River-Mouth Sand, Silt and Clay

Summary

Calabrian river-mouth sands are texturally and mineralogically immature. Quartz grains are angular and average 0.19 (Powers). The mineralogic stability index (Q/F+Rf) is commonly < 1.0. Chemical weathering is of minor importance with respect to mechanical disaggregation. Grain proportions for medium-fine sands average Q44 F20 Rf36 and Lcr73 Lvo0 Lse27. The lithic population is dominated by crystalline phanerites, both grain size and counting procedure exerting a relevant control on detrital modes. Calabrian river sands provide compositional reference data based on the previously defined metamorphic, granitic and sedimentary source areas (Chap. 8). Granitic and metamorphic provenances can be separated simply by determining large mineral groups, such as quartzose, feldspathic and lithic grains and/or transparent, opaque and altered heavy minerals; heavy minerals, however, discriminate source provinces better than light minerals (Chap. 18).