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Geochemical characteristics of Sr isotopes in the LS33 drill core from the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea, and their response to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

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  • Marine Geology
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Abstract

Making full use of modern analytical and testing techniques to explore and establish new indexes or methods for extracting paleoseawater geochemical information from sediments will help to reconstruct the sedimentary paleoenvironment in different research areas. The connection between the subsidence of the South China Sea basin and the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau has been a scientific concern in recent decades. To explore the information on the sedimentary paleoenvironment, provenance changes and uplift of Tibetan Plateau contained in core sediments (debris), we selected core samples from Well LS33 in the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea, and analyzed the contents of typical elements (Al, Th, and rare earth elements) that can indicate changes in provenance and the Sr isotopic compositions, which can reveal the geochemical characteristics of the paleoseawater depending on the type of material (authigenic carbonate and terrigenous detritus). The results show the following: (1) during the late Miocene, the Red River transported a large amount of detrital sediments from the ancient continental block (South China) to the Qiongdongnan Basin. (2) The authigenic carbonates accurately record changes in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios in the South China Sea since the Oligocene. These ratios reflect the semi-closed marginal sea environment of the South China Sea (relative to the ocean) and the sedimentary paleoenvironment evolution process of the deep-water area of the Qiongdongnan Basin from continental to transitional and then to bathyal. (3) Since the Neogene, the variations in the 87Sr/86Sr ratio in the authigenic carbonates have been consistent with the variations in the uplift rate of the Tibetan Plateau and the sediment accumulation rate in the Qiongdongnan Basin. These consistent changes indicate the complex geological process of the change in the rock weathering intensity and terrigenous Sr flux caused by changes in the uplift rate of the Tibetan Plateau, which influence the Sr isotope composition of seawater.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would thank Xiaofeng Liu, Dongjie Bi and Xia Zhang for their help concerning improvement to this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Marine Geosciences, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Ke Wang, Shikui Zhai, Zenghui Yu & Huaijing Zhang

  2. Sinopec Matrix Co., Ltd., Qingdao, 266000, China

    Ke Wang

  3. Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ministry of Education, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Ke Wang, Shikui Zhai, Zenghui Yu & Huaijing Zhang

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  1. Ke Wang
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Correspondence to Shikui Zhai.

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Foundation item: The National Science and Technology Major Project under contract No. 2011ZX05025-002-03; the Project of China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) Limited under contract No. CCL2013ZJFNO729; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 41530963.

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Wang, K., Zhai, S., Yu, Z. et al. Geochemical characteristics of Sr isotopes in the LS33 drill core from the Qiongdongnan Basin, South China Sea, and their response to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 42, 117–129 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-022-2069-2

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