Abstract
ABSTRACT Within the Jourdan River / St. Louis Bay estuarine system, the dominant depositional mechanism of suspended clays is preferential flocculation of kaolinte with increasing salinity. Flocculation and deposition of kaolinite occur mainly within the confines of the Jourdan River, and hence the effects of differential gravity settling of mineral species is unlikely. Statistical analyses show a linear relationship between water clarity and salinity. Additionally, as seaward distance decreases, water clarity and salinity increase. These relationships are caused by kaolinite being progressively removed from the suspended sediments by flocculation as seaward distance decreases. X-ray diffraction data show that maximum flocculation of suspended kaolinite has occurred where the kaolinite/illite ratio reaches its minimum. Bottom-sediment mineralogy shows an inverse relationship with K/I of the bottom sediments increasing as K/I of the suspended sediments decreases.
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