A late diagenetic (syn-folding) magnetization carried by pyrrhotite: implications for paleomagnetic studies from magnetic iron sulphide-bearing sediments

Paleomagnetic, rock magnetic, and sedimentary micro-textural data from an early Miocene mudstone sequence exposed in Okhta River, Sakhalin, Russia, indicate the presence of pyrrhotite and magnetite at different stratigraphic levels. Sites that contain only magnetite have a reversed polarity characteristic remanent magnetization (ChRM) with a low-coercivity overprint, which coincides with the present-day geomagnetic field direction. Pyrrhotite-bearing sites have stable normal polarity ChRMs that are significantly different from the present-day field direction. After correction for bedding tilt, the ChRM data fail a reversals test. However, the normal polarity pyrrhotite ChRM directions become antipodal to the tilt-corrected magnetite ChRM directions and are consistent with the expected geocentric axial dipole field direction at the site latitude after 40% partial unfolding. These data suggest that the pyrrhotite magnetization was acquired during folding and after lock-in of the magnetite remanences. Electron microscope observations of polished sections indicate that fluid-associated halos surround iron sulphide nodules. Pyrrhotite is present in randomly oriented laths in and around the nodules, and the nodules do not appear to have been deformed by sediment compaction. This observation is consistent with a late diagenetic origin of pyrrhotite. Documentation of a late diagenetic magnetization in pyrrhotite-bearing sediments here, and in recent studies of greigite-bearing sediments, suggests that care should be taken to preclude a late origin of magnetic iron sulphides before using such sediments for geomagnetic studies where it is usually crucial to establish a syn-depositional magnetization.     

塔里木盆地中生代古地磁研究及构造意义

采用主成分分析方法、线性谱法和LINFIND方法，分离了塔里木盆地中生代岩石的多磁成分，并采用岩石磁学和褶皱检验等方法研究了剩磁稳定性．对于塔里木盆地三叠系、侏罗系的岩石其携磁矿物以磁铁矿为主，具有两组次生磁性成分和一组原生剩磁成分；原生剩磁成分的解阻温度为550℃，而两组次生成分的解阻温度分别为175－250℃和300一375℃，可能为生物剩磁和次生氧化形成的剩磁．白垩纪岩石的携磁矿物以亦铁矿为主，同样具有两组次生剩磁和一组原生剩磁；两组次生剩磁分别为现代地磁场的粘滞剩磁和岩石变形过程中形成的构造剩磁．塔里木盆地中生代早期极移不明显，处于一个相对平静时期；侏罗纪至白垩纪盆地则主要表现有一定规模的南移，伴有顺时针旋转运动。盆地白垩纪的古纬度与现在纬度相比，仍存在17°－20°左右的纬度等，这一纬度差是通过白垩纪以后塔里木板块的北向漂移和板块北部造山带的压缩及边界的大型走滑作用来缩小；另外，压实作用也可能是由垩纪磁倾角变低的一个原因。     

Diagenetic development of unstable and stable magnetization in the St. Bees Sandstone (Triassic) of northern England

Thermal demagnetization of red and drab sandstones from the St. Bees Sandstone shows a wide range of directional stability. After the removal of a metastable secondary magnetization at temperatures up to 300°C red sandstones may show stable or unstable magnetization. Experiments indicate that both the stable and unstable magnetization is carried by coarse haematite particles (specularite).Drab sandstones, which have been subject to reduction and dissolution of haematite are generally unstable but specimens with a stable NRM occur and this must be carried by specularite because the pigment has been removed from these specimens.The stable magnetization is believed to have developed during deposition and early diagenesis by the oxidation of detrital iron oxides. Pole positions correspond to known Triassic poles and there are abundant normal and reversed zones typical of the Lower Triassic.The unstable magnetization of the red sandstones is apparently due to the development of authigenic overgrowths of haematite on the detrital specularites. This phase of authigenesis may have taken place over a long time, and after significant changes in the ambient geomagnetic field resulting in complex magnetizations in individual grains and hence whole rocks.     

A paleomagnetic reinvestigation of the Upper Devonian Perry Formation: evidence for Late Paleozoic remagnetization

In view of the recent recognition of widespread Late Paleozoic remagnetization of Devonian formations across North America, we undertook a reinvestigation of the Upper Devonian Perry Formation of coastal Maine and adjacent New Brunswick. Thermal demagnetization of samples from the redbeds yielded a characteristic direction (D = 166°, I = 4°) that fails a fold test. Comparison of the corresponding paleopole (312°E, 41°S) with previously published Paleozoic poles for North America suggests that the sediments were remagnetized in the Late Carboniferous. After the removal of a steep, northerly component, the volcanics also reveal a shallow and southerly direction ( D = 171°, I = 25° without tilt correction). No stability test is available to date the magnetization of the volcanics; however, similarity of several of the directions to those seen in the sediments raises the suspicion that the volcanics are also remagnetized. Although the paleopole without tilt correction (303°E, 32°S) could be taken to indicate an early Carboniferous age for the remagnetization, scatter in the data suggests that the directions are contaminated by the incomplete removal of a steeper component due to present-day field. Thus, it is more likely that the volcanics were remagnetized at the same time as the sediments. Isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) acquisition curves, blocking temperatures, coercivities and reflected light microscopy indicate that the magnetization is carried by hematite in the sediments and by both magnetite and hematite in the volcanics. It is therefore likely that the remagnetization of the Perry Formation involved both thermal and chemical processes related to the Variscan/Alleghenian orogeny. Our results indicate that previously published directions for the Perry Formation were based on the incomplete resolution of two magnetic components. These earlier results can no longer be considered as representative of the Devonian geomagnetic field.     

Paleomagnetism of the Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian carbonates of New York State: evidence for secondary magnetizations residing in magnetite

Paleomagnetic directions for the Upper Silurian and Lower Devonian carbonates of the Helderberg escarpment (New York State) differ from expected Late Silurian and Early Devonian directions for cratonic North America. The mean direction (D = 165°, I = −10°; paleopole at 50°N 129°E) is similar to Late Carboniferous and Early Permian results. Negative fold tests, and a lack of reversals, suggest that the magnetization is secondary. However, low coercivities, low blocking temperatures, the thermomagnetic curves (T_C near 570°C) and the acquisition of isothermal remanent magnetizations all suggest that the remanence is carried by magnetite. If a detrital origin of these magnetites is assumed, the secondary nature of the remanence would argue for thermal resetting as a result of deep burial of the rocks. However, no evidence for such thermal resetting is seen in the alteration of conodonts. More likely perhaps is a chemical or thermochemical origin of the remanence; this would require the magnetites to be authigenic.     

Pervasive late Paleozoic-Triassic remagnetization of miogeoclinal carbonate rocks in the Basin and Range and vicinity, SW USA: regional results and possible tectonic implications

Relatively unmetamorphosed Paleozoic miogeoclinal carbonate rocks in the Basin and Range of E Nevada, SW Nevada and adjacent California, and W Utah yield low-inclination magnetizations that reflect pervasive, regional remagnetization around the close of the Paleozoic. The rocks range in age from mid-Cambrian through Pennsylvanian and lie generally in a broad belt between the mid-Paleozoic Roberts Mountain Thrust and the late Cretaceous Sevier thrusts. Most of the magnetizations reside in magnetite, but at one site the magnetization is evidently carried by pyrrhotite. Preliminary rock-magnetic data suggest samples with magnetite-borne remanences have wasp-waisted hysteresis curves typical of remagnetized carbonates. The origin of the remagnetization is problematic and probably polygenetic: both the Permo-Triassic Sonoma orogeny and deformation associated with the Ancestral Rockies seem too spatially limited, but magnetite from smectite destruction seems difficult to reconcile with the great stratigraphic extent of late Paleozoic remagnetization unless combined with thermal resetting of the lowermost units. A number of sites also appear to have undergone some vertical-axis rotation, and the sense and magnitude of these rotations are grossly consistent with independent geologic evidence. However, the probably large age range of the low-inclination components complicates their use for resolving tectonic rotations. Younger, intermediate-stability components of magnetization, probably of Cretaceous or Cenozoic age, are also found in many sites and also probably have multiple origins. At sites farther W, the late Paleozoic component is not found, which probably reflects its destruction by later Mesozoic or Cenozoic heating. At sites farther E, on and near the Colorado Plateau, gray carbonates yield only Cenozoic magnetizations. Some reddish, oxidized carbonates there locally contain a hematite-borne magnetization of late Paleozoic age. However, it is probably related to the development of thick continental redbed sequences in overlying strata on the plateau rather than to the remagnetization process(es) in the miogeocline.     

Palaeomagnetism and K/Ar results from the Duncansby volcanic neck,NE Scotland: superimposed magnetizations,age of igneous activity,and tectonic implications

The Duncansby volcanic neck, intruding the Middle Devonian red beds of north Caithness, Scotland, has revealed two significantly different axes of magnetization, yielding pole positions at 149°E, 24°N and 126.5°E, 60°N, respectively. The first pole, which is interpreted as corresponding to the oldest magnetization, is in perfect agreement with Devonian polar estimates from west of the Great Glen Fault. It is tentatively suggested therefore that the Duncansby neck correlates with the Late Devonian volcanism in the nearby Orkney Islands though palaeomagnetism allows an upper age estimate of around Middle Carboniferous. The data support an earlier proposition of there being a palaeomagnetic discordance across the Great Glen Fault that can be interpreted in terms of a large-scale late- or post-Devonian transcurrent movement along this fracture zone. The original (? Late Devonian) magnetization has been nearly completely erased by the second phase of magnetization which, according to its pole position, most likely dates from about the Middle Jurassic. The latter magnetization is thought to be a consequence of burial, the coastal districts of Caithness having participated in the general subsidence of the North Sea area in late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic times. The burial magnetization, involving VPTRM and or TCRM processes, is considered to have been “frozen-in” as a result of uplift in connection with the well-documented mid-Jurassic tectonic phase that affected the northern North Sea basin, including the adjacent Moray Firth area. K/Ar analyses of the Duncansby intrusion give apparent ages ranging from 258 to 239 Ma. These dates, which lie between the two geological events inferred from palaeomagnetism, are not seen as true rock ages but rather as the result of a partial Ar loss during burial reheating.     

Magnetite dissolution,diachronous greigite formation,and secondary magnetizations from pyrite oxidation: Unravelling complex magnetizations in Neogene marine sediments from New Zealand

Detailed rock magnetic and electron microscope analyses indicate that the magnetic signature of Neogene marine sediments from the east coast of New Zealand is dominated by the authigenic iron sulphide greigite. The greigite is present as a mixed population of stable single domain and superparamagnetic grains, which is consistent with authigenic growth from solution. This growth can result from pyritization reactions soon after deposition, which also leads to dissolution of most detrital magnetite; however, where constrained by field tests, our data suggest that remanence acquisition can occur > 1 Myr after deposition, and can vary in timing at the outcrop scale. Strong viscous overprints result from oxidation of the iron sulphides, probably during percolation of oxic ground water. This process can sometimes destroy any ancient remanent magnetization. This complex magnetic behaviour, particularly the presence of late-forming magnetizations carried by greigite, means that the remanence in New Zealand Cenozoic sediments, and in similar sediments elsewhere, cannot be assumed to be primary without confirmation by field tests. The reversals test should be employed with caution in such sediments, as patchy remagnetizations can lead to false polarity stratigraphies.     

Paleomagnetism of mid-Cretaceous red beds in west-central Kyushu Island, southwest Japan: paleoposition of Cretaceous sedimentary basins along the eastern margin of Asia

A paleomagnetic study was carried out on the mid-Cretaceous sedimentary strata in west-central Kyushu Island, southwest Japan, to elucidate the origin of sedimentary basins along the Asian continental margin in the Cretaceous. We collected paleomagnetic samples from a total of 34 sites of the mid-Cretaceous Goshonoura Group, shallow-marine clastic deposits in west-central Kyushu, and characteristic remanent magnetizations were recognized from 18 horizons of red beds. Thermal demagnetization has revealed that the red beds contain three magnetization components, with low (<240°C), intermediate (240-480°C), and high (480-680°C) unblocking temperatures. The low unblocking temperature component is present-field viscous magnetization, and the intermediate one is interpreted as chemical remanent magnetization carried by maghemite that was presumably formed by post-folding, partial oxidation of detrital magnetite. Rock magnetic and petrographic studies suggest that the high unblocking temperature component resides largely in hematite (martite and pigmentary hematite) and partly in maghemite. Because of the positive fold test, this high temperature component can be regarded as primary, detrital remanent magnetization. The tilt-corrected mean direction of the high temperature component is Dec=65°, Inc=63° with α₉₅=5°, which yields a paleomagnetic pole at 39°N, 186°E and A₉₅=8°. A combination of this pole with those of the Late Cretaceous rocks in southwest Japan defines an apparent polar wander path (APWP), which is featured by a cusp between the Late Cretaceous and the Paleogene. A comparison of this APWP with the coeval paleomagnetic pole from northeast Asia suggests an approximately 50° post-Cretaceous clockwise rotation and 18±8° southward drift with respect to northeast Asia. The southward transport of the Cretaceous basin suggests that the proto-Japanese arc originated north of its present position. We propose that the coast-parallel translation of this landmass was caused by dextral motion of strike-slip faults, which previous geodynamic models interpreted to be sinistral through the Mesozoic. The change in strike-slip motion may have resulted from Mesozoic collision and penetration of exotic terranes, such as the Okhotsk microcontinent, with the northeastern part of Asia.     

Metallogenesis on a Mesozoic passive continental margin,Antalya Complex,southwest Turkey

A variety of Fe, Mn and trace-metal-enriched Mesozoic pelagic sediments are associated with the tectonically emplaced Antalya Complex in southwestern Turkey. Palaeotectonic settings represented within the complex comprise a continental platform, passing laterally through a Mesozoic passive margin into a zone of marginal oceanic crust, formed during the early stages of continental separation. The origins of the metalliferous sediments are elucidated using mineralogical, major, trace element and REE data, and comparisons with oceanic and ophiolite-related sediments.Late Triassic deposition during the initial continental separation was mostly terrigenous, including detrital carbonate derived from adjacent reef complexes. During the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous the passive margin underwent accumulation of fine-grained terrigenous matter and biogenic silica in deep water below the carbonate compensation depth. Argillaceous mudstones deposited during a regional hiatus at the end of the Upper Triassic show unusual Fe and trace metal enrichment, together with a marked positive Ce anomaly, indicative of slow hydrogenous accumulation.The marginal oceanic crustal zone also shows dominantly terrigenous and siliceous biogenic deposition but with the addition of an important hydrothermal component represented by Fe-Mn deposits. These occur within and immediately above the Upper Triassic lavas of the oceanic crust and as intercalations in the overlying Lower Cretaceous radiolarian chert sequence. Most of these sediments show strong Fe-Mn fractionation; several show a negative Ce anomaly implying rapid incorporation of the REEs from seawater.The Upper Triassic Fe-Mn deposits associated with the lavas are relatively trace-element-depleted and record rapid localised precipitation from relatively high-temperature hydrothermal solutions. By contrast, the more manganiferous and trace-element-enriched metalliferous horizons in the Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous chert sequences represent more dilute low-temperature hydrothermal discharge. Regional comparisons suggest that dominantly manganiferous deposits free of sulphides are characteristic of the early formed Mesozoic ocean crust compared with well established spreading axes like the Troodos Massif, Cyprus.     

Red beds: DRM or CRM?

Thermal demagnetization and chemical leaching experiments show that, in some Hopewell Group sediments, both detrital (DRM) and chemical (CRM) remanent magnetizations are present. The CRM was acquired in two phases (CRM_A, CRM_B), one before and one after a field reversal. Field evidence indicates that all three magnetizations were probably acquired in less than 35 my. The magnetization process occurred over a period of time long enough to span one or more field reversals. The CRM_B and then the CRM_A can be successively removed by progressively longer immersion times in hydrochloric acid so that the DRM is uncovered. The oppositely directed CRM_A and DRM cannot be thermally separated so that accurate field directions cannot be determined from thermal demagnetization alone. It is suggested that field reversals occurringduring magnetization may have a bearing on different paleomagnetic problems. The two techniques of thermal demagnetization and chemical leaching complement each other and together they can provide new information about the behaviour of the earth's field in the past.     

Magnetic analysis of some large seamounts in the North Atlantic

An analysis of the magnetic structure of Plato and Atlantis seamounts in the North Atlantic was made using the phase-shifting technique of Schouten [9]. The possibility of distinguishing the age of the seamounts from the age of their adjacent seafloor using magnetic data was investigated. The method described proved simple and effective, but showed that age determinations cannot reliably be made from magnetics for the seamounts in question, since the variation of the position of the palaeomagnetic poles during the Cainozoic is not large enough to produce appreciable phase-shift differences in this part of the Atlantic.The polarization is normal. Since smaller seamounts also show a predominance of normal magnetization, this may mean that viscous remanent magnetization (VRM) dating from the present normal period, the Brunhes, is involved. VRM may lead to strong magnetizations in coarse-grained rock as shown by DSDP results. This may result into a general overprinting of thermoremanence (TRM) by VRM, thus glossing over reversed thermoremanent polarizations. Large seamounts thus may appear as normally polarized bodies. The statistics of reversely versus normally polarized seamounts may be explained by the same effect. This implies that palaeomagnetic pole and age determinations based on apparent magnetization directions modelled from the magnetic anomaly pattern over seamounts may be inaccurate.     

The tectonic implications of Solundian (Upper Devonian) magnetization of the Devonian rocks of Kvamshesten, western Norway

The allochthonous Old Red Sandstone of Kvamshesten, western Norway, records polyphase orogenic deformation, and palaeomagnetic results from both the Devonian sediments and mylonites associated with the basal thrust define a syn- (to post-) tectonic magnetization withD = 218°,I = +3° and₉₅ = 9.7°. The corresponding pole position (lat. 21°S, long. 324°E) suggests a Late Devonian/Early Carboniferous magnetization age (Solundian), and probably dates the time of thrust movements.     

川北旺苍-南江地区晚侏罗世古地磁学研究与真极移的探讨

本文对四川北部旺苍-南江地区晚侏罗世蓬莱镇组进行了较为详细的岩石磁学和古地磁学研究．逐步热退磁揭示出蓬莱镇组岩石所携带的剩磁由两个分量组成,其中低温组分（次生剩磁）的解阻温度低于420℃;高温组分（特征分量）可通过褶皱及倒转检验,由此求得磁偏角和磁倾角分别为18．4°和29．3°（构造校正后）,95％置信回（α95）为8．5°,对应的古地磁极经纬度分别为236．4°E和66．6°N．基于古地磁结果,并结合已有的地质证据,提出根据古地磁学确定的扬子地块晚侏罗世古纬度偏低的原因可能是由真极移造成的．     

On the magnetization of the ferromagnetic soft bodies

Summary It is shown that the macroscopic consideration of the ferromagnetic bodies' magnetization (by solving the corresponding integro-differential equations) can be related with the statistical consideration of magnetization (afterLangevin). The difference between the curve of the ideal and normal magnetizations is ascribed to the distribution of the ferromagnetic particles by potential wells.     

Multiphase magnetizations: Problems and implications

Experiments combining different cleaning and analytical techniques indicate that multiphase magnetizations may be quite common. However, these may not be recognized because of limited experimental work. Alternating field (AF) cleaning is often the only treatment applied to igneous and metamorphic rocks; thermal and/or AF cleanings are usually the only treatments applied to sedimentary rocks. In many instances, AF and thermal treatments are limited to 100 mT and 550°C respectively. Investigations based on such limited cleaning often fail to detect some of the phases of magnetization contained in the rock. Failure to detect one or more phases means that valuable data are not recovered and the whole magnetic history of the rock has not been unfolded. Most importantly, the undetected phase might be the initial so that a secondary magnetization can easily be mistaken for the initial with an erroneous interpretation as a result. It is therefore imperative to recognize all phases of magnetizations and it possible to separate them.Procedures that have been used to recognize and unravel multiphase magnetizations are described. These procedures make use of chemical, thermal and AF cleaning treatments, two-stage demagnetization, vector analysis, slicing of specimens and vector diagrams. The combination used depends on the rock studied. For example, it is found that AF followed by thermal treatment can be very useful for the study of igneous rocks; chemical leaching is by far the most effective cleaning technique for the study of red beds. A three-phase model describing the magnetizations process of certain red beds is proposed. The slicing of specimens is used to explain intermediate directions with respect to field reversals. It is shown that graphical representation by vector diagrams can greatly facilitate the interpretation of the results. The examples show that, although a statistically well defined magnetization may be obtained after limited cleaning, it cannot be assumed to be the initial. One must ascertain that another magnetization has not remained undetected. This necessitates detailed and extensive experimental work using and devising new analytical procedures in an attempt to unfold the whole magnetic history of the rock. It is noted that tentative polar paths constructed from results obtained after inadequate experimental work cannot be up-graded by adding more data points of doubtful or unproven quality. The evolutionary process of polar paths is dependent upon increasing the reliability of palaeomagnetic results.     

Palaeointensities from sediments: normalization by laboratory redepositions

Deep-sea sediments, comprising small magnetic grains in coarse and fine fabrics, were reconstituted and deposited in laboratory fields. Both the magnitude and the direction of the natural remanent magnetization (NRM) were accurately reproduced. Only the middle coercivity fraction, however, gave a faithful representation of the laboratory field. This same fraction originally held the stable NRM component. The results were interpreted on a model of post-depositional realignment based on the physical characteristics of the sediment. Laboratory redeposition was found to be a closer analogue to the NRM than were anhysteretic or other laboratory-induced magnetizations. Guidelines are given by which the techniques could be utilised to estimate the intensity of the ancient geomagnetic field.     

Palaeomagnetism of some Precambrian rocks in south-east Greenland

A palaeomagnetic pole is established at 25.1°N 273.9°E (dp = 10.6°, dm = 14.3°) from the norite-charnockite complex at Angmagssalik, emplaced at 1800 Ma. A somewhat older palaeomagnetic pole at 4.2°S 246.7°E (dp = 4.2°, dm = 8.3°) is obtained from Archaean gneisses close to the northern boundary of the Nagssugtoqidian mobile belt; reversals of magnetization are present here. Both magnetizations were imposed during slow cooling following the (late) Nagssugtoqidian metamorphism.In general the gneisses, dyke amphibolites and granite of the Nagssugtoqidian mobile belt are unstably magnetized; their magnetization is attributable to the Earth's present field, and is often extremely weak.A pseudotachylyte within the Archaean gneisses has had a long cooling history. A fragment of the remanence reflects the magnetization characteristic of the Archaean gneisses, whereas most of the magnetization corresponds to a palaeomagnetic pole near that of the Angmagssalik complex. The pseudotachylyte is much older than its magnetizations.An apparent polar wander path is presented for Greenland at ca. 1750 Ma based on the above results and data from west Greenland.     

Mineralization and magnetization of chiton teeth: paleomagnetic,sedimentologic, and biologic implications of organic magnetite

Magnetite precipitation and tooth formation in chitons (Polyplacophora) proceeds through a biochemically-controlled reduction of the mineral ferrihydrite. Resulting crystals of single-domain magnetite are closely packed against one another and are typically near 0.1 μm in diameter. The natural magnetization of these teeth is characterized by abnormally low stability to alternating field demagnetization (m.d.f. near 12 mT) but has no appreciable decay due to low-temperature cycling. Chitons may be responsible for natural magnetizations on the order of 10^?6 G in marine sediments, whereas mud bacteria could produce remanence near 10^?8 G in both marine and freshwater sediments.     

Comparative study on magnetic minerals of tidal flat deposits from different sediment sources in Jiangsu coast,Eastern China

Understanding the sources of sediments deposited in tidal flats is critical for reconstructing the evolution of coastal regions impacted by large rivers. Environmental magnetism can be an effective tool to track sediment sources and analyze the sediment properties. We evaluate several magnetic parameters from the tidal flat sediments along the Jiangsu coast. The results show that the sediments of Liandao Island have the lowest values of magnetic susceptibility (χ), anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and saturation isothermal remanence magnetization (SIRM). In addition to these, the values of χ, ARM and SIRM display a generally increasing trend from the north to the south along the Jiangsu coast. The strong relations between χ, ARM and SIRM show that the changes of magnetization of the tidal flat sediments mainly reflect the changes of concentration rather than those in grain sizes of magnetic particles. The main magnetic phase is magnetite, with a small amount of hematite. The strong relationship between χ and the 2-16 μm grain-size fraction suggests that magnetite is enriched in the finer silt fraction. The sediment sources is the main factor that influences the magnetic properties of the tidal flat sediments from the Jiangsu coast. Combined with the previous studies, the results indicate that the tidal flat sediments of Liandao Island were mainly derived from the nearshore rock weathering. The Yellow River is the dominant supplier for the north of Dafeng, while the Yangtze River is the dominant supplier for the south of Rudong. The coast between Dafeng and Rudong is a transition zone influenced by both rivers. This study provides a basis against which possible future variations in sediment composition resulting from catchment changes can be assessed.