Spongolite

Spongolite is a sediment or sedimentary rock composed principally of the remains of largely articulated fossils of rigid-bodied siliceous sponges. In contrast, spiculites are sediments and sedimentary rocks composed of mostly disarticulated, discrete siliceous sponge spicules.^[1]^[2] In some older papers, spongolite is used as a synonym of spiculite.^[2]

In Brazil, the term spongolite (also either spongillite or spongiolite) is defined differently as a nonmarine, freshwater, lacustrine sediment "..essentially composed of siliceous sponge spicules of the Demospongiae Class, associated with clay, sand, organic matter and diatom residues." In this usage of the term spongolite, the term spiculite is restricted to marine sediments composed of siliceous sponge spicules.^[3]

Spongolite is a light and porous material. The siliceous spicules of the fossil sponges comprising spongolite makes the material hazardous to handle by being highly abrasive. Because the spicules are embedded in soft, opaline matrix, the abrasion damage is not as immediately apparent as it would be from sandpaper or rough bricks.

Spongolite is obtained from mines in Mount Barker, Western Australia and Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. There are also large deposits near Esperance, Western Australia.

References

^ Gammon, P.R., 2003. Spiculites and spongolites. In Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., and Longstaffe, F.J., eds., p. 681-683, Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Springer Science & Business Media. 928 pp. ISBN 978-1-4020-3609-5
^ ^a ^b Jach, R. 2002, Lower Jurassic spiculite series from the Križna Unit in the Western Tatra Mts, Western Carpathians, Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 72(2), pp. 131-144.
^ Almeida, A.C.S., Varajão, A.F.D.C., Gomes, N.S., Varajão, C.A.C. and Volkmer-Ribeiro, C., 2010. Characterization and origin of spongillite-hosting sediment from João Pinheiro, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 29(2), pp.439-453.

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[Gammon2003a-1] Gammon, P.R., 2003. Spiculites and spongolites. In Middleton, G.V., Church, M.J., Coniglio, M., Hardie, L.A., and Longstaffe, F.J., eds., p. 681-683, Encyclopedia of Sediments and Sedimentary Rocks. Dordrecht, The Netherlands, Springer Science & Business Media. 928 pp. ISBN 978-1-4020-3609-5

[Jach2002a-2] Jach, R. 2002, Lower Jurassic spiculite series from the Križna Unit in the Western Tatra Mts, Western Carpathians, Poland. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 72(2), pp. 131-144.

[AlmeidaOthers2010a-3] Almeida, A.C.S., Varajão, A.F.D.C., Gomes, N.S., Varajão, C.A.C. and Volkmer-Ribeiro, C., 2010. Characterization and origin of spongillite-hosting sediment from João Pinheiro, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 29(2), pp.439-453.

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