Abstract
Chemical data for 56 elements in soils from three regions of Brazil (Bahia, Amazon, Goias) indicate that intense chemical weathering leads to a product soil essentially in the system, SiO 2Al 2O 3Fe 2O 3H 2O. The major minerals of the leached soils are quartz, kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite and hematite. Trace elements show a wide range of behaviour from those which are enriched as for some bio-important elements (B, Cl, Mo, Se, Sn, I) and refractory metals (Sc, Zr, Nb, Gd, Tm, Th) to the majority which are severely leached. Trace-element behaviour appears to be largely controlled by the dominant clay or Al 2O 3SiO 2 minerals, or the degree of weathering. Consideration of the chemistry of lateritic soils and groundwaters indicates that the development of deep lateritic profiles requires times in the order of tens of millions of years in a very stable continental setting.
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