Regional Clay-Mineral Facies—Products of Weathering Intensity and Current Distribution in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico
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Shell Development Company, Exploration and Production Research Division, GEORGE M. GRIFFIN Box 481, Houston 1, Texas Regional Clay-Mineral Facies—Products of Weathering Intensity and Current Distribution in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico Abstract: Three major rivers supply most of the tions in their clay-mineral suite which are of too clay-mineral detritus that the northeastern Gulf small a magnitude to affect significantly the gross of Mexico receives. The mineralogy of the clay regional distribution pattern. supplied by each river is a product of the weather- Within the Gulf of Mexico, that portion of the ing versus parent-rock interplay in the drainage clay not flocculated by saline water at the river basins. In the western drainage basins, erosion and mouths is distributed first by the wind-driven transportation of essentially unaltered mont- shallow water currents and then by the semi- mcrillonitic sediments prevails. Eastward, weath- permanent oceanic currents. A gradational facies ering becomes more effective, and kaolinite gradu- pattern is developed in which the sources of supply, ally becomes more abundant m the soils and river their magnitudes, and the distributional directions clays. Consequently, the Mississippi River is are clearly evident. contributing a montmorillonitic clay-mineral suite, Clay-mineral distributional patterns m the and the Apalachicola River is contributing a modern Apalachicola River area are similar to kaolinitic suite. The Mobile River, between these those in the Texas lower Eocene (Wilcox) sedi- two rivers, is contributing an intermediate clay- ments. Similar weathering and current factors may- mineral suite. The river sediments pass through the have produced the analogous clay-mineral facies various bavs and estuaries with onlv minor altera- patterns. CONTENTS Introduction 738 Quantified offshore clay-mineral facies . 755 Acknowledgments 738 Rate of sedimentation m the northeastern Gulf Preparation of samples 738 of Mexico and the rate of alteration of clay Standard preparation 738 minerals 757 Insoluble residues 740 Chlorite-containing sediment 758 Supplementary treatments 740 Suggested applications of clay-mineral-distribution Identification of clay minerals 740 data to geologic problems 763 General statement 740 Limitations 763 Montmorillonite 741 Mapping of transgressive and regressive facies . 763 Vermiculite 741 Summary and conclusions 763 Chlorite 741 References cited 766 Kaolinite 741 Illite 741 Figure Gibbsite 742 1. Northeastern Gulf of Mexico showing the area Precision ot peak-height ratios 742 included in this study 739 Soils of major northeastern Gulf Coast drainage 2. Soil-clay analyses within major river basins . 743 basins 747 3. Sample locations in northeastern Gulf of Mexico 744 Northeastern Gulf of Mexico 748 4. Sample locations in Mississippi Delta area . 745 Introduction 748 5. Sample locations in Apalachicola Bay area . 746 Clay minerals in rivers contributing to the north- 6. Derivation and distribution of Mississippi River eastern Gulf of Mexico 748 clay 747 Major rivers 748 7. Derivation and distribution of Mobile River Rivers of peninsular Florida 749 clay 748 Clay-mineral-facies relationships 750 8. Derivation and distribution of Apalachicola Offshore-distribution mechanism 750 River clay 748 General offshore clay-mineral-facies pattern . 755 9. Comparison of suspended sediment loads and Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 73, p. 737-768, 19 figs., 1 pi., June 1962 737 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/73/6/737/3417083/i0016-7606-73-6-737.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 738 G. M. GRIFFIN-CLAY-MINERAL FACIES, NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO clay mineralogy of Mississippi, Mobile, and 19. Distribution of clay minerals in early Eocene Apalachicola rivers 749 (Wilcox) time, Henderson to Sabine coun- 10. Approximate calcium carbonate content of ties, Texas 765 some northeastern Gulf sediments . .751 Plate Facing 11. Surface currents in the Gulf of Mexico—June 753 1. Clay-mineral distribution, northeastern Gulf of 12. Working curve obtained by artificially mixing Mexico 764 Mississippi River and Apalachicola Bay Tables clays 754 1. Approximate clay-mineral composition of major 13. Clay-mineral facies map for northeastern Gulf rivers of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico 750 of Mexico 756 2. Discharge and load data for major rivers tribu- 14. Oscillation heating diagram for WH 1 .... 759 tary to the northeastern Gulf of Mexico . 750 15. Chlorite distribution—Group I 760 3. Transport of sediment by oceanic currents. 752 16. Chlorite distribution—Group II 761 4. Clay-mineral composition of rivers of the north- 17. Chlorite distribution—Group III 762 eastern Gulf of Mexico 755 18. Distribution of clay minerals in early Eocene 5. Postglacial sedimentation in the northeastern (Wilcox) time, Bastrop County, Texas . 764 Gulf of Mexico 757 T. Davidson, and A. R. Dahl of Iowa State INTRODUCTION Engineering Experiment Station allowed the This investigation is intended to clarify the writer to examine some of their Iowa Loess principal factors governing the regional distri- samples. J. J. Griffin of Scripps Institution of bution of clay minerals1 in a "mediterranean" Oceanography furnished a sample from the type of depositional basin. For this purpose, Ohio River. the northeastern Gulf of Mexico south to the Discussions with R. A. Rowland, J. F. Burst, latitude of Key West has been studied, along Hugo Steinfink, R. G. Stevenson, and C. E. with the principal rivers, bays, and beaches Weaver of Shell Development Company; W. fringing the area (Fig. 1). The writer believes F. Bradley, Consultant to Shell Development that the principal conclusions presented will be Company; and R. L. Ingram of the University applicable to many problems dealing with of North Carolina were of great help with re- ancient coastal-plain sediments; however, he gard to mineral problems. J. J. W. Rogers of cautions against a "blanket" extrapolation to Rice University and Gordon Rittenhouse of all types of sedimentary basins. It should be Shell Development Company assisted the pointed out that the sediments examined did writer with statistical phases of the report and not include the true "red clays" and other critically reviewed the manuscript. In addition, pelagic sediments of the deep ocean basins. R. J. LeBlanc and R. H. Nanz of Shell De- velopment Company and J. A. S. Adams of ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Rice University reviewed the report, as did a The writer acknowledges the assistance of number of others listed. the following organizations and persons in the D. B. Speights, W. D. Gregory, J. M. preparation of this report: Braunagel, and J. R. Guinn of Shell Develop- Shell Development Company allowed the ment Company assisted the writer in the use of material from a report prepared during sampling and analysis. J. F. Burst, B. S. Parrott, 1955-1958 for its Exploration and Production and H. B. Stenzel of Shell Development Com- Research Division. Rice University accepted a pany also aided in the sampling and contributed modified version of the same report as a to the writer's understanding of the geology Doctoral Thesis in the Department of Geology. and mineralogy of the Gulf Coast. Mrs. Jane Admiral E. H. Smith and Mrs. Nora G. Moore, Mrs. D. E. Groetsch, and Miss A. M. Fairbank of Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- Gondolofo of Shell Development Company tution, and B. S. Parrott, C. F. Major, H. A. drafted the illustrations. Bernard, R. N. Ginsburg, and Reynolds Moody of Shell Development Company fur- PREPARATION OF SAMPLES nished many of the samples. R. L. Handy, D. Standard Preparation 1 The term "clay" refers to the size fraction composed Samples were received in several different of particles of less than 2 microns (0.002 mm) in equiva- forms. Those taken specifically for this project lent spherical diameter. "Clay" is usually composed of quartz, calcite, feldspar, and other common minerals were packed in 1-quart glass jars, with any together with a large percentage of distinctive minerals space remaining above the sediment filled at normally concentrated only in very fine-size fractions— the time of sampling with water pumped from the "clay minerals." The distribution of these distinctive the bottom of the gulf, bay, or river sampled. "clay minerals" is discussed here. Thus, these samples arrived in the laboratory Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/73/6/737/3417083/i0016-7606-73-6-737.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 PREPARATION OF SAMPLES 739 Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/73/6/737/3417083/i0016-7606-73-6-737.pdf by guest on 26 September 2021 740 G. M. GRIFFIN-CLAY-MINERAL FACIES, NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO in essentially the same state as found in nature. complete reaction with the carbonate present, Most samples borrowed from others were there would be no excess H+ to act on the clay dry when received; many had been in storage minerals. Consequently, acetic acid was selected for several years. This storage and drying did as the reagent and diluted 1:4 with de-ionized not appear to affect the clay-mineral properties water. This dilute acid was then allowed to investigated here. trickle at a. rate of about one drop every 5 A portion of each sample was placed in a seconds onto a sample of carbonate sediment 1-liter beaker with de-ionized water, and a weighing several grams. For convenience, the Selas Bacteriological Filter (#03) was in- sample was placed in a vacuum-filter funnel of serted. De-ionized water was periodically added ultrafine porosity, and reacted liquid was with- to the beaker and continuously extracted by drawn at about the same rate at which acid was the vacuum filter until the filtrate no longer added. Several days usually were required for gave a positive test for the chloride ion. This all carbonate to react and effervescence to cease. treatment generally was sufficient to disag- As soon as the reaction ceased, the acid supply gregate the samples, and chemical dispersing was stopped and the sample was flushed with agents were seldom needed.