Aeolian abrasion and modes of fine particle production from natural red dune sands: an experimental study

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the potential for aeolian abrasion of natural dune sands to produce fine particles (< 125 µm) by (1) the release of resident fines; (2) spalling, chipping and breakage of particles; and (3) the removal of grain surface coatings. Parent samples were obtained from the surfaces of four active continental dunes and abraded using a glass ‘test tube’ chamber for up to 120 h. The fine particles produced by this abrasion process were trapped at varying time intervals and subject to detailed particle‐size analyses using a Coulter Multisizer. The abrasion of untreated parent samples produced fine particles in one of two main size classes, < 10 µm and > 50 µm, but when the parent sample was sieved to exclude particles < 250 µm, relatively more material in the range 10–50 µm was produced. For unsieved parent samples, the size range associated with the dominant mode varied according to the length of the abrasion time. The coarsest mode (> 63 µm) was dominant during the first 16 h of abrasion, then became less significant and is thought to be associated with the release of resident fines into suspension. The finest mode (< 10 µm) was absent or very weak during the first 16 h of abrasion, then became more significant and, in some instances, dominated the distribution as abrasion continued. Removal of grain surface coatings is the main source of fine material < 10 µm, and this may be a significant source of fine material in areas where sands are dominated by subrounded and rounded particles. By comparison with previous studies of aeolian particle abrasion, these natural dune sands produced very low quantities of fine material (by weight), but their spatial extent makes them potentially a significant source of dust‐sized particles at the global scale.     

Factors affecting the nature and rate of dust production from natural dune sands

This paper evaluates the influence of natural sand particle characteristics on the amount and particle-size distributions of dust produced by aeolian abrasion. It contrasts with previous studies of aeolian abrasion by conducting experiments using: (i) whole sand samples, as opposed to selected size fractions; (ii) natural, mature dune sands, rather than artificial or freshly crushed material; and (iii) weathered sands that have acquired a superficial clay coating, instead of grains with clean surfaces. Whilst previous research has found clear, positive relationships between particle size, sorting, roundness and the amount of dust produced by aeolian abrasion, the relationships determined in this study show some variation according to the geomorphological context from which the original samples were obtained. The most important factor affecting the amount and particle-size characteristics of the dust produced was the presence of a clay coating on the grain surface that is removed by the abrasion process. The dust produced by this mechanism had a modal size of 2–5  μ m and material <10  μ m comprised up to 90% of the particles produced.     

The relation between the crystallography of quartz, and upturned aeolian cleavage plates

The relation between the crystallography of artificially abraded quartz sand grains and aeolian surface textures has been studied using an X-ray precession camera and the scanning electron microscope (SEM). Crushed Brazilian quartz was sieved to between 250 and 350 μm, eroded in a paddle wheel device which simulated aeolian action at 8 m s^?1 for 3 h, and photographed with the SEM. A typical grain was selected and over 1100 photographs were combined to create a 3 × 3 m photomosaic; because of the large size, it was possible to observe and measure the angular and linear relations between the various features. After the c axis direction in the grain was determined by precession X-ray analysis, the most important aeolian features were related to the crystallography of quartz. The upturned plates or cleavage plates probably represent traces parallel to r(10ī1) and z(01ī1) cleavages in quartz. Blocky areas appear to be an expression of a cleavage parallel to m(10ī0). In addition, plate spacing on thirty-five experimental, modern, and ancient quartz sand grains is fairly constant. Assuming that abrasion in most sedimentary environments acts in the same manner with respect to quartz crystallography, much of the fine silt and clay in sediments and sedimentary rocks may be the result of cleavage following abrasion parallel to the r and z cleavage planes, while the less common blocky particles are probably the result of cleavage parallel to the m planes.     

The significance of Gobi desert surfaces for dust emissions in China: an experimental study

A series of experiments to determine the direct emission of dust-sized particles from Gobi surfaces by clean wind (wind without sand), and the potential for aeolian abrasion of Gobi surfaces and beds of gravel and mobile sand to produce fine (<100 μm) and dust-sized (<10 μm, PM₁₀) particles under sand-laden winds were conducted. Parent material was obtained from Gobi areas of the Ala Shan Plateau, the region with high dust emissions in arid China. The fine particles produced by aeolian processes were collected using sand traps and sieved the captured materials to exclude particles >100 μm in diameter and then PM₁₀ by sedimentation was acquired. The Gobi surface provided most of the emitted fine particles during the initial dust emission processes, but subsequently, release of the clay coatings of particles by abrasion becomes the dominant source of fine materials. Under sand-laden winds, PM₁₀ production rates produced by aeolian abrasion of Gobi surfaces ranged between 0.002 and 0.244% of blown materials. After removal of sand, silt, or clay with low resistance to erosion from the Gobi surfaces by the wind, the PM₁₀ production rates caused by aeolian abrasion were similar to those from gravel and sand beds. The results also indicated that after the dust-sized particles with low resistance to erosion were removed, the production of dust-sized particles was unrelated to wind velocity. Under aeolian processes, Gobi deserts in this region therefore play a major role in dust emissions from arid and semiarid China.     

Non Destructive 3D, 4D Microscopy and Mineral Phase Characterization in Industrial Minerals,Composites to Construction Materials

Conventional electron and optical microscopy techniques require the sample to be sectioned, polished or etched to expose the internal surfaces for imaging. However, such sample preparation techniques have traditionally prevented the observation of the same sample over time, under realistic three-dimensional geometries and in an environment representative of real-world operating conditions. X-ray microscopy (XRM) is a rapidly emerging technique that enables non-destructive evaluation of buried structures within hard to soft materials in 3D, requiring little to no sample preparation. Furthermore in situ and 4D quantification of microstructural evolution under controlled environment as a function of time, temperature, chemistry or stress can be done repeatable on the same sample, using practical specimen sizes ranging from tens of microns to several cm diameter, with achievable imaging resolution from submicron to 50 nm. Many of these studies were reported using XRM in synchrotron beamlines. These include crack propagation on composite and construction materials; corrosion studies; microstructural changes during the setting of cement; flow studies within porous media to mention but a few.     

浅谈钛金属在首饰表面装饰中的运用

钛金属作为一种新型材料在装饰画领域中得到运用,但目前对其在首饰设计中的运用研究甚少.本次研究以钛金属运用到首饰表面进行装饰为目的,通过钛金属单纯氧化、氧化基础上的机械方式、化学蚀刻等制作方式对钛金属表面首饰性装饰进行运用和分析.研究结果表明,在机械方式基础之上,对钛金属表面进行化学蚀刻同时结合单纯氧化可以达到钛金属首饰表面装饰的效果.     

A precise U---Pb zircon age for the Archaean Pongola Supergroup volcanics in Swaziland

U---Pb dating of single abraded zircon grains from a Pongola Supergroup rhyodacite sample collected in southern Swaziland yields a crystallization age of 2985±1 Ma. This date is significantly older than our previously reported U---Pb age determined on highly discordant and unabraded zircons from the same sample. The new zircon age indicates that the formation of the Pongola volcanics occurred not much later than the emplacement of the youngest granitoids thought to be broadly coeval with the Dominion Group (Robb et al., 1991), and before deposition of the Lower West Rand Group (Barton et al., 1989).     

Eolian indicator mineral dispersion haloes from the Orapa kimberlite cluster,Botswana

This paper presents the results of an investigation into the structure of eolian kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs) haloes present within Quaternary Kalahari Group sediments (up to 20 m thick) overlying the Late Cretaceous kimberlites in the Orapa field in North-East Botswana. A database of more than 8000 samples shows that kimberlites create a general mineralogical blanket of KIMs of various distances of transportation from primary sources in the Orapa area. Models of the reflection and dispersion patterns of KIMs derived from kimberlite pipes including AK10/ AK22/AK23 have been revealed based on 200 selected heavy mineral samples collected during diamond prospecting activities in Botswana from 2014 to 2017. Short distance eolian haloes situated close to kimberlite bodies cover gentle slopes within plains up to 500 × 1000 m in size. They have regularly have oval or conical shapes and are characterized by the presence mainly of unabraded or only slightly abraded KIMs. A sharp reduction of their concentration from hundreds and thousands of grains / 20 l immediately above kimberlites toto 10 grains/20 l at a distance of only 100–200 m from the pipes is a standard feature of these haloes. The variation of concentration, morphology and abrasion of specific KIMs with increasing distance from the primary sources has been investigated and presented herein. Sample volumes recommended for pipes present within a similar setting as those studied, with different depth of sedimentary cover are as follows: up to 10–20 m cover at 20–50 l, 20–30 m cover at 50–100 l and 30–80 m cover at 250 l. It is important to appreciate that the discovery of even single grains of unabraded or slightly abraded KIMs in eolian haloes are of high prospecting significance in this area. The results of the research can be applied to in diamond prospecting programs in various regions with similar environments.

     

Bedload abrasion and the in situ fragmentation of bivalve shells

The aim of this study was to determine how Unio bivalve shells fragment within the channel of the Sakmara River (southern Urals, Russia). The Sakmara River has an abundant bivalve population and a highly variable flow regime which, at low flow, allowed much of the channel bed to be examined. A large data set of 1013 shells (Unio sp.) was examined and these were shown to have consistent patterns of orientation, aspect, shell abrasion, perforation and fracture. The close spatial relationship between areas of shell abrasion, shell perforation and shell fracture showed that they form part of a continuum whereby areas of abrasion evolve into perforations and perforations coalesce and enlarge into fractures. The mechanism of shell damage proposed is one of abrasion in place, whereby the shell remains stationary on the surface of the point bar and is impacted by bedload. Underpinning this process are the hydrodynamic properties of the bivalve shell, with consistency in the orientation and aspect of the valve in a flowing current producing consistency in the distribution of damage on the shell surface. Valves preferentially lie in a convex‐up position and orientate in the flow such that the umbo faces upstream. The elevated, upstream‐facing umbo region is exposed to particle impact and is the first to be abraded and perforated. The vulnerability of the umbo to perforation is greatly increased by the thinness of the shell at the umbo cavity. The in situ abrasion process is enhanced by the development of an armoured gravel bed which restricts valve mobility and maintains shells within the abrasion zone at the sediment–water interface. The in situ abrasion process shows that broken shells are not a reliable indicator of long distance transport. The study also raises the issue that tumbling barrel experiments, which are generally used to simulate shell abrasion, will not replicate the type of directionally focused sand‐blasting which appears to be the principal cause of shell fragmentation in the Sakmara River.     

Seismic slip recorded in tourmaline fault mirrors from Elba Island (Italy)

This paper reports the first example of fault mirrors developed in an unusual protolith, consisting of tourmaline crystals with interstitial goethite. The deformation mechanisms active in the fault zone have been investigated from the outcrop to the nanoscale, aiming to identify possible traces of frictional heating at seismic slip rate, as observed for other fault mirrors in different protoliths. The investigation revealed the superposition of two main deformational stages. The first was dominated by brittle processes and produced a cataclastic/ultracataclastic principal slip zone, a few mm thick; the second was associated with seismic slip and produced a sharp discontinuity (the principal slip surface) within the cataclastic/ultracataclastic zone. The mirror-like coating, a few microns thick, occurs on the principal slip surface, and is characterized by 1) absence of interstitial goethite; 2) occurrence of truncated tourmaline crystals; 3) highly variable grain size, from 200 μm to 200 nm; 4) tourmaline close packing with interlobate grain boundaries, and 5) tourmaline random crystallographic orientation.Micro and nanostructural investigations indicate the occurrence of thermally-activated processes, involving both interstitial goethite and tourmaline. In particular, close to the principal slip surface, goethite is completely decomposed, and produced an amorphous porous material, with local topotactic recrystallization of hematite. Tourmaline clasts are typically characterized by strongly lobate boundaries, indicative of reaction and partial decomposition at grain boundaries. TEM observations revealed the occurrence of tourmaline nanograins, a few tens of nm in size, characterized by rounded shape and fading amorphous boundaries, that cannot be obtained by brittle processes. Lastly, the peculiar interlobate microstructure of the mirror surface is interpreted as the result of grain boundary recrystallization processes taking place by deformation at high-T conditions. Our results show that tourmaline fault mirrors recorded localized high-T processes triggered by frictional heating and can be therefore considered as reliable traces of ancient earthquakes.     

Aeolian Geomorphology in the Era of Deep Space Exploration

The exploration of "Deep Sea, Deep Earth and Deep Space" provides opportunities and challenges for the development of geoscience, and geographical science begins to meet the climax of deep space exploration represented by Mars. In China, Martian exploration will be launched in 2020, which will carry out global and comprehensive surrounding exploration of Mars, patrol detection in some local areas, researchers need to be well prepared for the study of planetary geosciences including aeolian geomorphology based on these coming data. Aeolian geomorphology is divided into three stages based on the development history and trend: classical research focusing on single dune observation, modern research with earth system ideology and future research mainly on extra-terrestrial planets. The characteristics of each developing stage were summarized, and we believe that the planetary aeolian research will come naturally. Then, the development and achievement of planetary aeolian research are summarized, the existing problems and future developing trend were also discussed here. Study shows that there are many types of aeolian landforms on Mars, Venus and Titan, and the aeolian process is the most active modern surface process. Aeolian geomorphology in different planets has good similarity, but the difference is also obvious, which means that they have similar formation mechanism, but different formation and evolution conditions, therefore, the theory of aeolian geomorphology will be improved and enriched gradually through the comparative study on different planets. There are obvious advantages in revealing the formation laws and mechanism of aeolian geomorphology in extraterrestrial planets because of the simple formation conditions, and the research of aeolian geomorphology in the era of deep space exploration is in the ascendant.     

Testing the auto‐abrasion hypothesis for dust production using diatomite dune sediments from the Bodélé Depression in Chad

This study examines the role of quartz sand in the production of dust using mixtures of quartz sand from the Sahara and diatomite aggregates from the Bodélé Depression in Chad. An aeolian abrasion chamber is used to reproduce the physical processes of aeolian abrasion and test the hypothesis that the breakdown of saltating diatomite flakes as they collide in saltation, and with the surface, is the most prolific mechanism of dust production (auto‐abrasion). This hypothesis is tested against the competing hypothesis that a hard, higher‐density quartz sand impactor is required to abrade fine‐grained sediments to generate dust. The results show that dust can be produced by a mixture of saltating diatomite and quartz sand particles. However, quartz sand is not required for saltating aggregates to produce dust. Indeed, these results, which used a mixture of very coarse‐grained aggregate (1 to 2 mm diameter) with fine quartz sand, indicate that the addition of quartz sand can decrease dust production. For a very coarse aggregate (1 to 2 mm), a pure diatomite aggregate produced the most dust, although using a coarse‐grained aggregate (0·5 to 1·0 mm) with a mixture of 20% quartz and 80% aggregate was found to produce the most dust overall. The results of this study confirm the auto‐abrasion hypothesis for the breakdown of diatomite particles in the Bodélé Depression, which is the single biggest source of atmospheric mineral dust on Earth.     

疏松质石笋碳酸盐的精确微区取样

高分辨率极端气候事件是古气候研究中的一个热点。作为重要的古气候信息载体之一的石笋,以其每年几十到几百微米的生长速率,为提取高分辨率古气候代用指标提供了可能。而可靠的微区取样则是石笋高分辨率分析的重要前提。本文利用美国New Wave微区取样装置,对微区取样技术在石笋碳酸盐中的应用进行了探讨。在年层并非平直的疏松质石笋表面,于40 μm取样步长内,成功获得了平均质量约为100 μg的石笋微区分析样品。所获得的年内分辨率样品可同时提供微量元素分析和稳定同位素分析。重点讨论了石笋微区取样过程中必须注意的样品固定和取样参数设置等关键问题,提供了有效收集石笋微区样品和避免样品交叉污染的方法。     

Major and Trace Element Composition and Homogeneity of Microbeam Reference Material: Basalt Glass USGS BCR-2G

Major and trace element abundances in two different fragments of reference material basalt glass BCR-2G are reported. The data were obtained by ion and electron microprobe and represent both random point and profile analyses. Major and trace element abundances are constant within a few per mil and a few percent, respectively. This overall homogeneity is valid for scales of a few tens of micrometres to a few tens of centimetres. It is shown that the difference in the scatter of apparent element abundances is not due to chemical heterogeneity but reflects analytical uncertainty. Within error, the concentrations of both the major and lithophile trace elements in BCR-2G appear to be identical to the bulk dry weight abundances in BCR-1. Possible exceptions are the alkali metals.     

青藏高原典型地区沉积物地球化学特征与矿物组成的粒度效应

地表松散沉积物中不同粒级的颗粒蕴含着不同的信息,这种差异与其物质来源、搬运和沉积过程中的分选作用以及沉积后的风化作用等有关。因此,可根据沉积物中不同粒级颗粒地球化学特征与矿物组成的差异,进行沉积物物源追踪或沉积环境重建。选择青藏高原在气候和地貌方面具有典型意义的柴达木盆地、错那湖、雅鲁藏布江流域作为研究区,分别采集了这几个地区的沙丘沙、黄土、湖积物、冲积物、洪积物、残坡积物等地表松散沉积物样品,用干筛法将沉积物样品分为两个部分,粗颗粒部分粒径范围为≥75~500 μm,细颗粒部分粒径<75 μm。对上述粗、细颗粒分别进行稀土与微量元素、Sr-Nd同位素、轻矿物组成的实验室分析测试,并对沉积物中粗、细颗粒的测试结果采用古典多维尺度方法进行相似性分析。结果表明：青藏高原松散沉积物中粗、细颗粒在轻矿物组成、微量和稀土元素含量、稀土特征、元素参数等方面存在差异;细颗粒部分蕴含了更多的环境信息,富含容易受化学风化影响的黏土矿物以及硬度较小、容易被磨蚀的方解石等矿物。在物源示踪中不同气候区的沉积物细颗粒不宜进行直接比较,应根据样品的粒度分布情况优先选择合适的粗颗粒组分进行物源示踪。     

基于微观结构的青藏高原风积沙导热系数变化机理研究

风积沙作为青藏高原一种重要的局地因素, 改变了多年冻土的赋存条件. 风积沙的导热系数特征对预报分析其对冻土赋存有利或者不利具有重要作用. 采用非稳态法对青藏高原红梁河风积沙进行了导热系数测试, 并结合电镜扫描/能谱分析, 从微观结构的角度探讨了风积沙的导热系数变化机理. 结果表明: 研究区风积沙平均粒度为242.427 μm; 标准偏差值为0.125, 分选极好; 偏度为0.359, 接近对称; 峰度值为1.086, 峰态中等; 颗粒粒径主要分布在75～500 μm之间, 沙粒均匀, 不含黏土及砾石成分, 自然堆积状态下其孔隙率为0.391. 天然状态下的风积沙颗粒呈类球形, 颗粒磨圆度高, 点与点接触, 颗粒间孔隙较大; 表面有明显撞击坑和擦痕, 这导致颗粒的比表面积增大, 连通性增强, 孔隙率增加. 干燥状态下风积沙颗粒的相互接触面积较小, 孔隙由空气填充, 导热系数较低; 而在湿润状态下, 正温时孔隙中的水间接增大了风积沙的接触面积, 导致其导热系数增大; 负温时, 孔隙内的水变成冰, 从而导致导热系数进一步增大. 天然状态下, 暖季地表风积沙含水量较低, 导热系数较低, 而冷季地表风积沙含水量较大, 导热系数较大. 此外, 风积沙为颗粒物质, 表面光滑, 颗粒之间粘性小, 孔隙未被填堵, 结构松散, 这些因素导致自然堆积状态下其渗透系数较一般细砂大, 透水性良好, 保水性差, 是防冻胀较好的换填材料.     

Mopping up leaking carbon: A natural analog at Wadi Namaleh,Jordan

Carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is one of the important options available for partially stemming greenhouse gas emissions from large point sources. The possibility of leaking from deep storage needs to be addressed. The Wadi Namaleh area in southern Jordan provides an interesting case study of how excess CO₂ can be trapped in the form of carbonates in the near surface, even when the local geology is not obviously conducive for such a process.Carbonate veins are formed in surface alteration zones of rhyolite host rock in this arid region. The alteration zones are limited to areas where surface soil or colluvium are present. Oxygen, deuterium and carbon isotopes of the carbonates and near-surface ground water in the area suggest that the source of carbon is deep seated CO₂, and that the carbonate precipitated in local meteoric water under ambient temperature conditions. Analysis of strontium in the carbonate, fresh rhyolite and altered host shows that the source for calcium is aeolian. Trace elements show that metal and REE mobility are constrained to the alteration zone.Thus, interaction of H₂O, CO₂ and atmospheric wet and dry deposition lead to the formation of the clayey (montmorillonite) alteration zone. This zone acts to trap seeping CO₂ and water, and thus produces conditions of progressively more efficient trapping of carbon dioxide by means of a positive feedback mechanism. Replication of these conditions in other areas will minimize CO₂ leakage from man-made CCS sites.     

Low-density geochemical mapping in Hungary

Guidelines for a low-density geochemical survey were described in 1990 by the Western European Geological Surveys. A low-density geochemical survey of Hungary was carried out in 1991–1995. The results are useful for future surveys and for the IGCP 360 project ‘Global Geochemical Baseline’. In regions with well-developed drainage systems in Hungary, 196 catchment basins of approx. 400 km² were delineated and flood-plain deposits sampled at their outlets. The samples were taken from 0 to 10 cm and from 50 to 60 cm depths. Samples were analysed by ICP-AES and AAS techniques in two laboratories. A Geochemical Atlas of Hungary is in preparation that will show the distribution of 25 elements in the two sampled layers. Maps for the lower layer represent regional geochemical baseline values and a geochemical subdivision of the country (maps showing the distribution of element associations) was made on the basis of factor variables. Maps constructed from the data of the upper sampling level show us the present state of contamination of the surface. The results of this survey have contributed to the establishment of guidance values for soils prepared by the Hungarian Ministry of the Environment in 1995. Safe levels were established for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb and Zn and regional environmental loads plotted. Differences between the median values of the two levels are generally small. However, the concentrations of certain elements like P, Pb and S are significantly greater in the upper layer reflecting contamination from agriculture. In certain regions, the rate of sedimentation was fairly fast such that the environmental effects of ore mining in Transylvania and southern Slovakia as well as those of heavy industry in northern Hungary can be observed in samples from the lower level. The main factor controlling the geochemical pattern in Hungary is the predominance of young (Pleistocene or Miocene) clastic sediments at the surface. Approx. 90% of the surface is covered by these young sediments. This kind of survey has the disadvantage of not providing enough contrast to differentiate geologically dissimilar areas but it has the advantage to provide regional surface background geochemical data and it helps to outline areas of possible surface contamination. Based on the results of this survey we conclude that it would be much better to sample smaller, but geologically homogeneous areas in mountainous terrain to obtain data characteristic of the geochemical background of lithologic units. This approach would mean a sampling density of a few tens of km²/sample for hilly areas, and a few hundred km²/sample for lowland areas.     

Stokes surfaces and the effects of near-surface groundwater-table on Aeolian deposition

ABSTRACT Stokes surfaces in aeolian deposits are caused by wind scour of unconsolidated material to a roughly planar horizon controlled by near-surface water-tables (Stokes, 1968). A water-table forms a downward limit of scour through the cohesion of damp or wet sand near water-table, and through early cementation by evaporites precipitated in the sediments as water evaporates near the sand-air interface. Study of modern analogues reveals that Stokes surfaces exist in a variety of depositional settings, including a coastal offshore prograding sand sea (Jafurah, Saudi Arabia); a coastal onshore prograding sand sea (Guerrero Negro, Mexico) and a continental sand sea (White Sands, New Mexico, USA). These modern analogues indicate that our concept of Stokes surfaces must be broadened to include the following: (i) modern analogues for Stokes surfaces described here cover areas on the order of 25 km². These may be as representative of similar surfaces in ancient rocks as hypothesized plains of deflation requiring removal of entire sand seas; (ii) Stokes surfaces occupy a continuum in scale from local to extensive, and erosional surfaces of different magnitude may be stacked closely in the sediments; (iii) Stokes surfaces, although erosional in nature, are commonly associated with deposits both above and below the Stokes bounding surface which plainly reveal the influence of a near-surface groundwater control on wind sedimentation. Moreover, the erosional relief of the bounding surface itself (as well as other features) reveals the influence of a groundwater-table; (iv) Stokes surfaces may be diachronous, representing the lateral shift of a zone of scour within a sand sea rather than simultaneous removal of all dunes from the area encompassed by the erosional surface; (v) Stokes surfaces and associated deposits are often laterally transitional to surfaces and deposits of adjacent depositional environments, including interdunes, tidal flats, lagoons, beaches, lakes and non-aeolian sabkhas. Finally, modern examples from different depositional settings suggest that while most Stokes surfaces have many features in common (such as erosional ridges due to early cementation), there are some features which may, with further study, be revealed to be distinctive of an individual depositional setting.     

Carbonate aeolianites of western Saurashtra,India: experimental decipherment of the depositional mechanisms

Granular carbonate deposits of Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene age, commonly referred to as ‘miliolite limestone’, occur in a linear belt, parallel to the southern coast of Saurashtra, India. In the present study area these carbonate deposits are found in select valleys between ridges and mounds of pyroclastic material present in the Deccan trap plateau. Two different depositional histories have been proposed for these sediments. The presence of marine bioclasts led to the postulation of a marine origin for these deposits. The second school of thought propounded redeposition of the coastal sediments by aeolian processes. Although a few features could not be explained by the proposed aeolian model, critical comparison of these two views favoured the aeolian origin. The mode of occurrence, lithological and structural attributes, and microscopic evidence presented here, also support a possible aeolian origin for these deposits. Experimental observation indicates that these carbonate aeolianites represent backflow deposits, which accumulated because of the flow separation caused by the presence of topographic highs. The conspicuous concave‐up geometry of the deposit conformed to the shape of the separation bulb. In view of the inferred depositional mechanism, the disposition of the deposits and the signature of the palaeoflow direction suggest that the carbonate particles were derived from the north‐western coast of Saurashtra by strong south‐easterly winds. Massive granular carbonates with outsized basement clasts appear to be the product of avalanching of granular material from the higher contours because of oversteepening of the primary deposit.