Clay minerals in surface sediments of the Pearl River drainage basin and their contribution to the South China Sea

Clay minerals have played a significant role in the study of the East Asian monsoon evolution in the South China Sea by being able to track oceanic current variations and to reveal contemporaneous paleoclimaUc changes prevailing in continental source areas. As one of the most important rivers inputting terrigenous matters to the northern South China Sea, the Pearl River was not previously paid attention to from the viewpoint of clay mineralogy. This paper presents a detailed study on clay minerals in surface sediments collected from the Pearl River drainage basin （including all three main channels, various branches, and the Lingdingyang in the estuary） by using the X-ray diffraction （XRD） method. The results indicate that the clay mineral assemblage consists dominantly of kaolinite （35%-65%）, lesser abundance of chlorite （20%-35%） and illite （12%-42%）, and very scare smectite occurrences （generally 〈5%）. Their respective distribution does not present any obvious difference throughout the Pearl River drainage basin. However, downstream the Pearl River to the northern South China Sea, the clay mineral assemblage varies significantly： kaolinite decreases gradually, smecUte and illite increase gradually. Additionally, illite chemistry index steps down and illite crystallinity steps up. These variations indicate the contribution of major kaolinite, lesser illite and chlorite, and very scarce smecUte to the northern South China Sea from the Pearl River drainage basin. The maximum contribution of clay minerals from the Pearl River is 72% to the northern margin and only 15% to the northern slope of the South China Sea. In both glacials and interglacials, kaolinite indicates that the ability of mechanical erosion occurred in the Pearl River drainage basin.     

A high-resolution clay mineralogical record in the northern South China Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum,and its time series provenance analysis

High-resolution clay mineralogical analysis of Core MD05-2904 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) covering the period since the Last Glacial Maximum shows that illite (29%–48%), smectite (14%–45%), chlorite (17%–28%), and minor kaolinite (6%–14%) comprise the clay mineral assemblage, and that time series variation does not present glacial-interglacial cyclicity. Provenance analysis indicates three end-member sources: almost all smectite derives from Luzon, all kaolinite is sourced from the Pearl River, and illite and chlorite originate from both the Pearl River and Taiwan. By comparing clay mineral compositions in surface sediments from the three major source areas and of the SCS, we reconstructed a time series of clay mineral contribution from the major provenances to the northern slope of the SCS using the linear separation method for illite crystallinity. There were three stages of provenance change. (1) During 24.1–17.5 ka BP, contributions from Taiwan and Luzon were similar (30%–40%), while that from the Pearl River was only 25%. (2) During 17.5–14.0 ka BP, the contribution from Luzon decreased rapidly to 20%–25%, while that from Taiwan increased to 35% from an average of 25% at 18 ka BP, and that from the Pearl River increased largely to 40%. (3) During the Holocene, differences in contributions from the three major provenances increased: the contribution from Luzon increased slightly and then remained at 27%–35%, that from Taiwan increased rapidly and then remained at 55%–60%, and that from the Pearl River decreased to 15%. The change in clay mineral contributions from different provenances is influenced mainly by clay mineral production, monsoon rainfall denudation, oceanic current transport, and sea-level change.     

Late quaternary glacial cycle and precessional period of clay mineral assemblages in the western pacific warm pool

Variability of clay mineral assemblages in the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) over the past 370 ka shows the prominent glacial-interglacial cyclicity. Smectite (62%?C91%) is the dominant clay mineral, with decreased contents during interglacials while increased in glacials. In contrast, variations in chlorite (4%?C21%), illite (4%?C12%), and kaolinite (2%?C10%) share a similar pattern with higher contents during interglacials than glacials, mirroring to that of smectite. The results indicate that the smectite-dominated clay minerals derive mainly from the river detrital inputs of New Guinea. The glacial-interglacial cycle of clay mineral assemblages well correspond to the fluctuation of sea level. When the sea level was low, the river materials can travel more easily across the narrow shelf off the island of New Guinea, inject directly into the subsurface currents flowing westwards, then merge into the Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC), and eventually deposit on the central part of WPWP. Precessional periods of the smectite content indicate the intensity of mechanical erosion in its provenance of New Guinea, responding to the river runoff and precipitation, and this could also be linked to the meridional migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).     

Turbidite deposition in the southern South China Sea during the last glacial: Evidence from grain-size and major elements records

High-resolution grain size and major element geochemical measurements were performed on the marine sediments of Core MD05-2895 to help understand the formation of turbidite sequences. Grain-size results show that these turbidite sediments contain more coarse sediment grains than normal marls. The coarse sediment grains are mostly derived from relict sediments on the Sunda Shelf. Relict sediments are composed mainly of quartz, feldspar, tephra and a few titaniferous or ferruginous heavy minerals. Corresponding to the concentration of these minerals, increases in Si/Al, K/Al, Ti/Al and Fe/Al ratios are observed in the turbidite layers. As all the observed turbidite sequences were deposited during the last glacial, the occurrence of these turbidity events is implied to be closely related to instabilities in sea-level-induced sediment supply. We suggest that deposition of sediment particles from a single turbidity current is usually controlled by a counterbalance between gravity and buoyancy, with the interaction of individual grains being of minor importance.     

Comparative study of Cambrian lobopods <Emphasis Type="Italic">Miraluolishania</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luolishania</Emphasis>

The rare fossil Miraluolishania described by Liu et ah from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang Lagerstatte in 2004 is regarded as an arthropod sphinx because it bears mosaic features of both Iobopods and arthropods. The discovery of this rare transitional form offers direct fossil evidence for exploring the relationship between Iobopods and arthropods. However, some scientists consider Miraluolishania to be a junior synonym of Luolishania because the former superficially resembles the latter in general appearance. Considering the significant differences between the two taxa, a thorough comparative study of Miraluolishania and Luolishania leads to the conclusion that there are definitely two different genera. Nevertheless, the ＂Luolishania＂ of the Haikou area is indeed ＂Miraluolishania＂, whereas Luolishania is most likely the typical genus of the Maotianshan area of Chengjiang County.     

Pollen-inferred vegetation and environmental changes since 16.7 ka BP at Balikun Lake,Xinjiang

A high-resolution fossil pollen record from the sedimentary cores of Balikun Lake, northwestern China, combined with modern surface pollen data, is used to reconstruct the history of vegetation and climatic change since 16.7 cal. ka BP. Fossil pollen assem-blages and lithology indicate that the study area was dominated by desert. The desert had extremely arid climate and lower effective moisture during 16.7–7.9 cal. ka BP, especially from 16.7 to 8.9 cal. ka BP when the lake maybe dried up. During 8.9–7.9 cal. ka BP, the environment gradually recovered in this area. It was then followed by the optimum period from 7.9 to 4.3 cal. Ka BP, when the effective moisture obviously increased. It was characterized by the typical desert-steppe/steppe vegetation and was accompanied with several patch-birch woodlands around the lake. After that, a short but extremely arid climatic event occurred during 4.3–3.8 cal. ka BP, and the vegetation quickly changed from desert-steppe/steppe to desert. It was a relatively optimum period from 3.8 to 0.53 cal. ka BP showing typical desert-steppe/meadow-steppe landscape. Since 0.53 cal. ka BP, the climate has shown signs of deteriorating again. Furthermore, regional comparison shows that the characteristics of climatic and environmental evolution in this area were clearly different from East Asia monsoonal area during the last 16.7 cal. ka BP. It was characterized by the arid climate during the late-glacial and early Holocene, and relatively wet during the mid-late Holocene.