The geochemical composition of sediment as a proxy of provenance and weathering intensity: a case study of Southwest Nigeria’s Coastal Creeks
Main Article Content
Keywords
Badagry Creek, Yewa Creek, elemental ratios, provenance, weathering
Abstract
The study of the geochemical composition of sediments was undertaken to evaluate the degree of weathering and appraise the relative proportion of mafic and felsic rock materials being transported from source
to sink. Thirty-three surface sediment samples collected from the creeks were used for particle size and chemical analyses. An inductively coupled plasma-Mass Spectrometer was used to determine the elemental composition of the sediments. The clay dominated Yewa and western Badagry creeks gave evidence of higher average concentrations of Ni, Sr, Y, Nb, Sc, Co, V, and Th than the eastern end of segment of Badagry Creek. The data generated from elemental ratios such as Al2O3/TiO2, TiO2/Zr and binary plots of Th/Sc-Cr/Sc, Th-Sc, Y/Ni-Cr/V, TiO2-Zr
and ICV-CIA (index of compositional variability against chemical index of alteration) showed that source sediments are composed of upper and lower crustal compositions. Also, the creeks were marked by their variation in terms of the proportion of felsic and mafic components. For instance, Yewa and western Badagry creeks are more enriched in mafic constituents, whereas the enrichment of felsic materials is significant at the eastern end of Badagry Creek. Inferring from the chemical index of alteration and plagioclase index of alteration (PIA), the Yewa and western Badagry creeks have been moderately to intensely weathered and incipient weathering was identified in the eastern end of Badagry Creek.
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References
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Garcia D., Fonteilles M. & Moutte J., 1994. Sedimentary fractionation between Al, Ti, and Zr and genesis of strongly peraluminous granites. Journal of Geology, 102, 411–422.
Garrels R.M. & Mackenzie F.T., 1971. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. Norton, New York.
Grygar, T.M. & Popelka, J., 2016. Revisiting geochemical methods of distinguishing natural concentrations and pollution by risk elements in fluvial sediments. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 170, 39–57.
Hayashi K.I., Fujisawa H., Holland H.D. & Ohmoto H., 1997. Geochemistry of ~ 1.9 Ga sedimentary rocks from northeastern Labrador, Canada. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 61, 4115–4137.
Hiscott R.N., 1984. Ophiolitic source rocks for Taconic-Age flysch: trace-element evidence. Geologic Society of America Bulletin, 95, 1261–1267.
Ibe A.C.,1988. Coastline erosion in Nigeria. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Keskin S., 2011. Geochemistry of Çamardı Formation sediments, central Anatolia (Turkey): implication of source area weathering, provenance, and tectonic setting. Geosciences Journal, 15, 185–195.
Lasaga A.C., 1984. Chemical kinetics of water‐rock interactions. Journal of geophysical research: solid earth, 89(B6), 4009–4025.
Le Pera E.M.I.L.I.A. & Sorriso-Valvo M., 2000. Weathering, erosion and sediment composition in a high-gradient river, Calabria, Italy. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 25, 277–292.
Lee Y.I., 2002. Provenance derived from the geochemistry of late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic mudrocks of the Pyeongan Supergroup, Korea. Sedimentary Geology 149, 219–235.
Li Y.H., 2000. A compendium of Geochemistry. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Mack G.H., 1978. The survivability of labile light-mineral grains in fluvial, aeolian and littoral marine environments: the Permian Cutler and Cedar Mesa Formations, Moab, Utah. Sedimentology, 25, 587–604.
McKay J.L., Pedersen T.F. & Mucci A., 2007. Sedimentary redox conditions in continental margin sediments (N.E. Pacific) – Influence on the accumulation of redox-sensitive trace metals. Chemical Geology, 238, 180–196.
McLennan S.M., 1989. Rare earth elements in sedimentary rocks; influence of provenance and sedimentary processes. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 21, 169–200.
McLennan S.M., 1993. Weathering and global denudation. The Journal of Geology, 101, 295–303.
McLennan S.M., Taylor S.R., McCulloch M.T. & Maynard J.B., 1990. Geochemical and Nd- Sr isotopic composition of deep-sea turbidites: crustal evolution and plate tectonic associations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 2015–2050.
Nesbitt H.W., 1979. Mobility and fractionation of rare earth elements during weathering of a granodiorite. Nature, 29, 206–210.
Nesbitt H.W. & Young G.M., 1984. Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 48, 1523–1534.
Oliva P., Viers J. & Dupré B., 2003. Chemical weathering in granitic environments. Chemical Geology, 202, 225–256.
Paikaray S., Banerjee S. & Mukherji S., 2008. Geochemistry of shales from the Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup: Implications on provenance, tectonics and paleoweathering. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 32, 34–48.
Phillips, O. A. & Falana, A. O., 2008. Mineralogical – Petrological study of rocks in Olode Area, Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria. The Scientific Society of Mineral Wealth of Greece, 146, 25–35.
Phillips, O.A., Adebayo, A.J. & Falana, A.O., 2013. Petrogenesis of Pan-African Gneisses around Obalarinnako-Oyo area, southwestern Nigeria. Science Focus, 18, 78–95.
Roser B.P. & Korsch R.J., 1988. Provenance signatures of sandstone-mudstone suites determined using discriminant function analysis of major-element data. Chemical Geology, 67, 119–139.
Shepard F.P., 1954. Nomenclature based on sand-silt-clay ratios. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 24, 3, 151–158.
Singh P. & Rajamani V., 2001. REE geochemistry of recent clastic sediments from the Kaveri floodplains, southern India: implication to source area weathering and sedimentary processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 65, 3093–3108.
Talabi A.O., 2013. Mineralogical and chemical characterization of major basement rocks in Ekiti State, SW-Nigeria. RMZ-M&G, 60, 73–86.
Taylor S.R. & McLennan S.M., 1985. The continental crust: its composition and evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publishing, Oxford.
Tripathi J.K. & Rajamani V., 1999. Geochemistry of the loessic sediments on Delhi ridge, eastern Thar desert, Rajasthan: implications for exogenic processes. Chemical Geology, 155, 265–278.
Tripathi J.K. & Rajamani V., 2007. Geochemistry and origin of ferruginous nodules in weathered granodioritic gneisses, Mysore Plateau, Southern India. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71, 1674–1688.
Ure A.M. & Berrow M.L., 1982. The elemental constituents of soils. [in:] Bowen H.J.M. Environmental chemistry. Volume 2, Specialist Periodical Reports, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 94–204.
Viers J., Dupré B. & Gaillardet J., 2009. Chemical composition of suspended sediments in World Rivers: new insights from a new database. Science of the total Environment, 407, 853–868.
Weaver C.E., 1989. Clays, muds, and shales. Development in Sedimentology, 44, Amsterdam, Elsevier.
Wedepohl K.H., 1978. Manganese: Abundance in common sediments and sedimentary rocks. [in:] Wedepohl K.H. (ed.), Handbook of Geochemistry, 113, Springer Berlin, 1–17.
Yang S., Jung H.S. & Li C.X., 2004. Two unique weathering regimes in the Changjiang and Huanghe drainage basins: geochemical evidence from river sediments. Sedimentary Geology, 164, 19–34.
Balashov Yu.A., Ronov A.B., Migdisova A., Turanskaya N.V., 1964. Vliyaniye klimaticheskikh ifatsial’nykh usloviy na razdeleniye redkozemel’nykh elementov v osadochnom protses. Geokhimiya, 10, 995–1014 [Балашов Ю.А., Ронов А.Б., Мигдисов А.А., Туранская Н.В., 1964. Влияние климатических и фациальных условий на разделение редкоземельных элементов в осадочном процессе. Геохимия, 10, 995–1014].
Bauluz B., Mayayo M.J., Fernandez-Nieto C. & Lopez J.M.G., 2000. Geochemistry of Precambrian and Paleozoic siliciclastic rocks from the Iberian Range (NE Spain): implications for source-area weathering, sorting, provenance, and tectonic setting. Chemical Geology, 168, 135–150.
Bellanca A., Claps M., Erba E., Masetti D., Neri R., Premolisilva I. & Venezia F., 1996. Orbitally induced limestone/marlstone rhythms in the Albian-Cenomanian Cismon section (Venetian region, northern Italy): Sedimentology, calcareous and siliceous plankton distribution, elemental and isotope geochemistry. Paleogeography, Paleoclimatology and Paleoecology, 126, 227–260.
Berner R.A. & Berrow E.K., 1997. Silicate weathering and climate. [in:] Ruddiman W.F. (ed.), Tectonic Uplift and Climate Change, Plenum, New York, 353–365.
Blatt H., Middleton G. & Murray R., 1980. Origin of Sedimentary Rocks. Prentice-Hall, New Jersey.
Bouchez J., Lupker M., Gaillardet J., France-Lanord C. & Maurice L., 2011a. How important is it to integrate riverine suspended sediment chemical composition with depth? Clues from Amazon River depth-profiles. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 75, 6955–6970.
Bouchez J., Gaillardet J., France-Lanord C., Maurice L. & Dutra-Maia, P., 2011b. Grain size control of river sediment geochemistry: Clues from Amazon River depth profiles. Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 12, 1–24.
Cox R., Lowe D.R. & Cullers R.L., 1995. The influence of sediment recycling and basement composition on evolution of mudrock chemistry in the southwestern United States. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 2919–2940.
Crook K.A.W., 1974. Lithogenesis and geotectonics: The significance of compositional variation in flysch arenites (greywackes). Society of Economical, Paleontological and Mineralogical Special Publications, 19, 304–310.
Cullers R.L., 1994. The controls on the major and trace element variation of shales, siltstones and sandstones of Pennsylvanian-Permian age from uplifted continental blocks in Colorado to platform sediments in Kansas, USA. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 58, 4955–4972.
Cullers R.L. & Podkovyrov V.N., 2000. Geochemistry of the Mesoproterozoic Lakhanda shales in southeastern Yakutia, Russia: implications for mineralogical and provenance control, and recycling. Precambrian Research, 104, 77–93.
Cullers R.L., Yeh L.T., Chaudhuri S. & Guidotti C.V., 1974. Rare earth elements in Silurian pelitic schists from NW Maine. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 38, 389–400.Davies B.E., 1980. Applied Soil Trace Elements. New York, Wiley.
Dickinson W. R. & Suczek C.A., 1979. Plate tectonics and sandstone compositions. AAPG Bulletin, 63, 2164–2182.Dickinson W.R., 1985. Interpreting provenance relations from detrital modes of sandstones. [in:] Zuffia G.G. (ed.), Provenance of Arenites, Dordrecht, Reidel, 333–362.
Duzgoren-Aydin N.S., Aydin A. & Malpas J., 2002. Re-assessment of chemical weathering indices: case study on pyroclastic rocks of Hong Kong. Engineering Geology, 63, 99–119.
Edmond J.M. & Huh Y., 1997. Chemical weathering yields from basement and orogenic terrains in hot and cold climates. [in:] Ruddiman W.F. (ed.), Tectonic Uplift and Climate Change, Plenum, New York, 353–365.
Faure G., 1991. Principles and Applications of Inorganic Geochemistry. Macmillan, New York.
Fedo C.M., Nesbitt H.W. & Young G.M., 1995. Unraveling the effects of potassium metasomatism in sedimentary rocks and paleosols, with implications for paleo-weathering conditions and provenance. Geology, 23, 921–924.
Folk R.L., 1954. The distinction between grain size and mineral composition in sedimentary-rock nomenclature. The Journal of Geology, 62, 344–359.
Gale J.G. & Hoare P.G., 1991. The physical composition and analysis of regolith materials. [in:] Quaternary Sediments: Petrographic Methods for the Study of Unlithified Rocks, Belhaven Press, New York, 87–94.
Garcia D., Fonteilles M. & Moutte J., 1994. Sedimentary fractionation between Al, Ti, and Zr and genesis of strongly peraluminous granites. Journal of Geology, 102, 411–422.
Garrels R.M. & Mackenzie F.T., 1971. Evolution of sedimentary rocks. Norton, New York.
Grygar, T.M. & Popelka, J., 2016. Revisiting geochemical methods of distinguishing natural concentrations and pollution by risk elements in fluvial sediments. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 170, 39–57.
Hayashi K.I., Fujisawa H., Holland H.D. & Ohmoto H., 1997. Geochemistry of ~ 1.9 Ga sedimentary rocks from northeastern Labrador, Canada. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 61, 4115–4137.
Hiscott R.N., 1984. Ophiolitic source rocks for Taconic-Age flysch: trace-element evidence. Geologic Society of America Bulletin, 95, 1261–1267.
Ibe A.C.,1988. Coastline erosion in Nigeria. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Keskin S., 2011. Geochemistry of Çamardı Formation sediments, central Anatolia (Turkey): implication of source area weathering, provenance, and tectonic setting. Geosciences Journal, 15, 185–195.
Lasaga A.C., 1984. Chemical kinetics of water‐rock interactions. Journal of geophysical research: solid earth, 89(B6), 4009–4025.
Le Pera E.M.I.L.I.A. & Sorriso-Valvo M., 2000. Weathering, erosion and sediment composition in a high-gradient river, Calabria, Italy. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 25, 277–292.
Lee Y.I., 2002. Provenance derived from the geochemistry of late Paleozoic-early Mesozoic mudrocks of the Pyeongan Supergroup, Korea. Sedimentary Geology 149, 219–235.
Li Y.H., 2000. A compendium of Geochemistry. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.
Mack G.H., 1978. The survivability of labile light-mineral grains in fluvial, aeolian and littoral marine environments: the Permian Cutler and Cedar Mesa Formations, Moab, Utah. Sedimentology, 25, 587–604.
McKay J.L., Pedersen T.F. & Mucci A., 2007. Sedimentary redox conditions in continental margin sediments (N.E. Pacific) – Influence on the accumulation of redox-sensitive trace metals. Chemical Geology, 238, 180–196.
McLennan S.M., 1989. Rare earth elements in sedimentary rocks; influence of provenance and sedimentary processes. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry, 21, 169–200.
McLennan S.M., 1993. Weathering and global denudation. The Journal of Geology, 101, 295–303.
McLennan S.M., Taylor S.R., McCulloch M.T. & Maynard J.B., 1990. Geochemical and Nd- Sr isotopic composition of deep-sea turbidites: crustal evolution and plate tectonic associations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 2015–2050.
Nesbitt H.W., 1979. Mobility and fractionation of rare earth elements during weathering of a granodiorite. Nature, 29, 206–210.
Nesbitt H.W. & Young G.M., 1984. Prediction of some weathering trends of plutonic and volcanic rocks based on thermodynamic and kinetic considerations. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 48, 1523–1534.
Oliva P., Viers J. & Dupré B., 2003. Chemical weathering in granitic environments. Chemical Geology, 202, 225–256.
Paikaray S., Banerjee S. & Mukherji S., 2008. Geochemistry of shales from the Paleoproterozoic to Neoproterozoic Vindhyan Supergroup: Implications on provenance, tectonics and paleoweathering. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 32, 34–48.
Phillips, O. A. & Falana, A. O., 2008. Mineralogical – Petrological study of rocks in Olode Area, Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria. The Scientific Society of Mineral Wealth of Greece, 146, 25–35.
Phillips, O.A., Adebayo, A.J. & Falana, A.O., 2013. Petrogenesis of Pan-African Gneisses around Obalarinnako-Oyo area, southwestern Nigeria. Science Focus, 18, 78–95.
Roser B.P. & Korsch R.J., 1988. Provenance signatures of sandstone-mudstone suites determined using discriminant function analysis of major-element data. Chemical Geology, 67, 119–139.
Shepard F.P., 1954. Nomenclature based on sand-silt-clay ratios. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 24, 3, 151–158.
Singh P. & Rajamani V., 2001. REE geochemistry of recent clastic sediments from the Kaveri floodplains, southern India: implication to source area weathering and sedimentary processes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 65, 3093–3108.
Talabi A.O., 2013. Mineralogical and chemical characterization of major basement rocks in Ekiti State, SW-Nigeria. RMZ-M&G, 60, 73–86.
Taylor S.R. & McLennan S.M., 1985. The continental crust: its composition and evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publishing, Oxford.
Tripathi J.K. & Rajamani V., 1999. Geochemistry of the loessic sediments on Delhi ridge, eastern Thar desert, Rajasthan: implications for exogenic processes. Chemical Geology, 155, 265–278.
Tripathi J.K. & Rajamani V., 2007. Geochemistry and origin of ferruginous nodules in weathered granodioritic gneisses, Mysore Plateau, Southern India. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 71, 1674–1688.
Ure A.M. & Berrow M.L., 1982. The elemental constituents of soils. [in:] Bowen H.J.M. Environmental chemistry. Volume 2, Specialist Periodical Reports, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 94–204.
Viers J., Dupré B. & Gaillardet J., 2009. Chemical composition of suspended sediments in World Rivers: new insights from a new database. Science of the total Environment, 407, 853–868.
Weaver C.E., 1989. Clays, muds, and shales. Development in Sedimentology, 44, Amsterdam, Elsevier.
Wedepohl K.H., 1978. Manganese: Abundance in common sediments and sedimentary rocks. [in:] Wedepohl K.H. (ed.), Handbook of Geochemistry, 113, Springer Berlin, 1–17.
Yang S., Jung H.S. & Li C.X., 2004. Two unique weathering regimes in the Changjiang and Huanghe drainage basins: geochemical evidence from river sediments. Sedimentary Geology, 164, 19–34.
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Feb 27, 2018
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Phillips, O. A., Falana, A. O., & Adebayo, A. J. (2018). The geochemical composition of sediment as a proxy of provenance and weathering intensity: a case study of Southwest Nigeria’s Coastal Creeks. Geology, Geophysics and Environment, 43(3), 229. https://doi.org/10.7494/geol.2017.43.3.229
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