2 research outputs found
Processus d'altération des basaltes du Mont Cameroun : approche géochimique
Mémoire de Géosciences-rennes n°100, 270p., ISBN : 2-914375-03-4Le Mont Cameroun est un volcan actif situé en bordure du continent africain. Le climat tropical humide régnant sur ses flancs crée des conditions privilégiées pour l'étude des processus d'altération des basaltes. L'altération chimique a_ d'abord été examinée dans des coulées massives (d'âge < 100 ans) puis dans des sols formés à partir de dépôts pyroclastiques récents (810 - 4530 ans). Les coulées massives ne montrent pas de transformations chimiques notables liées à l'altération, ainsi qu'en témoignent les concentrations en éléments majeurs et traces et les isotopes du Sr, Nd, Pb et' U. Toutefois, deux processus associés à l'interaction eau/roche se produisent à la surface des coulées: (1) un échange de cations entre les ions Na+ de la lave et les ions H+ des eaux d'altération et (2) une oxydation partielle du . Fe2+ en Fe3+. Ces modifications chimiques restent très limitées au regard des précipitations dans la zone d'étude (2"à 12 m/an). Nos résultats démontrent que les effets de l'altération sont négligeables sur la composition chimique de laves basaltiques massives soumises à des conditions tropicales humides sur une période de 100 ans. Plus perméables, les sols formés à partir de dépôts pyroclastiques constituent un matériel plus réactif vis-à -vis des solutions d'altération. Ces sols sont significativement enrichis en Cs, Ba, Pb, U, Th, P et appauvris en Na, K, Rb, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ni, Co et Si. Les enrichissements élémentaires, ainsi que les variations isotopiques du Sr, Nd et Pb dans les horizons superficiels, s'expliquent par l'adjonction périodique de poussières sahariennes. Nous montrons que la proportion massique d'aérosols sahariens dans les sols n'excède pas 7%. Les appauvrissements élémentaires résultent de l'hydrolyse des minéraux magmatiques. L'intensité de l'altération ne dépend pas de l'âge des dépôts pyroclastiques mais du temps pendant lequel ils . restent en surface avant d'être recouverts par des laves plus récentes et des conditions paléoclimatiques.no abstrac
Do decades of tropical rainfall affect the chemical compositions of basaltic lava flows in Mount Cameroon ?
To evaluate the effects of tropical rainfall on the compositions of basaltic lavas, we studied 20th century lava flows from Mount Cameroon in Africa. Weathering conditions are extreme because the climate is particularly warm and humid, and vegetation grows extremely quickly on the flows. The high rainfalls and dense vegetation contribute to rapid and intense degradation of the volcanic rocks and should cause significant changes in chemical composition. Such effects need to be quantified to constrain how young a lava flow must be so that its trace element and isotopic composition remains representative of the original magma. Fresh inner parts and altered flowtops of four different lava flows were sampled and analysed for major and trace elements as well as O, U, Sr, Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. Four samples of the 1999 eruption were also analysed to constrain the composition of fresh basalts. Almost all major and trace elements display similar concentrations in inner and outer parts of the same flow. This is notably the case for elements such as K, Rb and Sr, which are highly mobile during weathering. The lack of variation suggests that the overall composition of the lava flows has not been significantly affected. However, some systematic chemical changes are observed: Loss-on-ignition (LOI) and d18O increase slightly from inner parts of flows to near surface samples; Na and, to a lesser extent, U display significant losses in the outer samples. We interpret the Na loss in terms of hydration leading to exchange between Na+ and H+ ions. This process, associated with oxidation of Fe2+ to Fe3+, accounts for the larger loss-on-ignition in the outer parts of flows. A change in U contents is only observed in the 1922 flow, which is covered by dense vegetation. This emphasizes the role that complexation by organic ligands plays in U mobility. While U is not completely immobile, all volcanic rocks are in secular equilibrium ((234U/238U)—1), indicating limited interaction between meteoric waters and basalts. Sr and Nd isotopic compositions remain constant and although 206Pb/204Pb ratios vary from inner to outer parts of the lavas, the changes are not systematic and cannot be attributed to weathering. The absence of significant chemical mobility and substantial isotopic exchange suggests very limited interaction between water and lavas at the centimeter scale, due, most probably, to their relatively young age. This work shows that over a period of about 100 years, no detectable geochemical changes are observed. These results are very promising for petrological and geochemical studies of ocean island basalts located in tropical areas since they provide direct evidence of very limited trace element mobility at the century time scale