Abstract
The Yangtze River is the largest river in southern China. In this study, the two sediment cores (CM-A and NH-C) taken from the Yangtze River Estuary were analyzed for 210Pb and 137Cs dating, major and trace elements, rare earth elements (REEs) and grain size of sediments. The results showed that the sedimentary ages of CM-A and NH-C cores were 37 and 64 years respectively. Then the major and trace elements in the sediments of the Yangtze Estuary were derived from terrigenous clastic materials. The chemical index of alteration (CIA) in the two cores ranged between 57 and 70, 66 and 73, respectively, reflecting the low to intermediate intensity of chemical weathering in the provenance area. The abundance of heavy minerals, grain size in hydrodynamically sorted, and chemical weathering have less effect on REE chemistry in the core CM-A, as well as the source of sediments in the core CM-A can be identified. By comparing the geochemical elements of sediments from the Yangtze River Basin, The provenance of sediments in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River might be similar to those of core CM-A sediments. Combined with A-CN-K and La-Th-Sc ternary diagrams and source discrimination diagrams of REEs parameters, it was presumed that the samples were influenced by K metasomatism, and originated from the same source area, and the granodiorite was the most probably source rock of these samples. Therefore, the upper reaches of the Yangtze River are considered to be the main source area of the sediments core CM-A.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
modified from Feng et al. 2014)
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baiyegunhi C, Liu K, Gwavava O (2017) Grain size statistics and depositional pattern of the Ecca Group sandstones, Karoo Supergroup in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Open Geosci 9:554–576. https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2017-0042
Bi L, Yang S, Zhao Y, Wang Z, Dou Y, Li C, Zheng H (2017) Provenance study of the Holocene sediments in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuary and inner shelf of the East China sea. Quatern Int 441:147–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.12.004
Blake JM, Peters SC, Johannesson KH (2017) Application of REE geochemical signatures for Mesozoic sediment provenance to the Gettysburg Basin, Pennsylvania. Sediment Geol 349:103–111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2016.12.009
Bosia C, Chabaux F, Pelt E, Cogez A, Stille P, Deloule E, France-Lanord C (2018) U-series disequilibria in minerals from Gandak River sediments (Himalaya). Chem Geol 477:22–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2017.11.026
Chen B, Fan DJ, Li WR, Wang L, Zhang XL, Liu M, Guo ZG (2014) Enrichment of heavy metals in the inner shelf mud of the East China Sea and its indication to human activity. Cont Shelf Res 90:163–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2014.04.016
Chen T, Wang Z, Wu X, Gao X, Li L, Zhan Q (2015) Magnetic properties of tidal flat sediments on the Yangtze coast, China: Early diagenetic alteration and implications. Holocene 25:832–843. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683615571425
Dai Z, Mei X, Darby SE, Lou Y, Li W (2018) Fluvial sediment transfer in the Changjiang (Yangtze) river-estuary depositional system. J Hydrol 566:719–734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.09.019
Dill HG, Weber B, Klosa D (2012) Morphology and mineral chemistry of monazite–zircon-bearing stream sediments of continental placer deposits (SE Germany): ore guide and provenance marker. J Geochem Explor 112:322–346. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2011.10.006
Dou Y, Yang S, Liu Z, Clift PD, Shi X, Yu H, Berne S (2010) Provenance discrimination of siliciclastic sediments in the middle Okinawa Trough since 30ka: Constraints from rare earth element compositions. Mar Geol 275:212–220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2010.06.002
Fedo CM, Wayne Nesbitt H, Young GM (1995) Unraveling the effects of potassium metasomatism in sedimentary rocks and paleosols, with implications for paleoweathering conditions and provenance. Geology 23:921. https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023<0921:uteopm>2.3.co;2
Feng C, Zhao S, Wang D, Niu J, Shen Z (2014) Sedimentary records of metal speciation in the Yangtze Estuary: role of hydrological events. Chemosphere 107:415–422. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2014.01.034
Gao S, Luo T-C, Zhang B-R, Zhang H-F, Han Y-W, Zhao Z-D, Hu Y-K (1998) Chemical composition of the continental crust as revealed by studies in east China. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 62:1959–1975
Guan H, Zhu C, Zhu T, Wu L, Li Y (2016) Grain size, magnetic susceptibility and geochemical characteristics of the loess in the Chaohu lake basin: Implications for the origin, palaeoclimatic change and provenance. J Asian Earth Sci 117:170–183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2015.12.013
He M, Zheng H, Clift PD, Tada R, Wu W, Luo C (2015) Geochemistry of fine-grained sediments in the Yangtze River and the implications for provenance and chemical weathering in East Asia. Prog Earth Planet Sc 2:32. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40645-015-0061-6
Herron MM (1988) Geochemical classification of terrigenous sand and shales from core or log data. J Sediment Res 58:820–829
Hu G, Li A, Liu J, Xu G, Mei X, Kong X (2014) High resolution records of flood deposition in the mud area off the Changjiang River mouth during the past century. Chin J Oceanol Limn 32:909–920. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-014-3244-x
Hu G, Lin C, Yang Q, Yan Y, Huang H, Yu R, Cui J, Yan Y (2019) Distribution and source appointment of rare earth elements in offshore sediments of Western Xiamen Bay, Southeast China. J Geochem Explor 201:31–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2019.03.007
Jin Z, Li F, Cao J, Wang S, Yu J (2006) Geochemistry of Daihai Lake sediments, Inner Mongolia, North China: implications for provenance, sedimentary sorting, and catchment weathering. Geomorphology 80:147–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2006.02.006
Kacmaz H (2016) Major, trace and rare earth element (REE) characteristics of tuffs in the Yenice-Saraycık area (Demirci, Manisa), Western Anatolia, Turkey. J Geochem Explor 168:169–176. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2016.06.014
Kettanah YA, Ismail SA (2016) Heavy mineral concentrations in the sandstones of Amij Formation with particular emphasis on the mineral chemistry and petrographic characteristics of monazite, western desert of Iraq. J Asian Earth Sci 123:350–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2016.06.017
Koide M, Soutar A, Goldberg ED (1972) Marine geochronology with 210Pb. Earth Planet Sc Lett 14:442–446
Li C-S, Shi X-F, Kao S-J, Liu Y-G, Lyu H-H, Zou J-J, Liu S-F, Qiao S-Q (2013) Rare earth elements in fine-grained sediments of major rivers from the high-standing Island of Taiwan. J Asian Earth Sci 69:39–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2013.03.001
Li T, Xu Z, Lim D, Chang F, Wan S, Jung H, Choi J (2015) Sr–Nd isotopic constraints on detrital sediment provenance and paleoenvironmental change in the Northern Okinawa Trough during the late Quaternary. Palaeogeogr Palaeocl 430:74–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.04.017
Liu J, Saito Y, Kong X, Wang H, Xiang L, Wen C, Nakashima R (2010) Sedimentary record of environmental evolution off the Yangtze River estuary, East China Sea, during the last ∼13,000 years, with special reference to the influence of the Yellow River on the Yangtze River delta during the last 600 years. Quaternary Sci Rev 29:2424–2438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.06.016
Liu B, Wang Y, Su X, Zheng H (2013) Elemental geochemistry of Northern slope sediments from the South China Sea: Implications for provenance and source area weathering since Early Miocene. Geochemistry 73:61–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemer.2012.11.005
Liu B, Zhang W, Chi G (2019) Distribution and risk assessment of heavy metals in sediment from Bohai Bay. China Minerals 9:111. https://doi.org/10.3390/min9020111
Luo XX, Yang SL, Zhang J (2012) The impact of the Three Gorges Dam on the downstream distribution and texture of sediments along the middle and lower Yangtze River (Changjiang) and its estuary, and subsequent sediment dispersal in the East China Sea. Geomorphology 179:126–140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2012.05.034
Luo C, Zheng Y, Zheng H, Tada R, Rits DS (2016) Temporal and spatial variations in magnetic properties of suspended particular matter in the Yangtze River drainage and their implications. J Asian Earth Sci 124:204–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2016.05.004
Martinez-Ruiz F, Kastner M, Gallego-Torres D, Rodrigo-Gamiz M, Nieto-Moreno V, Ortega-Huertas M (2010) Paleoclimate and paleoceanography over the past 20,000 yr in the Mediterranean Sea Basins as indicated by sediment elemental proxies. Quaternary Sci Rev 107:25–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.09.018
Meng J, Yao P, Bianchi TS, Li D, Zhao B, Xu B, Yu Z (2015) Detrital phosphorus as a proxy of flooding events in the Changjiang River Basin. Sci Total Environ 517:22–30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.02.053
Nair V, Achyuthan H (2017) Geochemistry of Vellayani lake sediments: indicators of weathering and provenance. J Geol Soc India 89:21–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-017-0554-6
Nesbitt HW, Young GM (1982) Early Proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature 299:715–717
Ni Y, Hughes JM, Mariano AN (1995) Crystal chemistry of the monazite and xenotime structures. Am Mineral 80:21–26
Nian X, Zhang W, Wang Z, Sun Q, Chen J, Chen Z, Hutchinson SM (2018) The chronology of a sediment core from incised valley of the Yangtze River delta: Comparative OSL and AMS14 C dating. Mar Geol 395:320–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2017.11.008
Pennington W, Cambray RS, Eakins JD, Harkness DD (1976) Radionuclide dating of the recent sediments of Blelham Tarn. Freshwater Biol 6:317–331
Pérez-López R, Nieto JM, de la Rosa JD, Bolívar JP (2015) Environmental tracers for elucidating the weathering process in a phosphogypsum disposal site: Implications for restoration. J Hydrol 529:1313–1323. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.08.056
Pettijohn FJ, Potter PE, Siever R (1972) Sand and Sandstone. Springer-Verlag, New York, p 553
Qiu Z, Shang X, Ferguson DK, Jiang H (2016) Archaeobotanical analysis of diverse plant food resources and palaeovegetation at the Zhumucun site, a late Neolithic settlement of the Liangzhu Culture in east China. Quatern Int 426:75–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.01.010
Rodrigo-Gamiz M, Martinez-Ruiz F, Rodriguez-Tovar FJ, Pardo-Iguzquiza E, Ortega-Huertas M (2018) Appraising timing response of paleoenvironmental proxies to the Bond cycle in the western Mediterranean over the last 20 kyr. Clim Dyn 50:2925–2934. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-017-3782-y
Sageman BB, Lyons TW, Joo YJ (2014) Geochemistry of Fine-Grained, Organic Carbon-Rich Facies. Treat Geochem 9:141–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-095975-7.00706-3
Sun X, Fan D, Tian Y, Zheng S (2017) Normalization of excess 210Pb with grain size in the sediment cores from the Yangtze River Estuary and adjacent areas: Implications for sedimentary processes. Holocene 28:545–557. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683617735591
Tao J, Chen M-T, Xu S (2006) A Holocene environmental record from the southern Yangtze River delta, eastern China. Palaeogeogr Palaeocl 230:204–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.07.015
Taylor SR, McLennan SM (1985) The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution. Blackwell Scientific Publication, Oxford, pp 1–301
Vital H, Stattegger K (2000) Major and trace elements of stream sediments from the lower most Amazon River. Chem Geol 168:151–168. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-2541(00)00191-1
Wang Q, Yang S (2013) Clay mineralogy indicates the Holocene monsoon climate in the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Catchment, China. Appl Clay Sci 74:28–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clay.2012.08.011
Wang H, Yang Z, Wang Y, Saito Y, Liu JP (1860s) Reconstruction of sediment flux from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) to the sea since the 1860s. J Hydrol 349:318–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2007.11.005
Wang K, Zheng H, Tada R, Irino T, Zheng Y, Saito K, Karasuda A (2014a) Millennial-scale East Asian Summer Monsoon variability recorded in grain size and provenance of mud belt sediments on the inner shelf of the East China Sea during mid-to late Holocene. Quatern Int 349:79–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.09.014
Wang Z, Dong Y, Chen J, Li X, Cao J, Deng Z (2014b) Dating recent sediments from the subaqueous Yangtze Delta and adjacent continental shelf, China. J Palaeogeog 2:207–218. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1261.2014.00052
Wang J, Yao P, Bianchi TS, Li D, Zhao B, Cui X, Pan H, Zhang T, Yu Z (2015) The effect of particle density on the sources, distribution, and degradation of sedimentary organic carbon in the Changjiang Estuary and adjacent shelf. Chem Geol 402:52–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2015.02.040
Wang C, Zhao Y, Zou X, Xu X, Ge C (2017a) Recent changing patterns of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Estuary caused by human activities. Acta Oceanol Sin 36:87–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-017-1017-z
Wang Z, Wei G, Chen J, Liu Y, Ma J, Xie L, Deng W, Ke T (2017b) El Niño-Southern Oscillation variability recorded in estuarine sediments of the Changjiang River, China. Quatern Int 441:18–28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.009
Wei W, Chang Y, Dai Z (2014) Streamflow changes of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River in the recent 60 years: Impacts of the East Asian summer monsoon, ENSO, and human activities. Quatern Int 336:98–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2013.10.064
Xu B, Bianchi TS, Allison MA, Dimova NT, Wang H, Zhang L, Diao S, Jiang X, Zhen Y, Yao P, Chen H, Yao Q, Dong W, Sui J, Yu Z (2015) Using multi-radiotracer techniques to better understand sedimentary dynamics of reworked muds in the Changjiang River estuary and inner shelf of East China Sea. Mar Geol 370:76–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2015.10.006
Yang S, Jung H-S, Li C (2004) Two unique weathering regimes in the Changjiang and Huanghe drainage basins: geochemical evidence from river sediments. Sediment Geol 164:19–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2003.08.001
Yang S, Li C, Yokoyama K (2006) Elemental compositions and monazite age patterns of core sediments in the Changjiang Delta: Implications for sediment provenance and development history of the Changjiang River. Earth Planet Sc Lett 245:762–776. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2006.03.042
Yang SL, Liu Z, Dai SB, Gao ZX, Zhang J, Wang HJ, Luo XX, Wu CS, Zhang Z (2010) Temporal variations in water resources in the Yangtze River (Changjiang) over the Industrial Period based on reconstruction of missing monthly discharges. Water Resour Res. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009wr008589
Yang SL, Milliman JD, Xu KH, Deng B, Zhang XY, Luo XX (2014) Downstream sedimentary and geomorphic impacts of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River. Earth-Sci Rev 138:469–486. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2014.07.006
Zhang Q, Liu Y, Yang G, Zhang Z (2011) Precipitation and hydrological variations and related associations with large-scale circulation in the Poyang Lake basin, China. Hydrol Process 25:740–751. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7863
Zhang W, Jin F, Stuecker MF, Wittenberg AT, Timmermann A, Ren H, Kug J, Cai W, Cane M (2016) Unraveling El Niño’s impact on the East Asian Monsoon and Yangtze River summer flooding: El Niño's Impact on the Asian Monsoon. Geophys Res Lett 43:11375–11382. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071190
Zhao Y, Zou X, Gao J, Wang C (2016) Recent sedimentary record of storms and floods within the estuarine-inner shelf region of the East China Sea. Holocene 27:439–449. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683616660165
Zhao Y, Zou X, Liu Q, Wang C, Ge C, Xu M (2018) Clay mineralogy indicates the muddy sediment provenance in the estuarine-inner shelf of the East China Sea. J Asian Earth Sci 152:69–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2017.11.036
Zheng Y, Yang S, Deng C (2019) Provenance and climate changes inferred from magnetic properties of the sediments from the lower Yangtze River (China) during the last 130 years. J Asian Earth Sci 175:128–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2019.01.036
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Special Fund for Public Welfare Industrial Research of the Ministry of Land and Resources of China (201011019-05) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41106108).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chi, G., Liu, B., Hu, K. et al. Sedimentary records of the Yangtze Estuary over the past 70 years and their implications for provenance. Environ Earth Sci 79, 513 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09219-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-020-09219-5