Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Magnetic properties of tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and its relationship with particle size

  • Published:
Science in China Series D: Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper considers the magnetic properties of tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and its relationship with particle size. The results indicate that magnetite of multi-domain (MD)/pseudo-single domain (PSD) in size dominates the magnetic properties of the samples. In addition to detrital magnetite, spherical magnetic particles are found in the magnetically strongest sediments near Shidongkou sewage outlet, which are ascribed to the product of industrial pollution. Particle size plays a strong role on the magnetic properties of the sediments. Magnetic susceptibility (x) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) are positively correlated with the proportion of the fraction of 8-16 μm. However, magnetic parameters indicating fine-grained ferrimagnetic minerals, e.g. susceptibility of anhysteric remanent magnetization (X ARM), are highly correlated with the fine fraction of <4 μm and even the fraction of <32 μm. The results indicate that, whenX is used as a proxy for pollutant content, it is necessary to consider the possible influence of particle size on it. Due to the significant relationship betweenX ARM and the fine component proportion,X ARM can be applied to the normalization of pollutant content for particle size effect.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Thompson, R., Oldfield, F., Environmental Magnetism, London: Allen and Unwin, 1986: 1–227.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Liu, X. M., Liu, T. S., Shaw, J., Magnetic mineral characteristics of Chinese loess and its paleoclimatic significance, Quaternary Sciences (in Chinese), 1993, 3: 281–287.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Zhu, R. X., Wu, H. N., Li, C. J. et al., Magnetic property of Chinese loess and its paleoclimate significance, Science in China, Ser. B, 1995, 38(2): 238–244.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Guo, B., Zhu, R. X., Bai, L. X. et al., Rock magnetic properties of a loess-paleosol couple along an N-S transect in the Chinese Loess Plateau, Science in China, Ser. D, 2001, 44(12): 1099–1109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Liu, X. M., An, Z. S., Rolph, T. et al., Magnetic properties of the Tertiary red clay from Gansu Province, China and its paleoclimatic significance, Science in China, Ser. D, 2001, 44(7): 635–651.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Sun, Z. M., Hu, S. Y., Ma, X. H., A rock-magnetic study on recent sediments and its paleoenvironmental implication, Chinese J. Geophys. (in Chinese), 1996, 39(2): 178–187.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Hu, S. Y., Wang, S. M., Appel, E. et al., Environmental mechanism of magnetic susceptibility changes of lacustrine sediments from Lake Hulun, China, Science in China, Ser. D, 2000, 43(5): 534–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Hu, S. Y., Appel, E., Hoffmann, V. et al., Identification of greigite in lake sediments and its magnetic significance, Science in China, Ser. D, 2002, 45(1): 81–87.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Liu, J., Li, S. Q., Wang, S. J. et al., A rock-magnetic study of the last glacial to Holocene sedimentary sequence in the YSDP 105 core on the northeast shelf of the southern Yellow Sea, Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (in Chinese), 1997, 17(4): 13–24.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Dekkers, M. J., Environmental magnetism: An introduction, Geologie en Mijnbouw, 1997, 76: 163–182.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Shao, X. S., Yan, Q. S., Intertidal flat sediments in Shanghai coastal region, in Recent Yangtze Delta deposits (in Chinese) (eds. Yan, Q. S., Xu S. Y.), Shanghai: East China Normal University Press, 1987, 27–36.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Dai, W. M., Gu, Y. Z., Accumulation of heavy metals in sediments near Xiqu and Nanqu sewage outlets of coastal Shanghai, Shanghai Environmental Science (in Chinese), 1990, 9(7): 38–40.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Oldfield, F., Yu, L., The influence of particle size variations on the magnetic properties of sediments from the northeastern Irish Sea, Sedimentology, 1994, 41: 1093–1108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hounslow, M. W., Malier, B. A., Quantitative extraction and analysis of carriers of magnetization in sediments, Geophys. J. Int., 1996, 124: 57–74.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Oldfield, F., Environmental magnetism—a personal perspective, Quat. Sci. Rev., 1991, 10: 73–85.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Banerjee, S. K., King, J., Marvin, J. A., Rapid method for magnetic granulometry with applications to environmental studies, Geophys. Res. Lett., 1981, 8: 333–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. King, J. W., Banerjee, S. K., Marvin, J. A. et al., A comparison of different magnetic methods for determing the relative grain size of magnetite in natural materials: Some results from lake sediments, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 1982, 59: 404–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Oldfield, F., Toward the discrimination of fine-grained ferrimagnets by magnetic measurements in lake and near-shore marine sediments, J. Geophys. Res. (B), 1994, 99: 9045–9050.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Day, R., Fuller, M., Schmidt, V. A., Hysteresis properties of titanomagnetites: Grain size and compositional dependence, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 1977, 13: 260–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Yang, S. Y., Li, C. X., Zhu, J. C. et al., Province indicator of chemical fingerprint of magnetite from the Yangtze River and Yellow River sediments, Geochimica (in Chinese), 2000, 29(5): 480–184.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Flanders, P. J., Identifying fly ash at a distance from fossil fuel power stations, Environ. Sci. Technol., 1999, 33: 528–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Karlin, R., Levi, S., Diagenesis of magnetic minerals in recent haemiplegic sediments, Nature, 1983, 303: 327–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Yu, L., Oldfield, F., Wu, Y. et al., Paleoenvironmental implications of magnetic measurements on sediments core from Kunming Basin, Southwest China, J. Paleolimn., 1990, 3: 95–111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Zheng, H., Oldfield, F., Yu, L. et al., The magnetic properties of particle-sized samples from the Luo Chuan loess section: Evidence for pedogenesis, Phys. Earth Planet. Inter., 1991, 68: 250–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Chen, F., Wu, R., Pompei, D. et al., Magnetic property and particle size variations in the late Pleistocene and Holocene parts of the Dadongling Loess section near Xining, China, Quat. Proceed., 1995, 4: 27–40.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Han, J. M., Jiang, W. Y., Chu, J., Grain size of magnetic minerals in loess and paleosol, Quaternary Sciences (in Chinese), 1997, 3: 282–287.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Wang, L., Liu, T. S., Lu, H. Y., Magnetic susceptibility properties of polluted soils, Chinese Science Bulletin, 2000, 45(18): 1723–1726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Williams, T. B., Bubb, J. M., Lester, J. N., Metal accumulation within salt marsh environments: A review, Mar. Pollut. Bull., 1994, 28(5): 277–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 200062, Shanghai, China

    Weiguo Zhang & Lizhong Yu

Authors
  1. Weiguo Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lizhong Yu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Weiguo Zhang.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zhang, W., Yu, L. Magnetic properties of tidal flat sediments of the Yangtze Estuary and its relationship with particle size. Sci. China Ser. D-Earth Sci. 46, 954–966 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02991341

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02991341

Keywords

Search

Navigation