Journal
CONTINENTAL SHELF RESEARCH
Volume 189, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.csr.2019.103977
Keywords
Rare earth elements (REE); Grain-size effect; Sediment provenance; Pahang river; Kelantan river; Peninsular Malaysia
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Funding
- Natural Science Foundation of China-Shandong Joint Fund for Marine Science Research Centers [U1606401]
- National Programme on Global Change and Air-Sea Interaction [GASI-GEOGE-03, GASI-02-SCS-CJB01]
- Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology [2015ASKJ03]
- China-Malaysia cooperation project Effect on variability of seasonal monsoon on sedimentary process in Peninsular Malaysia waters
- Taishan Scholar Program of Shandong
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Grain size is an important controlling factor of the chemical composition of sediments. To understand the role of grain size in the content of rare earth elements (REE) in tropical mountainous river sediments and to establish suitable provenance proxies, sediments collected from Pahang River and Kelantan River, Peninsular Malaysia, were determined for REE contents in six size fractions (<2 mu m, 2-4 mu m, 4-8 mu m, 8-16 mu m 16-32 mu m, and 32-63 mu m). The results indicate that the total REE contents (Sigma REE) from these two rivers are weakly correlated with grain sizes. The normalized REE patterns of various grain-size fractions to <63 mu m fractions revealed a fiat pattern for light rare earth elements (LREE), but were gradually enriched in heavy rare earth elements (HREE) with increasing grain size. These results indicate that the grain size constraint on REE is very complex. The relationship between REE contents and mineral compositions of size-fractioned sediments further suggests that clay minerals cause high REE contents in clay components (<2 mu m). The dilution effect of quartz and feldspars on REE is another controlling factor, leading to low REE content in medium-fine silt components (2-32 um). In addition, heavy minerals, zircon, monazite and amphibole, play an important role in enriching REE in coarse silt components (32-63 mu m), especially zircon as the major contributor to the enrichment of HREE with increasing grain size. By combining the content of REE, the normalized REE patterns and the REE characteristic parameters for different grain sizes, we find that the 4-8 mu m fraction is sensitive to REE variation among the six size fractions investigated. Furthermore, the relationship between upper continental crust-normalized delta Eu and (Gd/Yb) is reliable for distinguishing the sediment characteristics of Pahang River and Kelantan River and can therefore be used as an effective indicator for identifying Malaysian river-sourced sediments in the southern South China Sea.
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