Mineral weathering clay minerals

The polygenetic model of rock varnish formation combines biotic enhancement of Mn with abiotic processes (Dorn, 1998). It builds on the mineralogy research of Potter and Rossman (1979a,b,c) and studies of bacteria fossil remains within varnish layers (Dorn and Meek, 1995 Krinsley et al., 1995 Dorn, 1998 Krinsley, 1998). In brief, weathered remains of Mn-rich bacterial casts (Figure 8.6) cement weathered clay minerals to rock surfaces. 

Secondary minerals. As weathering of primary minerals proceeds, ions are released into solution, and new minerals are formed. These new minerals, called secondary minerals, include layer silicate clay minerals, carbonates, phosphates, sulfates and sulfides, different hydroxides and oxyhydroxides of Al, Fe, Mn, Ti, and Si, and non-crystalline minerals such as allophane and imogolite. Secondary minerals, such as the clay minerals, may have a specific surface area in the range of 20-800 m /g and up to 1000 m /g in the case of imogolite (Wada, 1985). Surface area is very important because most chemical reactions in soil are surface reactions occurring at the interface of solids and the soil solution. Layer-silicate clays, oxides, and carbonates are the most widespread secondary minerals. 

As an example, the migration of clay from the surface of a soil to a lower horizon results from several processes occurring when certain soil and environmental properties exist. First, claysized minerals must form, usually requiring weathering to have occurred. Clay minerals formed in the surface soil can then go into suspension when salt concentrations in solution are low. Seasonal rains can move the clay down... 

Scanning electron microscope morphology of deeply weathered granite. Clays Clay Miner. 28, 29-34. 

Michalopoulos, P. and Aller, R. C. (1995). Rapid clay mineral formation in Amazon Delta sediments reverse weathering and oceanic elemental cycles. Science 270, 614-617. 

Primary clay is also known as residual clay, indicating that they are either the in situ residue of one type of weathered rock or the transported residue of many types of rocks most primary clay deposits occur, however, in situ, at the location where the clay particles were formed. The clay is usually quite pure and colorless or white, but very small relative amounts of minerals mixed with the clay, such as quartz and/or iron oxides, may impart to it a yellow, brown, or green color. Primary clay is also characterized by the extreme fineness of its particles, which usually measure below 2 micrometers (0.002 mm) in diameter. The more than 20 different types of primary clay minerals can be distinguished by their chemical composition, which varies widely, and by their physical properties. Primary clays that have been used for making ceramic objects are listed in Table 55. 

According to Cairns-Smith, the first primitive gene materials could have been clay minerals these crystallize out everywhere on Earth from dilute silica solutions and hydrated solutions of metal ions. Both groups of substances are continually being formed by weathering processes. Two cycles keep this dynamic process going ... 

Cairns-Smith is careful enough to concede that the first hypothetical informationcarrying material was not of necessity a clay mineral however, the basic features of the model can best be demonstrated using different clay species. Thus, for example, clays could have crystallized out in sandstone pores from solutions containing products derived from weathering. The result would have been clay layers, which could have been separated and transported further by external influences replication under similar conditions would have followed. Such crystallization processes would have also involved errors, such as defects, vacancies, and the incorporation of other ions or atoms these inorganic mutations would have been passed on, i.e., they would have been incorporated into the next sheet to be formed. 

Wang TSC, Li SW (1977) Clay minerals as heterogeneous catalysts in preparation of model humic substances. Z Pfanzenemaehr Bodenkd 140 669-676 Weed SB, Dave CB, Cook MG (1969) Weathering of micas by fungi. Soil Sci Soc... 

The continental pattern for Na matches the pattern for total feldspar percentages, as Na values are primarily correlated with plagioclase (Eberl Smith 2009). Feldspars are much more susceptible to chemical dissolution than quartz and, with sufficient time and precipitation, will weather mainly to clay minerals. As a result, total feldspar contents and Na contents decrease with increasing precipitation from west to east (Fig. 3). 

Generally, clay mineral content was the most important factor determining K selectivity in soil, with weathering, fertilizers and organic residues affecting selectivity through their modifying effects on mineral surfaces. 

The weathering of minerals forms particles with a size continuum from ions to grains. Mineral dissolution and precipitation occur more or less continuously as a function of ambient conditions. Particles of the clay textural fraction may be suspended in solution as colloids as well as occurring as part of the stationary solids. 

Earth s crust is a source of particles produced as a consequence of weathering and volcanic activity. Weathering of continental rocks generates terrigenous particles that are carried into ocean via rivers, glaciers, and winds. As shown in Table 13.2, the most abundant mineral types are quartz, plagioclase, and clay minerals. The most abimdant... 

Weathered fragments of continental crust comprise the bulk of marine sediments. These particles are primarily detrital silicates, with clay minerals being the most abmidant mineral type. Clay minerals are transported into the ocean by river runoff, winds, and ice rafting. Some are authigenic, being produced on and in the seafloor as a consequence of volcanic activity, diagenesis and metagenesis. 

Clay minerals are important to the crustal-ocean-atmosphere fectory, not just for their abundance, but because they participate in several biogeochemical processes. For example, the chemical weathering reactions responsible for their formation are accompanied by the uptake and release of cations and, thus, have a large impact on the chemical composition of river and seawater. This includes acid/base buffering reactions, making clay minerals responsible for the long-term control of the pH of seawater and, hence, of importance in regulating atmospheric CO2 levels. 

As shown in Figure 14.4, each clay mineral exhibits a large range in the type and degree of isomorphic substitution. The central silicon atom in the tetrahedral layers can be replaced by aluminum, alkali, alkaline earth, and trace metal atoms. In the octahedral layers, the central Al and Mg atoms can be similarly replaced. The large range in composition within each mineral type reflects variability in the environmental conditions under which crystallization and chemical weathering occur. Thus, the... 

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