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Clay Mineralogy as a Marker of Volcanic Biogeosystem Evolution in Laetoli, Tanzania

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Biogenic—Abiogenic Interactions in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems 2022 (BIOCOS 2022)

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Abstract

The Laetoli hominid footprints dating back some 3.6 million years discovered by Leakey in 1978 is an archaeological site of great importance in understanding the human evolution. The footprints of hominids, animals, and birds cast in the volcanic ash consolidated into tuff deposits are also an insight into the evolution of the whole biogeosystem of this area dominated by volcanic activity. The volcanic ash deposits consolidated into tuffs are a marker which sets the base line for tracking the further sediment transport in the catchment of this historic site. The surface of the tuff exposure along the Garusi river carrying the footprints shows no signs of weathering and the soils of the area form in subsequent sediments that filled the valley after the deposition of the tuff material. Following the deposition and consolidation of the airfall tuffs, the biogeosystem of the Laetoli gorge and its surroundings experienced a complex evolution which led to formation of the present-day soil cover. The study of clay mineralogy of these soils has provided interesting insights into the evolution of this system.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology for granting permission to conduct research (2016-245-NA-2016-181, 2017-234-NA-2016-115 for A.N. Zaitsev). Field work at Laetoli was supported by Peter Rich Architects—GMP Consulting Engineers—Laetoli JV (Arusha), St. Petersburg State University (grants 0.42.955.2016 and 3.42.740.2017) and Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authorities (Tanzania). XRD studies were carried out in the X-ray Diffraction Centre of St. Petersburg State University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Soil Science, Stellenbosch University, P.Bag X1, Matieland, South Africa

    Andrei B. Rozanov

  2. Institute of Earth Sciences, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Sofia N. Lessovaia

  3. Department of Mineralogy, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Anatoly N. Zaitsev

  4. Image and Analysis Centre, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UK

    Anatoly N. Zaitsev

  5. B.P. Konstantinov Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute NRC KI, Gatchina, Russia

    Gennady P. Kopitsa

  6. I.V. Grebenshchikov Institute of Silicate Chemistry RAS, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Gennady P. Kopitsa

  7. Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, Joliot-Curie Str. 6, Dubna, Russia

    Yulia E. Gorshkova

  8. The Research Park, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Natalia V. Platonova

  9. Biological Faculty, St. Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya Nab., d. 7/9, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Dmitry Yu. Vlasov

  10. Herzen University, 48 Moika Embankment, St. Petersburg, Russia

    Irina Y. Tikhomirova

  11. Ngorongoro Crater, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, P.O. Box 1, Arusha, Tanzania

    Joshua Mwankunda

Authors
  1. Andrei B. Rozanov
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  2. Sofia N. Lessovaia
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  3. Anatoly N. Zaitsev
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  4. Gennady P. Kopitsa
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  5. Yulia E. Gorshkova
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  6. Natalia V. Platonova
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  7. Dmitry Yu. Vlasov
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  8. Irina Y. Tikhomirova
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  9. Joshua Mwankunda
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrei B. Rozanov .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Crystallography, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Olga V. Frank-Kamenetskaya

  2. Department of Botany, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Dmitry Yu. Vlasov

  3. Department of Geochemistry, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia

    Elena G. Panova

  4. Institute of Phisical chemical and biological problems of soil science RAS, Pushchino, Russia

    Tatiana V. Alekseeva

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Rozanov, A.B. et al. (2023). Clay Mineralogy as a Marker of Volcanic Biogeosystem Evolution in Laetoli, Tanzania. In: Frank-Kamenetskaya, O.V., Vlasov, D.Y., Panova, E.G., Alekseeva, T.V. (eds) Biogenic—Abiogenic Interactions in Natural and Anthropogenic Systems 2022. BIOCOS 2022. Springer Proceedings in Earth and Environmental Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-40470-2_21

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