Search

The geochemical development of laterites, a very common superficial formation in the tropics, is still a matter of debate. To determine the main steps of their formation, and to interpret lateral geochemical variations often observed within laterites, we studied the Kaya ferricrete in northern Burkina Faso by analysing two profiles in contrasting topographic positions. We determined the mineralogy and the composition in major and trace elements of whole rocks and of < 0.2 mu m granulometric fractions. The nature and proportion of relictual primary minerals and of secondary clays and Fe-oxyhydroxides control the distribution of major and soluble trace elements. The distribution patterns of Fe, transition metals, lanthanides, U and Th in the two profiles require (i) an initial accumulation in the top ferruginous horizon during its formation and (ii) a secondary redistribution downwards in the underlying horizons. Lanthanides, Ni and Co were remobilized to a much greater extent than Cu and Sc, whereas Fe, V, Cr and Th accumulated in the ferruginous horizon. The uphill better drained profile showed more intense redistribution than the downhill profile. Uranium in particular is poorly redistributed in the downhill profile, whereas it was redistributed like the lanthanides in the uphill profile. Remobilizations are also more intensely recorded in the fine fractions than in the whole rocks. These results allow us to propose a scenario for the formation of the Kaya laterite that accounts for both vertical and lateral chemical distributions. They also highlight the potential of multimethod geochemical studies to uncover the sequence of evolution of weathering profiles.

Geochemical and mineralogical data from ancient sedimentary strata can be reliable indicators of the provenance of sediments. The heavy mineral assemblages and the major and trace element contents of sedimentary rocks from the Neogene continental successions of the Central Depression in Chile and the Mauri and Corque Basins in the Altiplano of Bolivia reflect volcanic source rocks with different degrees of magmatic differentiation and alkalinity. These results indicate that the source rocks of the Central Depression were less differentiated (andesite to rhyodacite) than those of the Altiplano basins (rhyodacite to rhyolite). The low concentration (cations per formula unit) of total Al ( 0.15 pfu) and [Ca+Na] (f0.92 pfu), the variable Ti content (0.01–0.04 pfu) of the clinopyroxenes and the high [Nb/Y] (>0.7) in whole-rock analyses of sandstones from the Mauri Basin indicate erosion of alkaline rock sources. Locally, the low concentration of total Al (

International audience

Indurated volcanic soils (tepetates) of the Mexican Altiplano display thick columnar horizons, hard laminar horizons, and grey mottles at depth. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies show a relative enrichment in cristobalite vs. halloysite in the indurated plates of the laminar horizons and in the clay fraction of the mottles. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and high-resolution TEM (HRTEM) studies of these two soil components have shown that they are composed of small tubes of halloysite in which numerous globular grains ∼1 μm in diameter are embedded. Based on the relative abundance of cristobalite in pedological features and on the spatial relations between successive mineral phases, we interpret the cristobalite as a transformation of halloysite with a transitional amorphous phase. In the globular grains, large platy 1:1 clay minerals undergo a progressive transformation into platy particles of opal-A and opal-C. These are in turn transformed into cristobalite without further major change in their shape and appearance, except for a higher electron density than opal and clay.

The role of plants in soils development has become of crucial interest in quantifying global weathering processes. On the volcanic Reunion Island (Indian Ocean), 1 15-cm-thick phytolith-rich horizon (biogenic opal-A) developed at the expense of trachytic ashes between 3820 + or - 85 and 335 + or - 90 yr B.P. then, 97-138 t/km2/yr of SiO2 were biogeochemically recycled from the weathering of parent rocks through a past forest of bamboos (#Nastus borbonicus$). This rate is in the same range as the present chemical weathering rates of silica in the area, considered to be among the highest in the world. These results demonstrate that the storage of biogenic silica in soils may be significant and may retard the output of silica to rivers and ocean. (Résumé d'auteur)

A simple geochemical balance of lateritization processes governing the development of several tens of meters of weathering profiles overlain by ferricretes is estimated on the basis of detailed mineralogical and geochemical data. The lateritic weathering mantle of the “Haut–Mbomou” area in Central Africa is composed of different weathering layers described from the base to the top of vertical profiles as a saprolite, a mottled clay layer, a soft nodular layer, a soft ferricrete, and a ferricrete in which kaolinite, gibbsite, goethite, and hematite occur in various quantities. Incongruent dissolution of kaolinite leads to the formation of gibbsite in the upper saprolite, whereas the hematite does not clearly replace the kaolinite according to an epigene process in the upper ferruginous layers of the profiles. Instead, that kaolinite is also transformed into gibbsite according to an incongruent dissolution under hydrated and reducing conditions induced by a relatively humid climatic pattern. The respective relations of the silica, iron, and aluminum balances and the Al substitution rate of the hematite on the one hand, and of RHG [RHG = 100 (hematite/hematite + goethite)] and the kaolinite on the other hand, to the consumption or the release of protons H+ permit differentiation of aggrading ferruginization and degradation processes operating in the different lateritic weathering profiles. The Al substitution rate of the Fe–oxyhydroxides varies according to the nature of lateritization processes, e.g., saprolitic weathering and aggrading ferruginization vs. degradation. The observations and results indicate that the ferruginization process of the weathering materials of parent rocks is not a simple ongoing process as often thought. This suggests that the actual lateritic weathering mantle of the Haut–Mbomou area may result from different stages of weathering and erosion during climatic changes.