24 Undergraduate Research Posters

This poster session highlights geoscience research conducted and presented by undergraduate students. Abstracts must be written by students (but may include non-student co-authors). Research topics may include any area of the earth sciences.

Thursday, 23 April 2026
8:00 AM - 5:30 PM
LMH, 5th Floor Chapel

Tracing Sediment Provenance and Alteration in the Gulf of California: Mineralogical Evidence from the Pescadero, Cerralvo, and Guaymas Basins

Paper number: 24-14
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 8:15 AM – 8:15 AM

Authors

Abstract

This study characterizes the mineralogical and textural properties of sediments from three basins in the Gulf of California: Pescadero, Cerralvo and Guaymas, in order to assess mineral alteration processes and sediment provenance within a complex geological and oceanographic setting. The study area is located in a tectonically active region where sedimentary, magmatic, and hydrothermal processes interact, strongly influencing the composition and evolution of marine sediments. 

Analyses were conducted on sediment cores approximately twenty centimeters in length, with samples collected from the base and top of each core to enable stratigraphic comparisons. Samples were pretreated through drying, sieving, and granulometric fractionation.Petrographic analyses of thin sections were conducted to obtain qualitative and semi-quantitative descriptions of mineral assemblages, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were used to identify and characterize clay mineral phases. Additionally, quantitative mineralogical analyses were also important to determine the carbonate content and the relative proportions of major mineral phases, including quartz, feldspars, plagioclase, and mafic minerals. Sediment provenance was evaluated using ternary diagrams based on the integrated mineralogical dataset.

Results reveal differences in mineralogical composition and degrees of alteration among the studied basins, suggesting variability in sediment sources and post-depositional processes. The distribution and composition of clay minerals provide valuable insights into sedimentary processes and provenance interpretation, as well as into the potential influence of active hydrothermal systems, particularly in the Guaymas and Pescadero basins. Overall, this study contributes to a better understanding of sediment mineralogy and provenance in the Gulf of California and highlights the importance of integrating petrographic observations and X-ray diffraction techniques in regional sedimentological studies within complex marine geological environments. 

 

Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 58, No. 3

doi: 10.1130/abs/2026CD-411004

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