Table IV. Composition of sand fraction 



Constituents 



Stations 



8752 



8758 



8761 



8762 



8765 



8766 



8770 



8773 



8777 



Quartz-feldspar. 

 Rock fragments 

 Coal 



Foraminifera 



Shell fragments. 

 Dark minerals.. 

 Frosted grains.. 



Percent 

 96 

 2 

 1 

 

 

 1 

 <1 



93 

 6 

 



<1 

 



<1 

 <1 



92 

 6 

 1 



<1 







<1 

 <1 



7 

 4 

 <1 

 <1 

 <1 

 <1 



97 

 2 

 



<1 







<1 

 <1 



84 



15 







<1 







<1 

 <1 



81 



15 







3 







<1 



<1 



99 



1 

 



<1 







<1 

 <1 



83 



13 







<1 







<1 

 <1 



The sand fraction in each sample is dominated by 

 angular to subangular grains of quartz and feld- 

 spar (table IV). Rock fragments are the next 

 most abundant constituent. "Well-rounded frosted 

 quartz grains and red-stained quartz grains are also 

 .present. Benthic foraminifera] tests and shell 

 fragments occur in amounts of less than one per- 

 cent. An unusual component of the sand frac- 

 tion is angular to subangular coal fragments. 

 Source of these fragments may be the Paleozoic 

 bituminous shales that crop out on both sides of 

 Kane Basin, or the Eureka Sound Formation of 

 Mesozoic-Cenozoic age, inliers of which occur 

 along the east coast of Ellesmere Island (Tozer, 

 1961). 



Calcium carbonate in the sediments ranges from 

 1.6 to 30.2 percent. It appears to be mainly in the 

 form of limestone fragments; calcium carbonate 

 of organic origin, foraminiferal tests, and shell 

 fragments constitute less than 5 percent of the 



carbonate present. The carbonate fraction in the 

 sediment also appears to be concentrated in the 

 finer fractions. For example, of the 30.2 percent 

 calcium carbonate present in sample 8762, 3.8 per- 

 cent is in the gravel, 4.6 in the sand. 19.6 in the 

 silt, and 2.2 in the clay fraction. 



Summary 



Except for a narrow channel, Kane Basin con- 

 sists of a broad platform or shelf that dips gently 

 in a westward direction. This platform is prob- 

 ably a sedimentary prism deposited by Humboldt 

 Glacier which has filled most of the basin. The 

 strait separating Kane Basin from Smith Sound 

 is extremely irregular and has the appearance of a 

 rocky bottom, but Smith Soimd farther south is a 

 smooth depositional plain. Sediments in the 

 region are gray to reddish-brown, poorly sorted 

 calcareous sandy silts containing appreciable 

 quantities of gravel. They consist mainly of ice- 

 rafted material. 



71 



