Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-sjtt6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-22T05:46:09.761Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Occurrence of Sepiolite and Attapulgite in the Calcareous Zone of a Soil Near Las Cruces, New Mexico

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Richard C. Vanden Heuvel
Richard C. Vanden Heuvel*
Affiliation:
Soil Survey Laboratory, SCS, Plant Industry Station, Beltsville, Maryland, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Sepiolite and attapulgite were identified by X-ray diffraction, elemental, and thermal analyses in the calcareous zone of a soil formed on a relict basin-fill plain in Dona Ana County, New Mexico. Sepiolite occurs in the lower part of the zone of calcium carbonate accumulation; attapulgite occurs above, in, and below the sepiolite zone.

The sepiolite was observed as whitish aggregates remaining after the carbonate was dissolved with sodium acetate buffer (pH 5). Extended treatment with this buffer dissolved a significant amount of the sepiolite but did not appear to dissolve much attapulgite. Sepiolite was concentrated for analysis without significant solution by separating the <100 mesh material from the crushed soil, treating it with pH 5 buffer for a short time and separating the carbonate-free clay. The sepiolite is relatively high in aluminum compared to most sepiolites.

The sequence of dominant clay mineral with depth in the profile is montmorillonite, attapulgite, sepiolite, attapulgite, montmorillonite. No sepiolite or attapulgite was found above the calcareous zone; a little attapulgite was found at the base of the profile, which was not totally free of carbonates. Thin sections showed sepiolite and attapulgite occurring as aggregates, as coatings on mineral grains and as small fibers. The distribution of these minerals in the profile and the arrangement of the small fibers in the calcrete suggest that these minerals crystallized during the period of caliche formation.

As will be seen (Table 5) the sepiolite is present mainly in the nodular calcareous zone; the attapulgite, mainly in the blocky calcareous zone and in the transition zone below the calcareous zone (C6).

Type
General Session
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals (National Conference on Clays and Clay Minerals) , Volume 13 , February 1964 , pp. 193 - 207
Copyright
Copyright © The Clay Minerals Society 1964

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bradley, W. F. (1940) The structural scheme of attapulgite, Am. Mineralogist 25, 405–10.Google Scholar
Brauner, K., and Preisinger, A. (1956) Struktur und Entstehung des Sepioliths, Tschermaks Mineral. Petrogr. Mitt. 6, 120–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brindley, G. W. (1959) X-ray and election diffraction data for sepiolite, Am. Mineralogist 44, 495–500.Google Scholar
Brown, G. (Editor) (1961) X-ray Identification and Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals, 2nd ed., Mineralogical Society, London.Google Scholar
Dunham, K. C. (1935) The Geology of the Organ Mountains, New Mexico School of Mines, Bull. 11.Google Scholar
Gilb, L. H. (1961) A classification of ca horizons in soils of a desert region, Dona Ana county, New Mexico, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 25, 52–61.Google Scholar
Gile, L. H., Peterson, F. F., and Grossman, R. V. (1965) The K horizon: a master soil horizon of carbonate accumulation, Soil Sci. 99, 74r–82.Google Scholar
Grossman, R. V., and Millet, J. L. (1961) Carbonate removal from soils by a modification of the acetate buffer method, Soil Sci. Soc. Amer. Proc. 25, 325–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jackson, M. L. (1956) Soil Chemical Analysis—Advanced Course, Published by Author, Madison, Wisconsin.Google Scholar
Mackenzie, R. C. (Editor) (1957) Differential Thermal Investigation of Clays, Mineralogical Society, London.Google Scholar
Millot, G. (1962) Geochemical aspects of weathering and sedimentation, Proc. Symp. Basic Sci. France U.S., New York, [1960], pp. 159–69.Google Scholar
Millot, G., Elouard, P., Lucas, J., and Slansky, M, (1960) A sedimentary and geochemical sequence of clay minerals, montmorillonite, attapulgite, sepiolite, Bull. Croupe Franc. Argiles 12, 77–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mumpton, F. A., and Roy, R. (1958) New data on sepiolite and attapulgite, Clays and Clay Minerals, Nat. Acad. Sci.—Nat. Res. Council, Publ. 566, pp. 136–143.Google Scholar
Preisinger, A. (1959) X-ray study of the structure of sepiolite, Clays and Clay Minerals, 6th Conf. [1957], pp. 61–7, Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Rogers, L. E. R., Quirk, J. P., and Norrish, K. (1956) Occurrence of an aluminum-sepiolite in a soil having unusual water relationships, J. Soil Sci. 7, 177–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruhe, R. V. (1964) Landscape morphology and alluvial deposits in southern New Mexico, Ann. Assoc. Am. Geographers 54, 147–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vanden Heuvel, R. C. (1965) Elemental analysis by X-ray emission spectrography, Methods of Soil Analysis, Am. Soc. Agron. Monograph 9, Chapter 52.Google Scholar