Mineralogical study of the core samples from the Indian Ocean, with special reference to the vertical distribution of clay minerals

Abstract

The clay minerals in the 18 core samples collected from the northern, equatorial and southeastern Indian Ocean are illite, chlorite, montmorillonite and kaolinite. In the fraction finer than 2Μ in the surface layer (top to 5 cm deep) of each core, the relative abundance of clay minerals varies widely from area to area. Kaolinite possesses the maximum proportion of the clay mineral composition and chlorite has the minimum proportion.