16 



MARINE BOTTOM SAMPLES OF LAST CRUISE OF CARNEGIE 



Proposed Classification 



On the basis of the above remarks a revised and 

 more detailed classification of deep-sea sediments may 

 be tentatively proposed. The capitalized words signify 

 the terms which it is suggested should be used. 



I. Pelagic deposits 



A. Oozes. Skeletal remains of organisms greater 



than 30 per cent in amount 



1. Calcium carbonate oozes. CaCOs greater than 



30 per cent in amount. Divided on basis of cal- 

 careous skeletal remains into GLOBIGERINA, 

 PTEROPOD, COCCOUTH OOZE. If calcar- 

 eous material is very largely fine-grained and 

 not in the form of recognizable skeletal frag- 

 ments, the general term CALCIUM CARBON- 

 A.TE OOZE may be used. When noncalcareous 

 material is present in appreciable amounts, a 

 further designation should be applied, e.g. 

 GLOBIGERINA OOZE may be divided into 



a) Normal or argillaceous GLOBIGERINA OOZE. 



The noncalcareous material is very largely 

 clay. Most GLOBIGERINA OOZES are of 

 this type 



b) FERRUGINOUS GLOBIGERINA OOZE. The 



noncalcareous material consists of free 

 hydroxides to a considerable extent. Type: 

 Carnegie sample 19 



c) VOLCANIC GLOBIGERINA OOZE. Volcanic 



glass and mineral grains of sand and silt size 

 make up to 20 per cent of the sediment 



d) DETRITAL GLOBIGERINA OOZE. Quartz, 



feldspar, and other detrital mineral grains of 

 sand and silt size make up to 20 per cent of 

 the sediment 



e) SILICEOUS GLOBIGERINA OOZE. In addition 



to calcareous skeletal remains, these sedi- 

 ments are rich in the skeletons of radiolaria 

 and the frustules of diatoms. Examples: Car - 

 negie samples 13 and 81 



2. Siliceous oozes. CaC03 less than 30 per cent in 



amount; remains of siliceous organisms 

 greater than 30 per cent. May be called either 

 DIATOM or RADIOLARIAN OOZE, depending 

 on which type of organic remains is the more 

 abundant. When volcanic or detrital remains 

 are present in noticeable amounts the deposit 

 may be called a VOLCANIC or DETRITAL 

 DIATOM or RADIOLARIAN OOZE. Carnegie 

 sample 57 is a VOLCANIC RADIOLARIAN 

 OOZE. When calcareous remains are present 

 in appreciable amounts the term CALCAREOUS 

 DIATOM or RADIOLARIAN OOZE may be used. 

 Type: Valdivia sample 121 



B. Red clay. Skeletal remains of organisms less than 



30 per cent in amount. When free hydroxides are 

 known to be present in relatively large amounts 

 the deposit may be designated as FERRUGINOUS 

 RED CLAY. When detrital or volcanic mineral 



fragments or calcareous or siliceous organic re- 

 mains are present in appreciable quantities the 

 terms DETRITAL, VOLCANIC, SILICEOUS, or 

 CALCAREOUS RED CLAY may be used. Car - 

 negie sample 35 is a SILICEOUS RED CLAY; 

 Carnegie sample 47 is a CALCAREOUS RED 

 CLAY 

 II. Terrigenous deposits, called muds 



A. Organic muds. Skeletal remains of organisms 



greater than 30 per cent 



1. Calcium carbonate muds. CaC03 greater than 30 



per cent in amount. 



a) Calcareous organisms of neritic type, called 



CALCAREOUS MUD and SAND, depending 

 on texture. These may be subdivided on the 

 basis of the nature of the inorganic material 

 into ARGILLACEOUS, DETRITAL, and 

 VOLCANIC CALCAREOUS MUD. If, as in 

 most cases, CaCO^ makes up 80 per cent or 

 more of the deposits, no qualifying adjective 

 need be used 



b) Calcareous organisms of pelagic type. These 



may be called GLOBIGERINA or PTEROPOD 

 MUD, and may be further subdivided if the 

 inorganic materials are other than argilla- 

 ceous into GLAUCONITIC, DETRITAL, and 

 VOLCANIC GLOBIGERINA MUD 



2. Siliceous muds. CaC03 less than 30 per cent in 



amount; remains of siliceous organisms great- 

 er than 30 per cent. The terms DIATOM and 

 RADIOLARIAN MUD may be used, depending 

 on which type of siliceous organisms is the 

 more abundant. The deposits may be further 

 subdivided if the inorganic materials are other 

 than argillaceous into GLAUCONITIC, DETRI- 

 TAL, or VOLCANIC DIATOM or RADIOLAR- 

 IAN MUD. Albatross sample 4674 is a typical 

 DIATOM MUD 



B. Inorganic muds. Skeletal remains of organisms 



less than 30 per cent 



1. Clayeyl muds. Median diameter less than 0.005 



mm, called BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, or GRAY 

 CLAYEY MUD. The adjectival terms GLAU- 

 CONITIC, DETRITAL, or VOLCANIC may be 

 used, if recognizable materials of these types 

 are present in" abundance 



2. Silty or sandyl muds and sands. Median diame- 



ter of mineral particles greater than 0.005 mm, 

 called BLACK, BLUE, GREEN, RED, BROWN, 

 or GRAY SILTY or SANDY MUD, or SAND. 

 The adjectival terms GLAUCONITIC or VOL- 

 CANIC may also be used, depending on the na- 

 ture of the constituents, if the inorganic mate- 

 rials are other than detrital and argillaceous. 

 If coprolitic pellets are abundant, the term 

 COPROLITIC MUD may be employed 



'^No designation for texture need be given for doubt- 

 ful samples which have not been analyzed mechanically. 



