Research Article| February 01, 2015 Origin of Clay Minerals In Alluvial Paleosols, Prince Creek Formation, North Slope, Alaska, U.S.A: Influence of Volcanic Ash On Pedogenesis In the Late Cretaceous Arctic Susana Salazar Jaramillo; Susana Salazar Jaramillo 1 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Geosciences and Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-0948, U.S.A e-mail: ssalazar2@alaska.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Paul J. McCarthy; Paul J. McCarthy 1 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Geosciences and Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-0948, U.S.A Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Tom P. Trainor; Tom P. Trainor 2 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-6160, U.S.A Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Sarah J. Fowell; Sarah J. Fowell 1 University of Alaska Fairbanks, Department of Geosciences and Geophysical Institute, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775-0948, U.S.A Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Anthony R. Fiorillo Anthony R. Fiorillo 3 Perot Museum of Nature and Science, Dallas, Texas, 75201-1704, U.S.A Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Journal of Sedimentary Research (2015) 85 (2): 192–208. https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.12 Article history received: 13 Jul 2014 accepted: 11 Nov 2014 first online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Susana Salazar Jaramillo, Paul J. McCarthy, Tom P. Trainor, Sarah J. Fowell, Anthony R. Fiorillo; Origin of Clay Minerals In Alluvial Paleosols, Prince Creek Formation, North Slope, Alaska, U.S.A: Influence of Volcanic Ash On Pedogenesis In the Late Cretaceous Arctic. Journal of Sedimentary Research 2015;; 85 (2): 192–208. doi: https://doi.org/10.2110/jsr.2015.12 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyJournal of Sedimentary Research Search Advanced Search Abstract: Paleosols formed from weathering of alluvial mudstones in the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Prince Creek Formation, North Slope Alaska, are dominated by detrital smectite, discrete illite, kaolinite, chlorite, quartz, and pedogenic illite–smectite (I/S) mixed-layer clays. In the fine clay fraction (< 0.2 µm) illite–smectite mixed-layer clay is the main clay mineral and is interpreted as pedogenic in origin, whereby the I/S is a product of illitization of inherited smectite during weathering and pedogenesis. We consider the detrital clay minerals to be derived from pre-existing sediments eroded from the Brooks Range, mixed with reworked volcanic ash-fall-derived bentonites. In the Prince Creek Formation, smectitic parent materials were deposited by epiclastic volcanic ash-rich alluvium that accumulated on imperfectly drained floodplains. Diagenetic transformation of smectite to illite is unlikely in the Prince Creek Formation, in as much as maximum burial temperatures never exceeded ∼ 48° C. The predominance of bentonite-derived smectite (> 80%), low bulk density, phosphorus accumulation, Fe and Al mass-balance trends, and the presence of Fe–Al–humus complexes in one paleosol profile is interpreted as evidence of andic soil properties, and these paleosols are interpreted, therefore, as Andept-like alluvial soils. These results demonstrate that clay mineralogical studies, in conjunction with geochemical data of paleosols, can be used to identify paleo-andic soil properties which have not been widely recognized in the ancient rock record. Alternating wetting and drying conditions, required to form pedogenic I/S in these alluvial paleosols, resulted from a highly seasonal moisture regime in the Late Cretaceous Arctic. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.