The neoformation of clay minerals in brackish and marine environments

Abstract

AbstractIt is suggested (1) that large amounts of Al, Fe and Si carried in solution by fresh water are chemically precipitated as hydroxide gels in the brackish water environment of estuaries and deltas, and (2) that these gels are subsequently deposited in both the brackish water environment and in the neighbouring seas, where they become parental material for the neoformation of clay minerals, and various other silicate and iron minerals. The types of neoformed minerals will depend upon both the composition of the parental gels and the physico-chemical milieu of their crystallization. Evidence is discussed supporting this hypothesis from the following sources (1) the concentrations of Al, Fe and Si dissolved in fresh water and in sea-water, (2) experimental work on the crystallization of alumino-siliceous gels, and (3) a study of the precipitation of Si from the waters of the Mississippi River delta.Because of the unusual sediment pattern of present times, this source of neoformed clay minerals and other minerals contributes only a small proportion of the sediments of the brackish parts of estuaries, deltas and the adjacent seas, which are dominated by fine-grained continental detritus. In earlier geological eras, when the world's river systems carried only relatively minor amounts of fine-grained continental detritus, this source of neoformed minerals is likely to have contributed a considerable proportion of the fine-grained sediments of these areas of sedimentation. Three possible examples are discussed.