Importance of accessory minerals for the vertical distribution of uranium and thorium in soil profiles: A case study of durbachite from the Třebíč Pluton (Czech Republic)
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Catena |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| web | https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0341816222001527?via%3Dihub |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2022.106166 |
| Keywords | Bohemian Massif; Weathering; Granitoids; Mineralogy; Radionuclides; Endoskeletic Cambisols |
| Description | The mineralogical character of a parent rock strongly affects the uranium (U) and thorium (Th) contents of soils. We have selected five representative soil profiles developed on amphibole–biotite to biotite durbachites in the Třebíč Pluton (eastern part of the Czech Republic) to characterize the radioactivity and variable-intensity weathering. The Endoskeletic Cambisols with a silt loam to loamy sand texture and a well-developed subsurface Bw horizon represented the most common product of the pedogenetic processes on durbachites. All studied soil profiles showed the evidence of pedogenetic alteration with intrasoil weathering. They were moderately deep (70–80 cm) with high rock-fragment concentrations within the B and C horizons. The predominant grain size fractions were silt (12% to 83%) or sand (8% to 87%), and the percentage of clay was up to 15%. A feldspar–quartz–vermiculite (biotite)–amphibole–kaolinite–Fe–Mn (oxy) hydroxide assemblage was typical for the most weathered parts of the profiles. Variation in the U and Th contents within the studied soil profiles resulted predominantly from the changes in the amounts of primary accessory minerals at different depth levels. Uraninite, monazite, thorite, allanite, zircon, thorogummite, REE-(Rare Earth Elements) fluorocarbonates, and minerals of the rhabdophane group were the main carriers of radioactive elements in the parent durbachite and overlying soil profiles. The gamma-ray spectrometry, geochemical and mineralogical analyses show that uraninite was stable only in the parent durbachite and disappeared at the rocks–C horizon interface. This process was followed by the gradual alteration of allanites, thorites, brabantites and secondary U- and Th-rich minerals (e.g., thorogummite, bastnäsite) toward the soil surface. |
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