Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T11:26:56.619Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ferrimagnetic Sulfide Formation in Recent Sediments of Loch Ba, Scotland and Implications for Magnetostratigraphic Interpretation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

T. Martin Williams
T. Martin Williams*
Affiliation:
University of Malawi, Department of Earth Sciences, Box 280, Zomba, Malawi
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Magnetic and chemical analyses of 1-m piston cores from Loch Ba, Scotland illuminated the presence of a ferrimagnetic mineral which is sensitive to atmospheric oxidation and is soluble in H2O2. This phase, plausibly only an authigenic sulfide, is probably spinel Fe3S4 (greigite). Authigenesis of Fe3S4 requires reactive FeS and elemental S, the latter likely being derived from in situ oxidation of bisulfide near the sediment redoxycline. This is consistent with the observation of maximum “oxidation-sensitive” magnetic fractions around the oxic/anoxic sediment boundary at ca. 4–16 cm depth. Progressive pyritization of Fe3S4 during burial provides the most viable explanation for the loss of “oxidation-sensitive” phases at greater depth. The results extend the range of environments known to be subject to postdepositional magnetic enhancement to include oligotrophic lakes with relatively low productivity. This may have ramifications for magnetically based sediment-source linkage, core correlation, and pollution studies which fail to demonstrate that magnetostratigraphic profiles are solely reflectively of allogenic mineral presence.

Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 35 , Issue 2 , March 1991 , pp. 208 - 221
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, N. Diatom biostratigraphy and comparative core correlation within a small lake basin Hydrobiologia 143 1986 105 112 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balistrieri, L.S. Jones, W.M. The surface chemistry of sediments from the Panama basin: The influence of Mn oxides on metal adsorption Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 50 1986 2235 2243 Google Scholar
Berner, R.A. An idealised model of dissolved sulphate distribution in recent sediments Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 28 1964 1499 1503 Google Scholar
Berner, R.A. Sedimentary pyrite formation American Journal of Science 267 1970 19 42 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berner, R.A. A new geochemical classification of sedimentary environments Journal of Sedimentary Petrology 51 1981 359 365 Google Scholar
Bloemendal, A. Oldfield, F. Thompson, R. Magnetic measurements used to assess sediment influx at Llyn Goddiondnon Nature 280 1979 50 51 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradshaw, R.H. Thompson, R. The use of magnetic measurements to investigate the mineralogy of Icelandic lake sediments and to study catchment processes Boreas 14 1985 203 215 Google Scholar
Brown, K.A. Sulphur in the environment: A review Environmental Pollution Series B 3 1982 47 80 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Calvert, S.E. The geochemistry and mineralogy of nearshore sediments Riley, J.P. Chester, R. Chemical Oceanography Vol. 6 1977 Academic Press London Google Scholar
Canfield, D.E. Berner, R.A. Dissolution and pyritization of magnetite in anoxic marine sediments Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 51 1987 645 659 Google Scholar
Carignan, R. Nriagu, J.O. Trace metal deposition and mobility in the sediments of two lakes near Sudbury, Ontario Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 49 1985 1753 1764 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clarke, R.M. Thompson, R. An objective method for smoothing palaeomagnetic data Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astrological Society 52 1978 205 213 Google Scholar
Cornwell, J.C. Geochemistry of Mn, Fe and P in an Arctic Lake 1983 University of Alaska Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Davison, W. Woof, C. Turner, D.R. Handling and measurement techniques for anoxic interstitial waters Nature 294 1982 582 583 Google Scholar
Dearing, J. The Application of Magnetic Measurements to Studies of Particulate Flux in Lake Watershed Systems 1979 University of Liverpool Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Henshaw, P.C. The Interaction of Trace Metals and Magnetic Minerals with Sedimentary Environments 1978 University of Washington Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Hilton, J. Lishman, J.P. Chapman, J.S. Chemical characterisation of a diagenetic magnetic mineral formed in the sediments of productive lakes Chemical Geology 56 1986 325 333 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howarth, R.W. Teal, J.M. Sulphate reduction in a New England salt marsh Limnology and Oceanography 24 1979 999 1013 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karlin, R. Palaeomagnetism, Rock Magnetism and Diagenesis in Hemi-pelagic Sediments from the N.E. Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California 1984 University of Oregon Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Karlin, R. Levi, S. Geochemical and sedimentological control of the magnetic properties of hemi-pelagic sediments Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astrological Society 59 1985 1 55 Google Scholar
Kobayashi, K. Nomura, M. Iron sulphides in sediment cores from the sea of Japan and their geophysical implications Earth and Planetary Science Letters 16 1974 200 220 Google Scholar
Levi, S. Banerjee, S.K. On the possibility of obtaining relative palaeo-intensities from lake sediments Earth and Planetary Science Letters 29 1976 219 226 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackereth, J. A short core sampler for subaqueous deposits Limnology and Oceanography 14 1969 145 151 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mackereth, J. On the variation in direction of the horizontal component of the remanent magnetization in lake sediments Earth and Planetary Science Letters 12 1971 332 338 Google Scholar
Nature Conservancy Council Rannochmoore National Nature Reserve management plan 1979 NCC Balloch, Scotland Google Scholar
Oldfield, F. The role of magnetic studies in palaeohydrology Gregory, K.J. Background to Palaeohydrology 1983 Wiley London Google Scholar
Olfield, F. Rummery, T.A. Thompson, R. Walling, D.E. Identification of suspended sediment sources by means of magnetic measurements: Some preliminary results Water Resources Research 15 1979 211 218 Google Scholar
Price, N.B. Chemical diagenesis in sediments Riley, J. Chester, R. Chemical Oceanography Vol. 6 1977 Academic Press London Google Scholar
Rickard, R.T. Kinetics and mechanisms of pyrite formation at low temperatures American Journal of Science 275 1975 19 42 Google Scholar
Robinson, G.D. Adsorption of Cu, Zn and Pb near sulphide deposits by hydrous manganese-iron oxide coatings on stream alluvium Chemical Geology 33 1981 65 79 Google Scholar
Smith, J.P. Mineral Magnetic Studies on Two Shropshire Meres 1986 University of Liverpool Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Tessier, A. Campbell, P.G.C. Bissen, M. Sequential extraction procedure for the speciation of particulate trace metals Analytical Chemistry 51 7 1979 844 851 Google Scholar
Thompson, R. Palaeomagnetic correlation and dating Berglund, E. Palaeohydrological Changes in the Temperate Zone in the Last 15,000 Years Subproject B, Lakes and Mires. IGCP Project 158 1979 Lund, Sweden Google Scholar
Thompson, R. Modelling magnetization data using SIMPLEX Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 42 1986 113 127 Google Scholar
Thompson, R. Battarbee, R.W. O'Sullivan, P.E. Oldfield, F. Magnetic susceptibility of lake sediments Limnology and Oceanography 20 1975 687 698 Google Scholar
Thompson, R. Bloemendal, J. Dearing, J. Oldfield, F. Rummery, T.A. Stober, J.C. Turner, G.M. Environmental applications of magnetic measurements Science 207 1980 482 486 Google Scholar
Thompson, R. Oldfield, F. Environmental Magnetism 1986 Allen & Unwin London Google Scholar
Walling, D.E. Peart, M. Oldfield, F. Thompson, R. Identifying suspended sediment sources by magnetic measurements on filter paper residues Nature 281 1979 110 113 Google Scholar
Williams, T.M. The Geochemistry and Magnetic Mineralogy of Holocene Strata in Acid Basins: Case-Studies from Granitic Catchments in the Galloway and Rannochmoor Regions of Scotland 1988 University of Edinburgh Unpublished PhD thesis Google Scholar
Zobell, R. Studies of redox potential of marine sediments Bulletin of the American Association of Petrological Geology 30 4 1964 477 513 Google Scholar