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At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
USGS2004

Impact of clay minerals on sulfate-reducing activity in aquifers

Previous studies have shown that sulfate-reduction activity occurs in a heterogeneous manner throughout the terrestrial subsurface. Low-activity regions are often observed in the presence of clay minerals. Here we report that clays inhibit sulfate reduction activity in sediments and in a pure culture of Desulfovibrio vulgaris . Clay minerals including bentonite and kaolinite inhibited sulfate reduction by 70–90% in sediments. Intact clays and clay colloids or soluble components, capable of passing through a 0.2-µm filter, were also inhibitory to sulfate-reducing bacteria. Other adsorbent materials, including anion or cation exchangers and a zeolite, did not inhibit sulfate reduction in sediments, suggesting that the effect of clays was not due to their cation-exchange capacity. We observed a strong correlation between the Al 2 O 3 content of clays and their relative ability to inhibit sulfate reduction in sediments ( r 2 = 0.82). This suggested that inhibition might be a direct effect of Al 3+ (aq) on the bacteria. We then tested pure aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) and showed it to act in a similar manner to clay. As dissolved aluminum is known to be toxic to a variety of organisms at low concentrations, our results suggest that the effects of clay on sulfate-reducing bacteria may be directly due to aluminum. Thus, our experiments provide an explanation for the lack of sulfate-reduction activity in clay-rich regions and presents a mechanism for the effect.

Microbial Ecology↗
USGS2024

Effect of chlorine in clay-mineral specimens prepared on silver metal-membrane mounts for X-ray powder diffraction analysis

Silver metal-membrane filters are commonly used as substrates in the preparation of oriented clay-mineral specimens for X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). They are relatively unaffected by organic solvent treatments and specimens can be prepared rapidly. The filter mounts are adaptable to automatic sample changers, have few discrete reflections at higher 20 angles, and, because of the high atomic number of silver, produce a relatively low overall background compared with other membrane filters, such as cellulose (Poppe and Hathaway, 1979). The silver metal-membrane filters, however, present some problems after heat treatment if either the filters or the samples contain significant amounts of chlorine. At elevated temperature, the chloride ions react with the silver substrate to form crystalline compounds. These compounds change the mass-absorption coefficient of the sample, reducing peak intensities and areas and, therefore, complicating the semiquantitative estimation of clay minerals. A simple procedure that eliminates most of the chloride from a sample and the silver metal-membrane substrate is presented here.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS2024

Fluoride content of clay minerals and argillaceous earth materials

A reliable method, utilizing a fluoride ion-selective electrode, is described for the determination of fluoride in clays and shales. Interference by aluminum and iron is minimal. The reproducibility of the method is about ±5% at different levels of fluoride concentration. Data are presented for various clay minerals and for the <2-µm fractions of marine and nonmarine clays and shales. Fluoride values range from 44 ppm (0.0044%) for nontronite from Colfax, WA, to 51,800 ppm (5.18%) for hectorite from Hector, CA. In general, clays formed under hydrothermal conditions are relatively high in fluoride content, provided the hydrothermal waters are high in fluoride content. Besides hectorite, dickite from Ouray, CO, was found to contain more than 50 times as much fluoride (6700 ppm) as highly crystalline geode kaolinite (125 ppm). The clay stratum immediately overlying a fluorite mineralized zone in southern Illinois was found to have a higher fluoride content than the same stratum in a nonmineralized zone approximately 1 mile away. Nonmarine shales in contact with Australian coals were found to be lower in fluoride content than were marine shales in contact with Illinois coals. It is believed that, in certain instances, peak shifts on DTA curves of similar clay minerals are the result of significant differences in their fluoride content.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS2024

Structural charge site influence on the interlayer hydration of expandable three-sheet clay minerals

Previous investigations have demonstrated the influences of interlayer cation composition, relative humidity, temperature, and magnitude of interlayer surface charge on the interlayer hydration of montmorillonites and vermiculites. It has been suggested that the sites of layer charge deficiencies may also have an influence upon the amount of hydration that can take place in the interlayers of expandable clay minerals. If the interlayer cation-to-layer bonds are considered as ideally electrostatic, the magnitude of the forces resisting expansion may be expressed as a form of Coulomb's law. If this effect is significant, expandable structures in which the charge-deficiency sites are predominantly in the tetrahedral sheet should have less pronounced swelling properties than should structures possessing charge deficiencies located primarily in the octahedral sheet. Three samples that differed in location of layer charge sites were selected for study. An important selection criterion was a non-correlation between tetrahedral charge sites and high surface-charge density, and between octahedral charge sites and low surface-charge density. The effects of differences in interlayer cation composition were eliminated by saturating portions of each sample with the same cations. Equilibrium (001) d values at controlled constant humidities were used as a measure of the relative degree of interlayer hydration. Although no correlation could be made between the degree of interlayer hydration and total surface-charge density, the investigation does not eliminate total surface-charge density as being significant to the swelling properties of three-sheet clay-mineral structures. The results do indicate a correlation between more intense expandability and predominance of charge deficiencies in the octahedral sheet. Conversely, less intense swelling behavior is associated with predominantly tetrahedral charge deficiencies.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS1953

Analysis of mixed-layer clay mineral structures

Among the enormously abundant natural occurrences of clay minerals, many examples are encountered in which no single specific crystallization scheme extends through a single ultimate grain. The characterization of such assemblages becomes an analysis of the distribution of matter within such grains, rather than the simple identification of mineral species. It having become established that the particular coordination complex typified by mica is a common component of many natural subcrystalline assemblages, the opportunity is afforded to analyze scattering from random associations of these complexes with other structural units. Successful analyses have been made of mixed hydration states of montmorillonite, of montmorillonite with mica, of vermiculite with mica, and of montmorillonite with chlorite, all of which are variants of the mica complex, and of halloysite with hydrated halloysite.

Conference Paper↗
USGS2024

Scanning electron microscopy of clays and clay minerals

The scanning electron microscope (SEM) proves to be ideally suited for studying the configuration, texture, and fabric of clay samples. Growth mechanics of crystalline units—interpenetration and interlocking of crystallites, crystal habits, twinning, helical growth, and topotaxis—also are uniquely revealed by the SEM. Authigenic kaolins make up the bulk of the examples because their larger crystallite size, better crystallinity, and open texture make them more suited to examination by the SEM than most other clay mineral types.

Clays and Clay Minerals↗
USGS2003

Comment on "Evaluation of X-ray diffraction methods for determining the crystal growth mechanisms of clay minerals in mudstones, shales and slates," by L. N. Warr and D. R. Peacor

A recent paper by Warr and Peacor (2002) suggested that our use of the Bertaut-Warren-Averbach technique (MudMaster computer program) for studying changes in crystallite thickness distributions (CTDs) of clay minerals during diagenesis and very low-grade metamorphism is not reliable because it is dependent on many variables which can not be fully controlled. Furthermore, the authors implied that the measured shapes of CTDs cannot be used with confidence to deduce crystal growth mechanisms and histories for clays, based on our CTD simulation approach (using the Galoper computer program). We disagree with both points, and show that the techniques are powerful, reliable and useful for studying clay mineral alteration in rocks. ?? 2003 Schweiz. Mineral. Petrogr. Ges.

Schweizerische Mineralogische und Petrographische ↗
USGS2000

Stratigraphic and climatic implications of clay mineral changes around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary of the northeastern US margin

Kaolinite usually is present in relatively small amounts in most upper Paleocene and lower Eocene neritic deposits of the northern US Atlantic Coastal Plain. However, there is a short period (less than 200,000 k.y.) in the latest Paleocene (upper part of calcareous nannoplankton Zone NP 9) when kaolinite-dominated clay mineral suites replaced the usual illite/smectite-dominated suites. During this time of global biotic and lithologic changes, kaolinite increased from less than 5% of the clay mineral suite to peak proportions of 50-60% of the suite and then returned to less than 5% in uppermost Paleocene/lowermost Eocene strata. This kaolinite pulse is present at numerous localities from southern Virginia to New Jersey. These sites represent both inner and middle neritic depositional environments and reflect input from several river drainage systems. Thus, it is inferred that kaolinite-rich source areas were widespread in the northeastern US during the latest Paleocene. Erosion of these source areas contributed the kaolinite that was transported and widely dispersed into shelf environments of the Salisbury embayment. The kaolinite increase, which occurred during a time of relatively high sea level, probably is the result of intensified weathering due to increased temperature and precipitation. The southern extent of the kaolinite pulse is uncertain in that uppermost Paleocene beds have not been identified in the southern Atlantic Coastal Plain. The late Paleocene kaolinite pulse that consists of an increase to peak kaolinite levels followed by a decrease can be used for detailed correlation between more upbasin and more downbasin sections in the Salisbury embayment. Correlations show that more upbasin Paleocene/Eocene boundary sections are erosionally truncated. They have varying portions of the kaolinite increase and, if present at all, discontinuous portions of the subsequent kaolinite decrease. As these truncated sections are disconformably overlain by lower Eocene strata, rapid erosional removal of large parts of the most kaolinite-rich P/E boundary clay deposits occurred by early Eocene time. Erosion of the kaolinite-rich P/E boundary beds was enhanced during times of sea-level fall when kaolinite-rich sediments were redeposited to produce kaolinite spikes in basal beds of lower and middle Eocene sequences that have little or no kaolinite elsewhere in the sequence. In contrast, more downbasin sites document only the upper, decreasing part of the kaolinite pulse. The absence of strata documenting the earlier kaolinite increase is attributed to slow sedimentation (condensed interval) as a result of a significant sea level rise that ponded most sediments in shallower waters, combined with the probable subsequent erosional removal of these thin downbasin deposits by oceanic currents.

Sedimentary Geology↗
USGS2022

The distribution of clay minerals and their impact on diagenesis in Glen Torridon, Gale crater, Mars

Glen Torridon (GT) is a recessive-trough feature on the northwestern slope of “Mt. Sharp” in Gale crater, Mars with the highest Fe-/Mg-phyllosilicates abundances detected by the Curiosity rover to date. Understanding the origin of these clay minerals and their relationship with diagenetic processes is critical for reconstructing the nature and habitability of past surface and subsurface environments in Gale crater. We aim to constrain the distribution and extent of diagenesis using compositional and morphological trends observed by visible-to-near infrared reflectance spectra in GT from Mastcam and ChemCam, supported by high-resolution images from the Mars Hand Lens Imager. Spectral features consistent with nontronite and fine-grained red hematite are ubiquitous throughout lower GT, and are strongest where diagenetic features are limited, suggesting that both were formed early, before burial. Diagenetic features increase in both abundance and diversity farther up-section, and we observe morphologic evidence for multiple episodes of diagenesis, with the edge of a diagenetic front partially preserved in the middle stratigraphic member, Knockfarril Hill. Near the contact between GT and the overlying Greenheugh pediment capping unit, we observe a lack of clay minerals with signatures consistent instead with coarse-grained gray hematite, likely formed through late-diagenetic alteration. We hypothesize that the sandstone-dominant Stimson formation acted as a conduit for diagenetic fluid flow into the area and that the clay-rich impermeable GT slowed the flow of those fluids, leading to enhanced alteration surrounding the clay-rich portions of GT, including within the nearby Vera Rubin ridge.

JGR Planets↗
USGS1986

Aqueous dissolution, solubilities and thermodynamic stabilities of common aluminosilicate clay minerals: Kaolinite and smectites

Determinations of the aqueous solubilities of kaolinite at pH 4, and of five smectite minerals in suspensions set between pH 5 and 8, were undertaken with mineral suspensions adjusted to approach equilibrium from over- and undersaturation. After 1,237 days, Dry Branch, Georgia kaolinite suspensions attained equilibrium solubility with respect to the kaolinite, for which K eq = (2.72 ± 0.35) × 10 7 . The experimentally determined Gibbs free energy of formation ( ΔG f ,298 0 ) for the kaolinite is −3,789.51 ± 6.60 kj mol −1 . Equilibrium solubilities could not be determined for the smectites because the composition of the solution phase in the smectite suspensions appeared to be controlled by the formation of gibbsite or amorphous aluminum hydroxide and not by the smectites, preventing attempts to determine valid ΔG f 0 values for these complex aluminosilicate clay minerals. Reported solubility-based ΔG f 0 determinations for smectites and other variable composition aluminosilicate clay minerals are shown to be invalid because of experimental deficiencies and of conceptual flaws arising from the nature of the minerals themselves. Because of the variable composition of smectites and similar minerals, it is concluded that reliable equilibrium solubilities and solubility-derived ΔG f 0 values can neither be rigorously determined by conventional experimental procedures, nor applied in equilibriabased models of smectite-water interactions.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS2005

Neocrystallization, fabrics and age of clay minerals from an exposure of the Moab Fault, Utah

Pronounced changes in clay mineral assemblages are preserved along the Moab Fault (Utah). Gouge is enriched up to ???40% in 1Md illite relative to protolith, whereas altered protolith in the damage zone is enriched ???40% in illite-smectite relative to gouge and up to ???50% relative to protolith. These mineralogical changes indicate that clay gouge is formed not solely through mechanical incorporation of protolith, but also through fault-related authigenesis. The timing of mineralization is determined using 40Ar/39Ar dating of size fractions of fault rocks with varying detrital and authigenic clay content. We applied Ar dating of illite-smectite samples, as well as a newer approach that uses illite polytypes. Our analysis yields overlapping, early Paleocene ages for neoformed (1Md) gouge illite (63??2 Ma) and illite-smectite in the damage zone (60??2 Ma), which are compatible with results elsewhere. These ages represent the latest period of major fault motion, and demonstrate that the fault fabrics are not the result of recent alteration. The clay fabrics in fault rocks are poorly developed, indicating that fluids were not confined to the fault zone by preferentially oriented clays; rather we propose that fluids in the illite-rich gouge were isolated by adjacent lower permeability, illite-smectite-bearing rocks in the damage zone. ?? 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Journal of Structural Geology↗
USGS1976

Hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange reactions between clay minerals and water

The extent of hydrogen and oxygen isotope exchange between clay minerals and water has been measured in the temperature range 100–350° for bomb runs of up to almost 2 years. Hydrogen isotope exchange between water and the clays was demonstrable at 100°. Exchange rates were 3–5 times greater for montmorillonite than for kaolinite or illite and this is attributed to the presence of interlayer water in the montmorillonite structure. Negligible oxygen isotope exchange occurred at these low temperatures. The great disparity in D and O 18 exchange rates observed in every experiment demonstrates that hydrogen isotope exchange occurred by a mechanism of proton exchange independent of the slower process of O 18 exchange. At 350° kaolinite reacted to form pyrophyllite and diaspore. This was accompanied by essentially complete D exchange but minor O 18 exchange and implies that intact structural units in the pyrophyllite were inherited from the kaolinite precursor.

Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta↗
USGS2001

Clay mineral content of continental shelf and river sediments, southern California

This report contains data on the clay mineral content of 250 shelf surface-sediment samples from the California Continental Borderland (Tables 1, 2; Figures 1-7), 79 samples with depth in cores from Santa Monica Bay (Table 3; see Table 1 for surface sediment data for those same cores and for core locations), 24 suspended and 13 bottom sediment samples from rivers draining Southern California (Table 4), and six rock samples or composite rock samples from the Palos Verdes Headland (Table 4). This report is designed as the data repository and these data are discussed in a paper by Hein et al. (2001).

California↗
USGS1982

A recommended procedure for the preparation of oriented clay-mineral specimens for X-ray diffraction analysis; modifications to Drever's filter-membrane peel technique

Extremely well-oriented clay mineral mounts for X-ray diffraction analysis can be prepared quickly and without introducing segregation using the filter-membrane peel technique. Mounting problems encountered with smectite-rich samples can be resolved by using minimal sample and partial air-drying of the clay film before transfer to a glass slide. Samples containing small quantities of clay can produce useful oriented specimens if Teflon masks having more restrictive areas are inserted above the membrane filter during clay deposition. War]page and thermal shock of glass slides can be controlled by using a flat, porous, ceramic plate as a holding surface during heat treatments.

Open-File Report↗
USGS2026

Tetraphenylborate-assisted extraction of K and Ar from micaceous clay minerals: A promising method for the geochronology of diagenetic illite

Tetraphenylborate (TPB)-assisted exchange of Na + for structural K was explored to establish the extent to which K and radiogenic Ar were removed from mixed-layer illite-smectite (Ilt-Sme) and detrital muscovite in various clay fractions (<1, 1–2 and 2–5 µm) of three Illinois Basin palaeosols and of Ilt-Sme from a K-bentonite (<2 µm) clay. The K–Ar age value of the treated Ilt-Sme was virtually the same as that of the untreated material regardless of TPB exchange duration in the K-bentonite. Interlayer K is extracted quickly but not completely from fine illitic material. Interlayer K is extracted more slowly but more completely from coarser clay-sized muscovite based on changes in X-ray diffraction traces, K contents and K–Ar age values of the palaeosol size fractions upon TPB treatment. One hour of TPB treatment revealed that (1) detrital Ilt-Sme was predominant over diagenetic Ilt-Sme in one palaeosol and (2) relatively more of the K in R0 Ilt-Sme is resistant to TPB treatment than in illite-rich, ordered Ilt-Sme, which indicates that the single illite layers hold K + against TPB exchange in the fine Ilt-Sme. The age values of all palaeosol size fractions treated for several weeks converged into a narrow range (mean value 247 ± 5 Myr), consistent with the remaining K and Ar being predominantly in illitic interlayers of diagenetic origin. TPB treatment is a promising technique to isolate diagenetic (or pedogenic) illite in clay fractions containing detrital components for K–Ar age determinations.

Clay Minerals↗
USGS1978

Origin of two clay-mineral facies of the Potomac Group (Cretaceous) in the Middle Atlantic States

Sedimentary clay that crops out in the coastal plains of New Jersey, Delaware, the part of Maryland north and east of Washington, B.C., and the northeast half of Washington, D.C., in the nonmarine Cretaceous Potomac Group is predominantly kaolinite and illite. In contrast, in part of southeastern Maryland, the southwest half of Washington, D.C., and most of eastern Virginia, Potomac Group clay is predominantly montmorillonite. Kaolinite and illite were probably derived by intense acid weathering of metamorphic and granitic rocks to the west during the Cretaceous and were deposited in a well-drained basin. Montmorillonite was most likely produced by deep weathering of a mainly granitic source. Poor drainage and alkaline surface- and ground-water conditions probably accompanied the production, transportation, deposition, and burial of the montmorillonite. Kaolinization of the montmorillonite is taking place now at the surface in northern Virginia.

Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virg↗