X-RAY POWDER DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF SOIL SAMPLES FROM THE NAVESINK FORMATION IN MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY

The Navesink Formation in Monmouth County, New Jersey is composed of six depositional cycles that occurred during the Late Cretaceous; from fine quartz, quartz, carbonaceous matter, mud, glauconite, to topmost sand. We hypothesized that analyzing samples of each layer for elemental composition would allow for a thorough understanding of the content of each layer, providing insight into the geology of the formation. To test this hypothesis, seven samples were extracted from Big Brook and Poricy Brook, located on the eastern margin of the Navesink formation. Each sample was analyzed via X-Ray Powder Diffraction (XRD). Some samples were put through a density separation, followed by XRD. The results were then compiled and the data was normalized to create pie-charts and ternary compositional plots. The following trends were found within the samples; high levels of quartz, and adequate levels of carbonaceous matter, orthoclase, apatite, and glauconite. In conclusion, the XRD analysis showed strong correlations between the compositional makeup of the samples and the geological profile of the Navesink Formation.