CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Berry, R.W.; and Torrance, J.K.
Date : 1998
Title : Mineralogy, grain-size distribution and geotechnical behavior of Champlain clay core samples, Quebec.
Publication : Canadian Mineralogist
Issue : 36(6):
Page(s) : 1625-1636.
Abstract
Samples of Champlain Sea sediment from St-Barnabe, Quebec, near the Canadian Shield contact of the Champlain Sea basin, and from Henryville, Quebec, near the Appalachian Mountains contact, are dominated by the tectosilicates (47-82%). At Henryville, quartz and plagioclase are dominant, with lesser K-feldspar; among the phyllosilicates, the 4-0.5 mu m fraction contains, in decreasing order, chlorite, illite, and expandable clay, except in the near-surface weathered zone, where the expandable clay is in greatest quantity. In the <0.5 mu m fraction, expandable clay also dominates in the surface and basal zones of the sedi ment. At St-Barnabe, plagioclase is dominant, with lesser amounts of quartz and K-feldspar; the phyllosilicate component of the 4-0.5 mu m fraction is dominated by illite, with much lower proportions of chlorite and expandable clay at all depths, whereas in the <0.5 mu m fraction, the proportion of expandable clay increases relative to illite and chlorite, although it generally is not dominant. The sensitivity of the sediment decreases as the relative abundance of expandable clays increases. Oxide concentrations are low, on the order of 1% of the total sample; although relatively more abundant in the smaller size-fractions, the quantity increases at a lesser rate than the surface area. The relatively small amount of oxides present suggests that, at these levels, they probably affect soil behavior by a cementing action that is analogous to a "spot welding" process at interparticle contacts.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology