Surface microtextures of quartz grains from the central coast of Tamil Nadu

Quartz grain surface micro textures of 12 samples collected from the beach were examined under scanning electron microscopy to understand the role of coastal processes on their transportation and deposition. The study area has been divided into three sectors on the basis of drainage, geomorphology and nature of the beach and shelf topography. Surface textures of the northern sector display an array of mechanical features like conchoidal fracture, V marks and impact pits, indicating the dominance of mechanical processes. However, silica precipitation in the form of globules indicates an added influence of chemical processes in the Northern sector. The presence of chemical features in northern sector, where energy level is high, corroborates the addition of quartz grains from paleo-sediments, from the nearby Tertiary and Cretaceous formations. Central sector quartz grains display the signatures of chemical and mechanical processes. The presence of step like furrows in southern sector is an indicator of fluvial low energy conditions, and supplements the role of littoral currents in depositing the quartz grains along the coastal region.     

An overview of the role of weathering in the production of quartz silt

Quartz silt is a widespread detrital sediment with large aeolian (loess) and alluvial silt deposits forming important components of many contemporary landscapes. Despite research findings which indicate that a range of opportunities exist for the comminution of quartz into silt particles within a wide variety of geomorphic environments (e.g. glacial grinding, fluvial comminution, aeolian abrasion, frost weathering, salt weathering, insolation weathering and deep weathering), the ‘glacial-aeolian’ hypothesis has traditionally been favoured as the most likely explanation for loess formation and loess is seen as primarily a Quaternary phenomenon. As a consequence there has been a tendency to underestimate sediment inputs into loess systems by geomorphological processes operating within pre-Quaternary environments. In particular, earth scientists may have considerably underestimated the role of weathering in global silt generation, as there are now many references to the existence of a patchy but widespread distribution of pre-Quaternary weathering profiles across the glacial and periglacial landscapes of the Northern Hemisphere (e.g. North America, British Isles, north and central Europe), landscapes within which many of the classical loess deposits are located. These observations suggest that weathering profiles may have covered large tracts of the Northern Hemisphere land surface prior to the Quaternary glaciations. This, in turn, may have important implications for quartz silt generation as: (1) experimental studies indicate that many weathering processes are capable of generating significant quantities of silt-sized debris, and (2) particle characteristics displayed by saprolitic material that has developed on quartz rich crystalline source rocks often include significant quantities of either silt-sized material, or quartz grains that are weakened by weathering derived microfractures. Thus, weathering profiles may represent ‘mines’ of actual and potential quartz silt, available for release into sedimentary systems when these profiles are subsequently reworked by geomorphological processes such as glacial, fluvial and aeolian erosion.     

A preliminary discussion on the source of loessic material in China — A study of the surface textures of silt quartz grains by transmission electron microscope

Loess of China, regardless of its age, exhibits similarity in the surface texture of silt quartz grains, all of them having conchoidal fractures, flat cleavage planes (or plates), and mechanical cracks, and having been re-worked by silica precipitation and chemical dissolution. Silica precipitation, different-degree chemica etching and dissolution are commonly found on these grains, indicating that they would be separated from source rocks, such as granites, gneisses, etc.; or they may have been subjected to relatively long weatheringin-situ before transported to loess-accumulating areas, or they probably underwent diagenesis when brought into the sedimentation system, followed by weathering and erosion, and then transported to loess-accumulating areas. It is evident from the relationship between loess of China, deserts and Gobis, and loessic composition and its regional distribution that Mesozoic-Cenozoic land detrital sediments widely spread in the Ordos and Alashan regions are the principal source of loessic material in China.     

The genesis of the silica sands of Black River, St Elizabeth, Jamaica

The only reported occurrence of quartz-rich sands in Jamaica is on the plains of Black River, St Elizabeth, where they outcrop in isolated pockets. The sands overlie limestones of the White Limestone Supergroup and the Coastal Group, and partly underlie Holocene peat deposits. Monocrystalline quartz, containing fluid and mineral inclusions, is the dominant mineral of the sands, with the heavy minerals. magnetite, haematite, epidote, rutile, anatase, zircon and tourmaline, occurring in minor amounts. Grain surface texture studies of the quartz grains have identified a series of mechanical and chemical features. Microtextures depicting marine, aeolian and pedological environments have been retained on the grains and represent the last three stages in the history of the grains. The petrography of the sands indicates an igneous provenance, with the major source of the detrital minerals being the Cretaceous granitoids that outcrop in the eastern half of the island. These rocks were unroofed during the uplift of Jamaica in the Late Tertiary and were subjected to extensive chemical weathering, which accounted for the breakdown of the majority of their primary silicate minerals. Fluvial transportation and deposition of detritus onto the shelf of the south coast commenced during this period and continued into the Pleistocene, providing terrigenous sand that was modified along the coast to quartz arenite by moderate to high energy marine conditions. Tidal currents, east-west longshore currents and weathering contributed to the maturity of the sand by the time it had been transported along the shelf to the vicinity of Black River. During low sea level stands in the Pleistocene, some of this sediment that became trapped on the shelf was blown inland by south-east winds.     

克里雅河沿线沙丘沉积物石英砂表面特征分析

对沙漠内部典型河流沿线沙丘石英颗粒表面微形态特征的系统研究尚少。沿塔里木盆地南缘克里雅河下游丹丹乌里克、喀拉墩、圆沙古城、北方墓地及其北部塔里木河一带的沙丘顶部采到5件表沙样品。扫描电镜观察172颗经能谱挑选的石英颗粒表面微形态,筛析法测定5件样品的粒度。结果表明:1）丹丹乌里克样品以极细沙为主,其余均以细沙为主,各样品几乎不含黏土;2）样品磨圆度特征以次棱和次圆状为主,圆状很少,未见棱状特征,次棱状与次圆状特征之间消长关系显著,沙漠南北边缘样品的次棱状特征出现频率较腹地高;3）颗粒中V形坑频率呈现出沙漠边缘较高腹地低的特征,而沙漠边缘的化学作用结构特征低于腹地。石英砂表面特征结构以机械作用为主,同时伴生化学环境作用特征,可认为克里雅河下游沙物质包括了河流、冰川与戈壁成因及风输送而来的颗粒;颗粒表面特征总体新鲜,沙丘应较年轻。纵穿塔克拉玛干沙漠沉积物样品的表面微形态观察与粒度测定,为该地区沉积环境分析与沙丘砂溯源研究增添了新数据。     

Geochemical, mineralogical and sedimentological studies on the Taklimakan Desert sands

Major-element composition, mineral composition and grain-size distribution have been studied for Quaternary aeolian sediments from the Taklimakan Desert, north-western China, together with the variation of chemical and mineralogical compositions of different grain-size fractions. Aeolian sediments from the Taklimakan Desert have higher ratios of feldspar/quartz and calcite/quartz, finer grain size, poorer roundness of quartz and feldspar grains and lower abundances of frosted quartz, than found in aeolian sediments from other deserts such as the Saudi Arabian Desert. In spite of these immature mineralogical and sedimentological features, the aeolian sediments from the Taklimakan Desert show low regional variations in major-element and mineral compositions and are homogenized. These observations confirm that two processes, glacial activity within surrounding mountains and aeolian activity at the Tarim Basin, are important in the homogenization of the Taklimakan Desert sands. Taklimakan Desert sediments are constantly and effectively supplied from basement rocks in the surrounding mountains by glacial erosion. The supplied sediments are further homogenized by aeolian activity in the desert and are partly blown away, serving as the source of Chinese aeolian loess. Compositional differences are observed between loess (mainly 10–40 μm particles) and the <45 μm fraction of the Taklimakan Desert sediments, as well as between loess and whole rock of the Taklimakan Desert sediments. These observations provide constraints for precise modelling of loess formation, and for assessment of the chemical composition of the upper continental crust based on the chemical composition of aeolian loess.     

西宁黄土石英颗粒表面结构与黄土物质来源探讨

利用电子扫描电镜分析了西宁黄土地层中的石英颗粒表面形态和机械结构特征,发现近1.2Ma以来西宁黄土石英颗粒形态以尖棱角-棱角为主,颗粒表面具有典型的剪切断口或大贝壳状断口或平行擦痕,且比例较高;有些颗粒表面还具有V形坑、水下磨光面,这类颗粒以次圆状为主,这些信息指示出,西宁黄土物质不是主要来源于沙漠环境,而是来源于青藏高原第四纪冰川和冰缘作用区.     

Glacially-crushed quartz grains in late Quaternary deposits in the Virunga Mountains,Rwanda -indicators of wind transport from the north?

Quartz sand grains in late Quaternary deposits of the Virunga Mountains, northwestern Rwanda, were found to contain glacial-crushing microtextures. Glacially-crushed subangular grains generally lack sharp edges, and carry mainly low frequency, linear crushing features. Because there are no known tills in the Virunga Volcanoes (and because quartz is rare in volcanic terrain), it is likely the grains were delivered by aeolian transport from the Ruwenzori Massif, -150 km to the north. All the grains studied are consistent with crushing under low shear stress, and over short transport distances, in alpine glaciers. An increase in the percentage of glacially-crushed quartz from Holocene to Pleistocene beds likely reflects on the increased strength of the paleowind system (trade winds) during the last glacial maximum. Alternatively, it could reflect on the increased source area for glacially-crushed grains resulting from an increase in the extent of the Afroalpine belt during the last glaciation.     

Variations in the surface texture of suspended quartz grains in the Loire River: an SEM study

Statistical size distribution and scanning electron microscopic studies of suspended sand grains in the Loire River at Montjean, France were carried out over a period of a year (hydrological cycle) to discern seasonal variations. The sand fraction in suspension is better sorted during winter (average mean = 0.69 mm, median = 0.65–0.95 mm, sorting value, σ= 1.1–1.35) and is dominated by quartzo-feldspathic minerals. During summer, on the contrary, this fraction is rich in mica minerals and is poorly sorted (average mean = 1.21 mm, median = 0.33–0.95 mm, sorting value, σ= 1.4–2.0). The grain size of the coarser fraction shows a tendency to increase with river discharge up to an optimum discharge of about 1000 m³ s^-1 and thereafter decreases. Scanning electron photomicroscopy of quartz grains from the suspended sand population indicates that both mechanical and chemical features occur. The former (conchoidal fractures, mechanical fractures and breakage) dominate in the samples collected near the water surface during winter floods and the latter (solution pits, vermicular features, silica flowers, neogene silica and diatoms) in the samples from the bottom during low summer flows. During summer, chemical action takes place on sediments prior to or upon their deposition. Sediments that are resuspended during winter floods undergo mainly physical processes (attrition/abrasion). Mixed surface features are, therefore, observed during average and low river discharge. Inheritance of these surface features from the source area is, however, not completely excluded. Thus, the history of quartz grains in suspension can be reconstructed from SEM exoscopic studies: therefore, it can be proposed that the fluvial quartz grain surface textures result from a combination of alternating chemical and physical processes.     

云南大理点苍山末次冰期冰碛物石英砂扫描电镜形态特征分析

云南大理点苍山是大理冰期的命名地,保存有确切的末次冰期冰川作用遗迹.对点苍山冰碛物石英砂进行了扫描电镜形态特征分析,获得了其石英砂形态特征及其频率,并在冰川成因的典型特征的频率上取得了新的认识.扫描电镜分析表明,点苍山冰碛物石英砂形态特征主要为：石英砂形状主要为次棱角状、尖棱角状和多棱角状,边缘多可见次棱脊和棱脊磨损,表面起伏度高;机械特征主要有贝壳状断口、平行解理面、裂隙、粘附碎片、擦痕、机械V形坑;化学特征主要有蚀坑和蚀缝、蜂窝状溶蚀表面、无定形硅沉淀和硅质薄膜.在石英砂表面与冰川作用密切相关的擦痕的频率为8%～32%;粘附碎片的频率为16%～40%;裂隙的频率为12%～32%.通过对点苍山冰碛物的石英砂扫描电镜分析,得出该第四纪海洋性冰斗冰川和悬冰川的石英砂形态特征及其频率.该冰碛物石英砂原始形态特征明显,机械特征频率不高,是近源堆积的冰碛物石英砂的典型形态特征.     

Glacially crushed quartz grains in loess as indicators of long-distance transport from major European ice centers during the Pleistocene

Detailed mineralogical analysis of the fine and very fine sand fractions (63–250) in the Dreihausen Loess Sequence shows the presence of numerous glacially crushed grains, including a significant amout of quartz. Previous theories regarding the origin of loesses in central Germany held that all sediments were derived locally, following short-distance transport from nearby sandstone outcrops. New data presented here show that many quartz and feldspar grains were glacially crushed, weathered, crushed again, transported, and emplaced by aeolian processes at Dreihausen. Crushing features observed are compatible with transport in both continental and alpine glaciers; some clasts show the effects of abrasion by both water and ice transport, while others are partly rounded presumably by fluvial and/or aeolian processes. Stronger palewind systems during the Pleistocene presumably contributed to the transport and emplacement of glacial grains from ice centers in both the Alps and the Baltic areas, and also possibly from the Rhine Basin.     

南极普里兹湾石英砂表面微结构特征及环境意义

一、样品1981年我所颜其德同志在南极莫森站北面海区和戴维斯站基岩砂滩及其以北的普里兹湾采集了共11个站位的沉积物样品,它们分布在南纬66°-68°区间,其中水下7个,滩面4个,见图1。南极洲除少数山峰和岩石出露外,98%面积终年为冰川所覆盖,冰盖厚度可达数千米。地质环境特殊,气候严寒干燥,常有暴风袭击。化学作用微弱,而物理作用,特别是冰川作用显著。本文通过对普里兹湾石英砂表面微结构的分析,了解极地洋区典型的石英砂微形态的类型以及与此相适应的沉积环境和塑造这种形态的机械的、物理的和化学的因素。     

碳酸盐岩酸不溶物作为贵州岩溶区红色风化壳主要物质来源的证据

贵州岩溶区红色风化壳是中国南方红色负化壳的重要组成部分，本文根据部分红色风化壳剖面野外特征、矿物学、地球化学及土壤物理学等的研究结果，对其物源及成因进行了探讨。各剖面，尤其邻近剖面显著的矿物学、地球化学差异排除了远程风成沉积物、火山灰、上覆或者高处碎屑岩层作为统一且重要物源的可能。极低的石英含量表明贵州常见的长石石英砂岩不是其主要物源，具有中稀土（MREE）富集的特征也排除了粘土岩、页岩作为主要物源的可能。风化壳剖面间的差异性均可从基岩酸不溶物的差异性得到很好解释，表明它们是下伏碳酸盐岩风化、酸不溶物（准）原地堆积的结果。部分剖面甚至显示了典型风化壳剖面的一些特征，具有正常风化序列的剖面结构特征。     

图门江下游沙丘粒度分布与石英表面结构研究

图门江下游沙丘粒度频率累积曲线形态全部为双峰,负偏态,粒度变化范围大,平均粒度数值小,标准偏差平均值为0.61;粒度分布特征方法判断沙丘沉积环境以河流成因为主。通过扫描电镜研究其石英颗粒表面结构,机械作用以贝壳状断口、V形坑和次棱角状形态组合为主,化学作用为中等-强烈溶蚀特征;石英颗粒表面结构特征表明沙丘为河口沉积;热释光测年结果表明沙丘受全新世海平面变化的影响,经历海水及风力改造。     

Scanning electron microscopy of Pleistocene tills in Estonia

Tills from four Pleistocene glaciations were recovered from drill cores in Estonia and subjected to particle size and microtexture analyses by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). All tills were deposited by thick continental ice-sheets following the transport of, at most, several hundred kilometers during four Fennoscandian glaciations. The main problem is to determine if the type and range of microtextures present on the grain surfaces are diagnostic of transport in continental ice. The frequency of occurrence of microtextures including fractures, abrasion, and relief features are used to test the ability of continental ice to damage quartz particles emplaced as till. The range of quartz dissolution and presence of coatings on grains are also used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment that existed prior to transport as well as to estimate diagenetic effects that occurred following emplacement. The available data indicate a high degree of reworking of quartz grains from one glaciation to another. While the shapes and microtextures of grains from source rocks are not known, the great range of fracture and abrasion microfeatures, and high frequency of occurrence on grains in all tills, indicate that glaciers are effective crushing agents. An increase in the prevalence of chemically etched grains from older to younger tills suggests that some grains ( c . 50%) escape crushing, either because of preservation in the ice and lack of grain-to-grain contact, or as a result of massive reworking of weathered grains following interglaciations.     

Provenance, Tectonic Setting and Geochemistry of Ahwaz Sandstone Member (Asmari Formation, Oligo-Miocene), Marun Oilfield, Zagros Basin, SW Iran

The Asmari Formation deposited in the Zagros foreland basin during the OligoceneMiocene. Lithologically, the Asmari Formation consists of limestone, dolomitic limestone, dolomite, argillaceous limestone, some anhydrite(Kalhur Member) and sandstones(Ahwaz Member). This study is based on the analysis of core samples from four subsurface sections(wells Mn-68, Mn-281, Mn-292 and Mn-312) in the Marun Oilfield in the Dezful embayment subzone in order to infer their provenance and tectonic setting of the Ahwaz Sandstone Member. Petrographical data reveal that the Ahwaz Sandstone comprises 97.5% quartz, 1.6% feldspar, and 0.9% rock fragments and all samples are classified as quartz arenites. The provenance and tectonic setting of the Ahwaz Sandstone have been assessed using integrated petrographic and geochemical studies. Petrographic analysis reveals that mono- and poly-crystalline quartz grains from metamorphic and igneous rocks of a craton interior setting were the dominant sources. Chemically, major and trace element concentrations in the rocks of the Ahwaz Sandstone indicate deposition in a passive continental margin setting. As indicated by the CIW′ index(chemical index of weathering) of the Ahwaz Sandstone(average value of 82) their source area underwent "intense" recycling but "moderate to high" degree of chemical weathering. The petrography and geochemistry results are consistent with a tropical, humid climate and low-relief highlands.     

贵州碳酸盐岩风化壳物源判别的新证据:石英颗粒形态、表面结构特征

利用扫描电镜分析了黔北、黔东、黔中4个剖面土样中的石英颗粒形态和表面特征,发现土样中的石英有3种类型:碳酸盐岩中的原生碎屑石英,呈次圆状或圆状,表面有被长时间、长距离水搬运的痕迹,无风成特征;燧石团块石英,具有新鲜的表面,呈不规则的尖棱状、次棱角状,表面基本无搬运痕迹;晶形较完整的次生石英,呈棱角状,晶形较完整,晶面有微生长晶体,无搬运特征。这些信息指示,3种石英均具有原位特征,前两种石英是直接对基岩的继承,第三种石英是风化壳剖面的次生产物,该结果为碳酸盐岩风化壳的物源及原位特征的确认提供了新证据。     

Halogen geochemistry of the McMurdo dry valleys lakes, Antarctica: Clues to the origin of solutes and lake evolution

We have determined the halogen and boron concentrations in the ice-covered lakes of Taylor Valley, Antarctica, to better establish the sources of salts and evolutionary histories of these unusual water bodies. In addition, we report on a series of ¹²⁹I measurements that were compared with previous ³⁶Cl data that also help constrain the source of solutes and histories of the lakes. The new data, when put into context of previous work on these systems over the past forty years, allow us to make the following conclusions. The primary source of solutes to Lake Hoare, the youngest of the lakes, is the dissolution of marine aerosols and aeolian salts and the chemical weathering of dust on the glaciers. The geochemistry of Lake Fryxell, the brackish water lake, is primarily dominated by the diffusion from a halite-saturated brine at the sediment-water interface and the recent infilling of the lake by glacier meltwater. These waters have chemical weathering and marine aerosols components. Lake Bonney has two distinct lobes whose hypersaline hypolimnia have different chemistries. Both of the lobes are remnants of ancient marine waters that have been modified by the input of weathering products. This lake has also been modified by periods of cryogenic concentration when solutes have been lost via mineral precipitation. Thus the geochemistry of Lake Bonney owes its unusual geochemistry, in part, to variations in the climate in the Taylor Valley over at least the past 300kyr. The ¹²⁹I data from the Taylor Valley are similar to those from fracture fluids in crystalline rocks from the Northern Hemisphere.     

甘肃兰州黄河北岸疏松砂岩成因

广泛分布于甘肃兰州黄河北岸红城以东至皋兰以西一带的桔红色疏松砂岩体几乎全由石英颗粒组成,对其研究不仅具有较高的经济价值,而且对于了解中国西北地区干旱环境演变具有极其重要的意义。长期以来,该层砂岩的成因问题一直备受中外地质学家的关注。为此,针对该层疏松砂岩,通过野外沉积构造描述、室内颗粒分析试验及扫描电镜分析等方法,分别从沉积构造、粒度及石英颗粒表面形态特征等方面对其成因进行分析。研究结果表明,兰州黄河北岸水阜乡至曹家湾一带疏松砂岩水平层理沉积特征明显,砂岩粒度累积曲线具有典型水成特性,石英颗粒表面可见比较发育的贝壳状断口及因溶蚀作用而导致的鳞片状剥落等水下沉积特征;朱家井至红城一带疏松砂岩中风成板状斜层理沉积特征明显,其粒度累积曲线具有典型风成特性,石英颗粒表面可见比较发育的麻面、蝶形坑等风成特征。该层砂岩并非单纯的风成或水成,其成因具区域性。     

Oxygen isotopes in single micrometer-sized quartz grains: tracing the source of Saharan dust over long-distance atmospheric transport

Oxygen isotope compositions were measured by ion microprobe in individual micrometer-sized quartz grains extracted from one aerosol sample collected on the Cape Verde Islands and from four surface samples (three soils and one sediment) representing potential source regions of aerosols in Western and Central Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Niger, and Chad). A large range of δ¹⁸O values, from +6.2‰ to +39.3‰ is present within the aerosol quartz grains. The different size fractions of the quartz grains from the surface samples overlap nearly entirely this range but show significant differences in their δ¹⁸O distributions for the different size fractions of the grains (i.e., different modes, different proportions of grains with low or high δ¹⁸O, ...). These differences in δ¹⁸O distributions can be related to different geological formations (i.e., mantle-derived magmatic rocks, crustal magmatic rocks, or sedimentary rocks) outcropping in each region, thus giving a fingerprint of the source region. Quartz grains with unusually high δ¹⁸O values between +30‰ and +40‰ were attributed to lacustrine cherts formed in evaporitic environments (Chad basin).The existence of distinct δ¹⁸O distributions for the surface samples, which reflect regional geology but indicate some transport of the grains, enables the characterization of mixing processes during dust emission in the atmosphere. Particles are mixed at a regional scale in the dust reservoir, but injection of fine particles into the high troposphere occurs as a discrete and localized event with no mixing during the subsequent long-range transport by the easterlies. The comparison of the δ¹⁸O distribution of the quartz from the aerosol sample with the equivalent size fractions in surface samples shows that the Niger area is the more probable source region for the aerosol although the Moroccan source cannot be excluded. This method gives a valuable tool to trace the source region of dust into the atmosphere or into sediment samples, allowing the reconstruction of air mass circulations.