Palygorskite in sediments: Detrital, diagenetic or neoformed — A critical review

Abstract

The origin of palygorskite in sediments is critically reviewed. In sediments, palygorskite may be detrital, diagenetic (formed by the transformation of a precursor mineral) or neoformed (formed by precipitation from solution). The most reliable information on palygorskite has been obtained from hydrothermal alteration products of igneous rocks, where palygorskite forms pseudomorphically, and from soils and paleosols, where palygorskite precipitates from solution. Palygorskite formation is also described from alkaline paleolake sediments. From these occurrences requirements for palygorskite formation could be specified: Alkaline pH, high Si and Mg and low Al activities. A detrital origin for palygorskite in marine sediments is proposed when it is associated with other clay minerals of accepted detrital origin, when a direct relation to continental deposits of the mineral exists and when conditions for its detrital accumulation appear favourable. In the Mediterranean, East Atlantic, North-Western Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden large palygorskite occurrences are detrital. The formation of palygorskite in marine sediments occurred whenever the geochemical requirements were met, in following situations: (a) — near sites of hydrothermal activity; (b) — in peri-marine, shallow water environments, adjacent to landmasses undergoing intensive desilication by weathering: (c) — in response to fluctuations in ocean water temperature that affected solubility levels of limiting chemicals, such as Si. Various considerations of published field and laboratory data appear to favour a formation of palygorskite by neoformation rather than by diagenesis.