Mineralogical changes during thermal demagnetization of natural continental sandstones

We study the mineralogical changes suffered by specimens of natural miocene red and green continental sandstones (from Pozuelos Formation and Tiomayo Formation) cropping out in the Argentine Puna that increase their bulk magnetic susceptibility and change color when thermally treated. We hypothesize...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Prezzi, Claudia Beatriz, Somoza, Rubén, Mercader, Roberto Carlos
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2005
País:Argentina
Institución:Universidad Nacional de La Plata
Repositorio:SEDICI (UNLP)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:sedici.unlp.edu.ar:10915/138735
Acceso en línea:http://sedici.unlp.edu.ar/handle/10915/138735
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Geofísica
Siderite
cement
Transformation
Magnetite
Maghemite
Hematite
Descripción
Sumario:We study the mineralogical changes suffered by specimens of natural miocene red and green continental sandstones (from Pozuelos Formation and Tiomayo Formation) cropping out in the Argentine Puna that increase their bulk magnetic susceptibility and change color when thermally treated. We hypothesize that on heating siderite, which is present in small quantities as cement in the studied sandstones, would oxidize and decompose into maghemite and/or magnetite. Subsequent heating to higher temperatures sometimes would bring about the conversion of maghemite and/or magnetite to hematite. Mossbauer spectroscopy proved to be a very valuable tool for the determination of the presence of siderite in small amounts in the studied samples. The present results show that further work is needed in order to fully understand the mineralogical changes suffered by continental sandstones during heating. The characterization of such changes occurred during laboratory routines is relevant, since they can help to better understand natural processes.