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Pathways of Fine-Grained Clastic Sediments — Examples from the Amazon, the Weser Estuary, and the North Sea

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Abstract

The analysis of the clay-mineral association of mainly illite, chlorite, kaolinite and smectite in sediments makes it possible to trace pathways of fine-grained sediments. Along the transport routes, mixing effects, deposition and resuspension of the sediments can be deduced.

In Amazonia, the source of a huge Pleistocene sediment deposit is traced back to different source areas and the buildup and history is explained in connection with sea-level changes. In the recent Amazonian floodplains, mixing of different sediment types takes place.

In the SE corner of the North Sea the landward transport of muddy sediments within estuaries was determined and in the North Sea itself, the transport of fine-grained particles along the coast from SW to NE seems to be obvious. Human influence on these sedimentational processes is assumed.

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© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Irion, G., Zöllmer, V. (1990). Pathways of Fine-Grained Clastic Sediments — Examples from the Amazon, the Weser Estuary, and the North Sea. In: Heling, D., Rothe, P., Förstner, U., Stoffers, P. (eds) Sediments and Environmental Geochemistry. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75097-7_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-75097-7_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-75099-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-75097-7

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