Nd, Sr isotopes and elemental geochemistry of surface sediments from the South China Sea: Implications for Provenance Tracing

摘要

The mineralogy, major and trace elements, and neodymium and strontium isotopes of surface sediments in the South China Sea (SCS) are documented with the aim of investigating their applicability in provenance tracing. The results indicate that mineralogical compositions alone do not clearly identify the sources for the bulk sediments in the SCS. The Nd isotopic compositions of the SCS sediments show a clear zonal distribution. The most negative ?_(Nd) values were obtained for sediments from offshore South China ( - 13.0 to -10.7), while those from offshore Indochina are slightly more positive (- 10.7 to - 9.4). The Nd isotopic compositions of the sediments from offshore Borneo are even higher, with ?_(Nd) ranging from - 8.8 to - 7.0, and the sediments offshore from the southern Philippine Arc have the most positive ?_(Nd) values, from - 3.7 to + 5.3.