Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gbm5v Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-03T14:31:57.113Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Clay Minerals in Recent Sediments of the Niger Delta

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2024

D. H. Porrenga
D. H. Porrenga*
Affiliation:
Koninklijke/Shell Exploratie en Produktie Laboratorium, Rijswijk, The Netherlands
*
*Present address: K.S.E.P.L., Volmerlaan 6, Rijswijk, (Z.H.), The Netherlands
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Recent sediments of the Niger delta contain the detrital clay minerals kaolinite, mont-morillonite and a small amount of illite. The montmorillonite content increases with water depth and distance from the shore, and the results of laboratory experiments on natural Niger delta clay support the assumption that this is due to differential floc-culation and sedimentation.

The easterly Guinea Current, transporting montmorillonite-rich floccules in suspension, may cause an increase in the montmorillonite content of the clays in the ©cistern part of the delta.

Mineralized faecal pellets are present in most marine sediment samples. Chamosite occurs authigenically in coastal water shallower than 35 fathoms, as brown and dark-green pellets. Green pellets, composed of highly expandable, montmorillonite-type glauconite, are particularly common around the 100 fathom isobath. Both chamosite and glauconite have a high magnesium content, which seems to be usual during their early stages of formation.

The formation of chamosite and glauconite is governed by redox potential and the availability of iron. If no reduction takes place, the pellets remain grey and their composition is similar to that of the clay matrix. Grey pellets are less restricted to a particular depth than are the chamosite and glauconite pellets, but distinct maxima occur around the 250 fathom isobath.

Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 14 , February 1966 , pp. 221 - 233
Copyright
Copyright © Clay Minerals Society 1966

References

Allen, J. R. L. (1964) The Nigerian Continental Margin; bottom sediments, submarine morphology and geological evolution, Marine Geology 1, 289–332.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brindley, G. W. and Youell, R. F. (1953) Ferrous chamosite and ferric chamosite, Mineral. Mag. 30, 57–70.Google Scholar
Burst, J. F. (1958) Mineral heterogeneity in “glauconite” pellets, Amer. Min. 43, 481–97.Google Scholar
Ehlmann, A. J., Hulings, N. S. and Glover, E. D. (1963) Stages of glauconite formation in modern foraminiferal sediments, Jour. Sed. Petr. 33, 87–96.Google Scholar
Griffin, G. M. (1962) Regional clay-mineral facies—Products of weathering intensity and current distribution in the north-eastern Gulf of Mexico, Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. 73, 737–67.10.1130/0016-7606(1962)73[737:RCFOWI]2.0.CO;2CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grüner, J. W. (1935) The structural relationship of glauconite and mica, Amer. Min. 20, 699–714.Google Scholar
Hendricks, S. V. and Ross, C. S. (1941) Chemical composition and genesis of glauconite and celadonite, Amer. Min. 26, 683–708.Google Scholar
Hower, J. (1961) Some factors concerning the nature and origin of glauconite, Amer. Min. 46, 313–34.Google Scholar
Hulings, N. S. (1961) Marine research at Texas Christian University, 1st Natl. Coastal and Shallow Water Res. Conf. 488–91.Google Scholar
Manghnani, M. H. and Hower, J. (1964) Glauconites: cation exchange capacities and infrared spectra, Amar. Min. 46, 686–98.Google Scholar
Millot, G. (1964) Géologie des Argiles, Masson et Cie., Paris 499 pp.Google Scholar
Netherlands Engineering Consultants (Nedeco) (1959) River Studies and Recommendation on Improvement of Niger and Benue, North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1000 pp.Google Scholar
Pinsak, A. P. and Murray, H. H. (1960) Regional clay mineral patterns in the Gulf of Mexico, Clays and Clay Minerals, Proc. 7th Conf., Pergamon Press, New York, 162–77.Google Scholar
Pratt, W. (1961) The origin and distribution of glauconite and related clay-mineral aggregates off Southern California, 1st Natl. Coastal and Shallow Water Res. Conf., 656–8.Google Scholar
Schoen, R. (1964) Clay minerals of the Silurian Clinton Ironstones, New York State, Jour. Sed. Petr. 34, 855–63.Google Scholar
van Andel, Tj. and Postma, H. (1954) Recent sediments of the Gulf of Paria, Reports on the Orinoco Shelf Expedition, 1, North Holland Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 244 pp.Google Scholar
Whitehouse, U. G., Jeffrey, L. M. and Debbrecht, J. D. (1960) Differential settling tendencies of clay minerals in saline waters, Clays and Clay Minerals, Proc. 7th Conf., Pergamon Press, New York, 1–79.Google Scholar