9 research outputs found
Heavy mineral contents and provenance of Late Quaternary sediments of southern Kerala, Southwest India
749-757Present paper deals with provenance and
depositional history of the Late Quaternary sediments including heavy mineral
placers in the coastal lands of Kollam district, SW India. Kollam coast is endowed with estuaries, old
coastal plains with ridge-runnel systems and
barrier beaches. Mineralogical analysis reveals that sediments in the
estuarine basins that are seen entrenched over the Neogene sedimentary deposits
were derived from dual sources. Heavy
mineral residues of the upper estuarine zones are generally garnet bearing and are
of alluvial origin. At the same time,
sediments in the lower estuary are garnet-free and are derived from the nearby
littoral zones during the tidal processes.
Heavy mineralogical data together with statistical analysis discloses
that the garnet and pyribole-free heavy mineral suite in the beaches and nearby
coastal plains of the Kollam coast are primarily derived from denudation of the
Neogene sedimentary deposits in the coastal lands. They are evolved during the rising phases of
the sea level in the Late Quaternary period