Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-2xdlg Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-14T13:35:15.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Transmission X-ray Diffraction of Undisturbed Soil Microfabrics Obtained by Microdrilling in Thin Sections

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2024

L. Denaix ,
F. van Oort ,
M. Pernes  and
A. G. Jongmans
L. Denaix
Affiliation:
Unité d'Agronomie INRA, Domaine de la Grande Ferrade, BP 81, 33883 Villenave d'Ornon Cedex, France
F. van Oort
Affiliation:
Unité de Science du Sol, INRA, Route de St.-Cyr, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France
M. Pernes
Affiliation:
Unité de Science du Sol, INRA, Route de St.-Cyr, 78026 Versailles Cedex, France
A. G. Jongmans
Affiliation:
Department of Soil Science and Geology, Agricultural University, P.O. Box 37, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Clay mineralogical studies by X-ray diffraction performed on extracted <2-µm fractions do not always represent all clay mineral constituents present in the soil. In this work, transmission X-ray diffraction (TXRD) was applied to undisturbed microsamples of optically homogeneous mineral soil fabrics and features. These microsamples were isolated by microdrilling their periphery in soil thin sections, then removing them, and transferring them to glass capillaries for TXRD analysis. The usefulness of this technique for supplying in situ mineralogical information on identification, structure, and natural orientation of soil constituents was tested on mineral microfabrics and features of primary and secondary phyllosilicates. The study demonstrated that TXRD allowed detailed, representative interpretations of undisturbed mineral features and fabrics. In particular, this technique allowed us (1) to compare mineralogical compositions at selected microlocalities, (2) to study natural preferred orientations, and (3) to detect small amounts of minor mineral interstratification phases. In addition, complementary information on crystallography and crystal chemistry may be obtained by performing analytical transmission electron microscopy on the same microsample.

Keywords

Clay FabricsClay MineralsMicrodrillingMicromorphologyTransmission X-ray DiffractionUndisturbed Microsamples
Type
Research Article
Information
Clays and Clay Minerals , Volume 47 , Issue 5 , October 1999 , pp. 637 - 646
Copyright
Copyright © 1999, The Clay Minerals Society

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Beaufort, D. Dudoignon, P. Proust, D. Parneix, J.C. and Meunier, A., 1983 Microdrilling in thin sections: A useful method for the identification of clay minerals in situ Clay Minerals 18 223–226 10.1180/claymin.1983.018.2.12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brindley, G.W., Brindley, G.W. and Brown, G., 1980 Order-disorder in clay mineral structures Crystal Structures of Clay Minerals and Their X-ray Identification London Mineralogical Society, Monograph No. 5 125–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, P. Loveland, P. and Murphy, C.P., 1975 A technique for selective solution of iron oxides in thin sections of soil Journal of Soil Science 26 247–249 10.1111/j.1365-2389.1975.tb01948.x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullock, P.N. Fédoroff, N. Jongerius, A. Stoops, G. and Tursina, T., 1985 Handbook for Soil Thin Section Description Albrighton, England Waine Research Publications.Google Scholar
Churchman, G.J. and Weissmann, D.A., 1995 Separation of sub-micron particles from soils and sediments without mechanical disturbance Clays and Clay Minerals 43 85–91 10.1346/CCMN.1995.0430110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delvigne, J., 1983 Micromorphology of the alteration and weathering of pyroxene in the Koua Bocca ultramafic intrusion, Ivory Coast, West Africa Sciences Géologiques Mémoire 72 57–68.Google Scholar
Delvigne, J., 1990 Hypogene and supergene alterations of orthopyroxene in the Koua Bocca ultramafic intrusion, Ivory Coast Chemical Geology 84 49–53 10.1016/0009-2541(90)90161-Y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delvigne, J. Stoops, G. and Douglas, L.A., 1990 Morphology of mineral weathering and neoformation: I Weathering of most common silicates Soil Micromorphology: A Basic and Applied Science Amsterdam Elsevier 471–481.Google Scholar
Drits, V.A. and Tchoubar, C., 1990 X-ray Diffraction by Disordered Lamellar Structures. Theory and Applications to Microdivided Silicates and Carbons Heidelberg Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
Ducaroir, J. and Lamy, I., 1995 Evidencing of trace metal association with soil organic matter using particle size fractionation after physical dispersion treatment Analyst 120 741–745 10.1039/an9952000741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feijtel, T.C.J. Jongmans, A.G. and van Doesburg, J.D.J., 1989 Identification of clay coatings in an older Quaternary terrace of the Allier, Limagne, France Soil Science Society of America Journal 53 876–882 10.2136/sssaj1989.03615995005300030041x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FitzPatrick, E.A., Osmond, D.A. and Bullock, P., 1970 A technique for the preparation of large thin sections of soils and consolidated material Micromorphological Techniques and Application Rothamsted, Harpenden Technical Monograph 2, Soil Survey of England and Wales 3–13.Google Scholar
Huang, P.M., Dixon, J.B. and Weed, S.B., 1989 Feldspars, Olivines, Pyroxenes, and Amphiboles Minerals in Soil Environments Madison, Wisconsin Soil Science Society of America 975–1050.Google Scholar
Jongmans, A.G., 1994 Aspects of mineral transformation during weathering of volcanic materials: The microscopic and submicroscopic level Wageningen, The Netherlands Wageningen University.Google Scholar
Jongmans, A.G. Feijtel, T.C.J. Miedema, R. van Breemen, N. and Veldkamp, A., 1991 Soil formation in a Quaternary terrace sequence of the Allier, Limagne, France. Macro- and micromorphology, particle size distribution, chemistry Geoderma 49 215–239 10.1016/0016-7061(91)90077-7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jongmans, A.G. van Oort, F. Buurman, P. Jaunet, A.M., Ringrose, A.J. and Humphreys, -VoaseG.S., 1994 Micromorphology and submicroscopy of isotropic and anisotropic Al/Si coatings in a quaternary Allier terrace, France Soil Micromorphology, Development in Soil Science 22 Amsterdam Elsevier 285–291.Google Scholar
Jongmans, A.G. van Oort, F. Nieuwenhuyse, A. Jaunet, A.M. and van Doesburg, J.D.J., 1994 Inheritance of 2:1 phyllosilicates in Costa Rican Andisols Soil Science Society of America Journal 58 494–501 10.2136/sssaj1994.03615995005800020035x.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mehra, O.P. and Jackson, M.L., 1965 Iron oxide removal from soils and clays by a dithionite-citrate system buffered with sodium bicarbonate Clays and Clay Minerals 7 317–327 10.1346/CCMN.1958.0070122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meunier, A. and Velde, B., 1982 X-ray diffraction of oriented clays in small quantities (0.1 mg) Clay Minerals 17 259–262 10.1180/claymin.1982.017.2.12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miedema, R. Pape, T. and van der Waal, G.J., 1974 A method to impregnate wet soil samples, producing high-quality thin sections Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science 22 37–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, D.M. and Reynolds, R.C., 1989 X-ray Diffraction and Analysis of Clay Minerals Oxford Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Nahon, D., 1990 Introduction to the Petrology of Soils and Chemical Weathering New York John Wiley & Sons Inc.Google Scholar
Rassineux, F. Beaufort, D. Bouchet, A M X and Meunier, A., 1988 Use of a linear localization detector for X-ray diffraction of very small quantities of clay minerals Clays and Clay Minerals 36 187–189 10.1346/CCMN.1988.0360215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soil Survey Staff, 1998 Keys to Soil Taxonomy 8th edition.Google Scholar
Tamura, T., 1957 Identification of the 14 A clay mineral component American Mineralogist 42 107–110.Google Scholar
van Oort, F. Jongmans, A.G. Jaunet, A.M. van Doesburg, J.D.J. and Feijtel, T.C.J., 1990 Andesite weathering and halloysite newformation in ferrallitic soil environment in Guadeloupe. In-situ study of different halloysite facies on thin sections by SEM-EDXRA, microdrilling, step scan XRD and TEM Comptes Rendus de l’Académie des Sciences, Paris 310 425–431.Google Scholar
van Oort, F. Jongmans, A.G. and Jaunet, A.M., 1994 The progression from optical light microscopy to transmission electron microscopy in the study of soils Clay Minerals 29 247–254 10.1180/claymin.1994.029.2.10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
van Oort, F. Jongmans, A.G. Jaunet, A.M., Churchman, G.J. Fitzpatrick, R.W. and Eggleton, R.A., 1995 Optical and electron microscopy as a tool in clay mineralogy studies of accessory 2:1 phyllosilicates in volcanic soils of the humid tropics Clays: Controlling the Environment, Proceedings of the 10th International Clay Conference, Adelaide (1993) Melbourne, Australia CSIRO Publications 449–456.Google Scholar
Verschure, R.H., 1978 A microscope mounted drill to isolate microgram quantities of mineral material from polished thin sections Mineralogical Magazine 42 449–503 10.1180/minmag.1978.042.324.13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiewiora, A., 1982 Oblique texture method in transmission X-ray diffractometry of clays and clay minerals Proceedings 9th Clay Mineral Petrology Conference, Zvolen, 1982, Praha 43–51.Google Scholar
Whittig, L.D. Allardice, W.R. and Klute, A., 1986 X-ray diffraction techniques Methods of Soil Analysis, Part I Physical and Mineralogical Methods Madison, Wisconsin American Society of Agronomy-Soil Science Society of America 331–362.Google Scholar