Major, trace and REE geochemistry of the Ganga River sediments: Influence of provenance and sedimentary processes

The sediments of the Ganga River from different depositional regimes in the Plain region such as the river channel, active flood-plain and the older flood-plain sediments from the inter-fluve region were analysed for major, trace and the rare earth elements (REEs). These are compared with catchment zone sediments of the river and probable source rocks in the Himalaya. The lower CIA values between 48 and 54.7 for the catchment sediments indicates that the sediments supplied to the Ganga Plain are chemically immature and subjected mostly to physical weathering due to higher erosion rates in the Himalaya. The CIA values ranging between 55 and 74, with average value of 59, 61.4 and 67 for sediments from the Plain's bed-load, active flood-plain and older flood-plain from the inter-fluve region indicates that silicate weathering of Ganga River sediments has occurred only after entering into the plains. This is likely because of higher residence time and change in the climate from cold-frigid in the Himalaya to tropical sub-humid in the plains. Therefore, the use of geochemical data on ancient system to infer climate in their source region may not always be true. Although the CIA values indicate a moderate chemical weathering in the plains, it is far from impressive. Dominance of physical weathering in the catchment region and lower degree of chemical weathering in the Plains indicate that weathering of sediments supplied by Himalayan Rivers, particularly the Ganga River may not have affected the atmospheric CO₂ to a significant level as is generally believed. Thus the net effect of the Himalaya on the CO₂ sequestration and consequent global cooling needs a re-evaluation.The plots of sediments in ternary diagram among La, Th, Sc and ratios involving Co/Th, La/Sc and Sc/Th indicate granitic to granodioritic source rocks to the sediments. The ratio plots involving relatively immobile Al₂O₃, TiO₂ and FeO along with REE plots suggest that out of the major Himalayan lithologies, gneisses and Cambro-Ordovician granites of HHCS have acted as the dominant source to the sediments.The plots of LogNa₂O/K₂O vs. LogSiO₂/Al₂O₃ and FeO/SiO₂ vs. Al₂O₃/SiO₂ diagrams show that the combination of processes including erosion, weathering, sorting and aeolian activity has together played a major role in progressively changing the chemistry from source rock to catchments bed-load to Plains bed-load, active flood-plains and the older inter-fluve sediments in the Ganga River system. The above plots demonstrate that as a result of above processes the ratios between the elements generally thought to be immobile and used in provenance studies does not always remain invariant and the linear trend line in the scatter gram between the two immobile elements show rotation around the fine grained end member.     

Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of sediments from the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers: Implications for partitioning tectonic terranes and crust weathering of the Central and Southeast China

New Nd and Sr isotope data are presented in this paper for sediments from the Yellow and Yangtze River drainage basins. The average ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope compositions of fine-grained sediments from two drainage basins seem similar. The T _DM^Nd ages of sediments from the two drainage basins are relatively uniform but exhibit subtle differences. This reflects the different underlying bedrocks, in association with the unique tectonic terranes that comprise central and southeastern China, including the North China Block, the Yangtze Block, the South China Block, the Tibet Plateau and the Qinling-Dabie Orogenic Belt. In contrast, there is an obvious difference in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios between fine-grained sediments of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, which actually reflects an increase in chemical weathering intensity from northwestern to southeastern China.     

Mineralogy,major and trace element geochemistry of riverbed sediments in the headwaters of the Yangtze,Tongtian River and Jinsha River

We collected riverbed sediments of the headwaters of the Yangtze River (Chumaer River, Tuotuo River, Gaerqu River and Buqu River), Tongtian River and Jinsha River (HTJR) flowing on the eastern Tibetan Plateau and analyzed their mineralogical features, major and trace element contents. The results show: (i) very poor correlations of Na₂O, K₂O, CaO, Ba, and Sr to SiO₂, LREE to Th, HREE to Hf, and Ta/La to Ti, and characteristics of Eu anomaly (the ratios of (Eu/Eu^*)_N range from 0.60 to 0.83 with an average value of 0.71) all indicate that the Jinsha River sediments have not undergone much mineralogical sorting; (ii) illite and chlorite are predominant clay minerals, and quartz, calcite, dolomite, albite, and K-feldspar are prevailing non-clay minerals. The characteristics of mineral assemblage indicate relatively weak chemical weathering degree in these river basins; (iii) very high contents of Fe₂O₃, MgO, TiO₂, Sc, V, Cr, Co, and Ni at Panzhihua mainly result from the huge-sized V–Ti magnetite deposits occurred in layered gabbroic intrusion; and (iv) the chemical alteration index (CIA) in the HTJR ranges from 46.5 to 69.2 and with an average value of 60.5 which indicates relatively weak weathering degree.     

南海东部次海盆U1431站位中中新世以来的沉积物来源特征

南海东部次海盆的沉积记录蕴含着区域内中中新世以来沉积物的风化过程和演化历史信息.本文分析了国际大洋发现计划IODP 349航次南海东部次海盆U1431站位沉积物的主、微量元素和Sr-Nd同位素特征.研究显示,样品中化学风化蚀变指数为49~74,表明源区的化学风化强度为低到中等强度.沉积物在风化过程中以斜长石风化为主.含有火山碎屑的岩性单元Ⅵ和Ⅶ及55X-2层位受到含Fe、Mg矿物组分的物质来源输入影响,其余沉积物主要来自长英质源区.Sr和Nd同位素特征显示不同风化程度的沉积物源区具有明显差异.通过与周围潜在源区进行对比,推断12.8 Ma至今,U1431站位的物源主要来自珠江流域,印支半岛、吕宋和巴拉望提供了少量物质.其中12.5~7.4 Ma,沉积物源区受到周围岩浆活动形成的基性物质输入的影响,但仍以珠江源区为主.6.5 Ma以后,台湾岛隆升剥蚀的陆源物质进入中央海盆.因此,台湾岛成为源区之一.      

青藏高原东缘宜宾地区第四纪河流沉积物中铁质重矿物特征及物源意义

大河流域的发育史和演化在地学界广受关注。探讨宜宾地区第四纪沉积物中铁质重矿物的特征,可为长江流域的演化提供重要证据,同时对于了解青藏高原东缘的隆升及沉积响应具有重要意义。本文以金沙江和岷江交汇处的宜宾地区第四纪沉积物中的铁质重矿物为研究对象,分析其在电子探针和背散射图像中的化学和形貌学特征,探究长江及其支流的物源演化过程。研究结果显示:岷江下游Ⅴ级阶地至Ⅳ级阶地沉积以磁铁矿为主,物源主要来自龙门山构造带;Ⅲ级阶地沉积以钛铁矿为主,物源仍然主要来自龙门山构造带;现代沉积中蓝晶石、磷灰石等包裹体的铁质矿物增多,其物源来自龙门山构造带和松潘—甘孜褶皱带。岷江Ⅴ级至Ⅲ级阶地形成时,岷江的源头主要位于龙门山构造带;Ⅲ级阶地形成以后,岷江不断向上溯源侵蚀,深入松潘—甘孜褶皱带内,逐渐形成现代岷江。金沙江Ⅴ级阶地和长江Ⅴ级阶地中均未出现攀枝花钒钛磁铁矿,此时金沙江攀枝花—宜宾河段未贯通,长江此时在研究区的物源主要由发源于龙门山构造带的岷江提供。金沙江Ⅳ级阶地中攀枝花钒钛磁铁矿大量出现,表明此时金沙江攀枝花—宜宾河段已经贯通,时间为Ⅳ级阶地开始沉积的时间,即0.5~0.3 Ma BP。     

云南三江一河典型地区河谷第四系发育特征

三江一河（金沙江、怒江、澜沧江、红河是流经云南境内的４条主体水系，将上述４条河流河谷第四系的野外观察加以总结得出；金沙江河谷局部发育早一中更新世的湖相层和河湖相层，常形成晚期阶地的基座，晚更新世至全新世冲积层构成四级阶地；怒江河谷第四系发育较差，在六库的上游河谷中冲积层极不发育，只有局部地方有少量的河漫滩砂砾层（全新世），在六库至过街河段中，尤其是过街盆地，发育有中更新世至全新世的冲积层和洪积层，前者构成五级阶地，后者形成巨大的洪积扇分布在河流右岸的谷底或苍坡上；澜沧江除景洪、勐罕（橄榄坝）盆地外，其它河段主要为峡谷，第四系很少，在景洪盆地中发育有第二、第一级阶地和河漫滩冲积层；红河的第四系有中更新世至全新世的冲积层，并构成五级阶地。基于上述第四系特点，简要地讨论了这４条河流的形成时代。     

Geochemistry of late quaternary sediments from Tecocomulco lake, central Mexico: Implication to chemical weathering and provenance

This paper presents the first detailed multi-element geochemical data from the late Quaternary sediments of the Tecocomulco lake basin (central Mexico) and rocks exposed in the basin catchments to understand the extents of chemical weathering and provenance of the siliciclastic fractions. Ternary diagrams of A-CN-K, A-C-N and A-CNK-FM and elemental ratios suggest that most of the lacustrine sediments were derived from mafic volcanic deposits comprising the Chichicuatla and the Apan-Peñon andesites and the Apan-Tezontepec basaltic-andesites. The felsic tephra layers have chemical compositions comparable to the Acoculco volcanic sequences. The calculated indices of chemical weathering such as chemical index of alteration (CIA), plagioclase index of alteration (PIA) and chemical index of weathering (CIW) indicate low to extreme chemical weathering for the lacustrine sediments and low chemical weathering for tephra layers. The varying degree of chemical weathering in lacustrine sediments is related to the fluctuating average annual precipitation during the late Quaternary. However, the low weathering of tephra layers are due to their higher rate of deposition. The dacite-rhyolitic tephra layers of ca. 31,000 ¹⁴C yr BP are relatively more weathered compared to the unweathered rhyolitic tephra of ca. 50,000 ¹⁴C yr BP. This could be due to the rapid deposition of ca. 200 cm of tephra layers during the ca. 50,000 ¹⁴C yr BP volcanic eruption that might have prevented the interaction between tephra layers and weathering agents.     

Geochemistry of the headwaters of the Yangtze River, Tongtian He and Jinsha Jiang: Silicate weathering and CO2 consumption

Water and sediment samples were collected from the headwaters of the Yangtze River, Tongtian He and Jinsha Jiang (upstream of the Yangtze River which flows on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau). A detailed geochemical study of the river system was carried out to determine: (i) temporal and spatial variations of the major ions and their implications; (ii) contribution of carbonate, silicate and evaporite to the river dissolved load and (iii) CO₂ consumption via silicate weathering. Results show that cations derived from evaporite dissolution account for 44.7–82.8% of the total cations in the headwaters of the Yangtze River and increasing from SE to NW of the drainage basin. The contribution from silicate weathering gradually increases from the headwaters due to exposure of intrusive rocks and volcanic rocks in the Jinsha Jiang suture belt. Proportion of cations derived from silicate weathering to the total cations in river waters reaches a maximum at Panzhihua City, which is consistent with the abundant exposure of Cenozoic granitoids and Precambrian high-grade metamorphic rocks around Panzhihua. The Jinsha Jiang basin has higher silicate weathering rates but lower carbonate weathering rates than the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The calculated enrichment factors of potentially harmful metals in the river sediments are within the range of 0.33–2.59, indicative of level 1 or 2 contamination. The highest enrichment factor for Co, Cr and V is found in Panzhihua City, indicating that it has been influenced by anthropogenic sources.     

峡东地区南华纪-寒武纪地层风化过程元素及Sr-Nd同位素演化特征及其地球化学意义

以峡东地区南华纪、震旦纪和寒武纪标准地层泥岩、冰碛泥岩、砂岩、灰岩和白云质灰岩及对应的风化土壤为研究对象, 分析了地层风化成土过程中不同元素的迁移行为, 根据剖面样品的Sr-Nd同位素组成变化, 探讨了其同位素体系的封闭性特征与应用意义.结果表明: (1) 不同岩性基岩在成土过程中的蚀变强度有明显的差异, 在相似地表条件下, 碳酸岩风化剖面的风化程度高于泥质岩和砂岩; (2) 通过对比稳定高场强Ti元素在基岩和风化剖面中的含量变化, 计算出土壤样品在风化过程中体积相对基岩发生的改变量, 进而计算出不同岩性基岩在风化过程中微量元素的绝对含量变化以探讨这些元素的活动规律.结果表明, 灰岩和白云质灰岩的风化剖面元素含量变化明显, 而在泥质岩风化过程中大多数元素保持了相对稳定, 说明沉积岩风化过程中元素的活动性特征明显地受到了原岩矿物组成的制约.风化过程中, 不同性质的元素的活动性差异明显, 其中亲硫元素(Cu、Zn、Pb、Mo) 和大离子亲石元素(Rb、K、Sr、Ba) 在不同岩性的风化剖面中均表现出明显的元素含量变化, 而高场强元素(Zr、Hf、Nb、Ta) 含量则相对稳定; (3) 泥质岩风化形成的土壤层REE含量变化较小, 而碳酸岩风化土壤层REE含量发生了明显下降, 且其风化形成的土壤表现出LREE和HREE相对于MREE的富集.无论是碳酸岩或泥质岩风化形成的土壤, 均出现了明显的Eu负异常和Ce的正异常, 但在其原岩中这些异常并不存在或不明显; (4) 基岩与土壤剖面间Sr同位素组成和Rb/Sr比值存在明显差异, Rb-Sr同位素组成发生了明显的开放.所形成土壤层的Sr同位素组成受到2种因素的约束: 原岩性质和外来组成的Sr同位素比值.因此在总体上, 风化土壤的Sr同位素组成已不能代表基岩的Sr同位素组成; (5) 沉积岩风化过程中, 碳酸岩和泥质岩形成的风化土壤基本保持了原岩的Sm-Nd同位素组成特点, 由其组成所获得的Nd同位素亏损地幔模式年龄等能反映其原岩信息, 而近源沉积形成的砂岩和含砾冰碛泥岩所形成的土壤, 其Nd同位素组成则存在不同程度的改变.      

Sr isotopic signature of the Ganga Alluvial Plain and its implication to Sr flux of the Ganga River System

The influx of Sr responsible for increase in marine Sr has been attributed to rise of Himalaya and weathering of the Himalayan rocks. The rivers draining Himalaya to the ocean by the northern part of the Indian sub-continent comprising the Ganga Alluvial Plain (GAP) along with Central parts of the Himalaya and the northern part of the Indian Craton are held responsible for the transformation of Sr isotopic signature. The GAP is basically formed by the Himalayan-derived sediments and serves as transient zone between the source (Himalaya) and the sink (Bay of Bengal). The Gomati River, an important alluvial tributary of the Ganga River, draining nearly 30,500 km² area of GAP is the only river which is originating from the GAP. The river recycles the Himalayan-derived sediments and transport its weathering products into the Ganga River and finally to Bay of Bengal. 11 water samples were collected from the Gomati River and its intrabasinal lakes for measurement of Sr isotopic composition. Sr concentration of Gomati River water is about 335 μg/l, which is about five times higher than the world’s average of river water (70 μg/l) and nearly three times higher than the Ganga River water in the Himalaya (130 μg/l) The Sr isotopic ratios reported are also higher than global average runoff (0.7119) and to modern seawater (0.7092) values. Strong geochemical sediment–water interaction appearing on surface is responsible for the dissolved Sr isotopic ratios in the River water. Higher Sr isotopic rations found during post-monsoon than in pre-monsoon season indicate the importance of fluxes due to monsoonal erosion of the GAP into the Gomati River. Monsoon precipitation and its interaction with alluvium appear to be major vehicle for the addition of dissolved Sr load into the alluvial plain rivers. This study establishes that elevated ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the Gomati River are due to input of chemical weathering of alluvial material present in the Ganga Alluvial Plain.     

现代河流碎屑磷灰石原位地球化学分析——对长江物源示踪研究的启示

长江是连接青藏高原和西太平洋的东亚最大河流,研究其源汇过程对于认识和理解沉积物剥蚀、搬运和沉积过程等方面具有重要科学意义。对河流沉积物中常见的磷灰石开展了原位微量元素和87Sr/86Sr比值分析,结果表明,金沙江的微量元素和87Sr/86Sr比值二维散点图的分布区域与大渡河、岷江和嘉陵江的明显不同;丰都段长江干流样品与大渡河、岷江和嘉陵江样品形成重叠区域,结合MDS（非矩阵多维标度）判断图结果,说明丰都段长江干流的物质主要来自龙门山。磷灰石原位地球化学分析方法可以有效区分发源于青藏高原东南的金沙江和发源于龙门山的大渡河、岷江和嘉陵江的物质。但由于金沙江梯级水电站的建设对其下游沉积物的组成起到重要影响,在今后使用该方法进行长江全流域物源示踪研究时需要谨慎。     

Behaviour of lithium and its isotopes during weathering in the Mackenzie Basin, Canada

We report Li isotopic compositions, for river waters and suspended sediments, of about 40 rivers sampled within the Mackenzie River Basin in northwestern Canada. The aim of this study is to characterize the behaviour of Li and its isotopes during weathering at the scale of a large mixed lithology basin. The Mackenzie River waters display systematically heavier Li isotopic compositions relative to source rocks and suspended sediments. The range in δ⁷Li is larger in dissolved load (from +9.3‰ to +29.0‰) compared to suspended sediments (from −1.7‰ to +3.2‰), which are not significantly different from δ⁷Li values in bedrocks. Our study shows that dissolved Li is essentially derived from the weathering of silicates and that its isotopic composition in the dissolved load is inversely correlated with its relative mobility when compared to Na. The highest enrichment of ⁷Li in the dissolved load is reported when Li is not or poorly incorporated in secondary phases after its release into solution by mineral dissolution. This counterintuitive observation is interpreted by the mixing of water types derived from two different weathering regimes producing different Li isotopic compositions within the Mackenzie River Basin. The incipient weathering regime characterizing the Rocky Mountains and the Shield areas produces ⁷Li enrichment in the fluid phase that is most simply explained by the precipitation of oxyhydroxide phases fractionating Li isotopes. The second weathering regime is found in the lowland area and produces the lower δ⁷Li waters (but still enriched in ⁷Li compared to bedrocks) and the most Li-depleted waters (compared to Na). Fractionation factors suggest that the incorporation of Li in clay minerals is the mechanism that explains the isotopic composition of the lowland rivers. The correlation of boron and lithium concentrations found in the dissolved load of the Mackenzie Rivers suggests that precipitation of clay minerals is favoured by the relatively high residence time of water in groundwater. In the Shield and Rocky Mountains, Li isotopes suggest that clay minerals are not forming and that secondary minerals with stronger affinity for ⁷Li appear.Although the weathering mechanisms operating in the Mackenzie Basin need to be characterized more precisely, the Li isotope data reported here clearly show the control of Li isotopes by the weathering intensity. The spatial diversity of weathering regimes, resulting from a complex combination of factors such as topography, geology, climate and hydrology explains, in fine, the spatial distribution of Li isotopic ratios in the large drainage basin of the Mackenzie River. There is no simple relationship between Li isotopic composition and chemical denudation fluxes in the Mackenzie River Basin.     

珠江口盆地渐‒中新世古气候及物源特征:以阳江东凹为例

珠江口盆地阳江东凹处于太平洋构造域与新特提斯构造域交汇处,地球动力学背景、构造演化历史复杂,对于盆地物源特征和物源区古气候演化方面研究比较薄弱。选取珠江口盆地阳江东凹A钻井岩心中的珠海组-韩江组砂泥岩样品,对其进行地球化学分析,结果显示,样品呈轻稀土元素富集、重稀土元素平坦的配分模式,有明显的负Eu异常特征,与花岗岩相似;Al_2O_3/TiO_2、F1-F2、La/Th-Hf和Co/Th-La/Sc判别图解表明源岩以长英质为主,并有镁铁质岩石的混入;Al_2O_3/TiO_2、Cr/Zr和Th/Sc值也体现出长英质成分为主的物源特征;(Fe_2O_3+MgO)-TiO_2、Th-Co-Zr/10和Th-Sc-Zr/10构造环境判别图解显示,大部分样品落在大陆岛弧和主动大陆边缘区域,综合研究表明源区岩石特征与中国东南沿海大面积发育的岩浆岩极为相似。化学蚀变指数(CIA)、化学风化指数(CIW)、斜长石蚀变指数(PIA)等指标以及Mg/Ca值,指示珠江口盆地阳江东凹晚渐新世至中中新世物源区经历了中等程度的化学风化,对应温暖湿润的古气候环境,且从早到晚气温降低、降水量减少。     

Elemental and Sr–Nd isotopic compositional disparity of riverine sediments around the Yellow Sea: Constraints from grain-size and chemical partitioning

To obtain a better understanding of the source compositions of the river sediments around the Yellow Sea and their relationship with source rocks, elements and strontium-neodymium (Sr–Nd) isotopes of different grain-sizes (silt and clay populations) and chemical (labile and residual phases) fractionations in riverine sediments were studied extensively. These results clearly revealed a systematic compositional disparity between Korean river (KR) and Chinese river (CR) sediments, especially in the residual (detrital) fraction. The geochemical dissimilarity between these might reflect inherited signatures of their source rocks but with minor control from chemical weathering. In particular, the remarkable enrichment of some elements (iron (Fe) and magnesium (Mg)) and the behavior of large ion lithophile elements (e.g., barium (Ba), potassium (K) and Sr) during weathering as well as less-radiogenic Sr isotopic compositions implies that CR sediments might be weathering products of relatively more mafic rocks, with abundant ferromagnesian and plagioclase feldspar minerals, compared with KR sediments derived from silicic granites with relatively higher quartz and potassium feldspar contents. This different petrological rationale is clearly evident in an A–CN–K diagram, which estimated the source rock of CR sediments as granodioritic, a composition that reflects accurately the average composition of weathered continental crust in China. The recognition of such geochemical systematics in two river sediments, especially in grain-size and chemically partitioned data, may contribute to the establishment of provenance tracers for the Yellow Sea and East China Sea sediments with multi-sources as well the dust deposition in the western Pacific.     

青藏高原东部长江流域盆地陆地化学风化研究

长江河水主要离子由流域盆地碳酸盐岩的风化所控制,沱沱河和楚玛尔河受蒸发盐岩影响较为明显;河水溶质载荷Si,Si/TZ *,Si/(Na* K)等指标表明,长江流域盆地地表硅酸盐岩风化还是浅表层次的;金沙江地表化学剥蚀速率为1.74×103mol/yr.km2,雅砻江为1.69×103mol/yr.km2,大渡河为1.57×103mol/yr.km2,岷江为1.88×103mol/yr.km2,长江河源区楚玛尔河为2.32×103mol/yr.km2,沱沱河为1.37×103mol/yr.km2,流域地表化学剥蚀速率可与世界上其它造山带的河流进行对比。     

雅鲁藏布江流域古堰塞湖群的发育及其地质意义初探

展布于青藏高原东南部的雅鲁藏布江流域河谷中广泛分布有古堰塞湖沉积,古堰塞湖发育与构造活动、气候变化和地表过程等因素关系密切。在广泛地质调查的基础上,识别出雅鲁藏布江流域的十余个古堰塞湖,通过对其开展沉积学、地貌学和年代学工作,结合前人工作结果,初步建立了古堰塞湖群的地层年代框架。地表残留的古堰塞湖沉积多集中于末次冰期冰盛期和全新世早期,持续时间可达千年—万年。对大竹卡古湖、格嘎古湖和易贡湖的研究结果进行了介绍,归纳出古堰塞湖群发育的基本特征,初步讨论了构造、气候和侵蚀相互作用下古堰塞湖研究的意义、存在的问题以及研究的方向。提出末次冰期以来的冰川(泥石流)堵江-堰塞-溃决洪水所构建的极端气候-灾害事件,对雅鲁藏布江河谷地貌和古地理环境等有重要影响。     

Application of Sr isotopes to geochemical mapping and provenance analysis: The case of Aichi Prefecture,central Japan

Geochemical maps expressing areal distributions of chemical elements in the earth’s land surface have been published in several countries in relation to various global environment issues. The authors have applied a radiogenic isotope ratio, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, to geochemical mapping in order to understand the geological origin, transportation and dispersion system of chemical elements in the earth’s land surface. The Sr isotope ratio is a useful tracer for distinguishing the geological origin of surficial deposits, especially in areas where surface exposure of bedrocks is low, because it is not significantly altered by the processes of weathering and transportation. Most bedrocks in the Japanese islands are covered by plants, soils and urban areas. In this study, 142 of 1219 stream sediments (<180 μm) collected from the northeastern part of Aichi Prefecture, in the central part of Japan (75 km × 30 km), were analyzed. Their Sr isotope ratios range from 0.7086 to 0.7315 with an average of 0.7129, except for one sample. This average is higher than the mean of the upper crust of the Japan Arc (the Japanese Island Crustal Composite, JICC), 0.7077. This difference can be attributed to the below-average presence of young volcanic rocks, generally having lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values, and the above-average presence of granitic rocks, in the study area compared with the surface exposure of the Japan Arc. The first factor controlling the distribution of Sr isotope ratios is the bedrock distributed around the sampling points. Regional variation in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr value shows that it is higher in the western and southeastern parts, where sedimentary rocks and metamorphic rocks are distributed, and that it is lower mainly in the central part, where granitic rocks are distributed. The ⁸⁷Rb/⁸⁶Sr–⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr plot for stream sediments more clearly reveals the differences and similarities of bedrocks. In some locations, the distribution of Sr isotope ratios does not correspond to that of bedrocks on the geological map. One reason is the existence of unmapped bedrock, for example, small intrusive masses of granite. The other is fluvial transportation and dispersion. The distribution of the isotope ratios suggests that some stream sediments include surficial deposits from a few km upstream. Application of the Sr isotope ratio to geochemical mapping is useful for revealing both the distribution of unexposed bedrocks and the transportation of surficial deposits. Information on unexposed bedrocks will be expected to contribute to the improvement of geological mapping.     

长江上游水系沉积物锶-钕同位素组成及物源示踪

泥沙资料表明,现代长江干流沉积物主要源自上游地区。因此,长江上游干支流沉积物主控关系及其源汇过程在长江水系沉积物物源示踪研究中极为重要。为探讨上述过程,详细测定了上游水系沉积物Sr-Nd同位素组成。结果显示,金沙江及闽江沉积物具有较高的εNd(0)值,主要受控于流域内大面积分布的峨眉山玄武岩的高εNd(0)背景值;嘉陵江水系沉积物具有相对较低的εNd(0)值,反映了其流域内源岩对沉积物Nd同位素组成的控制;与Nd同位素组成相比,水系沉积物87Sr/86Sr值具有更大的变化范围,表明除源岩因素外,沉积物Sr同位素组成受更为复杂的因素制约。支流与干流沉积物Sr-Nd同位素组成对比表明,长江上游干流沉积物主要来源于金沙江流域内的源岩,金沙江流域内的表壳岩系主导了上游干流沉积物的Sr-Nd同位素组成。     

Geochemical characteristics of modern river sediments in Myanmar and Thailand: Implications for provenance and weathering

The elemental composition of organic matter and the major and trace element compositions of stream sediments from Myanmar (Ayeyarwady and Sittaung rivers) and Thailand (Mekong and Chao Phraya rivers, and their tributaries) were determined to examine their distributions, provenance, and chemical weathering processes. Higher total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents in the finer grained sediments indicate hydrodynamic energy may control their distributions. TOC/TN ratios indicate inputs of both aquatic macrophyte and higher vascular plant material to the river sediments. The major element abundances of the sediments are characterized by predominance of SiO₂ in coarser fractions and a marked negative correlation with Al₂O₃, representing primary grain size primarily control on SiO₂ content. Marked depletion of most labile elements (Na₂O, CaO, K₂O, Ba and Sr) relative to UCC (upper continental crust), indicate destruction of feldspar during chemical weathering in the source area or during transport. However, enrichment of some high field strength elements (Zr, Th, Ce and Y) relative to UCC and higher Zr/Sc ratios indicate moderate concentration of resistant heavy minerals in finer-grained samples. Discriminant diagrams and immobile trace element characteristics indicate that the Mekong, and Chao Phraya river sediments were largely derived from felsic sources with compositions close to typical rhyolite, dacite/granodiorite, UCC, I- and S-type granites. Relative enrichment of ferromagnesian elements (e.g. MgO, Cr, Ni) and high Cr/V and low Y/Ni ratios in Ayeyarwady and Sittaung sediments indicate the presence of a mafic or ultramafic component in their sources. The ICV (Index of Compositional Variability), CIA (Chemical Index of Alteration), PIA (Plagioclase Index of Alteration), α^Al, Rb/Sr and K₂O/Rb ratios indicate that the Ayeyarwady and Sittaung sediments record low to moderate degrees of chemical weathering in their source, compared to moderate to intense chemical weathering in the Mekong and Chao Phraya river basins. These results are compatible with existing major ion data for river waters collected at the same locations.     

Northern latitude chemical weathering rates: clues from the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada

The main scope of this study is to investigate parameters controlling chemical weathering rates for a large river system submitted to subarctic climate. More than 110 river water samples from the Mackenzie River system (northern Canada) have been sampled and analyzed for major and trace elements and Sr isotopic ratios in the dissolved phase. The three main morphological units are reflected in water chemistry. Rivers from the Canadian Shield are very dilute, dominated by silicate weathering (Millot et al., 2002), whereas the rivers of the Rocky and Mackenzie Mountains as well as the rivers of the sedimentary Interior Platform are dominated by carbonate weathering and are SO₄ rich. Compared to the rivers of the Mackenzie and Rocky Mountains, the rivers of the interior plains are organic, silica, and Na rich and constitute the dominant input term to the Mackenzie River mainstream. Rivers of the Canadian Shield area do not significantly contribute to the Mackenzie River system. Using elemental ratios and Sr isotopic ratios, a mathematical inversion procedure is presented that distinguishes between solutes derived from silicate weathering and solutes derived from carbonate weathering. Carbonate weathering rates are mostly controlled by runoff, which is higher in the mountainous part of the Mackenzie basin. These rates are comparable to the carbonate weathering rates of warmer areas of the world. It is possible that part of the carbonate weathering is controlled by sulfide oxidative weathering, but its extent remains difficult to assess. Conversely to what was stated by Edmond and Huh (1997), overall silicate weathering rates in the Mackenzie basin are low, ranging from 0.13 to 4.3 tons/km²/yr (Na + K + Ca + Mg), and confirm the negative action of temperature on silicate weathering rates for river basins in cold climates. In contrast to what has been observed in other large river systems such as the Amazon and Ganges Rivers, silicate weathering rates appear 3 to 4 times more elevated in the plains than in the mountainous headwaters. This contradicts the “Raymo hypothesis” (Raymo and Ruddiman, 1992). Isotopic characterization of suspended material clearly shows that the higher weathering rates reported for the plains are not due to the weathering of fine sediments produced in the mountains (e.g., by glaciers) and deposited in the plains. Rather, the relatively high chemical denudation rates in the plains are attributed to lithology (uncompacted shales), high mechanical denudation, and the abundance of soil organic matter derived from incomplete degradation and promoting crystal lattice degradation by element complexation. The three- to fourfold factor of chemical weathering enhancement between the plains and mountains is similar to the fourfold factor of enhancement found by Moulton et al. (2000) between unvegetated and vegetated watershed. This study confirms the negative action of temperature on silicate weathering for cold climate but shows that additional factors, such as organic matter, associated with northern watersheds are able to counteract the effect of temperature. This acceleration by a factor of 4 in the plains is equivalent to a 6°C increase in temperature.