Clay mineralogy mediated by pH and chemical weathering intensity of Permian–Triassic boundary K-bentonites at Dongpan (Guangxi, South China)

Volcanic ash deposits of the Permian-Triassic (P-T) transition in South China, in addition to being associated with the Permian-Triassic boundary mass extinction, are useful marker beds for regional correlation of sedimentary strata. This study investigates the source(s) of P-T volcanic ash layers in South China by studying their clay mineralogy and geochemical characteristics in deep-marine facies at Dongpan. Mineralogically, the Dongpan deposits consist mainly of clay minerals and quartz, with small amounts of anatase and feldspar. C lay minerals in the volcanic ash layer are mainly composed of R1 mixed-layer illite/smectite (I/S) (56.2–74.8%), smectite (14–22.8%), kaolinite (5.4–27.3%) and illite (1.2–5.3%). The relatively high content of kaolinite and weak illitization of smectite at Dongpan differ from the features of clay-mineral assemblages in other contemporaneous deep-water facies. Our results indicate that strong chemical weathering in an acidic and oxidizing environment characterized by low K+/H+ ratios inhibited uptake of K+ in the interlayers of I/S clay minerals and, thus, illitization of smectite. We infer that weathering intensity rather than redox state was the primary influence on the rate of kaolinization of clay minerals in these deep-marine facies. The Dongpan section exhibits a uniform REE pattern, indicating a single and stable source of volcanic ash during the P-T transition. Trace-element and REE distribution patterns and mixed-layer I/S clay-mineral morphologies are consistent with the source of the volcanic ash at Dongpan being a nearby continent-margin volcanism. •New discovery of authigenic kaolinite in PTB ash layers in South China.•PTB sections in South China received ash from a single, stable volcanic source.•Ash layers altered in an oxic, acidic deep-marine diagenetic environment.•Low K+/H+ ratios promoted formation of kaolinite and inhibited illitization.•Diagenetic alteration processes differ from those in deep-marine settings.