Distribution and sources of clay minerals in surface sediments of the northwestern South China Sea

Song Zehua; Wan Shiming; Huang Jie; Yu Zhaojie; Zhang Jin; Zhao Debo; Jin Hualong; Li Anchun

doi:10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2017.09.007

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Song Zehua, Wan Shiming, Huang Jie, Yu Zhaojie, Zhang Jin, Zhao Debo, Jin Hualong, Li Anchun. Distribution and sources of clay minerals in surface sediments of the northwestern South China Sea[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2017, 39(9): 71-82. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2017.09.007

Citation:

Song Zehua, Wan Shiming, Huang Jie, Yu Zhaojie, Zhang Jin, Zhao Debo, Jin Hualong, Li Anchun. Distribution and sources of clay minerals in surface sediments of the northwestern South China Sea[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2017, 39(9): 71-82. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2017.09.007

Citation:

Song Zehua, Wan Shiming, Huang Jie, Yu Zhaojie, Zhang Jin, Zhao Debo, Jin Hualong, Li Anchun. Distribution and sources of clay minerals in surface sediments of the northwestern South China Sea[J]. Haiyang Xuebao, 2017, 39(9): 71-82. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2017.09.007

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Distribution and sources of clay minerals in surface sediments of the northwestern South China Sea

doi: 10.3969/j.issn.0253-4193.2017.09.007

1.
Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
2.
Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China
3.
Laboratoire IDES, UMR 8148 CNRS, Université de Paris Ⅺ, Orsay 91405, France

Received Date: 2016-11-26
Rev Recd Date: 2017-03-28

Abstract

Abstract

As an effective tracer of sediment provenance, continental weathering and oceanic currents evolution, clay mineral has been widely used in palaeoenvironmental research of the South China Sea in the recent years. The general character of spatial distribution of clay minerals in the surface sediments of the South China Sea basin has been established. However, there remains no detailed knowledge about the distribution and sources of clay minerals in the northwestern South China Sea, which is possibly influenced by terrigenous materials input from both of the Zhujiang River and Hainan Island. Here we analyze assemblages and crystallinity of the clay minerals in the surface sediments of this area, and further investigate the sediment provenance of clay minerals. The clay mineral assemblage in sediments of the northwestern South China Sea mainly consists of illite (average~45%), with associated smectite (~27%) and kaolinite (~21%). Chlorite (~6%) is present in lesser amounts. On the spatial scale of this area, smectite is characterized by higher contents in the southwest South China Sea and lower in the northeast of the study area. On the contrary, illite contents are higher in the northeast and lower in the southwest. The percentage of kaolinite shows a decreasing trend from the coast to the shelf, while the contents of chlorite shows an increasing trend. Generally, clay mineral assemblage in the surface sediments of the study area is distinct from the modern Zhujiang River sediments, but it is more similar to the old Zhujiang River mouth sediments deposited about 2.5 ka ago. Moreover, the seismic and sediment core studies revealed a very low sedimentation rate (4 cm/ka) and thin muddy sediments (<0.6 m) on the surface of the continental shelf of the northwestern South China Sea since the Holocene. Therefore, we suggest that the surface sediment in this area is possibly resulted from reworked old materials which were mainly transported from the old Zhujiang River in the late Holocene. In addition to the old Zhujiang River, the small rivers in the northern Hainan Island could also have contributed smectite to its surrounding area. Further analysis using kaolinite/illite ratio and illite chemical index confirms that the Zhujiang River is the main provenance of illite, kaolinite and chlorite in the study area. Besides, Taiwan and Hainan Island may also provide a minor contribution of illite/chlorite-rich and kaolinite-rich sediments, respectively. This result will be helpful for the future studies especially about the sediment processes from source to sink and palaeoenvironmental evolution in the northwestern South China Sea.
- clay mineral assemblages,
- crystallinity,
- provenance,
- surface sediment,
- northwestern South China Sea

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References(39)

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