Year
2014
Degree Name
Master of Philosophy
Department
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences
Recommended Citation
Karamiqucham, Behrooz, Geochemistry and dating of iron (III) oxides and clays of the Australian regolith, Master of Philosophy thesis, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, 2014. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4335
Abstract
This project focused on the study of oxygen-isotope variations in iron (III) oxides and their corresponding clays during their formation in selected weathered profiles of the Australian regolith.
The aim of this project was to study oxygen-isotope fractionation in iron ferric oxides and clay minerals during regolith weathering in southern Australia. For this study, samples with high iron ferric oxide content were separated from clay-rich samples. Many physical, chemical and technical procedures including physical abrasion on sample exteriors, crushing, high gradient magnetic separation, clay settling analysis, and chemical treatments have been employed to ensure that the iron ferric oxides and associated clays are as pure as possible. Also an oxygen extraction vacuum line with associated purification techniques was constructed to extract and present the samples’ oxygen content to a mass spectrometer to measure its isotopic ratio.
Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.