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Science 21 February 1969:
Vol. 163. no. 3869, pp. 805 - 809
DOI: 10.1126/science.163.3869.805
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Articles

Mineral Source and Transport in Waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea

Marian B. Jacobs 1 and Maurice Ewing 1

1 Lamont Geological Observatory, Columbia University, Palisades, New York

Mineral particles suspended in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea were analyzed in relation to clay mineral distributions in bottom sediments, to sedimentation processes active in the region, and to the prevailing currents. Circulation in the upper layers of water flowing from the Caribbean, carrying a micaceous-rich mineral assemblage, has exercised an influence on mineral transport into the Gulf of Mexico, different from the montmorillonite-rich load delivered by the Mississippi River. Particulate matter, suspended in North Atlantic water and Amazon River discharge, enters the Caribbean through the Lesser Antilles and contributes to the detrital mineral content of Caribbean water, as does that carried by the wind.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)