GEOCHEMISTRY & EARTH PROCESSES

= Major Oxides - Source Area Weathering and Paleoclimatic Conditions =

DR. MOHAMED EL MOURABET
 AGENDA
1. Major Oxides
2. Normalisation of Major Oxides
3. Major Oxides Patterns
4. Geochemical proxies and Weathering profiles
5. Climofunctions and Paleoclimatic Conditions (Rainfall and Paleotemperature)
6. Major Oxides and Geodynamic settings
 Major Oxides Labile Elements &
Chemical Paleoweathering Profiles
Major Oxides - Weathering
Major oxides – Trace Elements
Normalisation to UCC
 Major Oxides – carbonates corrections
Laboratory Practical Work
 CaO* = CaO – (CaOCarb-Dol + CaOpyrite (10/3))

 Vol Co2 dégagé = V2-V1

 Vol Carbonates pures Ca2CO3
v1=17 V2 = 91,50
V2-V1 = 74,50
 %CO2 = (Vol CO2 Ech/ VolTém )*100
 wt%CO2 = %CO2/10
 wt% CaOCarb-Dol = wt%CO2*(100,09/44,01)

Conc CaO* = Conc Na2O (Mclennan et al 1993)

 Major Oxides - Weathering
 SiO2, TiO2, Al2O3, Fe2O3, FeO, MgO, MnO,CaO, Na2O, K2O, P2O5, LOI
 The chemistry of weathering typical upper crustal rocks can be approximated by the
weathering of feldspar and volcanic glass, comprising some 75% of the labile material in the
upper crust.
 the dominant process during chemical weathering of the upper crust is the alteration of
feldspar and subsequent formation of clay minerals
 the major-element geochemistry and mineralogy of siliciclastic sediments are strongly affected
by chemical weathering
 various reliable geochemical proxies (i.e. chemical index of alteration (CIA; Nesbitt and Young
1982), chemical index of weathering (CIW; Harnois 1988), plagioclase index of alteration (PIA;
Fedo et al. 1995) may, however, offer a valuable opportunity to assess weathering intensity and
paleoclimate conditions
 During weathering processes, high CIA values reflect the removal of labile cations (e.g. Ca2+,
Na+, K+) relative to stable residual constituents. Conversely, low CIA values indicate the near
absence of chemical alteration, reflecting consequently cool and/or arid paleoclimatic
conditions
 However, complex geochemical processes involving potassium metasomatism might occur
during chemical weathering beside mechanical breakdown, and continued chemical
alteration during transport, burial, and diagenesis
Major Oxides – Weathering – System A-CN-K
 Much of the chemical variation resulting from weathering may be expressed in the system
A12O3 - (CaO* - Na2O) - K20, where CaO* represents the Ca in the silicate fraction only.
 Index of chemical alteration (CIA; Nesbitt and Young 1982), in molecular proportions:

CIA = [Al2O3/(Al2O3 + CaO* + Na2O + K20)]*100

 CIA values of about 45-55 indicate virtually no weathering (the average upper crust has a
CIA value of about 47), whereas values of 100 indicate intense weathering with complete
removal of the alkali and alkaline earth elements.
 Samples can form a cluster in a limited area, indicating steady-state weathering
conditions which imply that physical and chemical processes balance was similar
 Samples can plot on a straight line probably deviating from the theoretical trend (IWT),
and departing from a source intersecting the feldspar join toward the A-K join close to the
Illite-Muscovite area. The studied samples may have a higher variability of the CIA index
and hence indicating non-steady state weathering conditions with low to intense
chemical weathering.
 CIW= Al2O3/ (Al2O3+CaO*+Na2O) x 100
 PIA = ([(Al2O3–K2O)/ (Al2O3+CaO*+Na2O–K2O)] x100)
Steady-state & non Steady-state Weathering
Conditions
Calculation of weathering index values, molar element ratios, and ternary plot locations from major element composition (wt. %)

Enter measured values into blue cells Calculated (automatic) values are in yellow cells

Note: Totals, weathering indices, and ternary plots use total Fe as Fe2O3

wt. % anhydrous wt. % moles of oxide Fe concentrations

SiO2 37,4 50,49 0,8403698 wt. % moles of oxide
TiO2 0,33 0,45 0,0055785 Fe2O3(T) 2,14
Al2O3 11 14,85 0,1456519 FeO(T)
Fe2O3(T) 2,14 2,89 0,0180926 FeO 0 0,0000000
FeO(T) 1,93 2,60 0,0361868 Fe2O3(T) 2,14 0,0134012
Major element oxides

MgO 1,71 2,31 0,0572803 FeO(T) 1,93 0,0268021

MnO 0,05 0,07 0,0009516 Fe moles (element speciation)
CaO 19,2 25,92 0,4622470 ∑Fe 0,0268024
Na2O 0,61 0,82 0,0132875 Fe2+ 0,0000000
K2O 1,33 1,80 0,0190626 Fe3+ 0,0000000
P2O5 0,3 0,41 0,0028534
LOI 23,5
Total (+LOI) 97,57
Total (-LOI) 74,07 100,00
CaO* 0,0098420
 A-CN-K plot (CIA)
CIA 77,5 moles sum 0,187844
Chemical weathering indices

PIA 84,6 A 77,5

MgI 71,8 CN 12,3
CALMAG 68,5 K 10,1
MIA[O] 62,2 recast total 100,0
MIA[R] 55,3
A-CNK-FM plot (MIA[R])
LOI 26,0 moles sum 0,263217
A 55,3
CIA-K 86,3 CNK 16,0
MIA[O]-K 67,1 FM 28,6

Molar oxide ternary plots (recast values for plotting)

MIA[R]-K 59,7 recast total 100,0
Al/Ti 52,2 A-L-F plot (MIA[O])
Molar element ratios

moles sum 0,263217

∑Fe/Ti 4,8 A 55,3
Fe2+/Ti 0,0 CNKM('L') 37,8
Fe3+/Ti 0,0 F 6,9
recast total 100,0
∑Fe/Al 0,092
Fe2+/Al 0,000 AF-CNK-M plot (MIA[O])
Fe3+/Al 0,000 moles sum 0,263217
AF 62,2
CNK 16,0
M 21,8
recast total 100,0

A-C-M plot (CALMAG)

moles sum 0,212774
A 68,5
C 4,6
Climofunctions – Source Area Paleoclimatic
conditions
 Major oxides – Climofunctions and
Paleoclimatic Conditions
 Ratios of elemental compositions in soil provide useful tools for estimating rainfall
and infer palaeotemperature. Thus palaeoprecipitation rate and rainfall within the
source area can be successfully determined from different climofunctions using
alkali and alkaline earth elements (Ca, Mg, Na, K and Al),
 Mean annual precipitation 1 (MAP 1) = 14.265(CIA - K) – 37.632 (Maynard 1992)
 Mean annual precipitation 2 (MAP 2) = 259:34 ln(B) + 759.05 (Maynard 1992)
where B = molar ratio of bases (CaO, MgO, Na2O, K2O) to Al2O3
 Mean annual precipitation 3 (MAP 3) = 130.93 ln(C) + 467.4 (Retallack 2001)
where C = molar ratio of CaO to Al2O3
 Mean annual temperature can be estimated from the formula:
Mean annual temperature = -18:51(S) + 17.2989 (Sheldon et al. 2002)
Where S is the molecular ratio of Na2O and K2O to Al2O3
 MAP vs CIA-K
Regressive curves
Compositional Maturity – ICV & First Cycle or
Recycled Sediments
ICV – Index of Compositional Variability
 The maturity of clastic sediments is calculated by using the Index of
Compositional Variability (ICV; Cox et al. 1995); (Major oxides are in Wt%)
[ICV=(CaO+K2O+Na2O+Fe2O3+MgO+MnO+TiO2)/Al2O3]
 Typical rock-forming minerals (i.e. feldspars, amphiboles, and pyroxenes) show
ICV values >0.84, whereas alteration products such as Kaolinite, Illite, and
muscovite show ICV values <0.84 (Cox et al. 1995).
 Chemically immature sediments have ICV values>0,84 and are typical of
compositionally first-cycle immature sedimentary rocks are first-cycle deposits
derived from tectonically active settings, where chemical weathering played a
modest role as attested by low to medium CIA and CIA’ values
 On the contrary mature sediments have ICV values<0,84 are typical of
tectonically quiescent or cratonic environments where sediment recycling is
active, but may also be produced by intense chemical weathering (high CIA
values) of first-cycle material.
Compositional Maturity – ICV vs CIA
 Major Oxides &
Tectonic Settings
Geochemistry and Geodynamic Settings
Modelisations
Geochemistry and Geodynamic Settings
Modelisations
Major Oxides – Tectonic setting
Excel Formated Files
 Verma Tectonic Setting Plots

High-Silica clastic sediments Low-Silica clastic sediments