Metasomatic mechanism of weathering-pedogenesis of carbonate rocks: I. Mineralogical and micro-textural evidence

Abstract

On the basis of mineralogical, geochemical and micro-textural studies of the typical sections of the red weathering crust of carbonate rocks in the subtropical karst areas of Guizhou Province and Guangxi Autonomous Region, we have found, either on a microscopic or on a macroscopical scale and in different positions of the sections, the most direct and most important mineralogical and micro-textural evidence for the development of metasomatism in the process of weathering-pedogenesis of numerous carbonate rocks. This paper also has expounded for the first time and systematically the mechanism of metasomatism involved in the process of weathering-pedogenesis of carbonate rocks and proposed the sequence of mineral metasomatic evolution in the process of weathering-pedogenesis of carbonate rocks.