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Microtextures on quartz grains in the Kuakata beach, Bangladesh: implications for provenance and depositional environment

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Abstract

Microtextures on fine to medium-grained quartz grains (65–500 μm) from three sections, i.e., Laboni, Kuakata, and Jhauban points of the Kuakata beach area, Bangladesh, were examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to determine the transport history, provenance, depositional environment, and paleoclimate. Thirty microtextures were observed on 180 quartz grains, which were subsequently classified as mechanical (20 features), chemical (5 features), and combined mechanical and chemical (5 features) origins. The abundance of sub-rounded to rounded quartz grains with smooth outlines, V-shaped pits, straight or curved grooves, crescent-shaped features and straight or arcuate steps, indicates that the quartz grains experienced long-distance transport through fluvial environment (e.g., Himalayan sediments). The angular to sub-angular quartz grains with straight or curved grooves, straight steps, and adhering particles inferred that they were probably derived from adjacent landmasses (e.g., Chittagong-Tripura Folded Belt and/or Indo-Burman Ranges). The well-rounded outlines, low relief with dish-shaped depressions, mechanically upturned plates, and arcuate steps were also observed, indicating aeolian processes in shoreface or beach environment. Etching, solution/irregular pits, and differential relief observed in the quartz grains indicate a subaqueous collision in fluvial and nearshore environments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Laura E. Gómez-Lizárraga, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (ICML), Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), for scanning electron microscope analysis. We extend our special thanks to Carlos Linares-López for SEM-EDS analysis and laboratory assistants Eduardo Alfredo Morales and Martinez Dominguez Ricardo for sample preparation. We appreciate Edith Xiadani Castro Zárate, Ayudante de Investigador Nacional Nivel III, for her contribution during mineral identification by SEM-EDS. We thank the Editor-in-Chief Abdullah M. Al-Amri and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on the earlier version of the manuscript, which significantly improved our presentation.

Funding

JSA received support from the ICML, UNAM, Institutional (no. 616) and PAPIIT Projects (IN-107020). Mayla A. Ramos-Vázquez received doctoral fellowship (No. 595593/308610) from Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnologia (PCML) postgraduate program and CONACyT.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Petroleum and Mining Engineering, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Jashore, 7408, Bangladesh

    H. M. Zakir Hossain, Abu Hena Md. Nasimul Jamil & Md. Mahbubur Rahman

  2. Department of Geoscience, Shimane University, 1060 Nishikawatsu, Matsue, 690-8504, Japan

    H. M. Zakir Hossain

  3. Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Unidad de Procesos Oceánicos y Costeros, Ciudad Universitaria, Circuito Exterior s/n, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

    John S. Armstrong-Altrin

  4. Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 3000, Coyoacán, 04510, Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico

    Claudia J. Hernández-Coronado & Mayla A. Ramos-Vázquez

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  1. H. M. Zakir Hossain
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  2. John S. Armstrong-Altrin
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  3. Abu Hena Md. Nasimul Jamil
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  4. Md. Mahbubur Rahman
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Correspondence to H. M. Zakir Hossain.

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Responsible Editor: Abdullah M. Al-Amri

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Hossain, H.M.Z., Armstrong-Altrin, J.S., Jamil, A.H.M.N. et al. Microtextures on quartz grains in the Kuakata beach, Bangladesh: implications for provenance and depositional environment. Arab J Geosci 13, 291 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-020-5265-4

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