Wei Gangjian et al. (2012): Nd, Sr isotopes and elemental geochemistry of surface sediments from the South China Sea; implications for provenance tracing

Leg/Site/Hole:
ODP 184
ODP 184 1144
ODP 184 1148
Identifier:
2012-098486
georefid

10.1016/j.margeo.2012.05.007
doi

Creator:
Wei Gangjian
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Laboratory of Isotope Geochemistry, Guangzhou, China
author

Liu Ying
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Laboratory of Marginal Sea Geology
author

Ma Jinlong
State Oceanic Administration, China
author

Xie Luhua
author

Chen Jianfang
author

Deng Wenfeng
author

Tang Song
author

Identification:
Nd, Sr isotopes and elemental geochemistry of surface sediments from the South China Sea; implications for provenance tracing
2012
Marine Geology
Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands
319-322
21-34
The mineralogy, major and trace elements, and neodymium and strontium isotopes of surface sediments in the South China Sea (SCS) are documented with the aim of investigating their applicability in provenance tracing. The results indicate that mineralogical compositions alone do not clearly identify the sources for the bulk sediments in the SCS. The Nd isotopic compositions of the SCS sediments show a clear zonal distribution. The most negative epsilon (sub Nd) values were obtained for sediments from offshore South China (-13.0 to -10.7), while those from offshore Indochina are slightly more positive (-10.7 to -9.4). The Nd isotopic compositions of the sediments from offshore Borneo are even higher, with epsilon (sub Nd) ranging from -8.8 to -7.0, and the sediments offshore from the southern Philippine Arc have the most positive epsilon (sub Nd) values, from -3.7 to +5.3. This zonal distribution in epsilon (sub Nd) is in good agreement with the Nd isotopic compositions of the sediments supplied by river systems that drain into the corresponding regions, indicating that Nd isotopic compositions are an adequate proxy for provenance tracing of SCS sediments. Sr isotopic compositions, in contrast, can only be used to identify the sediments from offshore South China and offshore from the southern Philippine Arc, as the (super 87) Sr/ (super 86) Sr ratios of sediments from other regions overlapped. Similar zonal distributions are also apparent in a La-Th-Sc discrimination diagram. Sediments from the west margin of the SCS, such as those from Beibuwan Bay, offshore from Hainan Island, offshore from Indochina, and from the Sunda Shelf plot in the same field, while those offshore from the northeastern SCS, offshore from Borneo, and offshore from the southern Philippine Arc plot in distinct fields. Thus, the La-Th-Sc discrimination diagram, coupled with Nd isotopes, can be used to trace the provenance of SCS sediments. Using this method, we re-assessed the provenance changes of sediments at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 1148 since the late Oligocene. The results indicate that sediments deposited after 23.8 Ma (above 455 mcd: meters composite depth) were supplied mainly from the eastern South China Block, with a negligible contribution from the interior of the South China Block. Sediments deposited before 26 Ma (beneath 477 mcd) were supplied mainly from the North Palawan Continental Terrane, which may retain the geochemical characteristics of the materials covered on the late Mesozoic granitoids along the coastal South China. For that the North Palawan Continental Terrane is presently located within the southern Philippine Arc but was located close to ODP Site 1148 in the late Oligocene. The weathering products of volcanic material associated with the extension of the SCS ocean crust also contributed to these sediments. The rapid change in sediment source at 26-23.8 Ma probably resulted from a sudden cessation of sediment supply from the North Palawan Continental Terrane. We suggest that the North Palawan Continental Terrane drifted southwards along with the extension of the SCS ocean crust during that time, and when the basin was large enough, the supply of sediment from the south to ODP Site 1148 at the north slope may have ceased. Abstract Copyright (2012) Elsevier, B.V.
English
Serial
Coverage:Geographic coordinates:
North:25.0000
West:99.1000East: 122.0000
South:0.0000

Isotope geochemistry; Oceanography; alkaline earth metals; cores; geochemistry; isotope ratios; isotopes; Leg 184; major elements; marine sediments; metals; mineral composition; Nd-144/Nd-143; neodymium; North Pacific; Northwest Pacific; Ocean Drilling Program; ODP Site 1144; ODP Site 1148; Pacific Ocean; provenance; rare earths; sediments; South China Sea; Sr-87/Sr-86; stable isotopes; strontium; trace elements; West Pacific;

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