IR Spectroscopy of clay fraction of Pleistocene loess-paleosol successions

Abstract

Clay fractions of loess-paleosol profiles were investigated by IR spectroscopy and XRD. In general, the spectroscopic measurements were compatible with the XRD values. The uncertainty in the quantitative estimation of clay minerals may be related to the high carbonate content of the samples. The degree of this phenomenon is definitely related to the crusts on the minerals. Its importance in loess-paleosol sequences is significant because the vertical distribution of carbonates is a determining factor of the system. As a solution we propose the carbonate extraction before the clay fraction separation for spectral measurements, primarily in the case of loess-paleosol samples.