The natural hydrous sodium silicates from the northern bank of Lake Chad : occurrence, petrology and genesis

Abstract Hydrous sodium silicates sometimes associated with zeolites, form in an alkaline environment, in which there is a high concentration of dissolved silica. Such an environment existed during the Holocene in N'Guigmi interdunal depressions (Lake Chad), which led to the precipitation of various types of hydrous sodium silicates, including magadiite, kenyaite, and zeolites. Scanning electron and optical microscope observations allow several microstructures to be distinguished. These microstructures result from either precipitation sequences or a transformation along a diagenetic gradient. New petrological, microstructural and geochemical data confirm the transformation of magadiite into…