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Geochemical Evidence of Saharan Dust Parent Material for Soils Developed on Quaternary Limestones of Caribbean and Western Atlantic Islands

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Daniel R. Muhs ,
Charles A. Bush ,
Kathleen C. Stewart ,
Tracy R. Rowland  and
Russell C. Crittenden
Daniel R. Muhs
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 424, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA
Charles A. Bush
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 424, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA
Kathleen C. Stewart
Affiliation:
U.S. Geological Survey, MS 424, Box 25046, Federal Center, Denver, Colorado 80225 USA
Tracy R. Rowland
Affiliation:
Sunwest Graphics, 2830 Darley Avenue, Boulder, Colorado 80303 USA
Russell C. Crittenden
Affiliation:
Ecology and Environment, Inc., 111 West Jackson, Chicago, Illinois 60604 USA
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Abstract

Most previous workers have regarded the insoluble residues of high-purity Quaternary limestones (coral reefs and oolites) as the most important parent material for well-developed, clay-rich soils on Caribbean and western Atlantic islands, but this genetic mechanism requires unreasonable amounts of limestone solution in Quaternary time. Other possible parent materials from external sources are volcanic ash from the Lesser Antilles island arc and Saharan dust carried across the Atlantic Ocean on the northeast trade winds. Soils on Quaternary coral terraces and carbonate eolianites on Barbados, Jamaica, the Florida Keys (United States), and New Providence Island (Bahamas) were studied to determine which, if either, external source was important. Caribbean volcanic ashes and Saharan dust can be clearly distinguished using ratios of relatively immobile elements (Al2O3/TiO2, Ti/Y, Ti/Zr, and Ti/Th). Comparison of these ratios in 25 soils, where estimated ages range from 125,000 to about 870,000 yr, shows that Saharan dust is the most important parent material for soils on all islands. These results indicate that the northeast trade winds have been an important component of the regional climatology for much of the Quaterary. Saharan dust may also be an important parent material for Caribbean island bauxites of much greater age.

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Articles
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Quaternary Research , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , March 1990 , pp. 157 - 177
Copyright
University of Washington

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