clustering

2017 ◽  
Vol 89 (1) ◽  
pp. 365-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaonan Zhang ◽  
Aifeng Zhou ◽  
Xin Wang ◽  
Mu Song ◽  
Yongtao Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Hierarchical Clustering ◽  
Average Distance ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Junggar Basin ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Statistical Parameters ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Wide Range

AbstractThe grain-size distribution (GSD) of sediments provides information on sediment provenance, transport processes, and the sedimentary environment. Although a wide range of statistical parameters have been applied to summarize GSDs, most are directed at only parts of the distribution, which limits the amount of environmental information that can be retrieved. Endmember modeling provides a flexible method for unmixing GSDs; however, the calculation of the exact number of endmembers and geologically meaningful endmember spectra remain unresolved using existing modeling methods. Here we present the methodology hierarchical clustering endmember modeling analysis (CEMMA) for unmixing the GSDs of sediments. Within the CEMMA framework, the number of endmembers can be inferred from agglomeration coefficients, and the grain-size spectra of endmembers are defined on the basis of the average distance between the samples in the clusters. After objectively defining grain-size endmembers, we use a least squares algorithm to calculate the fractions of each GSD endmember that contributes to individual samples. To test the CEMMA method, we use a grain-size data set from a sediment core from Wulungu Lake in the Junggar Basin in China, and find that application of the CEMMA methodology yields geologically and mathematically meaningful results. We conclude that CEMMA is a rapid and flexible approach for analyzing the GSDs of sediments.

Sedimentological and Biological Changes Associated with the Construction of the Oil Terminal of Antifer, France

1984 ◽  
Vol 16 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 399-406
Author(s):  
Y Monbet
Keyword(s):  
Grain Size ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Biological Effects ◽  
Standing Stock ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Benthic Fauna ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Mean Grain Size ◽  
To Receive ◽  
Principal Species

A study was conducted to gain insight on actual sedimentological and biological effects associated with the construction of an oil Terminal designed to receive 500 000 d.w.t. tankers. Field investigations and subsequent laboratory analyses were organized to evaluate the nature and magnitude of environmental changes on benthic macrofauna, three years after the end of the construction. Sediments were found to decrease dramatically in medium grain size in area sheltered by the newly built breakwater. Increase of percentage of silt and clays (90 % against 20 %) was observed leeward of the jetty. The benthic fauna showed significant modifications. Although the same community (Pectinaria kareni Abra alba) recolonized the bottom after the dredging of up to 30 × 106 m3 of sediments, increase in abundance occured. Biomass remained at a constant level and decrease of diversity was observed. Considering the rate of siltation, and assuming a constant siltation rate equal to the rate observed from 1975 to 1978, a simple regressive model relating biomass to mean grain size of sediments has been developped. This model allowed the prediction of biomass and production of the two principal species for the period 1978 – 1981. Continuous siltation within the harbor leads to a maximum of biomass from years after the end of the construction, followed by a decrease of standing stock. This process may be explained by the respective tolerance of the two principal species to increase silt contant and also probably by the accumulation of organic matter which may impede the development of natural populations.

scholarly journals Geochemistry of the black rock series of lower Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation, SW Yangtze Block, China: Reconstruction of sedimentary and tectonic environments

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-187
Author(s):  
Hao Liu ◽  
Chan Wang ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Jianghong Deng ◽  
Bin Deng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Hydrothermal Fluids ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Rock Series ◽  
Yangtze Block ◽  
Tectonic Environment ◽  
Weathering Intensity ◽  
Black Rock Series ◽  
Tectonic System

Abstract The black rock series in the Qiongzhusi Formation contains important geochemical information about the early Cambrian tectonic and ecological environment of the southwestern Yangtze Block. In this paper, major, trace, and rare earth element data are presented in an attempt to reveal the sediment source during the deposition of the early Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation and to reconstruct the sedimentary tectonic environment and weathering intensity during that time. The basin primarily received continental clastic material with neutral-acidic igneous rocks from a stable source and with a moderate level of maturity during the depositional period of the Qiongzhusi Formation. Furthermore, the strata were weakly influenced by submarine hydrothermal fluids during diagenesis. The reconstruction of the sedimentary environment and weathering intensity shows that P2O5 enrichment and water body stratification occurred due to the effects of upwelling ocean currents during the depositional period of the Qiongzhusi Formation. The combination of upwelling and bottom-water hydrothermal fluids led to environmental changes in the study area, from dry and hot to moist and warm. Last, the reconstruction of the tectonic environment of the Qiongzhusi Formation indicates that deposition occurred in continental slope and marginal marine environments associated with a continental arc tectonic system. These findings provide an essential basis for the comprehensive reconstruction of the early Cambrian sedimentary environment of the Yangtze Block.

scholarly journals Provenance of sediments from Barra del Tordo and Tesoro beaches, Tamaulipas State, northwestern Gulf of Mexico

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayla A. Ramos-Vázquez ◽  
John S. Armstrong-Altrin
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Source Area ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Sediment Provenance ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Chemical Index ◽  
Beach Sediments ◽  
Chemical Index Of Alteration ◽  
Ree Patterns

AbstractThe mineralogy, bulk sediment geochemical composition, and U–Pb ages of detrital zircons retrieved from the Barra del Tordo (Tordo) and Tesoro beach sediments in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico were analyzed to determine their provenance. The beach sediments are mainly composed of quartz, ilmenite, magnetite, titanite, zircon, and anorthite. The weathering proxies such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), Chemical Index of Weathering (CIW), and Plagioclase Index of Alteration (PIA), reveal a moderate-to-high intensity of weathering in the source area. The chondrite-normalized rare earth element (REE) patterns are similar to felsic igneous rocks, with large negative europium anomaly (Eu/Eu* = ~ 0.47–0.80 and ~ 0.57–0.67 in the Tordo and Tesoro beach sediments, respectively).Three major zircon U–Pb age groups are identified in the Tordo and Tesoro beach sediments, i.e., Proterozoic (~ 2039–595 Ma), Mesozoic (~ 244–70.3 Ma), and Cenozoic (~ 65.9–1.2 Ma). The differences of the zircon age spectrum between the Tordo and Tesoro beach sediments are not significant. The comparison of zircon U–Pb ages in this study with ages of potential source terranes suggests that the Mesozoic and Cenozoic zircons of the studied Tordo and Tesoro beach sediments were derived from the Eastern Alkaline Province (EAP) and Mesa Central Province (MCP). Similarly, the likely sources for the Proterozoic zircons were the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMOr) and Oaxaquia in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico. The results of this study further indicate that the sediments delivered to the beaches by rivers and redistributed by longshore currents were crucial in determining the sediment provenance.

scholarly journals Late Quaternary paleoenvironment of the Ross Sea continental shelf, Antarctica

1998 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 275-280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akira Nishimura ◽  
Toru Nakasone ◽  
Chikara Hiramatsu ◽  
Manabu Tanahashi
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Marine Environment ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Sedimentary Environment ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Ice Sheet ◽  
Ice Shelf ◽  
Accelerator Mass Spectrometer

Based on sedimenlological and micropaleontological work on three sediment cores collected at about 167° Ε in the western Ross Sea, Antarctica, and accelerator mass spectrometer l4C ages of organic carbon, we have reconstructed environmental changes in the area during the late Quaternary. Since 38 ka BP at latest, this area was a marine environment with low productivity. A grounded ice sheet advanced and loaded the sediments before about 30-25 ka BP. After 25 ka BP, the southernmost site (76°46'S) was covered by floating ice (shelf ice), preventing deposition of coarse terrigenous materials and maintaining a supply of diatom tests and organic carbon until 20 ka BP. The northernmost site (74°33'S) was in a marine environment with a moderate productivity influenced by shelf ice/ice sheet after about 20 ka BP. Since about 10 ka BP, a sedimentary environment similar to the present-day one has prevailed over this area.

scholarly journals Geochemical features and formation conditions of Early-Devonian cherty-argillaceous shales and the underlying basalts in the Ishkildino section (eastern slope of the Southern Urals)

LITOSFERA ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 30-47
Author(s):  
A. M. Fazliakhmetov
Keyword(s):  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Southern Urals ◽  
Geochemical Data ◽  
Upper Ordovician ◽  
The Southern Urals ◽  
Geochemical Composition ◽  
Early Devonian ◽  
Ocean Ridges ◽  
Clay Shales ◽  
Conodont Zone

Research subject.The West Magnitogorsk zone of the Southern Urals in the vicinity of the Ishkildino village features a subaerially exposed basaltic sequence superposed by cherts and siliceous-clay shales. The basalts and the overlying shales are assumed to have formed during the Ordovician and Silurian (?)–Early Devonian (up to the conodont zone excavates inclusive) periods, respectively. The aim of this research was to reconstruct, using geochemical data, the conditions under which the rocks present in this geological location were formed.Materials and methods. Five samples of the basalts (XRD and ICP-MS methods), 27 samples of the siliceous-clay shales and 10 samples of the cherts (XRD and ICP-AES methods) were analyzed.Results.According to the ratio of SiO2, Na2O and K2O, the volcanic rocks from the lower part of the section are represented by basalts and trachybasalts. Their geochemical composition corresponds to the N-MORB and is established to be similar to that of the basalts in the Polyakovskaya formation (the Middle–Upper Ordovician). In terms of main elements, the shales under study consist of quartz and illite with a slight admixture of organic matter, goethite, quartzfeldspar fragments, etc. The degree of the sedimentary material weathering according to the CIA, CIW and ICV index values is shown to be moderate. The values of Strakhov’s and Boström’s moduli correspond to sediments without the admixture of underwater hydrothermal vent products. The values of Cr/Al, V/Al and Zr/Al correspond to those characteristic of deposits in deep-water zones remote from the coasts of passive and active continental margins, basalt islands and areas adjacent to mid-ocean ridges. For most samples, the values of Ni/Co, V/Cr, Mo/Mn are typical of deposits formed under oxidative conditions. However, several samples from the upper part of the section, which is comparable to the kitabicus and excavatus conodont zones, demonstrate the Ni/Co, V/Cr, and Mo/Mn values corresponding to deposits formed under reducing atmospheres. An assumption is made that the existence of these deposits can be associated with the Bazal Zlichov event.Conclusion.The investigated pre-Emsian shales have shown no signs of volcanic activity in the adjacent areas. The studied deposits are established to correspond to the central part of the Ural Paleoocean.

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