Chemical composition of smectites formed in clastic sediments. Implications for the smectite-illite transformation

Analytical electron microscopy of representative smectites from soils and sediments revealed that K was present in significant proportions. It was the major interlayer cation in soils from pelitic rocks, continental and marine sediments, independent of their diagenetic grade. Sodium was predominant only in soils from basic rock. Fluvial sediments contained smectites with both kinds of interlayer compositions. The octahedral composition of each sample ranged widely, covering various fields of dioctahedral smectites. The most important trend was the substitution of Al by Fe and Mg; the chemistry of each smectite particle was determined by the parent mineral from which it formed. The real interlayer composition has important implications for the diagenetic smectite-illite transformation. When considering a typical K content, the smectite-illite reaction, with chlorite and quartz as subproducts, needs only 0.21 K atoms. For more K-rich compositions, a reaction is possible without an external supply of K.