A practical classification of surface textures observed on detrital grains in sands and sandstones is proposed, in order to enhance data reproducibility among operators and to implement the use of high-resolution heavy-mineral data in studies of sediment-generation, provenance, and diagenesis. Five stages of progressive weathering (unweathered, corroded, etched, deeply etched, skeletal) are recognized for diverse detrital minerals. Archetypal grains displaying increasing degrees of corrosion are illustrated in numerous color tables for visual comparison. This catalog, specifically devised to systematically collect valuable information for paleoclimatic or diagenetic interpretation during routine grain-counting under the microscope, is here shown to represent a useful subsidiary tool to reveal the different degrees of weathering for diverse minerals in modern sands of equatorial Africa, and to identify post-depositional modifications of detrital assemblages in buried orogenic sediments of the Bengal Basin. The data thus obtained need to be interpreted by carefully considering the concentration of heavy minerals in each sample, which provides the fundamental clue to quantify the degree of heavy-mineral depletion caused by either pre-depositional or post-depositional processes. The scrutiny of dissolution effects has applications in the study of the chemical properties of minerals and of diagenetic evolution, helping us to understand the development of secondary porosity and to assess the potential of water and hydrocarbon reservoirs.

Ando', S., Garzanti, E., Padoan, M., Limonta, M. (2012). Corrosion of heavy minerals during weathering and diagenesis: A catalogue for optical analysis. SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY, 280, 165-178 [10.1016/j.sedgeo.2012.03.023].

Corrosion of heavy minerals during weathering and diagenesis: A catalogue for optical analysis

ANDO', SERGIO;GARZANTI, EDUARDO;PADOAN, MARTA;
2012

Abstract

A practical classification of surface textures observed on detrital grains in sands and sandstones is proposed, in order to enhance data reproducibility among operators and to implement the use of high-resolution heavy-mineral data in studies of sediment-generation, provenance, and diagenesis. Five stages of progressive weathering (unweathered, corroded, etched, deeply etched, skeletal) are recognized for diverse detrital minerals. Archetypal grains displaying increasing degrees of corrosion are illustrated in numerous color tables for visual comparison. This catalog, specifically devised to systematically collect valuable information for paleoclimatic or diagenetic interpretation during routine grain-counting under the microscope, is here shown to represent a useful subsidiary tool to reveal the different degrees of weathering for diverse minerals in modern sands of equatorial Africa, and to identify post-depositional modifications of detrital assemblages in buried orogenic sediments of the Bengal Basin. The data thus obtained need to be interpreted by carefully considering the concentration of heavy minerals in each sample, which provides the fundamental clue to quantify the degree of heavy-mineral depletion caused by either pre-depositional or post-depositional processes. The scrutiny of dissolution effects has applications in the study of the chemical properties of minerals and of diagenetic evolution, helping us to understand the development of secondary porosity and to assess the potential of water and hydrocarbon reservoirs.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Equatorial weathering, Diagenetic dissolution, Surface textures, East African Rift, Kagera River, Bengal Basin
English
2012
280
165
178
none
Ando', S., Garzanti, E., Padoan, M., Limonta, M. (2012). Corrosion of heavy minerals during weathering and diagenesis: A catalogue for optical analysis. SEDIMENTARY GEOLOGY, 280, 165-178 [10.1016/j.sedgeo.2012.03.023].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/30079
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