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Talc: an indicator of recent anthropogenic activity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2018

P. Ruch
Affiliation:
Institut de Geologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
A. Bapst
Affiliation:
Institut de Geologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
B. Kübler
Affiliation:
Institut de Geologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Emile Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Abstract

Talc is very often an important constituent of suspended matter in marine and lacustrine environments but is rarely detected in sediments. The presence of talc is usually attributed to its industrial and agricultural application. Its recent anthropogenic use, long residence time in the water column due to its small particle size, transport by surface currents and winds, and its tendency to resuspension from the sediment are factors which contribute to the preferential detection of talc in suspended matter.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 1989

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