• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.32 no.1
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• pp.51-61
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• 2019

Clay minerals, a major component of mud volcano (MV) sediments, are expected to provide important information for characterizing mud volcano formation mechanisms, but clay minerals have rarely been studied. The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of 420 MV and surrounding marine sediments. Clay minerals and grain size were analyzed for 8 box cores from 420 MV and Mackenzie Trough. The relative proportions of the four major clay minerals in the Mackenzie Trough are almost constant in the order of illite, chlorite, kaolinite, and smectite, regardless of the distance from the Mackenzie River. However, the grain size tends to become fining as they move away from the Mackenzie River. Comparing the clay mineral characteristics of river (Colville River, Kuparuk River, Sagavanirktok River, Canning River, Mackenzie River) sediments entering the Beaufort Sea in order to determine the origin of the Mackenzie Trough and 420 MV sediments, the sediments of the Mackenzie Trough are characterized mainly by the Mackenzie River with a low ratio of smectite/illite and a high ratio of kaolinite/chlorite. In 420 MV sediments, the contents of clay minerals decrease in the order of illite, kaolinite, chlorite, and smectite, and the grain size with depth is almost constant. The content of smectite and coarse sediments is about two times higher than the reference core. No river with higher kaolinite content than chlorite exists in the Beaufort Sea, and the ratio of smectite/illite to kaolinite/chlorite is different from the reference core such as the ratio of the Mackenzie River. Compared to the reference core, the high contents of coarse sediments and the constant grain size with depth might be attributed to the ejection by MV. The reference core is interpreted as originating from Mackenzie River, and sediment of 420 MV is interpreted as originating from eruption of MV.