International Journal of Sediment Research 29 (2014) 11-23

Distribution of clay minerals in marine sediments off Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India:
Indicators of sediment sources and transport processes
Subramanian VEERASINGAM1,2, Ramdoss VENKATACHALAPATHY3,
and Thirunavukkarasu RAMKUMAR4

Abstract
Clay mineralogy, texture size and statistical analyses were carried out on surface sediments from the continental
shelf of Chennai, Bay of Bengal, India. The purpose of this study is to characterize the clay mineral distribution
and its relation to the hydrodynamics off Chennai to identify the sources and transport pathways of the marine
sediments. Characterization of clay minerals in coastal sediments by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR)
spectroscopy has provided the association of quartz, feldspar, kaolinite, chlorite, illite and iron oxides (magnetite
and hematite) derived from river catchments and coastal erosion. Kaolinite, chlorite, illite, iron oxides, and organic
matter are the dominant minerals in Cooum, and Adayar region. High quartz and feldspar zones were identified in
Marina, which are being confined the sand zone and paralleling the coast. The strong relationships among the
wave energy density, sand, quartz and carbonate revealed that wave induced littoral drift system play a dominant
role in transportation and deposition of sediments in the Chennai coast. The sediment texture and minerals data are
in agreement well with the previous results of hydrodynamics and littoral drift models in this region. Multivariate
statistical analyses (correlation, cluster and factor analyses) were carried out and obtained results suggested that
clay minerals and organic matter are trapped in silt and clay particles, whereas quartz, feldspar and carbonate are
associated with sand particles. Results of sediment sources and transport processes from this study will be useful
to predict the fate of the pollutants released from land or the potential change in sediment delivery to coastal areas.

Key Words: Clay minerals, Texture size, Marine sediment, Hydrodynamics, Multivariate statistics

1 Introduction
The study of clay mineralogy in shallow marine sediments is closely related to the geology and hydrography of the
adjacent land areas as well as the local climate. Mineralogical study of such sediments have clearly demonstrated that
they are not only sensitive indicators of their environment of formation but also provide valuable insight into the
regional hydrodynamics including patterns of sediment transport and deposition (Petschick et al., 1996; Preda and Cox,
2005). Many authors investigated the mineral character of marine sediments, in particular the speciation and distribution
of clay minerals, which can help to determine the sources and depositional conditions of marine sediments (Chauhan
and Gujar, 1996; Bayhan et al., 2001; Rajkumar et al., 2012).
Fine grained marine sediments derived from fluvial processes are deposited in near-shore and continental margins and
only a small amount is transported to the deep sea. The fine grained sediments are composed mainly of clay minerals
and amorphous materials. The composition and relative abundance of the clay minerals are controlled by their source
rocks and weathering conditions. Their distribution on the continental shelf and slope is controlled by depositional
processes, especially the current circulation patterns, and the settling of clay minerals in response to the energy
conditions (Boldt et al., 2012). Knowledge of these processes can help to predict the transport pathways of pollutants
which are preferentially controlled in these fine grained sediments (Purnachandra Rao, 1991).
Clay minerals are hydrated aluminum silicates with very fine particle size, usually < 2m (Moore and Reynolds, 1989).
Modern spectroscopic techniques can investigate the sediment surface on a molecular scale, but are not yet used
routinely for sediment analysis (Linge, 2008). Mineralogical investigations were generally performed by using X-ray
1
Dr., CSIRNational Institute of Oceanography, Dona Paula, Goa403 004, India. E-mail: veerasingams@nio.org.
2
Dr., Department of Physics, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar608 002, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail:
physicssingam@gmail.com.
3
Prof. Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, Parangipettai608 502,
Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail: venkatr5@rediffmail.com.
4
Prof., Department of Earth Sciences, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar608 002, Tamil Nadu, India. E-mail:
tratrj@gmail.com.
Note: The original manuscript of this paper was received in Mar. 2012. The revised version was received in Aug. 2012. Discussion
open until Mar. 2015.
International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 11 -
powder diffraction technique (Petschick et al., 1996; Preda and Cox, 2005), often in combination with other analytical
techniques, like SEM, TGA or XRF. These approaches are accurate and powerful and have found widespread use.
However, they have shown some drawbacks, such as time consuming as well as impossibility to get information on
amorphous phases. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy as an analytical tool presents a lot of advantages as
it is accurate, inexpensive and reliable, the necessary sample amount is the sub-milligram range. Moreover, the
sampling procedure in FTIR is simple and in the last few decades, many versatile sampling procedures (diffuse
reflectance, attenuated total reflectance and diamond cell) have been developed. FTIR technique is used to distinguish
the different types of clay minerals and used to investigate their structures, compositional changes, and structural
changes upon chemical modification (Madejova, 2003; Manoharan et al., 2011, 2012). The objectives of this study
include: (1) to characterize the various minerals and their distributions in marine sediments over the sampling area using
FTIR spectroscopy; (2) to check the reliability of assignments made on the basis of the FTIR spectroscopy using X-ray
powder diffraction technique (XRD) as a complementary method (3) to determine organic matter and speciation of
carbonate phases and their regional distribution; and (4) to deduce spatial distribution and transport processes of the
clay minerals, relating to hydrodynamic conditions.

2 Geological settings
Tamil Nadu is the southernmost state on the east coast of India with a coastline of approximately 1,000 km. The
continental shelf in the study area extends from Ennore in the north to Neelangarai in the south. Near-shore slope of the
northern part is higher than southern part of the study area (Fig. 1).
Chennai metropolitan city is the fifth largest one in India and the extended urban and metropolitan population is 8.24
million according to the 2011 census data (Santhiya et al., 2011). The average elevation of Chennai is approximately
6.7 m (22 ft), and its highest point is 60.96 m (200 ft). The climate of this region is tropical, characterized by high
temperatures (mean 2730C) and moderate rainfall (900 mm yr-1). The average wind speed along the Chennai coast is
14.82 km h-1 year round. The deepwater significant wave height varies predominantly between 0.5 and 1m during
February to April, 1 and 2.5m during May to September, and 1 and 2m during October to January. Tides in this region
are predominantly semi-diurnal, with an average spring tidal range of about 1m and an average neap tidal range of
about 0.41m. The average surface and bottom current speed along the Chennai coast is 0.16 m s-1. A large quantity of
sediments are supplied by major rivers along the east coast and are constantly moved by waves either towards the north
or south depending on the angle of wave approach with respect to the coast. The east coast of India experiences a
north-east monsoon during NovemberFebruary and a south-west monsoon during MarchOctober. The transport rate
during MarchOctober varies between 0.5 and 1.5h105 m3 month-1, whereas during NovemberFebruary the rate varies
from 0.5 to 2.5h105 m3 month-1. Northerly and southerly components of annual sediment transport along Chennai coast
are estimated to be of the order of 0.89 and 0.60h106 m3, respectively. This results in a net northerly drift of 0.3h106
m3 annum-1 (Chandramohan et al., 1990). Two rivers meander through Chennai, the Cooum River (or Kuvam) through
the centre and the Adayar River to the south. The city is served by two major ports, Chennai Port, one of the largest
artificial ports, and Ennore Port. Though the east coast India is extensively investigated with respect to distribution of
clay minerals (Durgaprasada Rao and Srihari, 1980; Purnachandra Rao et al., 1988; Purnachandra Rao, 1991; Kotoky et
al., 2006), information on the distribution and characterization of clay minerals in Tamil Nadu coast is rather scanty and
limited. This paper reports the findings of a comprehensive study conducted to improve the knowledge on the recent
clay mineral distribution along the Chennai Coast, Bay Bengal, India.

3 Materials and methods

Twenty-one surface sediment samples were collected from southern Ennore to Neelangarai at 10 m, 15 m and 20 m
water depths in July 2008 during a Cruise onboard the Research Vessel Sagar Paschimi, using a Van Veen grab
sampler. The water depth at each sampling point was determined using a Multi-beam Echo-sounder. Differential Global
Positioning System (DGPS Trimble) was used to determine the coordinates of the sampling points. The collected
sediment samples were packed by self-packing polythene bags and were frozen at -4C immediately until further
analysis.
Textural studies are performed for collected sediment samples to estimate sand, silt and clay contents (Ingram, 1970).
The texture size distribution was determined with a Retsch AS 200 digital sieve shaker. 0.5 g of sediment sample was
ground in an agate mortar to <2 m, thoroughly dried at 105C, and placed in a cylindrical sample disc that is 13 mm in
diameter and 1 mm thickness. Samples were analyzed in a Perkin Elmer RX1 spectrometer. Pellets were scanned at
room temperature (25C) in the 4,000 400 cm 1 spectral range. To improve the signal to noise ratio for each spectrum,
100 interferograms with a spectral resolution of 4 cm-1 were averaged. Background spectra, which were collected
under identical conditions, were subtracted from the sample spectra automatically. The frequencies for all sharp bands
were accurate to 0.001 cm 1. Absorption intensity of the peaks was calculated by baseline method. The variations in the
frequencies and band areas were determined accurately from the original baseline-corrected spectra. Special care was
taken to prepare the pellets at the same thickness by taking the same amount of sample and applying the same pressure.
Therefore, in the present study it is possible to directly relate the intensities of the absorption bands to the concentration
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of the corresponding functional groups. Minerals were determined and quantified using FTIR, in accordance with
Bertaux et al. (1998). Quantities are expressed as wt% of total dry sediment. A precision of 1% has been estimated for
each individual determination. The X-ray diffraction analysis was performed on powdered sediment samples using a
Seifert (JSO-DEBYEFLEX 2002) X-ray diffractometer having a curved graphite crystal diffracted monochromator,
with a source of CuK radiation and a NaI (TI) scintillation counter detector. The diffraction patterns were obtained
over the 2 values in the region of 10 to 70. The estimated error in the lattice parameter is of the order of 0.005. The
experimental pattern was compared with patterns obtained from the Joint Committee on Powder Diffraction Standards
(JCPDS) database.

Fig. 1 The study area with sampling locations, bathymetry contours and surface currents

Multivariate statistical techniques including Pearsons correlation matrix, Factor and Cluster analyses were applied to
assess the regional distribution pattern of clay minerals and their relationships with grain size of sediments in the study
area. In order to understand the relationships among the clay minerals, grain size and their associated hydrodynamic
conditions, Pearsons correlation coefficient matrix were calculated using SPSS software. The factor analysis was
International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 13 -
applied to obtain more reliable information about the relationships among the variables. Factor analysis is used to
describe variability among the observed, correlated variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved
variables called factors. Varimax rotation and R-mode factor analysis with rotation was applied separately to sediment
samples to establish the sedimentological processes. Factor analysis can be expressed as: Fi = a1x1j + a2x2j + + amxmj.
Where, Fi is the factor, a is the loading, x is the measured value of variable, i is the factor number, j is the sample
number and m the total number of variables. Factor scores can be expressed as: Zij = a1f1j + a2f2j + + amfmj + eij.
Where, z is the measured variable, a is the factor loading, f is the factor score, the residual term accounting for
errors or other source of variation. Cluster analysis is used to classify the objects of the system into categories or
clusters based on their similarities, and the objective is to find an optimal grouping for which the observations or objects
within each cluster are similar, but the clusters are dissimilar to each other. In this study, single linkage correlation
coefficient distance method was used. In the single linkage method, the distances or similarities between two clusters A
and B is defined as the minimum distance between a point in A and a point in B. Cluster analysis is expressed as: D (A,
B) = min {d (yi,yj), for yi in A and yj in B}. Where, d (yi,yj) is the Euclidean distance. At each step the distance is found
for every pair of clusters and the two clusters with smallest distance (largest similarity) are merged. After two clusters
are merged the procedure is repeated for the next step; the distances between all pairs of clusters are calculated again,
and the pair with minimum distance is merged into a single cluster. The result of a hierarchical clustering procedure can
be displayed graphically using a tree diagram, also known as a dendrogram (Alkarkhi et al., 2009). Factor and cluster
analyses were performed using SPSS (windows 16.0) and MINITAB (version 15) softwares respectively.

4 Results and discussion

4.1 Characterization of clay minerals

All marine sediment samples tested in the present study provided similar vibrational reflectance spectra in the middle
region of the infrared spectrum and Fig. 2 shows assembled FTIR spectra of some selected marine sediment samples.
The band from 3,600 to 3,650 cm-1 is attributed to n (OH) vibrations of hydroxyl groups in aluminosilicates (Howe et
al., 2002). The broad band located around 3,430 cm1 is most probably associated with n (OHO) vibration of water
and OH groups, which might along belong to organic fraction of sediments.

Fig. 2 Representative FTIR spectra of the Chennai coastal sediments

The most important clay minerals observed are kaolinite, chlorite and illite. Bands at 3,698, 3,650, and 3,620 cm-1 are
due to the presence of kaolinite (Kotoky et al., 2006). Occurrence of a band at 1,010 to 1,075 cm1, coupled with 790 to
920 cm1 and 3,620 cm1, suggests the presence of kaolinite mineral (Moros et al., 2010). Moreover, occurrence of the
band resulting from OH deformation also confirms the presence of well-crystallized kaolinite mineral in sediments.
Bands at 620, 460 and 445 cm1 are due to the presence of Chlorite. The broad band with a peak at 3,410 cm1 also
confirms the presence of chlorite in the sample (Farmer, 1974; Kotoky et al., 2006). Vibrational band at 750 cm1
indicates the presence of illite mineral in the samples. The broad OH stretching vibration band at 3,620 cm1 coupled
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with doublet at 750 cm1 is characteristic of illite mineral (Kotoky et al., 2006). The band at 430 cm1 can be assigned to
stretching vibration of illite mineral (Kieffer, 1979). Quartz is the most abundant mineral in sediments. Quartz bands
appear at 1,080 and 695 cm-1 and as a characteristic doublet with peaks at around 800 and 780 cm-1 (Pacakova et al.,
2000). The band at 640645 cm-1 is due to AlO coordination vibrations indicating the presence of feldspar (Russell,
1987). Band at 770 cm1 indicates the presence of albite mineral in samples (Kotoky et al., 2006). The peak at 585 cm1
indicates the presence of magnetite, whereas peak at 535 cm1 indicates the presence of hematite (Farmer, 1974).
Carbonate, which is generally an abundant compound in marine sediments, shows its typical bands at 1460 cm-1
(stretching vibration) and 880 cm-1 (bending vibration). The carbonate fraction consists of aragonite and calcite, and
represents recent and relict biogenic debris. The band at 1,474 cm-1 is indicates the presence of aragonite (Russell,
1987). Absorption bands placed at 1,432,874 and 712 cm-1 could be associated to the presence of calcite (Mecozzi et al.,
2001). The regions between 2,8503,000 cm-1 and 1,6001,800 cm-1 are indications of the presence of organic matter in
investigated marine sediments. The pair at 2,922 and 2,851 cm-1 corresponds to the asymmetrical and symmetrical
stretching vibrations of CH2 in an aliphatic hydrocarbon. The peaks at 2,958 and 2,856 cm-1 correspond to the
asymmetrical and symmetrical stretching vibrations of CH3 also in an aliphatic hydrocarbon (Socrates, 2001; Matrajt et
al., 2004). Carboxyl groups are the most important functional groups in natural organic matter.

4.2 Distribution of sediment texture size and clay minerals

The textural distribution of the surface sediments off Chennai reveals the predominance of sand at near the shoreline
(Fig. 3). The composition of littoral sediments and their textural composition depend on waves, wind, longshore
currents and source composition (Dora et al., 2011). The difference in the textural parameters indicates that they are
mainly dependent on the dynamic process that affects the shallow region in the study area rather than the deeper region.
The minimum (68.06) and maximum (97.28) percentages of sand are recorded at CH7 and M15 respectively. The
increase of fine sediments (silt + clay) along the coast (CH7, C11, C12, A16 and N21) is an indication of fresh water
input with finer particles that settle to the bottom when current and wind speeds reduce (Venkatachalapathy et al.,
2010a).

Fig. 3 Textural distribution and crystallinity index of quartz for Chennai coastal sediments

The spatial distribution of carbonate and organic matter has shown in Fig. 4a. The estimated values of carbonate in the
surface sediments ranged from 4.24 to 8.73%, with an average of 6.83%. The principal sources of carbonate in marine
sediments are: (1) inorganic chemical precipitation, (2) residues from weathering of limestone rock on the sea floor, (3)
biogenic fraction accumulation of skeletal grains and (4) terrestrial rock. The greater part of carbonate in the studied
locations seems to result from more than one source i.e., mixed from 1, 2, 3 and 4. The various carbonate values
observed at different locations were due to changes in the percentage of sand and the flow of waste water from the
coastal industries that bring the noncarbonated materials, and gives the low and high values. The majority of wastewater
is disposed of in Adayar River, Cooum River and Bukingham canal outlets. Apart from these major disposal sites, a
number of domestic and industrial wastewater sites are prevalent along the coastal zone of north Chennai. A number of
refineries, thermal power plants, chemical rubber and fertilizer industries are located along the Chennai coastal zone
(Shanmugam et al., 2007). Relatively moderate values of carbonates at certain depths may be due to the sturdy currents
leading to non-deposition of terrigenous materials (Gowri et al., 2008; Muthuraj and Jayaprakash, 2008). The spatial
distributions of the carbonate contents are high where the sand dominance was high, which indicates that carbonates are
attached with coarse sediments. The estimated values of organic matter in the surface sediments ranged from 0.36 to
7.91%, with an average of 3.74%. The great variation in organic matter contents of the surface sediments is mostly due
International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 15 -
to local contamination by oil, i.e., petroleum and its components thrown out this area by waves and the remaining to the
biogenic sources (include land plants, phytoplankton, animals, bacteria, and macroalgae) or in the early stages of
diagenesis in recent marine sediments (Venkatachalapathy et al., 2011a). The high inputs of terrigenous material from
the adjacent land mass and industrial effluents nearby have increased the organic matter values close to the shore; the
clay and silt sediments in these areas also support the deposition of organic debris. Quartz and feldspar are the dominant
terrigenous species, averaging 46.95% and 12.25% respectively (Fig. 4b). Quartz is the most abundant mineral in every
segment of the shelf under study, varying from 19.71 to 78.84%. Highest concentrations of quartz are located in the
sandy sediments (M13, M14 and M15) and the lowest concentrations of quartz are found in harbor (CH7) and estuarine
sediments (C11, C12 and A16). The distribution of quartz and feldspar is closely associated with the bathymetry;
contents in shallow zones are high, decreasing progressively toward the deeper zones. Feldspars (albite and oligoclase)
appear in varying percentages (6.53 to 18.25%) in all studied samples. There are distinct trends in the quartz and
feldspar distribution in the sediments of Chennai coast. The mineral abundances are related with the coastal geology and
rock formations in the drainage basins of the rivers. Large pulses of sand were supplied to the marina beach by coastal
currents and long shore drift.
Crystallinity can be defined as the fraction of crystalline materials in the mixture of crystalline and non crystalline
materials. Crystallinity index of quartz is recognized as an indicator of crystalline form of other minerals associated
with it. Since quartz is crystallized after all minerals associated with it get crystallized, therefore, we can expect that the
associated minerals are in well crystalline form. The maximum value of crystallinity indicates the minerals are in
ordered form and the minimum value is taken as disordered form. Therefore, it is important to find the crystallinity of
quartz rather than the other associated minerals.
Crystallinity index of quartz obtained from FTIR spectra represents the ratio of characteristic amorphous peak at 695
cm1 and the tetrahedral characteristic peak at 778 cm1 which is found to be good for structure elucidation (Saikia et al.,
2008). The tetrahedral site symmetry is stronger to that of octahedral site symmetry. Therefore, for any structural
change, the damage occurs first in octahedral site symmetry then in tetrahedral site symmetry. The intensity of the bands
due to the vibrations of these two symmetries will provide direct information on the crystallinity. The determination of
the crystallinity index of quartz will give a clear indication on the crystalline forms of other minerals because quartz is
the mineral, which crystallizes last. Hence, it is useful to find out the crystallinity index of quartz rather than the other
minerals. The crystallinity index is directly proportional to crystalline nature of minerals (Saikia et al., 2008). The low
value of crystallinity index indicates that the sample has a poor crystalline form which is indicative of the increase of
clay minerals and other impurities. From the observed values, high amounts of well-ordered crystalline quartz mineral
associated sand particles were observed in nearshore sediments (especially in Marina beach) and poor crystalline form
of quartz with silt and clay particles were obtained in Chennai harbor, Cooum river, Adayar river and deeper zone
sediments.
Clay minerals in the sediment samples are kaolinite, chlorite and illite. Figure 4c shows that kaolinite is the dominant
clay mineral (14.8%) followed by chlorite (8.89%) and illite (0.41%). The distributions of kaolinite, chlorite and illite
are low in shallow zones, increasing progressively toward the deeper zones. The main factor controlling the marine
distribution of clay minerals is the nature of the dominant particle sources. Cooum and Adayar rivers are the major
contributors of continental sediments to the ocean. Gowri et al. (2008) found that the range of discharge rate in Adayar
River is from 514.59 to 2,585.08h106 liters per day, whereas in Cooum River, the discharge varied between 266.45 and
709.34 106 liters per day. Hence, kaolinite, chlorite and illite are the dominant clay minerals in the river discharge and
with the long-shore transport these sediments are accumulated on the continental shelf of Chennai coast. The clay
mineral distribution pattern clearly suggests that the clay mineral distribution in the Chennai coast is controlled by two
main river systems. These also include effects of coastal processes such as waves, tides, rip currents, storm surges,
shoreline weathering, coastal erosion, sediment transportation and deposition.
The estimated values of magnetite and hematite in the surface sediments ranged from 1.1 to 10.23% and 0.45 to 6.77%,
with average values of 4.12 and 2.28% respectively (Fig. 4d). The influx of sediments entering into the bay from
estuaries is seen by iron oxides such as magnetite and hematite, which are due to anthropogenic activities like harbor
activities, sewage water input, fishing activities and erosion of the shoreline. This suggests that the estuarine sediments,
mainly fluvial in origin, are admixed with a variable proportion of coastal marine material, depending on the tidal
energy. Mineral magnetic measurements of these samples have been recently investigated by Venkatachalapathy et al.
(2010b) and the concentration of fine grained anthropogenic ferrimagnetic minerals are highly obtained in the northern
part of the study area. The distributions of iron oxides (magnetite and hematite) are also highly obtained in the northern
part of the study area. The soft and hard fractions of magnetic minerals have been estimated using Soft IRM, Hard IRM
and S ratio for these sediment samples (Venkatachalapathy et al., 2010b). The concentrations of hematite and magnetite
minerals are well agreed with the mineral magnetic results. Similar conclusion has been drawn based on distribution of
metals and magnetic parameters in sediments off Chennai (Venkatachalapathy et al., 2011b; Veerasingam et al., 2012).
Mineralogical composition and crystalline nature of minerals in surface sediments could be obtained by XRD; hence,
selected samples have been analyzed by means of this technique in order to validate the infrared results (Fig. 5). This
analysis also showed that the peak intensities of quartz are high in all sediment samples due to the presence of high
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concentration of quartz. Feldspars were the other phase always present; however, in CH7, C11, C12, A16 and N21
samples, these minerals were less abundant. From XRD pattern kaolinite, chlorite, illite, hematite, magnetite, calcite,
and aragonite are also identified. The reason for the absence of few minerals in XRD analysis, which are identified
through FTIR, is due to the disordered (loss of crystalline nature) nature of the respective minerals. On the whole, the
XRD results agree well with the infrared ones.

International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 17 -
 Fig. 5 X-ray powder diffractograms of selected sediment samples from Chennai coast

4.3 Coastal hydrodynamics and littoral sediment transport

Mohan and Venkatachalapthy (2012) have collected wave and tide data by deploying Valeport wave recorders at five
locations off Chennai during April 2009. The details of significant wave height (Hs) and their corresponding wave
period and wave energy density off Chennai are given in Table 1. The minimum wave height and wave energy values
were obtained in Adayar estuary and maximum values obtained in Marina. The current speed varied from 0.5 to 41 cm
s-1 with an average value of 17 cm s-1 during the southwest monsoon (Table 2). The amplitude and phase of major tidal
constitutions are given in Table 2. The highest current speed was observed at the opposite of Adayar river mouth region,
which might have been influenced by the Adayar river. The weakest current speed was recorded at off Marina. The
relative importance of diurnal and semidiurnal constituents varies with geographical position and can be measured by
form number (F), i.e., the ration of the sums of amplitudes of the two major diurnal (K1 and O1) and semidiurnal (M2
and S2) constituents (Pugh, 1987). The observed form number for Chennai is 0.19 during southwest monsoon indicating
dominance of semidiurnal tidal constituents in the study area (Kankara et al., 2013). The relationships among the texture
size, clay minerals and wave energy density off Chennai (Fig. 6) reveal that wave induced littoral drift play a dominant
role in transportation and deposition of sediments. In Chennai, the hydrodynamic condition is dominated by tidal
currents and waves. Sediment transport is mainly controlled by tidal currents with wave action having significant effect
only in shallow regions. Littoral drift plays a dominant role in alongshore moment of sediments in the nearshore region.
Several types of barriers such as headlands, tidal inlets and jetties tend to interrupt the normal littoral drift and cause
accumulation of sediments instead of further transport. Due to the presence of man-made breakwaters and the naturally
formed offshore shoals along the Chennai coast with a series of alternating zones of erosion and deposition caused.
Rangarao et al. (2009) estimated the sediment transport along Ennore during 2001 to 2006 using the observed field data
on beach profiles and also from LITDRIFT model simulations. Kankara et al. (2013) provided the detailed picture of the
tidal level characteristics and tidal currents and also simulated the hydrodynamic flow circulation in Chennai coast
using a numerical model. The sediment texture and minerals data agree well with the results of 2D hydrodynamics
model (Kankara et al., 2013) and LITDRIFT model (Rangarao et al., 2009). In this study, the high concentration of clay
and clay minerals were observed in Cooum estuary and harbor region. The Chennai harbor is a potential barrier to the
normal sediment transport and disturbs normal delivery of coast parallel sediment flux to the north, and causes higher
accumulation of sand particles towards the Marina beach, whereas finer sediments accumulated on the estuarine regions.
Thus, the textural and mineral characteristics of Chennai coast are influenced by the hydrodynamic condition that
prevails over the region.

4.4 Correlation matrix

The interrelationships among the measured parameters are presented in Table 3. The sand content is positively
correlated with quartz (0.67), crystallinity index (0.7), and carbonate (0.76) but negatively correlated with kaolinite,
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chlorite, illite, hematite, magnetite, and organic matter. This indicates that due to strong hydrodynamics, the coastal area
have high concentration of sand associated with well crystallized quartz and carbonate. Moreover the quartz and
carbonate with sand confirm the visual observation that the sandy fraction characteristic of the shallower zones
corresponds to terrigenous material. The silt content is positively correlated with kaolinite, chlorite, illite, hematite,
magnetite and organic matter. This suggests that the presence of fine grained sediments in estuarine and deeper zones is
formed during weak hydrodynamics such as waves and currents. The clay minerals, iron oxides and organic matter are
concentrated in silt and clay particles. The fine grain sediments are trapped when river waters reach the estuary because
of flocculation processes during estuarine mixing, thus estuary acts as a storage basin for minerals and organic
compounds. The significant positive correlation between iron oxides and organic matter indicates that both are derived
from same sources. Venkatachalapathy et al. (2010b) have also obtained a correlation between hydrocarbons and
magnetic susceptibility (concentration of iron oxides) for Chennai coastal sediments.

Table 1 Details of wave parameters for Chennai coast during southwest monsoon (Mohan and Venkatachalapathy, 2012)
Tiruvottiyur (10 m) Marina (6 m) Marina (15 m) Adayar (12 m) Thiruvanmiyur(12m)
Parameters
MinMax (Mean) MinMax (Mean) MinMax (Mean) MinMax (Mean) MinMax (Mean)
Significant wave 0.37 1.08 0.33 1.57 0.34 1.23 0.27 0.98 0.39 0.98
height, Hs (m) (0.66) (0.74) (0.70) (0.57) (0.66)
Maximum Wave 0.58 1.69 0.52 2.38 0.54 1.93 0.43 1.54 0.61 1.53
Height, Hmax (m) (1.04) (1.18) (1.11) (0.91) (1.03)
Mean Period 4.71 12.12 5.11 13.5 5.56 14.27 5.66 11.75 7.59 12.70
(T1) (9.40) (9.62) (9.65) (8.94) (10.53)
Peak Period 3.61 17.07 3.45 18.28 3.45 18.28 3.88 14.22 8.83 17.07
(Tp) (11.16) (11.59) (11.34) (10.47) (12.38)
Zero crossing 4.36 11.70 4.59 12.72 4.98 13.64 5.16 11.16 6.67 12.04
period (Tz) (8.82) (8.88) (8.97) (8.30) (9.88)
Significant wave 3.79 17.92 3.63 19.2 3.63 19.2 4.07 14.93 9.27 17.92
period (T1/3) (11.72) (12.17) (11.91) (10.99) (12.99)
Wave energy 87.20 729.87 69.93 1,452.58 75.058 953.23 47.92 607.74 94.78 599.75
density (E) (291.85) (376.65) (332.08) (221.89) (281.25)

Table 2 Details of current parameters and tidal constituents for Chennai coast during southwest monsoon (Kankara et al., 2013)
Current
Locations with speed M2 S2 K1 O1
(cm s-1) Direction
water depths Amplitude Phase Amplitude Phase Amplitude Phase Amplitude Phase
Mean Max
(m) (deg) (m) (deg) (m) (deg) (m) (deg)
Tiruvottiyur (10 m) 18 36 NNE 0.33 231 0.19 265 0.07 322 0.03 318
Marina (6 m) 15 35 NNE 0.33 230 0.19 265 0.07 323 0.03 325
Marina (15 m) 17 40 NNE 0.33 231 0.18 265 0.07 323 0.03 321
Adayar (12 m) 21 41 NNE 0.33 229 0.18 265 0.07 322 0.03 317
Thiruvanmiyur (12m) 15 32 NNE

4.5 Factor analysis

Factor analysis was used to identify the parameters that control mineral distributions in the Chennai coastal sediments
(Fig. 7). Three factors explain 83.2% of the total variance in the 21 sediment samples analyzed. Factor 1 (60.3% of the
total variance with an eigenvalue of 7.8) have positive loading with kaolinite, chlorite, illite, magnetite, organic matter,
and silt, whereas negative loading with quartz, sand, crystalinity index and carbonate. This indicates that the spatial
distributions of quartz and shell fragments of carbonate (calcite or aragonite) are usually concentrated in sand fractions,
whereas clay minerals and organic matter are associated with clay and silt fractions. Factor 2 explains for 13.9% of the
total variance with an eigenvalue of 1.8 and is characterized by strong positive loading with hematite, magnetite, silt
and clay, whereas negative loading with sand and carbonate. The enrichment of iron oxides in Chennai harbor, Cooum
and Adayar estuarine regions can be explained by anthropogenic activities and estuarine sediments mainly fluvial in
origin and are admixed with a variable proportion of coastal and marine material. Factor 3 accounts for 9% of the total
variance with an eigenvalue of 1.1 and the strong positive loading obtained with feldspar and illite.

4.6 Cluster analysis

Understanding the distribution of textural and mineral components was further refined using cluster analysis. The
dendrograms based on the single linkage correlation coefficient distance between the variables indicates three different
clusters in Chennai coastal sediments (Fig. 8). The most similar objects are first grouped, and these initial groups are
merged according to their similarities.

International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 19 -
 Fig. 6 Plot of texture size and minerals versus wave energy density along Chennai coast

Table 3 Pearsons correlation matrix for sediment textural and mineralogical characteristics
Quartz Feldspar Kaolinite Chlorite Illite Hematite Magnetite Carbonate OM CI Sand Silt Clay
Quartz 1
Feldspar -0.11 1
Kaolinite -0.85 -0.12 1
Chlorite -0.79 0.19 0.42 1
Illite -0.76 0.52 0.46 0.73 1
Hematite -0.55 -0.30 0.33 0.50 0.43 1
Magnetite -0.67 -0.37 0.59 0.42 0.34 0.76 1
Carbonate 0.71 -0.21 -0.40 -0.74 -0.64 -0.69 -0.60 1
OM -0.91 0.03 0.72 0.72 0.62 0.64 0.71 -0.75 1
CI 0.80 -0.24 -0.65 -0.59 -0.76 -0.46 -0.64 0.71 -0.65 1
Sand 0.67 0.06 -0.53 -0.49 -0.62 -0.76 -0.70 0.76 -0.67 0.70 1
Silt -0.67 -0.07 0.54 0.50 0.62 0.77 0.71 -0.75 0.67 -0.71 -0.99 1
Clay -0.41 0.18 0.28 0.31 0.44 0.45 0.37 -0.53 0.46 -0.33 -0.68 0.65 1

Cluster I consists of the parameters such as sand, carbonate, quartz and crystallinity index; Cluster II consists of silt,
hematite, magnetite, kaolinite, organic matter, chlorite, illite and clay, whereas Feldspar formed the cluster III. All
clusters are formed on the basis of existing similarities. Results from cluster analysis are well agreed with correlation
and factor analyses.

5 Conclusions
Clay minerals in surface sediments were analyzed to determine their distribution characteristics, sources and transport
pathways in Chennai coast. In particular, regional and local surface hydrodynamics are reflected by the distribution of
clay minerals. Characterization of clay minerals in the Chennai coastal sediments using FTIR spectroscopy has revealed
- 20 - International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123
the association of dominant quartz, feldspar, kaolinite, chlorite, illite, hematite, magnetite, carbonate, and organic matter.
The crystallinity index of quartz shows that the well-ordered crystalline quartz is observed in near-shore sediments and
poor crystalline quartz is observed in Chennai harbor, Cooum river, Adayar river and deeper zone sediments. The
Chennai harbor, Cooum and Adayar rivers sediments have high mud (silt + clay) and clay minerals such as kaolinite,
chlorite, illite and iron oxides (hematite and magnetite). The plots of texture size and clay minerals versus wave energy
density revealed that the wave induced littoral drift play a dominant role in transportation and deposition of sediments
in Chennai coast. The positive relationship between iron oxides and organic matter shows that both could be derived
from the same anthropogenic sources. Multivariate statistical analyses (correlation matrix, cluster and factor analyses)
were carried out and obtained results suggested that clay minerals and organic matter are trapped in silt and clay
particles, whereas quartz, feldspar and carbonate are associated with sand particles. The textural and mineral
characteristics of Chennai coast are influenced by the hydrodynamic condition that prevails over this region.

Fig. 7 Results of factor analysis showing the relationships among the clay minerals, carbonate, organic matter
and texture sizes with three primary factors F1, F2 and F3 in Chennai coastal sediments

Fig. 8 Single linkage correlation coefficient distance dendrogram (tree diagram) shows cluster
of variables in Chennai coastal sediments on the basis of similarity.

Future perspectives: Characterization of clay minerals and their distributions as determined by contemporary transport
mechanisms and depositional processes, have significant potential value to further understanding of sources of
particulate reactive anthropogenic contaminants, such as heavy metals, hydrocarbons and radionuclides in this region.

Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, New Delhi, for financial support under the

International Journal of Sediment Research, Vol. 29, No. 1, 2014, pp. 1123 - 21 -
project MoES/11-MRDF/ 1/13/P/07. We thank Director, Faculty of Marine Sciences, Annamalai University, for his
support and constant encouragement. We also thank to the crew of RV Sagar Paschimi for their help during sampling.

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