doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3121.2003.00489.

Jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the East European

Platform: implications for palaeobathymetry and palaeoclimate
Petras Simkevicius,1 Anders Ahlberg2 and Algimantas Grigelis1
1
Lithuanian Institute of Geology, Sevcenkos 13, 2600, Vilnius, Lithuania; 2Department of Geology, Lund University, Solvegatan 13, S-223 62
Lund, Sweden

ABSTRACT
Clay minerals cannot only give information on sedimentary
depositional environment but also the climate regime under
which sediment was weathered. The successions of non-marine
to marine Middle and Late Jurassic strata of the East European
Platform show upwards increasing contents of smectite and
decreasing contents of kaolinite. There is also an increasing
smectite vs. kaolinite ratio laterally, in a basinward direction
within individual formations. Vertical smectite and kaolinite
content curves coincide broadly with the Sahagian and Jones
eustatic sea-level curve. All this implies differential settling of
smaller smectite particles offshore and larger kaolinite particles
onshore. Smectite formation, preservation and supply were
further enhanced as the eastwards expanding Late Jurassic arid
zone of Laurasia influenced weathering conditions in the
sediment source areas, to the north and east of the East
European Platform.
Terra Nova, 15, 225229, 2003

East European Platform and the ux have long favoured a globally

Introduction
The present study is based on clay
mineralogical analyses of Jurassic
sediments from the south-western part
of the East European Platform, i.e. the
LithuanianPolish Syneclise (depres-
sion) of Lithuania, Kaliningrad and
north-east Poland (Marek and Grige-
lis, 1998). The analytical work was
performed by Dr Petras Simkevicius
within the Lithuanian subsurface
mapping programme. A clay mineral
stratigraphy was constructed within a
biostratigraphically and lithostrati-
graphically well-constrained frame-
work (Grigelis, 1994; Simkevicius,
1998; Grigelis and Norling, 1999).
The scope of the present paper is to
present the spatial and temporal
trends in the kaolinite and smectite
occurrence and to relate them to the
palaeobathymetry and palaeoclimate
of the East European Platform and
adjacent sediment source areas.
The LithuanianPolish Syneclise
In Middle and Late Jurassic times the
entire region between the Caledo-
nides and the Urals, including the
Correspondence: Dr Anders Ahlberg,
Department of Geology, Lund University,
Solvegatan 13, S-223 62 Lund, Sweden.
Fax: +46 46121477; e-mail: anders.ahlberg
@geol.lu.se
Sadly, Dr Petras Simkevicius passed away
on 3 November 2001 before the completion
of this paper.
LithuanianPolish Syneclise, was a
tectonically calm area with little relief
(Grigelis, 1994; Grigelis and Norling,
1999). The sedimentary wedge of the
LithuanianPolish Syneclise thickens
and slopes gently towards the south-
west, where it is abruptly terminated
by the TornquistTeisseyre Zone, a
tectonic lineament that extends from
Norway across southern Sweden and
south-eastwards towards the Black
Sea. Throughout most of the Jurassic
the study area constituted a wide bay
separating the Fennoscandian plains
to the north from the Central Euro-
pean Basin to the south (Ziegler, 1990;
Marek and Grigelis, 1998; Grigelis
and Norling, 1999; Fig. 1 herein). The
Lower to Middle Jurassic sedimentary
succession of the LithuanianPolish
Syneclise is incomplete and mainly
non-marine, whereas the Middle to
Upper Jurassic part is more complete
and essentially marine (Grigelis,
1994). The sediment source areas were
situated far to the north and east of
the East European Platform (Simkev-
icius, 1998).
Jurassic climate
Based on conceptual climate models,
the Jurassic climatic regime of Pangea
has been interpreted as megamon-
soonal, dominated by seasonal tem-
porally concentrated rain periods
(Kutzbach and Gallimore, 1989; Par-
rish, 1993). Modelling of atmospheric
general circulation and global carbon
warm equable Jurassic Earth with
raised mid- and high-latitude temper-
atures, due to natural greenhouse
conditions (see for example Hallam,
1985, 1994; Kutzbach and Gallimore,
1989; Valdes, 1994). In the Middle to
Late Jurassic the East European Plat-
form was situated at northern hemi-
sphere mid-latitudes, well within the
wide warm-temperate zone (Torsvik
et al., 2001). Oxygen isotope data
from pristine mollusc fragments in
the marine Oxfordian part of the
Lithuanian sedimentary succession
indicate mean sea surface tem-
peratures of 719
C (unpublished
calculations assuming ice-free polar
conditions; cf. Price (1999)).
Material, methods and limitations
More than 3000 rock samples from
101 drill cores and four outcrops in
Lithuania, the Kaliningrad area and
north-east Poland were studied
(Fig. 2). Most of the samples are
mudstones or muddy silt- and sand-
stones. The clay size fractions were
extracted from the rocks by gentle
crushing, disaggregation, dispersion
and settling, and several X-ray dirac-
tion (XRD) slides were prepared from
each sample. The samples were orien-
tated by means of smearing a paste of
the wet clay fraction on glass plates.
Several subsamples were prepared for
pretreatments prior to alternative
XRD analyses, in addition to XRD
analysis of a natural air-dried subsam-

 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 225

Jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the East European Platform P. Simkevicius et al. Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 4, 225229
.............................................................................................................................................................

Fig. 1 Palaeogeographical reconstruction of the East European Platform and adjacent areas (after Grigelis and Norling, 1999; map
originally produced by the IGCP project no. 86 Working Group).

ple (Hardy and Tucker, 1988). For
instance, one subsample was heated
to 375
C, to collapse smectite and
illite-smectite to 10 A, while leaving
the other clay minerals unaected.
Another subsample was heated to
550
C for 1 h to destroy kaolinite
and preserve chlorite. A third subsam-
ple was subjected to HCl-treatment
(boiling for 1 h in a 3 N solution) to
destroy chlorite in order to distinguish
the basal spacing of kaolinite at 7.15 A
from the second-order chlorite (7.1 A)
reection. A fourth pretreatment
included ethylene glycolation to dis-
tinguish expandable clay minerals such
as smectite or illitesmectite (IS) clays
and clay minerals. After pretreat-
ments, XRD runs were conducted in
the 229
2h interval. Quantitative
analysis of the clay minerals was car-
ried out by means of weighted XRD
peak intensity comparisons (cf. Weir
et al., 1975). Where needed, overlap-
ping peak areas were resolved by
means of selective mineral destruction
(see above), XRD reruns and normal-
ized peak intensity measurements.
Well-known pitfalls of XRD mineral
quantication (hetereogeneous clay
mineral crystallinity and chemistry,
etc.) were circumvented by consistent
laboratory procedures and the exclu-
sive focus on vertical clay mineral
trends, and were further limited due
to the weak diagenetic overprint of the
1 sedimentary succession (cf. Gibbs,
1967; cf. Weir et al., 1975). Scanning
electron microscopy (SEM) studies of
mudstone and sandstone textures were
used in some instances to identify any
authigenic clay mineral growth. Our
study is entirely focused on kaolinite,
which has long been considered an
indicator mineral for high humidity,
and smectite, which conversely is
known to indicate arid climate condi-
tions (Sellwood and Price, 1994).
Post-depositional changes
of clay mineralogy
The Jurassic deposits of the Lithuan-
ianPolish Syneclise were never
subjected to deep burial or severe
tectonism, and show a barely measur-
able rank of lignite. The sedimentary
succession is dominated by mudstones
and muddy arenites with low per-
meability, which largely has impeded
eective meteoric diagenesis. For
instance, highly sensitive pristine
aragonite shells are preserved in some
marine units. There are, however,
some signs of clay diagenesis. This
includes the reaction of illite to smec-
tite, from c. 10% up to at most 50%
illite in the mixed-layer illitesmectite
phase. There are also slightly raised
kaolinite contents of interbedded per-
meable sandy sediments compared
with those of the predominating mud-
stones and muddy arenites (Simkev-
icius, 1998). However, limited SEM
analysis on dierent facies and cores
has up to now not revealed authigenic
kaolinite booklets or other evidence of
meteoric diagenesis.
Basin development
and clay mineralogy
The Jotvingiai Group deposits were
deposited in a shallow lacustrine basin
or a nearly freshwater lagoon (Simk-
evicius, 1998). The kaolinite content is
high and the smectite content is very

226  2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 4, 225229
.............................................................................................................................................................
Fig. 2 Selected drill-cores, their kaolinite and smectite contents, and their locations.
low. The kaolinite is unevenly distri-
buted laterally in the basin. There is a
relative decrease of kaolinite and
increase of smectite contents towards
the south-west, where at the same time
the coarsest sediments (mainly sands)
predominate. This relationship is dif-
cult to explain and may be related to
multiple points of sediment dispersal
in the basin.
After a late Toarcian Aalenian
break in sedimentation, two 100-m-
deep local tectonic depressions
formed, the Bajocian to early Batho-
nian Kurs iai Trough and the Nemun-
as Graben. They were lled by the
lacustrine coal-bearing Isrutis Forma-
tion. The content of kaolinite in the
clay fraction in this unit is high
basinwide, except in the northernmost
part of the study area and in two small
areas in the eastern part of the region.
A subsequent mid- to late Batho-
nian break in sedimentation was
followed by an early Callovian
transgression that progressed from
the Central European Basin over the
south Baltic region towards the north-
east. In this area a large brackish
 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Simkevicius et al. Jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the East European Platform
marine gulf formed, which was sub-
jected to intermittent marine incur-
sions during which carbonate-rich
sands and muds were deposited (Gri-
gelis and Norling, 1999). To the north,
freshwater deposits of the Papil_e For-
mation accumulated, whereas to the
south was the marine Liepona For-
mation. The content of kaolinite in the
deltaic and near-shore marine facies of
the northern and north-eastern parts
of the basin is very high. Southwards,
in gradually more silty and muddy
facies, the kaolinite content decreases
gradually and in the south-eastern
part of the basin (the Liepona For-
mation) the kaolinite content of the
clay fraction in near-shore coarse-
grained facies is very low. Kaolinite
contents are highest in muddy and
organic-rich deposits of brackish mar-
ine lagoons (Simkevicius, 1998). Con-
versely, smectite is very low in the
northern part of the study area, and
increases basinwards, towards the
south and south-east. A major marine
transgression occurred in middle
Callovian time, during which the shal-
low marine realm reached vast areas
in the Baltic region. The transgression
commenced with the deposition of
marine sandy calcareous sediments of
the Papartin_e Formation. In most
areas the content of kaolinite in the
clay fraction is subdominant to dom-
inant. Very low kaolinite contents are
observed in the south-eastern basin
areas. Muddy marine deposits of the
Skinija Formation characterize the
northwards maximum extent of the
transgression during middle to late
Callovian time. The kaolinite contents
of the clay fractions are highest to the
north and north-west, whereas the
highest content of smectite is concen-
trated in the muddy and calcareous
facies to the south.
During the Oxfordian, the north to
south proximaldistal facies zonation
gradually moved northwards, and a
deepening of the southern part of the
basin occurred during the deposition
of the A zuolija Formation, in south-
ern Lithuania, north-east Poland and
in the southern part of the Kalinin-
grad Region. There, a vast oshore
area with muddy calcareous deposits
developed. Carbonate reefs formed in
227
Jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the East European Platform P. Simkevicius et al.
.............................................................................................................................................................
the south-eastern and north-western
parts of the basin at this time. During
the rst half of the Oxfordian, kaolin-
ite was probably eroded and trans-
ported basinwards from sediment
source areas to the north and east
where partly preserved regoliths on
Palaeozoic and Triassic deposits have
been observed (Simkevicius, 1998).
Kaolinite is a dominant clay mineral
in the north-western near-shore facies,
and decreases dramatically eastwards
and southwards where it is barely
traceable. In deposits from the second
half of the Oxfordian, the amount of
kaolinite is low in near-shore facies to
the north and no longer traceable in
the southern part of the studied region
(north-east Poland). Smectite makes
up a considerable part of the clay
fraction of the Oxfordian successions,
and increases southwards, away from
the palaeo-shoreline.
During Kimmeridgian time (Tarava
Formation) the basin margins moved
further northwards. Siliciclastic sandy
to muddy facies prevailed, except in
the south-eastern and south-western
parts of the basin where small areas
with prevailing calcareous muds rich
in foraminifers and molluscs are
preserved. The clay fraction shows
basinwide subequal contents of illite
and smectite, rarely with traces of
kaolinite.
In Volgian (early Tithonian) time
when the Girdava Formation was
formed, oshore marine sedi-
mentation of mud and ne-grained
carbonates continued. The Girdava
Formation is, however, truncated by
a major unconformity superimposed
by Albian strata. The distribution of
clay minerals in the Girdava Forma-
Fig. 3 Mean kaolinite and smectite contents of the lithostratigraphical units,
compared with the Sahagian and Jones (1993) sea-level curve.
228
tion is similar to that of the underlying
Tarava Formation. Hence, kaolinite is
extremely rare and the content of
smectite is very high in the entire
study area.
Palaeobathymetry
Based on the observed Jurassic tem-
poral and geographical sediment and
clay mineral distribution in the Lithu-
anianPolish Syneclise, it appears that
sediment dispersal directions were
mainly from the north and at times
from the south-east. There is a gradu-
ally decreasing Middle to Late Juras-
sic kaolinite vs. smectite ratio of the
investigated successions, for mud-
stones as well as for muddy siltstones
and sandstones (Fig. 3). There is also
a basinward decreasing kaolinite and
increasing smectite content within
individual formations. These facts
imply a palaeobathymetrical control
of clay mineral deposition, i.e. o-
shore settling of smaller smectite par-
ticles and onshore deposition of larger
kaolinite particles. The smectite and
kaolinite content curves of the inves-
tigated succession were compared
with the eustatic sea-level curve of
Sahagian and Jones (1993), which is
based mainly on observations in the
nearby Moscow Basin. There is a
broad positive correlation between
sea level and smectite content in sup-
port of a bathymetrical control of
marine mud settling. Bausch (1977)
observed that kaolinite and illite typic-
ally dominated the shelves across Eur-
ope in Late Jurassic times, whereas
smectite is more common in south-
eastern Europe, close to the Thethys
seaway.
Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 4, 225229
Clay minerals and climate
In our study there is no obvious
positive correlation between sedimen-
tation rates and kaolinite content, an
eect of increased humidity and chem-
ical weathering observed in Late Jur-
assic strata of western Europe (Ruell
and Rawson, 1994). Nevertheless, the
abundant Late Jurassic smectite con-
tent of the LithuanianPolish Synec-
lise sedimentary succession may be
beyond what was induced by the
inferred bathymetrical eect (Fig. 3).
Storr (1975) observed increasing smec-
tite contents with time in Middle
through Late Jurassic successions of
the Bohemian Massif to the west of
our study area, which he associated
with increasing Late Jurassic aridity.
The arid zone of western and central
Pangea expanded rapidly east- and
northwards to the studied region in
Middle to Late Jurassic times (Hal-
lam, 1985; Hallam et al., 1991). Mid
to Late Jurassic decreasing ratios of
Al2O3 : Na2O and K2O : Na2O in
clays, and upsection decreasing illite
degradation, indicate decreasing
chemical weathering with time
(Simkevicius, 1998). This probably
increased smectite formation at the
expence of kaolinite in the sediment
source areas. The aridity was accom-
panied by the formation of evaporites
and oolites to the south of the study
area (Grigelis and Norling, 1999).
Kaolinite and smectite segregation
may have been accentuated by post-
depositional processes. Non-marine
muddy sedimentary environments sub-
jected to humid climate are commonly
slightly acid due to decomposition of
organic matter, which promotes kao-
linite formation and preservation, and
may be harmful to pre-existing smec-
tite. Conversely, the alkaline marine
environments are much more suitable
for smectite preservation (Singer, 1980;
Curtis, 1990). However, the similar
clay mineral trends for muddy and
sandy deposits in the Lithuanian
Polish Syneclise indicate that diagen-
esis had a comparably limited eect on
the clay mineralogy, due to low per-
meability, limited burial and tectonic
quiescence.
Acknowledgments
The thoughts of A.A. and A.G. are with
Petras Simkevicius who could not see the
 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
 Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 4, 225229
.............................................................................................................................................................
progress of this paper through to submit-
tal. The study was supported by the Royal
Academy of Sciences in Stockholm (KVA),
the Lithuanian Institute of Geology in
Vilnius and the Swedish Science Research
Council (NFR, grant 06793-301). Two
anonymous reviewers are sincerely thanked
for constructive criticism. Our special
thanks to Docent Erik Norling, one of
the initiators of this LithuanianSwedish
collaboration.
References
Bausch, W.M., 1977. Clay mineral prov-
inces in the Upper Jurassic of Europe.
In: Proceedings of the third European
Clay Conference (I.T. Rosenqvist, ed.),
3 pp. 89. European Clay Groups, Oslo.
Curtis, C.D., 1990. Aspects of climatic
inuence on the clay mineralogy and
geochemistry of soils, palaeosols and
clastic sedimentary rocks. J. Geol. Soc.,
147, 351357.
Gibbs, R.J., 1967. Quantitative X-ray dif-
fraction analysis using clay mineral
standards extracted from the samples to
be analysed. Clay Minerals, 7, 7990.
Grigelis, A., 1994. Lithostratigraphy of the
Jurassic in Lithuania. Geologija, 17, 132
137.
Grigelis, A. and Norling, E., 1999. Jurassic
Geology and foraminiferal faunas in the
NW part of the East European Platform.
Sveriges Geologiska Undersokning, Ca 89,
101 pp.
Hallam, A., 1985. A review of Mesozoic
climates. J. Geol. Soc., 142, 433445.
Hallam, A., 1994. Jurassic climates as
inferred from the sedimentary and fossil
record. In: Palaeoclimates and Their
Modelling, with Special Reference to
the Mesozoic Era (J. R. L. Allen,
 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd
P. Simkevicius et al. Jurassic smectite and kaolinite trends of the East European Platform
B. J. Hoskins, B. W. Sellwood,
R. A. Spicer, & P. J. Valdes, eds),
pp. 7988. Chapman & Hall, London.
Hallam, A., Grose, J.A. and Ruell, A.H.,
1991. Palaeoclimatic signicance of
changes in clay mineralogy across the
JurassicCretaceous in England and
France. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclim.
Palaeoecol., 81, 173187.
Hardy, R. and Tucker, M., 1988. X-ray
powder diraction of sediments. In:
Techniques in Sedimentology (M. Tucker,
ed.) pp. 191228. Blackwell, Oxford.
Kutzbach, J.E. and Gallimore, R.G., 1989.
Pangaean climates: megamonsoons on
the megacontinent. J. Geophys. Res.,
94 (D3), 33413357.
Marek, S. and Grigelis, A., 1998. Structural
Evolution of the PermianMesozoic
Complex of NE Poland, Lithuania and
Adjacent Baltic Areas. Polish Geological
Institute and Lithuanian Institute of
Geology, pp. 124.
Parrish, J.T., 1993. Climate of the Super-
continent Pangea. J. Geol., 101, 215233.
Price, G.D., 1999. The evidence and
implications of polar ice during the
Mesozoic. Earth Sci. Rev., 48, 183210.
Ruell, A.H. and Rawson, P.F., 1994.
Palaeoclimate control on sequence
stratigraphic patterns in the late Jurassic
to mid-Cretaceous, with a case study
from eastern England. Palaeogeogr.
Palaeoclim. Palaeoecol., 110, 4354.
Sahagian, D.L. and Jones, M., 1993.
Quantied Middle Jurassic to Paleocene
eustatic variations based on Russian
Platform stratigraphy; stage level reso-
lution. Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 105, 1109
1118.
Sellwood, B.W. and Price, G.D., 1994.
Sedimentary facies as indicators of
Mesozoic palaeoclimate. In: Palaeocli-
mates and their Modelling, with Special
Reference to the Mesozoic Era (J. R. L.
Allen, B. J. Hoskins, B. W. Sellwood, R.
A. Spicer & P. J. Valdes, eds), pp. 7988.
Chapman & Hall, London.
Simkevicius, P., 1998. Jurassic of the SE
Baltic: Lithology and Clay Minerals.
Lithuanian Institute of Geology, Vilnius.
Singer, A., 1980. The palaeoclimatic inter-
pretation of clay minerals in soils and
weathering proles. Earth Sci. Rev., 15,
303326.
Storr, M., 1975. Kaolin deposits of the GDR
in the northern region of the Bohemian
Massif. Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universitat
Greifswald, 243 pp.
Torsvik, T.H., Van der Voo, R., Meert,
J.G., Mosar, J. and Walderhaug, H.J.,
2001. Reconstructions of the continents
around the North Atlantic at about the
60th parallel. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett.,
187, 5569.
Valdes, P.J., 1994. Atmospheric general
circulation models of the Jurassic. In:
Palaeoclimates and their Modelling, with
Special Reference to the Mesozoic Era
(J. R. L. Allen, B. J. Hoskins, B. W.
Sellwood, R. A. Spicer & P. J. Valdes,
eds), pp. 109118. Chapman & Hall,
London.
Weir, A.H., Ormerod, E.C. and El-Man-
sey, M.I., 1975. Clay mineralogy of the
western Nile Delta. Clay Minerals, 10,
369386.
Ziegler, P.A., 1990. Geological Atlas of
Western and Central Europe, 2nd edn.
Shell Internationale Petroleum,
Maatschappij.
Received 4 July 2002; revised version
accepted 16 April 2003
229