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Diagenetic control of magnetic susceptibility variation in Core MD98-2172 from the Eastern Timor Sea

  • Geology
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Abstract

Detailed mineral magnetic measurements, integrated with grain-size distribution and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses, were made on the marine sediments of Core MD98-2172, retrieved from the Eastern Timor Sea. Values of magnetic susceptibility in this core drop sharply down-core from ∼3.85 m deep below sediment/water interface and are very low at ∼5.35 m. However, both XRD and grain-size distribution results show no sudden change in terrigenous input during sedimentation. Mineral magnetic results indicate that the depth of ∼3.85 m may be an oxic/anoxic boundary. Therefore, the sediments below ∼3.85 m have been subjected to intense reductive diagenesis, whereas the sediments above ∼3.85 m are seldom affected. The magnetic properties of the sediments shallower than 3.85 m are dominated by pseudo-single domain (PSD) magnetite, with little down-core variation in its content and grain size. Below ∼3.85 m, the magnetic mineral assemblages that have survived in the sediments may record different stages of the reductive diagenesis: (1) the sediments from the 3.85–5.35 m interval are at the stage of iron oxide reduction; PSD magnetite is the major magnetic contributor, but it becomes less abundant and coarser down-core; (2) the sediments below ∼5.35 m are at the stage of sulphate reduction; ferrimagnetic minerals almost vanish and paramagnetic minerals contribute to down-core susceptibility variations, including pyrite as evidenced by high-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements. However, the susceptibility variations below ∼5.35 m of Core MD98-2172 show obvious periodicity, despite the intense effect of reductive diagenesis. Furthermore, the down-core susceptibility variations are coincident with fluctuations in the quantity of fine detrital particles (<8 μm), which may come mainly from the advection of the Indonesia Throughflow (ITF) and/or river input from Timor. Therefore, for Core MD98-2172, susceptibility variation below ∼5.35 m, which potentially correspond to fluctuations in the quantity of fine particles, may record the histories of the development of the ITF and precipitation on Timor.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Haiyan Li  (李海燕), Shihong Zhang  (张世红), Lingyan Bai  (白凌燕) & Nianqiao Fang  (方念乔)

  2. School of Marine Science, China University of Geosciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Nianqiao Fang  (方念乔)

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  1. Haiyan Li  (李海燕)
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  2. Shihong Zhang  (张世红)
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Correspondence to Shihong Zhang  (张世红).

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Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (No. 2006CB701400), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40621002, 40974035, 40272074) and Projects of Ministry of Education of China (“111” Project B07011, IRT0546)

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Li, H., Zhang, S., Bai, L. et al. Diagenetic control of magnetic susceptibility variation in Core MD98-2172 from the Eastern Timor Sea. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 28, 1350–1361 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00343-010-9079-1

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