Hostname: page-component-7b7567c8c-7pwfn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-11-15T11:26:23.898Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Detecting Chlorite in the Chinese Loess Sequence by Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Junfeng Ji*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposit Research, Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Liang Zhao
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposit Research, Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
William Balsam
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Jun Chen
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposit Research, Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Tao Wu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposit Research, Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Lianwen Liu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Mineral Deposit Research, Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, Department of Earth Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
*
*E-mail address of corresponding author: jijunfeng@nju.edu.cn
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the 'Save PDF' action button.

Chlorite is one of the most common Fe-bearing minerals and is susceptible to weathering in loess and soils. The conventional method for analyzing chlorite, based on XRD with the Rietveld technique, is quantitative, but very time consuming and expensive. In this paper we develop a new methodology based on diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and selective chemical extractions to identify chlorite qualitatively in the Chinese loess sequence and present evidence suggesting that DRS may be used to quantify chlorite content. The spectral signature of chlorite in loess is obscured by Fe oxides, but becomes obvious when they are removed. Changes in the ferrous absorption band near 1140 nm vary consistently with changing chlorite content. Using this spectral feature, DRS can distinguish chlorite contents as small as 1 wt.% in loess sediments. Future possibilities for this method in other soil and sediment types need to be explored.

Information

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © 2006, The Clay Minerals Society