The clay mineralogy and paleogeography of the Gotland Basin (based on the data from the Psd-303590 core)

At the exit of the Slupsk Trench, suspended sediment carried by the near-bottom currents is deposited on the southern slope of the Gotland Deep, forming a large alluvial fan (delta front). The sediment core Psd-590, which was recovered at this locality, exhibits a transition from the Ancylus Lake homogeneous clays to a thick member of Middle-Upper Holocene marine muds represented by mixed clayey-silty types of sediments. Clay minerals are characterized by a predominance of illite, with minor amounts of chlorite and kaolinite. Quartz, feldspar, and illite, the major components of Holocene sediments, are interpreted to be products of erosion and redeposition of the Baltic Shield granite-gneisses.