Morphology and stratigraphic relationships of the Wiluna hardpan in arid Western Australia

Bettenay, E.; Churchward, H.M.

doi:10.1080/00167617408728835

Cited by 33 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The hardpans consist in mixtures of clay minerals, Fe oxides and opal (Bettenay and Churchward 1974;Chartres 1985;Milnes et al1991). Duripans described in the arid areas of the United States display similar characteristics (Flach et al1974;Chadwick et al1989).…”

Section: Hardpans and Duripans In Modern Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…They are closely related to contemporary landscapes in terms of formational environments and some appear to be still developing. Bettenay and Churchward (1974) believe that the hardpans develop in subdued drainage areas, which are periodically flooded with 250-300 mm annual rainfall. The American formations are also related to alluvial and colluvial deposits in regions where the rainfall did not exceed 300 mm during Pleistocene (Harden et al 1991).…”

Section: Hardpans and Duripans In Modern Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Continental Silicifications: A Review

Thiry¹

1997

Soils and Sediments

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Section: Hardpans and Duripans In Modern Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Hardpans and Duripans In Modern Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Continental Silicifications: A Review

Thiry¹

1997

Soils and Sediments

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“…Alternating illuviations and deposition of mammillary opal deposits may testify to successive periods of water infiltrating into soil environments and waterlogging during times of higher water table or flooding of the landscape lowlands. In Western Australia, hardpan development has been related to subdued landscapes and a dry climate with short wet seasons or even scattered longer wet periods (Bettenay & Churchward 1974;Butt 1983). Hardpans may have been cemented and permeated by silica at the time the groundwater silcretes formed (Simon-Coinçon et al 1996).…”

Section: Hardpansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpretation of palaeoweathering features and successive silicifications in the Tertiary regolith of inland Australia

Thiry

Milnes

Rayot³

et al. 2006

JGS

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Detailed studies of morphological, micromorphological and geochemical characteristics of silcretes in the deep bleached and weathered regolith across a large area of inland Australia have provided a new interpretation of the history of the regolith and its climatic and morphological evolution during the Tertiary. Pedogenic silcretes have distinctive morphological and mineralogical features caused by a succession of phases of silica dissolution and recrystallization resulting from multiple episodes of water infiltration and percolation under alternately wet and dry climates. These are the oldest of the regolith features. Deep, bleached profiles formed over a wide area in a variety of substrates ranging from Precambrian granites to Palaeozoic sandstones, Cretaceous sediments and Tertiary deposits, and represent the second major stage in regolith development. These profiles, in which kaolinite coexists with gypsum, alunite and opal, formed by reaction of the substrates with saline groundwaters, the water-table levels of which progressively fell over the region. Extensive networks of termite burrows constructed to great depth in the bleached regolith followed the water tables down. The climate was warm and dry with a high water deficit. Groundwater silcretes formed near-horizontal lenses and pods of porcellanite and jasper in the bleached regolith. They preserve the primary fabric of the host rock. Groundwater silcretes post-date the construction of termite burrows and were formed during a rise in groundwater tables across the landscape, in places to near-surface environments in broad landscape depressions. The climate was more humid but the presence of gypsum during silicification demonstrates that the groundwaters were still saline. Red-brown hardpans are the youngest silicification features and represent periods of successive infiltration and percolation, and waterlogging, during high rainfall or flood events. They are confined to low regions in the landscape. Mineralogical and geochemical analysis of the bleached profiles, together with geochemical modelling, suggests that ferrolysis is the most likely cause of acidity in groundwater leading to the development of the bleach profiles and/or alunite. Present-day groundwater tables are both at low levels and sulphate-rich. It is possible that acidic alteration leading to bleaching is still active around the extensive playa landscapes in the region.

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“…The hardpans consist in mixtures of clay minerals, Fe oxides and opal (Bettenay and Churchward 1974;Chartres 1985;Milnes et al1991). The hardpans consist in mixtures of clay minerals, Fe oxides and opal (Bettenay and Churchward 1974;Chartres 1985;Milnes et al1991).…”

Section: Hardpans and Duripans In Modern Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soils and Sediments

Paquet¹,

Clauer²

1997

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Morphology and stratigraphic relationships of the Wiluna hardpan in arid Western Australia

Cited by 33 publications

References 2 publications

Continental Silicifications: A Review

Continental Silicifications: A Review

Interpretation of palaeoweathering features and successive silicifications in the Tertiary regolith of inland Australia

Soils and Sediments

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