Geochemistry of the Tertiary Formation at Pozhikkara Cliff Section, Kerala-Its Palaeoenvironmental Significance

The Tertiary sequence begins with fossiliferous marl and is overlain by carbonaceous clay, china clay and laterite. The thin (3 cm thick), hard, compact duricrust layer, which is found interbedded within the carbonaceous clays, shows abnormal geochemical anomalies. Major elements such as Fe, Mn and Ca and the trace element Co show about 2-3 fold and 1-2 fold increase respectively in the duricrust than the upper and lower sections. However, the content of Na, K, Ni, Cu and organic carbon show an opposite trend. Cd does not show any marked variation along the profile. The CaCO₃ content is remarkably high in the duricrust and marl than the other layers. Fe and Mn contents are much higher in the laterite than china clay, other parameters do not show much variation. The high content of Fe, Mn, Ca and CaCO₃ and low Ni/Co ratio and organic carbon content in the duricrust layer indicate an oxidizing environmental condition which existed at the time of the formation of this layer, while the converse trend of these parameters in the carbonaceous clays indicate the prevalence of a reducing condition.