Geochemical characterization of volcanic soils from Tawau, Sabah

702001-100488-286-B
Author : Baba Musta, Hennie Fitria W. Soehady E. & Sanudin Tahir
Publication : Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia
Page : 33-36
Volume Number : 54
Year : 2008
DOI : https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm54200806

Bulletin of the Geological Society of Malaysia, Volume 54, November 2008, pp. 33 – 36

 

Geochemical characterization of volcanic soils from Tawau, Sabah

Baba Musta*, Hennie Fitria W. Soehady E. & Sanudin Tahir

Geology Programme, School of Science & Technology, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, 88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

*E-mail address: babamus@ums.edu.my

Abstract— This paper discusses the geochemical characteristics of volcanic soils from Tawau, Sabah. The concentration of major elements and trace elements were determined using XRF analysis whereas mineralogical studies were carried out using XRD and SEM techniques. The results of the analyses show that SiO2 and Al2O3 are abundant in volcanic soils with concentrations from 43.06% – 67.96% and 12.55% – 29.92%, respectively. The concentration of Fe2O3 is next in abundance with the concentration of between 6.82% and 11.29%. The concentrations of CaO, K2O, MgO, Na2O, P2O5, and TiO2 are less than 5%. The high concentrations of SiO2 and Al2O3 are due to the high abundances of vermiculite and quartz as detected from XRD, while the high concentration of Fe2O3 is due to the presence of geothite. The average concentrations for Ba, V, Zr and Zn in volcanic soils are 341 ppm, 315 ppm, 239 ppm, and 124 ppm, respectively. The strong correlations between Zn and Al2O3, Fe2O3 and SiO2, indicate that Zn is being adsorbed by secondary minerals especially vermiculite and goethite.

Keywords: volcanic soil, geochemistry, trace elements, Tawau

Abstrak— Kertas kerja ini membincangkan ciri-ciri geokimia tanah vokanik dari Tawau, Sabah. Kajian kelimpahan unsur-unsur major dan unsur-unsur surih adalah menggunakan analisis XRF, manakala kajian mineralogi menggunakan teknik XRD dan SEM. Hasil analisis menunjukkan kepekatan SiO2 dan Al2O3 adalah yang paling tinggi dalam tanah volkanik dengan kepekatan masing – masing di antara 43.06%-67.96% dan 12.55% -29.92% Kepekatan tertinggi yang seterusnya ialah Fe2O3 dengan nilai di antara 6.82% and 11.29%. Kepekatan CaO, K2O, MgO, Na2O, P2O5, dan TiO2 adalah kurang daripada 5%. Nilai kepekatan yang tinggi pada SiO2 dan Al2O3 adalah disebabkan oleh kelimpahan vermikulit dan kuarza seperti yang telah dikesan menggunakan XRD manakala nilai kepekatan yang tinggi oleh Fe2O3 adalah disebabkan oleh kehadiran goetit. Purata kepekatan bagi Ba, V, Zr, dan Zn masing-masing dalam tanah volkanik adalah 341 bpj, 315 bpj, 239 bpj dan 124 bpj. Korelasi yang kuat antara Zn dengan Al2O3, Fe2O3 dan SiO2 menunjukkan bahawa Zn telah dijerap oleh mineral sekunder khususnya vermikulit dan geotit.

https://doi.org/10.7186/bgsm54200806