Mineralogical composition and geographical distribution of African and Brazilian periatlantic laterites. The influence of continental drift and tropical paleoclimates during the past 150 million years and implications for India and Australia

Following the break-up of Pangea at the end of the Jurassic time, the African and South American continents and then India and Australia drifted into the fringes of the equatorial or tropical climatic zone with the humidity varying according to the epochs. India, Brazil and the southern part of East Africa which were previously more arid and probably hotter during the Jurassic, became progressively more humid and cooler. By contrast, West Africa, Central Africa and Australia, formerly subject to very humid climates became subject to warmer and drier climatic conditions. In the first case, the ferricretes were rarely preserved intact but bauxites, generally massive and non pisolitic and essentially formed of gibbsite (Al(OH)3) are abundant. In the second case, hematite (Fe2O3) occurring as nodular ferricretes are extensively developed together with gibbsite-bearing pisolitic bauxites and boehmite (AlOOH). Gibbsite and goethite are hydrated minerals related to humid and rather cool climates, whereas hematite and boehmite are dehydrated minerals related to less humid and warmer climatic conditions. Thus temperature, relative humidity of the atmosphere and the activity of water are the major climatic and thermodynamic parameters controlling the mechanisms of formation, the processes of evolution and the geographical distribution of bauxites and ferricretes. Furthermore, the geographical distribution and the mineralogical composition of ferricretes and bauxites are considered to be controlled not only by the different present-day climates but also and perhaps above all by the succession of paleoclimates during the past 150 million years. © 1991.