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Grain-size analysis and characterization of

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Arab J Geosci
DOI 10.1007/s12517-012-0709-0
ORIGINAL PAPER
Grain size analysis and characterization of sedimentary
environment along Thiruchendur coast, Tamilnadu, India
V. C. Rajganapathi & N. Jitheshkumar &
M. Sundararajan & K. H. Bhat & S. Velusamy
Received: 14 June 2012 / Accepted: 12 October 2012
# Saudi Society for Geosciences 2012
Abstract Thiruchendur coast of southern Tamilnadu, India
has been studied for grain-size spectrum and textural param-
eters namely mean, sorting, skewness and kurtosis. The grain-
size spectrum shows a marked variation in the berm, high tide
line (HTL) and low tide line (LTL) stretches. Variation in
energy condition is controlled by geomorphology of the sed-
imentary beach. Textural pattern shows complicated profile as
a result of the fluctuation in the physicochemical conditions
due to the sediments and the marine interactions. Abundance
of the medium sand to fine sand shows the prevalence of
comparatively moderate- to low-energy condition in the Thir-
uchendur area. Linear discriminate function of the samples
indicates an aeolian, shallow marine deposition environment
and less influence of fluvial (7 %) process. CM diagram (C 0
one percentile in microns M 0 medium in microns) of Thir-
uchendur coast sediments suggests that deposition takes place
by (1) rolling, (2) bottom suspension, (3) graded suspension.
This is also supported by the wave energy in different
stretches in beach line and also tractive current figure implies
the sediments disturbed by the tractive and turbidity currents.
The heavy minerals are concentrated in the berm (average,
11.8 %) and high tide line (average, 11.2 %) because of high-
energy condition and aeolian action. Quartz microtextures
show the mechanical action due to high-energy condition in
Manapad and Kuduthalai areas, the chemical action because
of to low-energy condition along the Thiruchendur, Kalla-
mozhi areas.
V. C. Rajganapathi : N. Jitheshkumar : M. Sundararajan (*) :
K. H. Bhat : S. Velusamy
CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and
Technology, Trivandrum,
695019 Kerala, India
e-mail: rajanmsundar77@yahoo.com
Keywords Beach . Sediment . Grain size . Thiruchendur .
Tamilnadu
Introduction
Grain size studies of beach sediments provide a wealth of
information on the intrinsic properties of sediments and their
depositional environment. Further, they help to delve into the
nature and energy flux of the multifarious agents transporting
the sediments. Systematic granulometric studies of the east and
west coasts of India have been carried out by many researchers
(Rajamanickam and Gujar 1984, 1985, 1993; Chaudhri et al.
1981; Rao et al. 2005. Angusamy and Rajamanickam 2006,
2007; Suresh Gandhi et al. 2008; Ramanathan et al. 2009;
Anithamary et al. 2011). The complex coastal processes oper-
ated in the past and operating today have left their imprints in
the sediments. In this regard, the Sedimentology of beach
sediments plays a vital role in documenting the depositional
history of a region (Angusamy and Rajamanickam 2007).
Sedimentalogists are particularly concerned with three aspects
of particle size: (a) techniques for measuring grain size and
expressing it in terms a grade scale, (b) methods for quantify-
ing grain size data and presenting them in a graphical or
statistical form and (c) the genetic significance of these data
(Boggs 1995). Heavy minerals such as ilmenite, monazite,
zircon, sillimanite and garnets are important economic resour-
ces as they are useful in many industries for various applica-
tions. The known deposits of heavy minerals in India are at
Chavera (Kerala), Ratnagiri (Maharastra), Manavalakuichi
(Tamilnadu) and Ganjam (Orissa). The placer deposits are
considered economically viable deposits because of profitabil-
ity and easy mineability. Better profit and development of cost-
effective indigenous technology both in mining and processing
are the main factors for its increasing importance over the years

(Karikalan et al. 2001). The surface microtextural study of
quartz grains with the help of scanning electron microscope
(SEM) has proved to be an effective and useful tool in deci-
phering the depositional environments, the mode of transport
and the digenetic processes of coastal, fluvial and glacial sedi-
ments. The different mechanical and chemical processes that
affect quartz sand grains are apparent from the surface features
(Al-Saleh and Khalaf 1982). These features are described and
catalogued according to depositional environment (Krinsely
and Doornkamp 1973)
Materials and methods
During the month of April (pre-monsoon), samples were
collected with a hand auger from the low tide line (LTL),
high tide line (HTL) and berm regions to a depth of 25 cm,
while maintaining an interval of approximately 1 km be-
tween the sampling stations. In all, 84 samples were collect-
ed for detailed sedimentological analysis from 28 stations
(Fig. 1). The 28 sampling stations were classified into five
sectors: Thiruchendur (18 samples), Kallamozhi (18 sam-
ples), Kulasekarapattinam (12 samples), Manapad (12 sam-
ples), Periyathalai (24 samples).
The bulk sample was reduced by coning and quartering,
and a 100-g portion of the sample was selected for labora-
tory analysis. Organic matter and ferruginous coatings were
removed from the samples by treatment with 30 % by
volume H2O2 and SnCl2. After this pre-treatment, the sam-
ples were sifted at 0.50 intervals through ASTM sieve
(from +18 to +230 mesh sizes)sets using a Ro-Tap sieve
shaker for 15 min. The sieved materials were collected and
78 00
78 00
Fig. 1 Location map of the study area
Arab J Geosci
weighed. The carbonates present in the sediments were
estimated after sieving by treatment with 1:10 HCl. Weight
percentage frequencies and cumulative weight percentage
frequencies were computed (Folk and Ward 1957). The
sieved materials were weighed separately. Then the fractions
were properly tabulated and the sands of the respective
fractions were kept for further studies. The grain size param-
eters like graphic mean (Mz), inclusive graphic standard
deviation (SD), inclusive graphic skewness (Sk1) and graph-
ic kurtosis (KG) were determined using the software pack-
age (Fig. 2). The various graphic and moment measures
were calculated with the formulae of Folk and Ward (1957).
Heavy mineral separation was carried out by bromoform
(specific gravity, 2.89) following the procedure outlined in
Milner (1962). A total of four samples were taken from the
study area (four sector) for analysing microtextural studies.
Coarser size fraction samples were chosen from each sample
and mono-crystalline quartz grains were picked-up to exam-
ine their surface features. The sand fractions were selected
and treated chemically following the standard procedures
(Krinsely and Doornkamp 1973) to remove coating of iron
oxide and organic matter. After thorough cleaning, the dried
grains were placed in rows upon aluminium specimen stub
coated with double-sided scotch tape. The stubs were posi-
tioned in a rotating vacuum evaporator for coating gold.
Finally, the mounted grains were examined under scanning
electron microscope and photomicrographs were taken.
Study area
The study area is located along the southern coast of Tamil-
nadu State, India. It extends over a distance of 28 km. of the
78 05 78 10
8 30
8 25
8 20
78 05 78 10
Arab J Geosci
1.8
1.6
1.4
Mean (Phi)
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0 0
0.25
0.2
Skewness
0.15
0.1
0.05
0 0
Area
Fig. 2 Average values of grain size statistical parameters, Thiruchendur coast: a mean vs sorting; b sorting vs skewness; c skewness and kurtosis
south-eastern coastline border of Bay of Bengal. The sam-
pling location has been pointed out for every 1-km distance
(approximately) out of 28 km. It extends from latitude 08
2935 to 081703 and longitude 770740 to 775356.
The coast runs in NE direction and is almost a plain country
(Fig. 1).
The study region is chiefly underlain by the crystalline
rocks of Archean age consisting of gneisses, charnockites,
granites and quaternary sediments. This coastal belt is rich
in garnet, ilmenite and monazite minerals and raised
beaches with sand bars parallel to the present coastline.
The sand bars are trend towards north to south direction.
In the coastal area between Thiruchendur to Manapad, there
are sanddune and terridune complexes comprising of sand,
clay, sandstone, calcareous sand with shell inclusion, later-
ite, Archaean formation, granite gneisses, charnockite, peg-
matite and quartzite (Angusamy and Rajamanickam 2001).
Taking into account the dominance of a particular rock type
or lithological presence, the beaches are grouped into
beaches of coralline and crystalline rocks. Coralline rocks
are exposed in the coastal segment of the Alanthalai region.
At a few places, the calcareous sandstone shows a clear
stratification with a seaward dip <10. The marine calcareous
sandstones, rich in quartz and feldspar, with embedded
mollusc shells, are exposed in many places like Tiruchendur
and Manapad in the high tide and berm zones. At Tiruchen-
dur, the exposed sandstone stands several metres above the
mean tide level suggesting that the relative Holocene sea
level along this region probably stabilised after the cemen-
tation of the sand (Angusamy and Rajamanickam 2006)
0.8
0.7
Sorting (Phi)
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
1.2
1
Kurtosis
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
Area
Results and discussion
Textural attributes of sediments, viz. mean (Mz), sorting
(SD), skewness (Ski) and kurtosis (KG) are widely used to
reconstruct the depositional environment of sediments
(Angusamy and Rajamanickam 2006). Correlation between
size parameters and transport processes/depositional mech-
anisms of sediments has been established by exhaustive
studies from many modern and ancient sedimentary envi-
ronments (Folk and Ward 1957; Mason and Folk 1958;
Friedman 1967; Visher 1969; Valia and Cameron 1977;
Wang et al. 1998; Asselman 1999; Malvarez et al. 2001;
Ramamohanarao et al. 2003; Suresh Gandhi et al. 2008;
Ramanathan et al. 2009; Anithamary et al. 2011).
Table 1 shows the descriptive statistics of the different grain
size parameters. Table 2 summarises parameters for the dif-
ferent sampling sectors. Thiruchendur, Kallamozhi samples
show grain size ranges between coarse to medium; whereas
Kulasekarapattinam, Manapad and Periyathalai areas ranged
between medium to fine sands. Sorting values of all the
above-mentioned sediments show very narrow range of var-
iations. Manapad and Periyathalai have well sorted than other
sectors. All the sectors are dominated in near symmetry to fine
skew except Periyathalai sector where kurtosis shows the
dominance of mesokurtic to platykurtic nature.
Friedman (1962) suggested that the extreme high or low
values of kurtosis imply that part of sediment achieved its
sorting elsewhere in high-energy environment. Variation in
the kurtosis values is a reflection of the flow characteristic of
the depositing medium (Baruah et al. 1997; Ray et al. 2006),
 Arab J Geosci

Table 1 Descriptive statistical

analysis for the grain size Grain size parameters
parameters
Area Mean () Sorting() Skewness (Ski) Kurtosis (KG)

Thiruchendur Max. 1.78 0.95 0.42 1.43

Min. 0.65 0.57 0.03 0.68
Ave. 1.4110.33 0.720.129 0.110.11 0.9550.18
Kalla Mozhi Max. 1.8 0.92 0.46 1.41
Min. 0.85 0.59 0.1 0.71
Ave. 1.3510.3 0.6810.094 0.120.14 0.9640.17
Kulasekarapattinam Max. 2.01 0.83 0.59 1.18
Min. 1.32 0.59 0.17 0.74
Ave. 1.7070.24 0.7030.081 0.1160.2 0.9150.14
Manapad Max. 2.08 0.83 0.15 1.17
Min. 1.13 0.42 0.14 0.6
Ave. 1.620.28 0.5150.105 0.0450.09 0.960.19
Periyathalai Max. 2.11 0.59 0.51 1.55
Min. 1.12 0.41 0.02 0.74
Ave. 1.4410.27 0.5250.061 0.1950.18 1.1340.24

and the dominance of finer size of platykurtic nature of
sediments reflects the maturity of the sand. This may be
due to the aggregation of sediment particle size by compac-
tion, and the variation in the sorting values are likely due to
continuous addition of finer/coarser materials in varying
proportions (Ramanathan et al. 2009).
Bivariate scatter graphs of grain size parameters
Sedimentalogists have attempted to use scatter graphs of
grain size parameters to distinguish between different
depositional settings, via bivariate plots, which are
based on the assumption that these statistical parameters

Table 2 Summery of grain size

statistical parameters (in per- Summary of grain size statistical parameters
centage of the total number at
each sector) Thiruchendur Kallamozhi Kulasekarapattinam Manapad Periyathalai

Mean ()
CS 11.11 22.22 0 0 0
MS 88.89 77.78 91.67 83.33 91.67
FS 0 0 8.33 16.67 8.33
Sorting ()
WS 0 0 0 50 29.16
MWS 50 72.23 58.34 41.66 70.84
MS 50 27.77 41.66 8.34 0
Skewness (Ski)
VFS 11.11 11.11 8.37 0 37.5
FS 22.22 27.77 50 33.33 25
CS coarse sand, MS medium NS 66.67 61.12 41.66 66.67 37.5
sand, FS fine sand, WS well Kurtosis(KG)
sorted, MWS moderately well VPK 0 0 0 8.33 0
sorted, MS moderately sorted, PK 55.55 55.55 66.67 33.34 25
VFS very fine skew, FS fine
skew, NS near symmetry, VPK MK 33.33 33.33 16.66 33.33 12.5
very platykurtic, PK platykurtic, LK 11.12 11.12 16.66 25 54.16
MK mesokurtic, LK leptokurtic, VLK 0 0 0 0 8.34
VLK very leptokurtic
Arab J Geosci

reliability reflect differences in the fluid-flow mecha- a) Mean Vs Sorting

1.0
nisms of sediment transportation and deposition (Suther- Thiruchendur
Kalla Mozhi
land and Lee 1994).

Moderatly Sorted
Kulasekarapattinam
0.9 Manapad
Figure 3a shows the relationship between mean grain size Periyathalai
and sorting for the Thiruchendur coast. There is a clustering in 0.8
medium sized and moderately well sorted. Griffths (1967)

Sorting(phi)
explained that both mean grain size and sorting are hydrauli- 0.7
cally controlled, so that in all sedimentary environments the

Well Sorted
Moderatly
best-sorted sediments have mean size in the fine sand size 0.6
range. Figure 3b shows the relationship between sorting and
skewness for the Thiruchendur coast. Sediments are moder- 0.5

Well Sorted
ately well sorted and near symmetric towards medium frac-
tions. By contrast, moderately well sorted to moderately 0.4
Fine
Coarse Medium
sorted sediments are mainly clustered around the near sym-
0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.2 2.4
metrical range and have positive skewness values. Plotting of
Mean(phi)
skewness against kurtosis is a powerful tool for interpreting
the genesis of sediment, by quantifying the degree of normal- b) Sorting Vs Skewness
ity of its size distribution (Folk 1966) Fig. 3c shows that the 0.8
sediments from Thiruchendur coast lie within the positively Thiruchendur
0.7 Kalla Mozhi

Very Fine Skew

skewed/very platy to very leptokurtic range. This suggests that Kulasekarapattinam
0.6 Manapad
the dominance of medium grain size population and the
Periyathalai
subordinate of coarse and fine grain size which gives positive 0.5

skewness. However, most of the beach sediments from the 0.4

Thiruchendur coast show mixing of different size-range sed-
Skewness

0.3
Fine Skew

iment populations, with one predominant population and a

0.2
very subordinate population.
0.1
Generally, most beach sediments are slightly negative
Near Symmetry

skewed because of a small proportion of coarse grains (Folk 0.0

1966). Friedman (1962) showed that most sands are lepto- -0.1
kurtic and are either positively or negatively skewed. This -0.2 Moderatly Sorted Mod.well Sorted Well Sorted
could be explained by the fact that most sands consist of two
0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
populations: one predominant population and one very sub-
Sorting(phi)
ordinate, coarse (leading to negative skewness) to fine (lead-
ing to positive skewness). c) Skewness and Kurtosis
1.5
Thiruchendur
Linear discriminate function 1.4 Kalla Mozhi
Kulasekarapattinam
Lepto Kurtic

1.3 Manapad
According to Sahu (1964), the statistical method of anal- Periyathalai
1.2
ysis of the sediments to interpret the variations in the
energy and fluidity factors seems to have excellent cor- 1.1
V.Platy Kurtic PlatyKurtic MesoKurtic

relation with the different processes and the environment

Kurtosis

1.0

of deposition. Linear discriminate function (LDF) analy- 0.9

sis of the sediment samples was carried out using the 0.8
following equations:
0.7

1. Aeolian/beach: 0.6

0.5

Y1A:B 3:5688 M 3:7016 r  2:0766 SK

2
0.4
Coarse Skew Near Symmetry Fine Skew Very Fine Skew
-0.3 -0.2 -0.1 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
3:1135 KG Skewness

Fig. 3 Sector plot showing the bivariate relationship between (a) the
If Y is >2.7411, the environment is Beach but if Y grain size (phi) and sorting (b) sorting and skewness, (c) skewness and
is <2.7411, the environment is Aeolian. kurtosis

2. Beach/shallow agitated water
Y2B:SM 15:6534 M 65:7091 r2 18:1071 SK fall in bottom suspension rolling to graded suspension
18:5043 KG
If Y is <63.3650, the environment is Beach but if Y
is >63.3650, the environment is Shallow marine.
3. Shallow marine/fluvial environment
Y3SM :F 0:2852 M  8:7604 r2  4:8932SK
0:0482KG
If Y is >7.4190, the environment is Shallow ma-
rine but if Y is <7.4190, the environment is Fluvial. the mode of transportation, type of weathering undergone, the
4. Fluvial/turbidity
Y4F:Turb 0:7215M 0:403r2 6:7322SK deposition and redistributed according to their specific gravity,
5:2927KG
If Y is >10.000, the environment is Turbidity but if
Y is <10.000, the environment is Fluvial.
(Y1 0 aeolian/beach, Y2 0 beach/shallow marine, Y3
0 shallow marine/fluvial, Y4 0 fluvial/turbidity)
The process and environment of deposition were deci-
phered by Sahus linear discriminate functions of Y1 (aeo-
lian, beach), Y2 (beach, shallow agitated water), Y3 (shallow
marine, fluvial) and Y4 (turbidity, fluvial). With reference to
the Y1 and Y2 values, all the samples fall (100 %) in an
aeolian process (Y1) and most of the samples (76.19 %) fall
in shallow marine waters (Y2) respectively. Further, all the
samples (100 %) fall in the (Y3) shallow marine environ-
ment, Y4 values show that about 92.86 % of the samples
were deposited by turbidity action and7.14 % by fluvial
action (Fig. 4).
CM pattern
Grain size parameters and the plots of CM patterns help to
distinguish between the sediments of different environments
of fluvial and deltaic deposits (Passega 1964; Visher 1969) .In
the present study, an attempt has been made to identify the
modes of deposition of sediments of the Thiruchendur coast
by CM pattern. Parameter C (one percentile of the grain size
distribution) and M (the median) were plotted with phi values
of the C and M obtained from cumulative curves in microns
(Fig. 5). The relation between C and M is the effect of sorting
by bottom turbulence. CM pattern is subdivided into three
segments namely, NO (rolling), OPQ (bottom suspension and
rolling), QR (graded suspension no rolling), RS (uniform
Arab J Geosci
suspension), S (pelagic suspension). The plotted results of
Thiruchendur coast sediments shows that all the samples
condition except in low tide line samples where it falls
in rolling to bottom suspension condition. The comparison
with the tractive current diagram, the berm samples fall in
beach environment, the remaining samples fall in beach
and tractive current environment, that is by interaction
with wave actions (Fig. 5).
Heavy mineral study
The heavy mineral analysis is primarily used to understand the
nature of the source from which the sediments are derived
(Pettijohn 1984) because the heavy minerals are sensitive to
distance transported, the period of stay and the nature of
depositional basin. Once the material is taken out from the
parent source, then the same is transported to the basin of
size, shape, etc. The distribution of heavy minerals is con-
trolled by so many factors like destruction by wear and tear,
stability of the mineral, density, grain size water motion, and
energy in the depositional environment. The density and grain
size of the heavy minerals place them in the hard to move
category of minerals. For the transportation and concentration
of heavy minerals, current velocities greater than the normal
are needed since the heaviest are not hydrodynamically mo-
bile compared to the light minerals.
The total heavy mineral weight percentage shows the
higher concentration present in the HTL and berm regions
(Table 3). The result of comparative graph of THM% (total
heavy mineral weight percentage) also shows the heavy
mineral wt% is higher in berm and high tide line (Fig. 6).
SEM studies of light mineral
The SEM studies of quartz grains are applied to understand the
post-depositional or digenetic history of the sediments (Figs. 7
and 8). During the processes of transportation and deposition ,
various micro features are developed by mechanical and chem-
ical processes and which in turn are influenced by physical and
chemical properties of grains such as hardness, cleavage, solu-
bility, tenacity, etc. (Suresh Gandhi et al. 2008)
Based on mode of formation, Rehman and Ahmed (1996)
have classified various microtextures into four groups. They are:
1. Mechanical processeslead to formation of conchoidal
fracture, pitted surface, breakage blocks, upturned
plates, grooves and furrows
2. Mechanical/ chemical processis responsible for tex-
tures like angular outline, relief features, V form impact
marks
Arab J Geosci

Thiruchendur Thiruchendur
110
Kallamozhi 8 Kallamozhi

Shallow marine Beach

Kulasekarapattinam Kulasekarapattinam
100 Manapad Manapad
Periyathalai Periyathalai
Aeolian/Shallow agitated 6
90
Beach Shallow
agitated

Y3
Y2

80 4

70
2

60
Shallow marine Agitated
Beach Littoral 0 Fluvial
50 Aeolian Littoral
environment Beach
Environment
-11 -10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
Y1 Y2

Fig. 4 LDF values plot for Thiruchendur coast samples

3. Dissolution chemical processgenerates concavities, well as the longer stay of sediments in the depositional
solution pits, etch V marks basin.
4. Precipitation chemical processdevelops silica, precip-
itation and crystalline outgrowths Grain morphology

The common features observed are cavities solution Few textural features were chosen to describe surfaces of the
pitting and chemical etching marks. In the present study, grain. These features constitute the most common surface
the quartz grains of the marine and beaches show both morphologies of different mineral grains determined after
etched V marks indicating high-energy environment as reconnaissance observations and considerations of the

Fig. 5 CM diagram (Passega 1957, 1964) and tractive current deposit plot for Thiruchendur coast samples

Table 3 Total heavy mineral weight percentage
THM wt% LTL HTL Berm
Ave. 3.42 11.20 11.80
Max. 15.26 72.80 63.69
Min. 0.37 1.52 0.59
extensive work done with grain surfaces by Margolis and
Krinsley (1974). The essential characteristics identified with
each micro-feature are briefly discussed. Heiken (1972) and
Honnorez and Kirst (1976) described the concept of overall
grain morphology with respect to basaltic ash. For our study,
selected grains were studied and photographed.
Micro features
Irregular pits
Mechanically produced pits are quite common (Figs. 7 (7) and
8 (24)). Usually they are present on a single surface or spread
all over the grain. They form elongated, circular or cresentric
openings with uniform to irregular opening. In some cases,
pits are oriented. Irregular impact pits show differential relief.
These pits are produced by impact during subaqueous colli-
sion in fluvial or near shore environment.
Impact V-S
V-shaped indentations are produced on the raised surface of
the grains (Figs. 7 (4) and 8 (8)). They are three-sided narrow-
ing toward the grain surface and are frequently found in the
grains of subaqueous environment. There is also rounding of
the edges due to grain transport. Impact v-s is usually formed
in a high-energy littoral environment.
Fig. 6 Total heavy mineral weight percentage comparative graph for
Thiruchendur coast
Arab J Geosci
Grooves
Grooves includes elongate scratches and troughs that may
be slightly curved (Fig. 7 (4)). These grooves are oriented in
a preferred direction, occur with a conchoidal fracture and
appear in sets. Grooves are, however, relatively uncommon
on the samples studied.
Arc-stepped furrow
Arc-stepped furrows are rare, may be created due to grind-
ing collision in a fluvial environment (Cater 1984; Figs. 7
(2, 3) and 8 (7)).
Features of chemical action
Etch VS
There are dominant microstructures formed by chemical
activity (Figs. 7 (4) and 8 (8)). The degree of etching will
vary according to the residence time; usually they are
formed in lagoonal or low-energy subaqueous environ-
ments. In some cases, triangular etch pits (Figs. 7 (7)) are
arranged parallel lines which might have formed in a marine
environment due to the rapid dissolution of silica at higher
pH. They develop as V-shaped or triangular indentations
either localised in surface depressions or spread over the
entire grain.
Solution pits
These are variable in shape, size, the most common are
circular or semicircular or may be elongated (Figs. 7 (7)
and 8 (1012)). The effects of solution all over the grain are
clearly seen. They are rounded in shape.
Precipitation features
They are mainly authigenitic crystals or adhering particles
(Fig. 7 (6, 8)). These modify the general relief of grains. They
are small convex projections with radial or circular configura-
tion on the grain surface. Needle like or small globular deposits
perhaps representing silica flowers seem to have apparently
deposited on the grain modify the grain relief. The size of the
Silica globules varies and it may form in the intertidal zone by
deposition and periodic evaporation of inter-granular water.
Sample 1 has sub-angular, irregular stepped furrows and
irregular curved grooves, impact v markings has identified
(Fig. 7 (14)). These are due to subaqueous collision, grinding
collision and mutual colliding of grains in motion because of
fluvial and near-shore high-energy fluvial energy condition.
Sample 10 has sub-angular to sub-rounded grains and has
chemical precipitation, solution pits (Fig. 7 (58)). These are
Arab J Geosci

Fig. 7 1 Group photo of sub-

angular quartz grains, 2 1 2
irregular-stepped furrows, 3
straight and curved grooves on
the surface, 4 curved grooves
with impact markings, 5 group
photo of sub-angular to sub-
rounded grains, 6 chemical
precipitation, 7 rounded grain
with solution pits, 8 chemical
precipitation

3 4

5 6

7 8

due to precipitation and deposition in silica saturated water
and differential chemical action because of tropical, high-,
medium- to low-energy beach zone and chemical energy
environment. Sample 20 also has sub-angular grains with
irregular curved impact marks, solution pits (Fig. 8 (14)).
These are due to the different chemical action, subaqueous
condition, because of high-energy fluvial near shore and
tropical high, the chemical energy environment. Sample 26
has sub-rounded to sub-angular grains with arc-stepped
furrows and curved impression. Mechanical impact during
subaqueous collision process and it form in a low-energy
fluvial transport in the near zone environment.
Conclusion
Textural analysis indicates the dominance of medium to fine
grained in high tide line and berm samples. Medium- to
coarse-grained sediments dominant in low tide line samples
due to high-energy condition. LDF results show the
 Arab J Geosci

Fig. 8 1 Group photo of sub-

angular quartz grains, 2 irregular, 1 2
curved impact marks and arc-
stepped furrows, 3 many irregu-
lar curved impact marks, 4 irreg-
ular curved impact marks, 5
group photo of sub-angular to
sub-rounded grains, 6 chemical
precipitation and solution activi-
ties, 7 fine (curved) arc-stepped
impression (thumb impression)
8 irregular V markings

3 4

5 6

7 8

dominance of shallow marine deposits in the aeolian beach and CM pattern indicates most of the grains form by rolling
and the influence of fluvial is less (7 %). The granulometric in low tide line samples, bottom suspension and graded
Arab J Geosci
suspension in high tide line and berm samples. The total
heavy mineral percentage is higher in both high tide line
(11.2 %) and berm (11.8 %) samples than low tide line
samples (3.42 %). The SEM study of quartz grains display
a variety of microtextures developed by mechanical process
(grooves, impact V marks, smoothening surfaces) in Mana-
pad, Kudathalai area and chemical process in Thiruchendur,
Kallamozhi area (etch Vs, solution pits and precipitation)
along the coast.
Acknowledgment Authors thankful for the Department of Science
and Technology (DST) Government of India for providing fund to
carry out to the investigation and to The Director, National Institute
for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR), Trivandrum for
providing laboratory facilities.
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