Elemental Composition of Wisconsinan Tills of the Lower Cuyahoga Valley, Northeastern Ohio

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1987-03

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Inductively-coupled plasma (ICP) analyses were performed on 25 selected till samples of varying ages from the Lower Cuyahoga Valley in northeastern Ohio. Samples of the ^0.074-mm fraction from the Lavery, Kent, Northampton, and Mogadore Tills were analyzed for phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), boron (B), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), aluminum (Al), and sodium (Na). Statistical tests showed some significant differences in elemental means among individual till units. Manganese, Fe, and Cu were not significantly different among any of the till units. Bivariate regressions showed that most elemental concentrations correlated to grain size. Zinc was associated with the sand size-fraction; Fe was associated with the silt-size fraction; Ca, Mg, B, Al, and Na were associated with the clay-size fraction; and P, K, Mn, and Cu had no preferred association with any one grain size. Elemental differences among the tills resulted from variations in source area and local materials. Based on elemental composition, the Kent Till is similar to the Mogadore Till, and the Lavery Till is similar to the Northampton Till. The sandy Kent and Mogadore Tills may have a similar northeastern source area which was low in overall carbonate content. The clay-rich Lavery and Northampton Tills have somewhat similar mineral contents, possibly suggesting a more northwesterly carbonate-dominated source in the Erie Basin.

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Author Institution: Geology Department, University of Akron

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The Ohio Journal of Science. v87, n1 (March, 1987), 10-15