Abstract In recent years the chemical index of alteration(CIA),chemical index of weathering(CIW)and plagioclase index of alteration(PIA), have been widely used in attempts to quantify the degree of weathering in the provenance areas and to infer paleoclimatic conditions in provenance areas. There are,however,some limiting factors in the application of these indices which merit careful consideration. The CIA does not exclude the effect of potassium metasomatism so that it is necessary to use the A-CN-K[Al2O3-(CaO*+Na2O)-K2O]triangle to identify it and make corrections,or to utilize the CIAcorr formula. The CIW provides a correction for K2O,but no allowance is made for Al in potassium feldspar. The PIA considers the Al in potassium feldspar,but is only useful to judge changes involving plagioclase feldspars. Comprehensive analyses have shown that use of the CIA is the most effective way of obtaining an estimate of weathering severity and provenance. Before utilizing CIA values to estimate the degree of weathering in the provenance area,the influences of sedimentary differentiation(grain size differences),sediment recycling,further weathering in sedimentary region,pedogenesis and potassium metasomatism should be taken into account. We recommend a procedure,that is,(1)analyzing elemental compositions of mudstones,(2)calculating an index of compositional variability(ICV),(3)selecting samples with ICV>1 and using these values for the CIA calculation,(4)using the A-CN-K ternary diagram or CIAcorr formula to correct for potassium metasomatism. The corrected CIA values can then be used to estimate the degree of weathering to which the provenance area has been subjected.
Fund:Financially supported by Surface Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41572090)
Corresponding Authors:
Shao Long-Yi,born in 1964,doctoral supervisor,graduated and obtained his Ph.D. degree from China University of Mining and Technology(Beijing)in 1989. Now he is a professor at the College of Geoscience and Surveying Engineering of China University of Mining and Technology(Beijing),with main research interests in sedimentology and coal geology. E-mail: shaol@cumtb.edu.cn.
Cite this article:
Xu Xiao-Tao,Shao Long-Yi. Limiting factors in utilization of chemical index of alteration of mudstones to quantify the degree of weathering in provenance[J]. JOPC, 2018, 20(3): 515-522.
Xu Xiao-Tao,Shao Long-Yi. Limiting factors in utilization of chemical index of alteration of mudstones to quantify the degree of weathering in provenance[J]. JOPC, 2018, 20(3): 515-522.
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