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Soluble Mineral Content in Surficial Alluvium and Associated Mancos Shale 1
Author(s) -
Laronne Jonathan B.,
Schumm Stanley A.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
jawra journal of the american water resources association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.957
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1752-1688
pISSN - 1093-474X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1752-1688.1982.tb04524.x
Subject(s) - alluvium , geology , oil shale , bedrock , geochemistry , structural basin , geomorphology , paleontology
The Mancos Shale area of the Upper Colorado River basin produces large quantities of solutes. In order to develop an understanding of the mechanism of salt production and to determine the source of salinity, a study of the soluble mineral content (SMC) of Mancos Shale and associated alluvium was undertaken. SMC is highly variable in alluvium and associated surficial Mancos Shale. However, lithomorphological units can be identified in terms of their SMC. Results from this study demonstrate that crusts are leached in deep alluvial fills and they contain somewhat less soluble minerals than underlying Mancos Shale on hillslopes. The crusts are saline, sometimes efflorescent, in shale bedrock channels or where channels abutt against the shale. SMC increases in alluvium with decrease in depth of alluvial fill, does not vary significantly with depth in deep of alluvial fills, and increases with depth in shallow ones.