Diagenesis of magnetic mineral assemblages in multiply redeposited siliciclastic marine sediments, Wanganui basin, New Zealand

This paper is part of the special publication No.151, Palaeomagnetism and diagenesis in sediments (eds D.H. Harling and P. Turner). In many sedimentary environments, early diagenetic sulphidization reactions cause extensive dissolution of detrital magnetic minerals which can alter or destroy the palaeomagnetic signal. Pliocene sediments from the Wanganui basin, North Island, New Zealand, have been subjected to multiple cycles of erosion and redeposition in sulphate-reducing environments before reaching their present setting. Despite this, the sediments retain a measurable and stable remanent magnetization. The only Fe-Ti oxide recognized from detailed sedimentary petrographic characterization of magnetic extracts and bulk sediments is ilmenite, with compositions that lie within the range from which paramagnetic behaviour is expected. There are no Fe-Ti oxide grains with compositions from which ferrimagnetic behaviour is expected (except for rare chromite). A direct link was made between magnetic behaviour and mineralogy by conducting electron probe microanalysis and back-scattered electron imaging of the same grains that were subjected to magnetic analysis. These studies demonstrate that stable magnetic behaviour is displayed by grains that appear to be homogeneously composed of ilmenite. This magnetic behaviour is attributed to the presence of ferrimagnetic Fe-enriched (hemo-ilmenite) microstructural domains that have been previously reported from ilmenite grains. These hemo-ilmenite domains appear to be dominantly responsible for the remanence of the Wanganui basin Pliocene sediments. Calculations of the reactivity of detrital iron-bearing minerals to sulphidization indicate that ilmenite is much less reactive than magnetite and other detrital magnetic minerals. Given the resistance of hemo-ilmenite, to dissolution, it is suggested that microstructural ferrimagnetic domains within ilmenite grains may be a source of palaeomagnetic information in sediments that have undergone diagenetic magnetic mineral dissolution during multiple episodes of erosion and redeposition.