Abstract
Forty-eight surface sediment samples from the Laptev Sea taken during the Russian - German expedition Transdrift I in summer 1993 were analysed for their clay mineral composition (illite, smectite, chlorite, and kaolinite). Different clay mineral provinces, the role of fluvial sediment-supply, transport mechanisms, and possible source areas are discussed.
The distribution patterns of the clay minerals allow to distinguish between three different provinces: 1. In the western Laptev Sea sediments are particularly rich in smectite and are characterized by a slight enrichment in kaolinite. 2. Sediments in the eastern Laptev Sea are very poor in kaolinite. 3. The southeastern Laptev Sea is dominated by illite and chlorite.
The distribution of clay minerals in the Laptev Sea is controlled both by river run-off and summer surface currents. The Lena and Yana rivers mainly deliver illite and chlorite, smectite is supplied almost exclusively by the Anabar and Khatanga rivers, kaolinite by the Anabar, Khatanga, and Olenek rivers. From the river mouths, surface currents transport smectite and kaolinite hundreds of km eastward.
Illite and chlorite are most probably erosional products of Paleozoic slates cropping out in the drainage areas of the Lena and Yana rivers. Smectite originates from Mesozoic and Cenozoic weathering residues of the Permo-Triassic Putoran-Plateau flood basalts. Kaolinite is probably derived from the erosion of kaolinite-rich Mesozoic sediments of the Siberian Platform.
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Rossak, B.T., Kassens, H., Lange, H., Thiede, J. (1999). Clay Mineral Distribution in Surface Sediments of the Laptev Sea: Indicator for Sediment Provinces, Dynamics and Sources. In: Kassens, H., et al. Land-Ocean Systems in the Siberian Arctic. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-60134-7_45
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