Mineralogy and chemistry of late pliocene-early pleistocene palesols on Mount Kenya: weathering indices of relative age and paleoenvironmental reconstruction
Date
2014
Authors
Mahaney, W.C.
Hamilton, T.S.
Barendregt, René W.
Hancock, R.G.V.
Costa, P.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Iron and Al extracts as weathering indices in paleosols have been used in many localities to determine relative
age, transformation of total chemical element concentrations to secondary forms, translocation of organicallycomplexed
Al and long-standing inundation of soils with groundwater. On Mt. Kenya, a succession of paleosols
straddling the Olduvai subchron are here analyzed to determine the degree to which Fe/Al extracts assist
paleoenvironmental reconstruction, especially relative age determination, genesis and translocation of alteration
products and the effect of paleoclimatic deterioration with the advent of glaciation ca. 2.0 Ma, and possibly
before. Warmer/humid climate from the onset of the Plio-Pleistocene to the Olduvai subchron, thereafter
reverting to a long episode of oscillating drier/wetter ice age perturbations is written into the profile morphologies,
mineralogies and chemistries supporting earlier stratigraphic interpretations
Description
Sherpa Romeo green journal. Permission to archive accepted author manuscript.
Keywords
Fe/Al extracts , Tropical mountain glaciation , Late pliocene-early pleistocene paleosols , Early-mid quaternary paleoclimate , Mount Kenya
Citation
Mahaney, W.C., Hamilton, T.S., Barendregt, R.W., Hancock, R.G.V. & Costa, P. (2014). Mineralogy and chemisty of late pliocene-early pleistocene paleosols on Mount Kenya: weathering indices of relative age and paleoenvironmental reconstruction. Geomorphology, 204, 217-228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2013.08.006