Title: Clay Minerals in Surface Sediments From the Chukchi Sea and Canadian Basin
Abstract: Three types of clay mineral assemblage were identified in surface sediments from the Chukchi Sea and Canadian Basin,among them,the illite-kaolinite-chlorite-smectite assemblage was found only in the northern Canadian Basin,the illite-chlorite-smectite-kaolinite assemblage was mainly found in the central Chukchi Sea,and the illite-chlorite-kaolinite-smectite assemblage is widely distributed in the rest part of the study area.Generally,the illite and kaolinite contents show an increasing trend from the Chukchi Sea toward the Canadian Basin,and the chlorite and smectite contents show a decreasing trend.If taking the line connecting point(74°30′N,175°W) and point(71°30′N,150°W) as a demarcation line,the study area can be divided into two clay mineral provinces,the south province and the north province,the south pro-vince is characterized with higher contents of chlorite and smectite,higher ratios of S/I and S/K and lower ratios of K/I and K/CH;and the north province is characterized with higher contents of illite and kaoli-nite,lower ratios of S/I and S/K and higher ratios of K/I and K/CH.It is shown from the clay mineral distributions and variational trends that the clay mineral sources and the factors controlling their distributions in the south province and the north province are different from each other.The clay minerals in the south province are derived mainly from the weathering products of Alaska's rocks and the sediments delivered by the Yukon River and the rivers along the coast of the East Siberian Sea,and the clay mineral distributions in the south province are controlled mainly by the Siberian Coastal Current and the flowing structure of the Pacific Water entering into the Arctic Ocean;and the clay minerals in the north province are derived mainly from the sediments delivered by the Mackenzie River of Canada and the fine-grained sediments dispersed from the Eurasian Basin of Arctic Ocean,and the clay mineral distributions in the north province are controlled mainly by the Transpolar Drift,the flowing structure of Atlantic Water and the Beaufort Gyre in the Arctic Ocean.
Publication Year: 2008
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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