Abstract
The provenance of Kashmir loess and its palaeoclimatic significance has been probed using mineralogical techniques. As many as 120 paleosols have been recognised within the loess profiles. Quartz is the dominant mineral (>60% of the total) and is followed by feldspar and pyroxene suggesting that the loess is derived primarily from a region where both acid and basic rocks and their equivalent metamorphic derivatives predominate. The clay mineral suite consists principally of illite and smectite, which are negatively correlated. The loess was derived from the rocks within the valley itself. Crystallinity parameters of illite are found to be very sensitive to Quaternary climate change and are correlated with deep sea palaeoclimatic record. -from Authors
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 563-574 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Journal of the Geological Society of India |
| Volume | 44 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 1994 |
| Externally published | Yes |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Geology