『Abstract
Poorly documented yet spectacularly thick and extensive outcrops
of calcrete hardpan occur on gneiss in the semiarid region of
Coimbatore, South India. The hardpan caps a series of residual
plateaux forming the present-day continental divide and grades
into large expanses of Vertisols. Characteristic calcrete and
Vertisol profiles were logged along toposequences and sampled
for macro- and micromorphological study, and for chemical and
mineralogical composition. strontium isotopic analyses revealed
that the calcrete is derived from in situ weathering of Ca-bearing
primary minerals of the saprolite, which is rich in ankerite,
Ca-amphiboles and Ca-plagioclase. The macroscale analysis revealed
a range of facies developed within the gneiss saprolite, but in
terms of relative chronology the nodular hardpan has the longest
history. Two evolutionary pathways leading to nodular hardpan
formation have been established. The first occurs entirely within
a vadose environment, whereas the second begins within a phreatic
environment before continuing to develop in vadose conditions.
The ability to identify and map these generic categories of calcrete
constitutes a potential tool for reconstructing paleotopography
and paleogroundwater levels. The bedrock-weathering-derived nodular
hardpan is blanketed by a laminar facies that correlates with
an eolian event with marine Sr signatures. This suggests influx
of Ca dust from the Arabian Sea continental shelf during a Pleistocene
sea-level low-stand. It defines an important benchmark in the
chronology of the area and highlights the potential antiquity
of the thick calcrete profiles.
Keywords: Calcrete; Chemical weathering; Petrography; Isotopic
tracing; Landscape chronology; Groundwater; Quaternary; India』
1. Introduction
2. Present-day environmental setting
3. Materials and methods
4. Results
4.1. Calcrete diversity at topographic scale
4.2. Facies characteristics of the calcrete at exposure scale
4.2.1. Hardpan
4.2.2. Laminar facies
4.2.3. Massive facies
4.2.4. Brecciated facies
4.2.5. Nodular facies
4.2.6. Coalescent nodules (‘popcorn’ or ‘honeycomb’ horizon)
4.2.7. Isolated nodules
4.2.8. Joints, cracks and their fillings
4.3. Stratigraphic relations between the different facies
4.3.1. Distribution of carbonate in the weathering profile
4.4. Chemical and mineralogical characterization
4.4.1. Mineralogy
4.4.2. Chemistry
4.5. Micromorphological features
4.5.1. Type I laminar facies (hardpan)
4.5.2. Brecciated facies (hardpan)
4.5.3. Massive facies (hardpan)
4.5.4. Nodular facies (hardpan)
5. Discussion
5.1. Pathways of nodular hardpan genesis: an observation-based
evolutionary model
5.1.1. Degradational sequence of nodular hardpan development
5.1.2. Accretionary sequence of nodular hardpan development
5.1.3. Model implications
5.2. Pathways of laminar horizon genesis
5.3. Calcium provenance: local origin vs. allochthonous input
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References