Abstract
The sedimentation rate of the sediment drift in the southeast of Dongsha Islands is as high as 49 cm/ka in the last 1.05 Ma. Although the sedimentation rate changes with time, the contents of rare elements of the sediments remain almost the same, indicating that the source area of the sediments has been constant with time. On the triangular diagrams of La-Th-Sc and Th-Sc-Zr/10, the samples from the southeast of Dongsha Islands fall within the continental island arc field, overlapping the samples from Taiwan, while the samples from the Pearl River, those from the west of the Philippines that contain volcanic material, are separated from them. This indicates that the sediments from the southeast of Dongsha Islands have a close relationship to those from Taiwan in terms of provenance. In fact, the sediments on the northern slope of the South China Sea were derived from northeast direction, as well as from Taiwan, most probably transported from Taiwan through Penghu channel into the South China Sea. The terrigenous part of the deep-sea sediments in the north of the South China Sea was provided by different sources.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Sarnthein, M., Pflaumann, U., Wang, P. X. et al., Preliminary report on Sonne-95 cruise “Monitor Monsoon” to the South China Sea, Reports, Geol.-Palaont. Inst. Univ. Kiel, 68, 1994, 125.
Wang, L., Sarnthein, M., High-resolution paleoceanographic records during the last 4000 years from the northern slope of the South China Sea, Quaternary Sciences, 1999, 1: 27–31.
Wang, P. X., Prell, W. L., Blum, P. et al., Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Initial Reports South China Sea, Volume 184, College Station TX (Ocean Drilling Program), 2000, 18-20.
Shao, L., Dong, W., Liu, Z. et al., Trace elements analysis of sediments from the South China Sea, Journal of Tongji University, 1999, 27(supp.): 55–60.
Taylor, S. R., McLennan, S. M., The Continental Crust: Its Composition and Evolution, in An Examination of the Geochemical Record Preserved in Sedimentary Rocks, Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publication, 1985, 1–301.
McLennan, S. M., Rare earth elements in sedimentary rocks, Influence of provenance and sedimentary processes, in Geochemistry and Mineralogy of Rare Earth Elements (ed. Lipin, B. R. et al.), Washington: The Mineralogical Society of America, 1989, 169–200.
McLennan, S. M., Hemming, S., McDaniel, M. J. et al., Geochemical approaches to sedimentation, provenance and tectonics, in Processes Controlling the Composition of Clastic Sediments (ed. Jonhanson, M. J. et al.), Boulder: Geological Society of America, pecial Paper 284, 1993, 21–40.
Rollinson, H. R., Using Geochemical Data: Evaluation, Presentation, Interpretation, London: Longman Scientific, Technical, 1993, 352.
Cullers, R. L., Basu, A., Suttner, L. J., Geochemical signature of provenance in sand-mixed material in soils and stream sediments near the Tobacco Root batholith, Montana, USA, Chem. Geol., 1988, 70: 335–348.
Bhatia, M. R., Crook, K. A. W., Trace element characteristics of graywackes and tectonic setting discrimination of sedimentary basins, Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 1986, 92: 181–193.
Wang, P., The South China Sea Since Last 150000 years, Shanghai: Tongji University Press, 1995, 10–14.
Milliman, J. D., Meade, R. H., World-wide delivery of river sediment to the ocean, Jour. Geology, 1983, 91: 1–21.
Feng, W., Xue, W., Yang, D., The Geological Environment of Late Quaternary in the Northern South China Sea, Guangzhou: Guangdong Science and Technology Publishing House, 1988, 46–66.
Sun, X., Li, X., Berg, H. J., Pollen distribution in hemipelagic surface sediments of the South China Sea and its relation to modern vegetation distribution, Marine Geology, 1999, 156: 211–226.
Wang, L., Sarnthein, M., Erlenkeuser, H. et al., East Asian monsoon climate during the late Pleistocene: High-resolution sediment records from the South China Sea, Marine Geology, 1999, 156: 245–284.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Shao, L., Li, X., Wei, G. et al. Provenance of a prominent sediment drift on the northern slope of the South China Sea. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 44, 919–925 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02907084
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02907084