Characterization of Clay Minerals in the Sundarban Mangroves River Sediments by SEM/EDS

Abstract

Abstract Clay minerals, byproducts of chemical weathering, are important group of minerals found in rivers, estuaries, and marine sedimentary environments, which include mudstones, clay stones, and shales. In the present study, FTIR and SEM investigation on the clay minerals in Sundarban mangrove core sediments collected from Moipith Matla and Belamati Island are carried out. The study indicated the dominant association of kaolinite with subordinate amount of quartz, illite and chlorite. The abundance of kaolinite, illite chlorite and clay with quartz helps in increasing sediment in the islands region. The geochemical and mineralogical evolution of mangrove sediments are results of the interaction of biotic and abiotic parameters, whose balance is conditioned by the climate that governs the hydrologic regime, the sedimentation dynamics and the organic matter. This study on the charaterstation of clay provides us with substantial impact in the water holding capacity, productivity and mineralogical and chemical transformation in order to establish much more and intermediate equilibrium between marine influence and continental contribution, as part of the estuarine environment, than to the tropical climate conditions.