and Relation to Oceanography

• Main Authors: Rainer Petschick, Gerhard Kuhn, Franz Gingele
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antarctic; The Antarctic; East Antarctica; Antarctic Ocean; Bouvet; Bouvet Island; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.458.4937; http://epic.awi.de/2393/1/petschick-etal_1996.pdf

850 surface samples mostly from abyssal sediments of the South Atlantic and the Antarctic Ocean were investigated for clay content and composition. Maps of relative clay mineral content were compiled, which improve previous maps by showing more details, especially at high latitudes. Large-scaled relations regarding the origin and transport paths of detrital clay are revealed. Near submarine volcanoes of the Antarctic Ocean (South Sandwich, Bouvet Island) smectite contents exhibit distinct maxima, which is ascribed to the erosion of altered basalts and volcanic glasses. Other areas of high smectite concentration are observed in abyssal regions, primarily derived from southernmost America and from minor sources in Southwest Africa. The illite distribution can be subdivided into five major zones including two maxima revealing both South African and Antarctican sources. A particulary high amount of Fe- and Mg-rich illites are observed close to East Antarctica derived from biotite bearing crystalline rocks and transported to the west by the East Antarctic Coastal