Generic relationships in the mineral-chemical stratigraphy of turbidite sandstones
Hurst Andrew; Morton Andrew, C.
Journal of the Geological Society of London 158, Part 3: 401-404
2001
DOI: 10.1144/jgs.158.3.401
Accession: 018986797
Ratios of abundance of hydraulically and diagenetically equivalent heavy minerals (apatite:tourmaline, garnet:zircon) from deep-water sandstones, of similar age and derived from the same overall source terrain, have contrasting trends. The differences are explained by contrasting sediment transport paths. Deep-water sandstones with fluctuating heavy mineral ratios are inferred to be derived directly from alluvial basins, bypassing any contemporaneous shallow marine shelf. Deep-water sandstones with homogeneous heavy mineralogy are inferred to be fed by sediment that originally accumulated on shallow marine shelves but was subsequently mixed.