Sedimentary Geology, 55 (1988) 319- 322 319

El sevi er Sci ence Publ i s her s B.V., Ams t e r d a m - Pr i nt ed i n The Ne t h e r l a n d s

T H E CI W I NDEX: A N E W C H E MI C A L I N D E X OF WE A T H E R I N G *
L UC HARNOI S
Department of Earth Sciences, Carleton University, Ottawa, Ont. K1S 5B6 (Canada)
( Recei ved Jul y 20, 1987; accept ed for publ i cat i on Oct ober 6, 1987)
ABS TRACT
Ha mo i s , L., 1988. The CI W i ndex: A new chemi cal i ndex of weat her i ng. Sedi ment . Geol . , 55: 319- 322.
A new chemi cal i ndex of weat her i ng t ha t c a n be appl i ed t o mo d e m soi l s a nd Pr e c a mbr i a n pal eos ol s is
pr opos ed:
CI W = [ A1 2 0 3 / ( AI 2 0 3 + C a O+ Na 2 0 ) ] x 100 ( mol ecul ar pr opor t i ons )
The val ue of t hi s i ndex i ncr eas es as t he degr ee of weat her i ng i ncr eases, a nd t he di f f er ence bet ween
CI W i ndex val ues of t he si l i cat e pa r e nt r ock a n d soil or s e di me nt refl ect s t he a mo u n t of we a t he r i ng
exper i enced by t he weat her ed mat er i al .
I NT R ODUC T I ON
Weathering indices essentially measure the degree of depletion of mobile compo-
nents relative to immobile component s during weathering. Previously proposed
weathering indices, such as the Modified Weathering Potential Index (MWPI;
Reiche, 1943; Vogel, 1975), the Vogt ratio (V; Vogt, 1927; Roaldset, 1972), and the
Weathering Index (WI; Parker, 1970) are complex and involve many variables.
Others are relatively simple [e.g. the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) of Nesbi t t
and Young, 1982]. The aim of this paper is to propose a new and simple chemical
index of weathering (CIW) involving molecular proport i ons of aluminium, calcium
and sodium.
DI SCUSSI ON
Chemical changes during weathering
Du r i n g t he we a t h e r i n g o f gr ani t e a nd bas al t , Si, Mg , Ca a nd N a are l e a c he d, A1
a n d Ti r e ma i n e s s e nt i a l l y i n t he s y s t e m a nd a c c u mu l a t e i n t he res i due, whe r e a s i r on
* Cont r i but i on of t he Ot t a wa - Ca r l e t o n Cent r e for Geos ci ence St udi es.
0037- 0738/ 88/ $03. 50 1988 El sevi er Sci ence Publ i s her s B.V.
320
TABLE 1
Weathering indices (molecular proportions)
(1) CIW = [A1203//(A1203 + CaO + Na20)] 100
(2) CIA = [A1203/(AI ~O 3 + CaO + Na zO + K 20)] x 100
(3) WI = [(2Na20/0.35 ) + (MgO/0.9) + (2K20/0.25) + (CaO/0.7)] x 100
(4) MWPI = [(Na 20 + K 2 + CaO + MgO)/(Na 20 + K 20 + CaO + MgO + SiO2 + A1203 + Fe203)] 100
(5) V = (Al203 + K20)/(MgO + CaO + Na20)
(l) Chemical Index of Weathering, this paper.
(2) Chemical Index of Alteration (Nesbitt and Young, 1982).
(3) Weathering Index (Parker, 1970).
(4) Weathering Potential Index of Reiche (1943), modified by Vogel (1975).
(5) Vogt ratio (Vogt, 1927; Roaldset, 1972).
and pot a s s i um have mor e compl i cat ed behavi our s. Because ferri c i r on is muc h less
sol ubl e t ha n f er r ous i r on, t he pr opor t i on of i r on r e ma i ni ng i n t he r esi due is par t l y a
f unct i on of t he r edox condi t i ons of t he syst em. Pot as s i um is gener al l y l eached
dur i ng soil f or mat i on, but mos t Pr e c a mbr i a n pal eosol s ar e enr i ched in K, whi ch is
pos s i bl y a di agenet i c f eat ur e ( Ret al l ack, 1986). Af t er ent er i ng sol ut i on, K ' can be
used in t he f or ma t i on of K- mi ner al s , a ds or be d on ot her cl ays t hr ough i on exchange
( owi ng t o t he hi gher exchange capaci t y of K +, t he cl ay par t i cl es have a s t r onger
t endency t o ads or b and r et ai n K r at her t ha n Na + a nd Ca 2 +; Kr o n b e r g et al., 1987)
or r emoved by fl ui d mi gr at i on.
The CI A, WI a nd MWPI ( Tabl e 1) use K2 0 as a mobi l e c ompone nt . Thi s l i mi t s
t hei r appl i cat i on t o soils and pal eosol s in whi ch pot a s s i um has been act ual l y
l eached. I n t he Vogt rat i o, K2 0 is t r eat ed as an i mmobi l e c ompone nt , whi ch is at
var i ance wi t h t he evi dence t hat pot a s s i um is c o mmo n l y l eached. Because t he MWPI
i ncl udes Fe 3 and not Fe 2, its val ue is pa r t l y a f unct i on of t he degr ee of oxi dat i on
of t he mat er i al a nd c a nnot be appl i ed t o me t a mo r p h o s e d pal eosol s.
The proposed index
A weat her i ng i ndex shoul d: ( t ) i ncl ude onl y t hose el ement s whi ch ha ve cons i s t ent
geochemi cal be ha vi our dur i ng weat her i ng; (2) be i nde pe nde nt of t he degr ee of
oxi dat i on of t he weat her ed mat er i al ; (3) i nvol ve chemi cal el ement s c o mmo n l y
r epor t ed in soil anal yses; and (4) be as s i mpl e as possi bl e a nd eas y t o use.
Usi ng t hese cri t eri a, t he pr opos e d CI W i ndex is an i mpr ove d me a s ur e of t he
degr ee of weat her i ng exper i enced by a mat er i al rel at i ve t o its sour ce rock:
CI W = [A1EOa/(A1203 + Ca O + Na 2 0 ) ] X 100
wher e Al 203, CaO, and Na 2 0 ar e in mol ecul ar pr opor t i ons . I n t he pr opos e d i ndex,
A1203 is used as t he i mmobi l e c ompone nt . Ca O and Na 2 0 are t he mobi l e
c ompone nt s becaus e t hey are r eadi l y l e a c he d dur i ng weat her i ng. Thi s i ndex does not
TABLE 2
CIW index values of selected weathering profiles
321
Rock type Fresh rock Most
weathered
residue
Precambrian paleosols
1 Denison basalt 76 87 90 95 94 96
1 Pronto granite 61 61 69 96 95 94
2 Dominion Reef granite 59 60 66 93 94 98
Soil profiles
3 Tishomingo T1 granite 57 58 70 81 91 92
3 Tishomingo T2 granite 63 64 71 72 88 82
4 Kiama latite 48 63 81 87 89 85
4 Inverell basalt 44 85 89 94 95 99
4 Casino basalt 32 32 48 62 82 92
4Guyra basalt 39 42 74 85 86 81
The reader is referred to the original publications for a detailed description of the profiles.
1 Gay and Grandstaff (1980)
2 Holland (1984)
3 Harris and Adams (1966)
4 Craig and Loughrnan (1964).
i n c o r p o r a t e p o t a s s i u m b e c a u s e i t ma y b e l e a c h e d o r i t ma y a c c u mu l a t e i n t he
r e s i d u e d u r i n g we a t h e r i n g .
Th e C I W i n d e x i n c r e a s e s wi t h t he d e g r e e o f d e p l e t i o n o f t he s oi l o r s e d i me n t i n
Na a n d Ca , r e l a t i v e t o A1. Th e d i f f e r e n c e b e t we e n C I W i n d e x v a l u e s f or s o u r c e r o c k
a n d soi l o r s e d i me n t r e f l e c t s t he a mo u n t o f c h e mi c a l we a t h e r i n g e x p e r i e n c e d b y t he
we a t h e r e d ma t e r i a l .
Th e C I W i n d e x ha s b e e n a p p l i e d t o P r e c a mb r i a n p a l e o s o l s a n d s oi l p r o f i l e s
d e v e l o p e d o n b a s a l t i c a n d g r a n i t i c r o c k s ( Ta b l e 2). F o r b o t h , t he i n d e x va l ue s s how
a c o n t i n u a l i n c r e a s e as t he de gr e e o f we a t h e r i n g i n c r e a s e s (i . e. as t he d e p t h f r o m t h e
t o p o f t he we a t h e r e d p r o f i l e d e c r e a s e s f r o m l ef t t o r i ght ) .
CONCLUSIONS
Th e p r o p o s e d C I W i n d e x h a s b e e n s uc c e s s f ul l y a p p l i e d t o a n u mb e r o f mo d e r n
s oi l s as wel l as P r e c a mb r i a n pa l e os ol s . I t c a n b e a p p l i e d t o s i l i c a t e r o c k s o f f el s i c t o
ma f i c c o mp o s i t i o n , a n d i s s u p e r i o r t o o t h e r we a t h e r i n g i n d i c e s i n t h a t i t i n v o l v e s a
r e s t r i c t e d n u mb e r o f c o mp o n e n t s wh i c h h a v e s i mpl e , we l l - k n o wn a n d c o n s i s t e n t
g e o c h e mi c a l b e h a v i o u r d u r i n g we a t h e r i n g .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
D. F. Sa ngs t e r , J . M. Ri c h a r d s o n a n d R. E. Er n s t r e a d e a r l i e r d r a f t s o f t he
ma n u s c r i p t a n d c o n t r i b u t e d ma n y v a l u a b l e s u g g e s t i o n s f or i t s i mp r o v e me n t .
322
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