EOLIAN DEPOSITS IN MARINE SEDIMENTS

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Abstract
The wind can transport considerable material to the sea either as volcanic ash or dust. In regions in which dust is prevalent, it may account for a considerable fraction of the sediments, as in the Cape Verde Basin. Sediments of this area are extraordinarily rich in. volcanic material which, in part, has been transported by wind. Of especial significance, however, are the regular dust falls off the west coast of Africa, in the vicinity of Cape Verde. The sediments in this region contain many rounded quartz grains that are coated with red-brown iron oxide. The iron-coated quartz grains are regarded as diagnostic of material of eolian origin and are designated as “Wiisten- quarz (desert quartz) grains. The number of “Wiistenquarz” grains in a sediment gives an indication of the extent to which the deposit is of eolian origin. The variations n rnateria.l in sediments at different distances from the coast are considered. Wiistenquarz is also found in the sediments of the last glacial stage.

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