This work is an application of the scanning electron microscopy in the study of clays. / The total number of samples studied by scanning electron microscopy exceeded 160. The majority of these samples were collected from various stratigraphic horizons of the kaolin deposits of Georgia and South Carolina. A smaller part of the samples were collected from various localities in the U. S. and from several foreign countries. / For practical purposes, the investigation of the kaolin samples was divided into three parts. These include: (a) minerals that appear to be kaolinitized, or in the process of kaolinitization, such as mica and feldspars; (b) minerals which are inert with respect to kaolinitization, such as silica and quartz; and (c) the crystallomorphic characteristics of the kaolinite, which constitutes the predominent part of the samples. / The kaolinitization of feldspars produced small, randomly oriented kaolinite flakes, whereas the kaolinitization of micas produced large, vermicular books. Possibly, silica was mobilized as a result of the kaolinitization process. The formation of authigenic minerals such as zeolites and cristobalite, took place only where local conditions provided the necessary elements during epidagenesis. / The Cretaceous kaolins were found to have a consistent texture, whereas the Tertiary kaolins have a wide range of textural appearance. Both the crystal perfection of the kaolinite flakes and the crystallinity index are statistically higher for the Cretaceous samples than for the Tertiary samples, although the correlation of these two variables was found to be very poor. / Strong correlation of Ca ions and viscosity indicates the presence of montmorillonite which was found to occur in very small amounts in almost all of the samples. / The inverse relationship between the titanium mineral content to the smectite content is found to be a useful indicator of the extent of weathering of kaolin deposits. The occurrence of the kaolinite books is more common at the upper part of the kaolin beds. This suggests that kaolinitization of mica took place in situ by the reaction of the downward-migrating waters with mica. The occurrence of large vermicular books and angular, friable quartz grains indicates that the kaolins could not have been transported in their present composition. The data of this study indicates, in general, that the kaolinitization process has taken place during epidiagenesis and after deposition. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: B, page: 0866. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74165 |
| Contributors | VAOS, STEPHANOS PANTELIS., The Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 244 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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