Sediment detrital

Primary porosity—porosily formed at the time the sediment was deposited. Sedimentary rocks that typically exhibit primary porosity are the clastic (also called fragmental or detrital) rocks, which are composed of erosional fragments from older beds. These particles are classified by grain size. 

Hay, W. W. (1998). Detrital sediment fluxes from continents to oceans. Chem. Geol. 145,287-323. 

MacKenzie and Garrels equilibrium models. Most marine clays appear to be detrital and derived from the continents by river or atmospheric transport. Authigenic phases (formed in place) are found in marine sediments (e.g. Michalopoulos and Aller, 1995), however, they are nowhere near abundant enough to satisfy the requirements of the river balance. For example, Kastner (1974) calculated that less than 1% of the Na and 2% of the K transported by rivers is taken up by authigenic feldspars. 

Nearly all of the detrital particles sinking into the deep ocean decompose and release the associated P. A small percentage (approximately 8%), however, do survive and accumulate on the sea floor. This P is then buried in the sediments (F i) and represents the ultimate removal of P from the ocean. 

As an example, imagine a carbonate-rich sediment that contains a small but significant fraction of detrital silicate. The sediment might be a lake sediment, a surface coral, a deep-sea coral, a carbonate-rich bank sediment, or a speleothem (see for example, Richards and Dorale 2003). The carbonate has a very high U/ Th ratio (on the order of 10" by atom) and the detrital material has a lower %/ Th ratio of about 10°. The carbonate and detrital materials each have specific values that differ from each... 

Figure 5. An example of the use of concentrations to assess changes in sediment mass accumulation taken from McManus et al. (1998). The upper panel shows the measured °Thxs, calculated from measured °Th concentrations by correction for detrital °Th, and for the effects of age using 5 0 stratigraphy (see Appendix). Because the supply of °Th to the sediment is a constant, low °Th represent times of rapid sediment mass accumulation. The calculated mass flux is shown in the lower panel. Dramatic increases in mass flux are observed during all but one of the Heinrich events, shown by the gray bands.

Thorium is a highly insoluble element, mainly carried in the particulate form in river waters. This is well shown by Th data for the MacKenzie river (Vigier et al. 2001) and for the Kalix river (Andersson et al. 1995 Porcelli et al. 2001) in both cases, more than 95% of Th is carried by >0.45 pm particles. An important part of this Th is included within detrital material. This is illustrated by sequential extractions performed on sediments from the Witham river (Plater et al. 1992), which show the very low amount of Th in ion-exchangeable and organic-bound fractions compared to Th in Fe-Mn oxides... 

Distribution of241 Am in a dialysis system containing sediment, phytoplankton, and detrital matter established that a substantial amount of americium accumulated in all three phases both in fresh and marine waters (NRC 1981). The adsorption process was not reversible and the longer the americium was adsorbed, the more difficult the chemical was to desorb. Appreciable amounts of americium have been shown to adsorb to bacterial cells such as those found in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico (Francis et al. 1998). There is a potential that americium attached to biocolloids may facilitate its transport from the waste site. 

In echinoderms, zinc concentrations are usually higher in detrital feeders than in carnivores, higher in surface feeders than in sediment feeders, and higher in specimens collected inshore than those collected offshore in deeper waters (Eisler 1980). Sea cucumbers, Stichopus tremulus, accumulate radiozinc-65 from seawater by a factor of 1400 however, radiozinc accumulation data should be viewed with caution because addition of stable zinc can reduce zinc-65 accumulations in echinoderm viscera up to tenfold (Eisler 1981). Zinc inhibits the formation of the fertilization membrane in sea urchin eggs, possibly by interfering with cortical granule-derived proteases and proteins (Nakamura et al. 1989). 

Ferromanganese nodules found in freshwater lakes show concentric, alternating, iron- and manganese-rich bands radiating out from a central nucleus of detrital rock (e.g. Harriss Troup 1970). The nodules are found primarily in shallow (1-5 meters depth) regions of lakes, in regions with little to no finegrained sediment accumulation (e.g. Kindle 1935). 

The basement is made up of crystalline schists of the meso-metamorphic Somes Series. Sedimentation started during Permian with detritic deposits interbedded with rhyolites. The overlying Triassic deposits are unconformable and include detritic formations (Lower Triassic) and massive layers of carbonate rocks (Middle Triassic). The absence of the Upper Triassic is due to the uplift of the region during the Kimmeric tectonic phase. 

Cretaceous sedimentation started with the deposition of fresh-water limestones (Hauterivian) followed by successive layers of marine limestones (Barremian), marls (Aptian), marine limestones (Aptian), glauconitic sandstone (Aptian-Albian) and ended with a package of red detritic deposits. 

In coastal environment, detrital and authigenic Fe and Mn oxides, which accumulate in oxic surface sediments, play a pivotal role in determining the geochemical behaviour of arsenic (Mucci et al., 2000) and selenium (Belzile et al., 2000). Arsenic and selenium differ in their affinities for metal oxide surfaces. Although both adsorb onto iron oxides, arsenate (As(V)) adsorbs more strongly than arsenite (As(lll)), and selenite (Se(IV)) adsorbs more strongly than selenate (Se(VI)) (Belzile et al., 2000). 

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