GeolCarp_Vol60_No3_263

www.geologicacarpathica.sk

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, JUNE 2009, 60, 3, 263—267 doi: 10.2478/v10096-009-0018-z

Clay minerals from Weichselian glaciolimnic sediments of

the Sępopolska Plain (NE Poland)

JACEK DLUGOSZ

, MIROSLAW ORZECHOWSKI

, MIROSLAW KOBIERSKI

SLAWOMIR SMOLCZYNSKI

and RYSZARD ZAMORSKI

Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, University of Technology and Life Sciences, Bernardynska St. 6, 85-029 Bydgoszcz,

Poland;

jacekd@utp.edu.pl

Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, University of Warmia and Mazury, Plac Lodzki 3, 10-957 Olsztyn, Poland

Department of Biochemistry, University of Technology and Life Sciences, Bernardynska St. 6, 85-029 Bydgoszcz, Poland

(Manuscript received February 22, 2007; accepted in revised form October 23, 2008)

Abstract: Glaciolimnic deposits sampled from three sedimentation reservoirs located on the Sępopolska Plain (north-
eastern Poland) were investigated. The material under study was deposited in the recession phase of the Pomeranian
phase of Vistula (Weichselian)

glaciation. The clay fraction was separated by centrifugation after preparation according

to Jackson. Mineralogical investigations were done by X-ray diffraction. The analysed deposits had a similar complex
composition of clay minerals. The main components were illites mixed with the illite/smectite mineral with percentages
< 10 % S. Another part were minerals of the illite/smectite type which had differentiated content of smectite layers
(mainly 80—90 % S). There were also chlorite minerals, probably as mixed layer minerals of the chlorite/vermiculite
type or HIV with a negligible amount of chlorite layers. The results indicated that all the deposits were of the same age
as well as similar deposited material and the samples are different from typical Pomeranian till and typical limnic
material of the same age. Small differences observed among the deposits of specific sedimentation reservoirs were
probably the result of later processes.

Key words: Late Pleistocene, north-eastern Poland, glaciolimnic sediments, clay minerals.

Introduction

Young  glacial  areas  of  northern  Europe  with  diversified
surface features are covered with different materials, such
as  till,  limnic  and  fluvioglacial  materials  (Björck  &
Möller  1987;  Ringberg  &  Erlström  1999;  Krzywicki
2002;  Ber  2006).  Apart  from  diversification  due  to  the
deposition process those materials underwent transforma-
tions  during  the  post-deposition  period,  which  of  course
affected their properties. It can be seen both in their mor-
phological,  granulometric  and  petrographic  properties,  as
well  as  in  the  mineralogical  composition  of  their  clay
fraction.  As  has  been  proved  by  numerous  researchers,
clay  minerals  contained  in  that  clay  fraction  of  limnic,
glacial and glaciolimnic materials can be an index for the
origin  of  those  materials;  as  well  as  processes  in  which
they  transformed  during  the  post-deposition  period
(Stankowska  1979;  Peuraniemi  et  al.  1997;  Ringberg  &
Erlström 1999; Kalinenko 2001; Dlugosz 2002).

The objective of this study was to determine and compare

composition of clay minerals from glaciolimnic materials of
various sedimentation reservoirs. Another aim was to com-
pare the set of clay minerals of a glaciolimnic deposit with a
limnic and glacial deposit of the same age.

Material and methods

The study site is located on the Sępopolska Plain (north-

eastern part of Poland), a southern part of the Staropruska

Lowland.  It  is  a  basin  40—50 m  high  in  the  central  part  and
80—100 m near the edges (Kondracki 2000). The major part of
this area is covered with very diversified glacial till deposited
over the Pomeranian phase of the Vistula (Weichselian) glaci-
ation period (Ber 2006) and also fluvioglacial and limnic cre-
ated  during  the  continental  ice-sheet  recession  of  the
Pomeranian  and  Holocene  phases.  On  a  large  area  of  the
Sępopolska Plain, the top part of the glacial till becomes gla-
cial clay because of outer-layer variety that was deposited in
water through small short-lived water ponds. These ponds ex-
isted on the continental ice-sheet forefield as a result of lack of
possibilities  of  glacial  water  runoff  (Slowinski  1975).  The
thickness of these deposits usually reaches several meters.

Fig. 1. Localization of the investigated samples.

264

DLUGOSZ, ORZECHOWSKI, KOBIERSKI, SMOLCZYNSKI and ZAMORSKI

Four samples of glacial clay were collected for mineralogi-

cal  analyses.  The  sampling  sites  were  located  near  the  fol-
lowing  villages:  Rownina  Gorna  –  54°10’48.3” N,
21°14’9.10” E (samples 1 and 2), Troksy – 54°03’16.4” N,
21°04’22.0”  E  (sample 3)  and  Silginy  –  54°15’51.0”  N,
21°12’22.0” E (sample 4) (Fig. 1). The samples represented
3 separate basins where the deposition took place. The sam-
pling was done at the depth of about 1 m where no influence
of pedogenic processes were observed. As for their texture,
we  analysed  it  according  to  the  USDA  classification.  The
samples represented different textures and were finally clas-
sified as: samples 1 and 3 – clay loam, sample 2 – silt clay
loam,  sample 4  –  clay.  The  full  particle  size  data  of  the
analysed  samples  are  given  in  Table 1.  The  pH  of  the  sam-
ples varied little, and did not exceed the range 6.1—7.0 (Ta-
ble 1). All the samples were gleyed. This process was found
strongest in the case of sample 4.

The clay fraction (< 2 µm) for mineralogical investigations

was  separated  by  the  Beckman  centrifuge  after  dispersion
with Na-ionite (Amberlite 120) (Gonet & Ciesla 1988). Prior
separation  of  the  samples  was  done  according  to  Jackson’s
method (Jackson 1975) that was used to get rid of peptizing
components  (CaCO

, organic matter and free iron oxide).

The mineralogical composition of the clay fraction was as-
sessed by X-ray diffraction using the HZG – 4 instrument
with a CuK

α lamp and nickel filter. For this analysis, sam-

ples of specific fractions were saturated with Mg

ions

(Mg), then solvated with ethylene glycol (Mg + EG), and K

ions.  Next,  the  samples  were  heated  to  300  and  550 °C.
These were oriented preparations obtained from a water sus-
pension by sedimentation. The results were used for qualita-
tive  analysis,  as  well  as  the  mixed  layer  minerals  illite/
smectite  structure  as  described  by  Srodon  (1980,  1981,
1984).  The  fitting  of  the  experimental  data  was  done  using
ORIGIN 7.0 software, which similarly to Lanson’s DECOM-
PXR  software,  is  based  on  the  Gauss  and  Lorentz  functions
(Lanson & Velde 1992). The programme reconstructed single
peaks by fitting the envelope curve of overlapping peaks.

Results

The mineralogical analysis of the clay fraction (< 2 µm)

from  the  glaciolimnic  materials  under  study,  showed  very
complex  compositions  with  a  great  deal  of  similarity.  The
main minerals were illite minerals which were mixtures of il-
lites and illites/smectites with a low content of smectite lay-
ers  (up  to  20 %).  It  was  demonstrated  as  the  calculated  Ir
index  (Ir  =  the  intensity  ratios  of  001  and  003  reflections

Particle-size fraction (mm)

Sample

number

2–1 1–0.5 0.5–0.25 0.25–0.1 0.1–0.05 0.05–0.002 <

0.002

Texture*

O KCl

0.0

7.0

14 3

6 32 38 CL

7.2

6.1

0.0

4.0

SCL

7.0

6.2

0.0

1.0

7.5

6.9

0.0

6.8

6.1

* — texture according to USDA classification.

Table 1: Texture and pH of the investigated samples.

Fig. 2. X-ray diffractograms of the clay fraction of the analysed sam-
ples saturated with Mg

and solvated with ethylene glycol (EG).

Fig. 3. X-ray diffractogram of the clay fraction of sample No. 3
(from Troksy) saturated with Mg

and solvated with ethylene gly-

col (EG) in the range 3—11° 2

θ CuKα. Bold line represents the fit-

ted envelope curve, broken line – reconstructed picks, while fine
full line represents experimental data.

from the air-dried and glycolated samples) (Srodon 1984).
This was demonstrated as reflexes 1.00, 0.500 and 0.334 nm
in preparates saturated with magnesium ions (Mg

2 +

). They

265

CLAY MINERALS FROM WEICHSELIAN GLACIOLIMNIC SEDIMENTS (POLAND)

Fig. 4. X-ray diffractogram of the clay fraction of sample No. 2 (from
Rownina Gorna) saturated with Mg

and solvated with ethylene gly-

col (EG) in the range 15—20° 2

θ CuKα. Description as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5. X-ray diffractogram of the clay fraction of sample No. 3
(from Troksy) saturated with Mg

and solvated with ethylene gly-

col (EG) in the range 15—20° 2

θ CuKα. Description as in Fig. 3.

were shifted from 1.00 to 0.998 nm (001) and from 0.500 to
0.498—0.499 nm (002) in magnesium preparations solvated
with ethylene glycol (Mg

+ EG) (Fig. 2). Another compo-

nent also found in the samples was highly concentrated swell-
ing minerals, such as smectites characterized by thinner layers
or mixed-layer minerals of the illite/smectite type containing
80—90 % of smectite layers. Swelling minerals occurred in the
clay fraction separated from all the analysed samples. Their
presence was recorded as reflexes 1.66—1.67 nm (Figs. 2, 3),
0.932 nm (Fig. 3), 0.559 (Figs. 4 and 5) and 0.279—0.281 nm
(Figs. 6 and 7) in the Mg

+ EG preparations. In addition, re-

flexes indicating the existence of minerals from the illite/
smectite type of 80—90 % S in some of the investigated clay
fractions reflexes 0.521 nm (Fig. 5) and 0.262 nm (Fig. 6)
were recorded probably coming from illite/smectite minerals

of 20—25 % S (samples 1 and 3) as well as reflexes 0.506 nm
(Fig. 5) and 0.245 (Fig. 6) suggesting the occurrence in sam-
ples 1 and 2 of minerals of the illite/smectite type of 15 % S.

The third main component of the clay fraction for the sam-

ples under study was minerals containing vermiculite layers
with a small amount of chlorite minerals. A very small reflex
1.43 nm in the K

and K

300 (Figs. 7, 8) preparations indi-

cated a negligible amount of pure chlorites. The occurrence of
mixed-layer minerals containing chlorite layers was demon-
strated as reflexes recorded within the range 0.473—0.483 nm
in the Mg

+ EG preparations (Figs. 2 and 4). Probably these

were  mixed-layer  minerals  of  the  chlorite/vermiculite  type
with  a  high  but  diversified  amount  of  vermiculite  or  hy-
droxy-interlayered vermiculite (HIV) layers. The latter con-
clusion  was  based  on  the  observation  that  the  shift  of  the

Fig. 6. X-ray diffractogram of the clay fraction of sample No. 2 (from
Rownina Gorna) saturated with Mg

and solvated with ethylene gly-

col (EG) in the range 30—35° 2

θ CuKα. Description as in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7. X-ray diffractograms of the clay fraction of the sample No. 3
(from Troksy).

266

DLUGOSZ, ORZECHOWSKI, KOBIERSKI, SMOLCZYNSKI and ZAMORSKI

reflex from the 001 band identifying that compounds in the
K

and K

300 preparations did not come to 1.00 nm in full,

allowing a broad reflex in the range 1.4—1.1 nm (Figs. 7 and
8) (Barnhisel & Bertsch 1989; Pai et al. 2004). An additional
observation supporting this conclusion was a lack of the re-
flex at 0.7 nm in the K

550 preparation. The broadening of

the reflex in those preparations was also caused by the
presence of minerals of the illite/smectite type in the clay
fraction because minerals of this kind undergo natural collap-
sation (Jackson 1963). There was no chance for the occurrence
of the chlorite/smectite type because in the Mg

+EG prepara-

tions  there  were  no  reflexes  of  the  0.714—0.852 nm  range
that corresponded to the 002 band minerals of this type. Ka-
olinites were present in all the samples as accessoric miner-
als,  what  was  shown  as  a  reflex  at  d = 0.234—0.238 nm  and
the  lack  of  the  reflex  at  0.7 nm  in  the  K

550 preparation

(Fig. 9).

Discussion

Despite the origin of separate sedimentation basins, the

mineral composition of the clay fraction from the glaciolim-
nic material under study showed a high similarity. The main
components identified were mixed layer minerals of diversi-
fied structure as well as illites mixed with well-ordered min-
erals  (IS)  of  the  illite/smectite  type  (less  than  10 % S).
Minerals of the illite/smectite type from various contents of
smectite layers (ranging 80—90 % S) as well as chlorite/ver-
miculite  from  the  vermiculite  layers,  superiority  dominated
in  the  group  of  mixed-layer  minerals.  In  addition,  the  pres-
ence  of  partly-ordered  minerals  (IS/ISII)  from  the  illite/
smectite type (20—25 % S) was observed in the material sam-
pled at Rownina Gorna and Troksy, as well as well-ordered
of the IS type (about 15 % S) in the deposit of Rownina Gor-
na. Only the clay fraction from Silginy did not contain min-
erals of the illite/smectite type with a low content of smectite
mixed layers. The latter composition was very clearly differ-
ent from the mineral composition of the glacial material (till)
from  the  Pomeranian  phase  of  the  Drawskie  Lake  District.
This lake region is known for showing a high content of illite
minerals  in  the  clay  fraction  without  vermiculite  minerals,
accompanied  by  a  very  small  percentage  of  smectite  layers
(Dlugosz  2002).  Glaciolimnic  material  from  south-eastern
Sweden  deposited  in  the  late  Weichselian  glaciation  period
investigated by Ringberg & Elström (1999) also contained a
clay fraction composed of a high percentage of illite without
traces of vermiculite layers, whereas, material of the glacial
till  from  northern  Finland  analysed  by  Peuraniemi  et  al.
(1997)  and  by  Soveri  &  Hyyppä  (1966)  (glacial  clay  of
southern  till  from  Finland)  demonstrated  a  high  content  of
vermiculite  of  chlorite  layers.  However,  the  comparison  of
the  percentage  from  smectite  layers  in  the  studied  material
showed that it was similar to glacial deposits of the Poznan
and  Leszno  phase  of  the  Weichselian  glaciation  period
(Stankowska 1979; Dlugosz 2002). The results indicated that
the main minerals in the composition of the clay fraction of
the deposits under study are the residues of the parental ma-
terials of that sediment. The lack of effects of post-sedimen-
tary  processes  was  confirmed  by  a  poor  acidity  of  the
investigated  material,  which  does  not  promote  the  develop-
ment of vermiculite layers. These minerals are formed over
the process of the leaching of alkaline ions at much lower pH
(4—5)  (Vincente  et  al.  1977;  Katarhansis  1988;  Matsue  &
Wada 1989). Another reason that these minerals did not oc-
cur  in  glaciolimnic  sediments  was  a  lack  of  oxidoreductive
conditions, necessary for their creation because these condi-
tions provide the Fe

ions composing them (Vincente et al.

1977; Douglas 1989). That is why mixed-layer minerals con-
taining vermiculite layers found in the clay fraction of the
glaciolimnic deposits under study could be chlorited vermic-
ulites developed during weathering of biotite in the sequence
biotite

→ vermiculite → chlorited vermiculite (Barnhisel &

Bertschel 1989) or minerals of the chlorite/vermiculite type
could be an intermediate product in the transformation of de-
trite chlorites to smectites (Senkayi et al. 1981). However,
mixed-layer minerals of the illite/smectite type can already
be the product of diagenesis of glaciolimnic material. During

Fig. 8. X-ray diffractograms of the clay fraction of sample No. 4
(from Silginy).

Fig. 9. X-ray difractograms of the clay fraction of analysed samples
saturated with K

and heated to 550 °C.

267

CLAY MINERALS FROM WEICHSELIAN GLACIOLIMNIC SEDIMENTS (POLAND)

this process illites occurring in the sediment underwent de-
potassication, which could be promoted by the reaction of
pH 6—7 assayed in that sediment (Ismail 1970; Crawford et
al. 1983).

Conclusions

The results showed a high uniformity of the clay fraction

in  the  glaciolimnic  material  from  the  deposit  basins  under
study. The composition of the clay fraction of those deposits
indicated that it was formed mainly from the glacial material
(till) of the Poznan phase of the Weichselian glaciation. The
remaining part was constituted of the very fine limnic mate-
rial of the Pomeranian phase. A small variability among the
samples of specific basins was caused by the processes form-
ing smectites during the post-sedimentation period. Howev-
er, the assessed composition of the clay minerals suggested
an origin of the investigated materials different from typical
Pomeranian  glacial  till  as  well  as  typical  limnic  material
from the same age. However, it should be clearly stated that
our  conclusion  for  these  differences  needs  further  study  on
the mineralogical composition of the clay fraction of miner-
als,  both  from  this  type  and  typical  glacial  till  and  limnic
clay from the Staropruska Lowland.

Acknowledgment: The study was supported by the Polish
Ministry of Science and Higher Education, Grant No.
2776/B/P01/2007/33.

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