Clay minerals and major elements concentrations of Zhuanglang Miocene red clay in Longzhong Basin, China

Abstract

This article presents clay minerals and major elements data of Miocene red clay from Zhuanglang core (ZL) from the eastern Longzhong Basin, China. The dataset including the contents of main clay minerals such as smectite, kaolinite, illite and chlorite and other important clay minerals parameters as illite crystallinity, Illite 5 Å/10 Å, kaolinite/(illite +chlorite) ratio and major elements and its ratio as SiO ₂, Al ₂O ₃, MgO, Na ₂O, K ₂O, K ₂O/Al ₂O ₃ and SiO ₂/Al ₂O ₃ in the Mid-Miocene climatic optimum (MMCO). The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) experiments were made at the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The data provide the evidence for understanding the MMCO and its driving factors.