Deep-sea zeolites: variations in space and time in the sediments of the Indian Ocean

Abstract

In the Indian Ocean, the zeolite phillipsite is often found in Miocene and younger sediments and is confined to the central areas of the sea floor. This zeolite forms from the alteration of basic volcanic material and does not require much time for its formation. Another zeolite, clinoptilolite, however, is most often restricted to Cretaceous to Eocene sediments in areas closer to the continental land masses. This distribution in space and time is thought to be due to the availability of silicic volcanics during the early formation of the Indian Ocean in the Cretaceous to Eocene time. The mobilization of silica from opal-rich sediments during these times may also have been an important factor in the formation of clinoptilolite.