Depositional characteristics of the northern South China Sea in response to the evolution of the Pearl River
Lei Shao
Peijun Qiao
Meng Zhao
Qianyu Li
Mengshuang Wu
Xiong Pang
Hao Zhang
10.6084/m9.figshare.3454040.v1
https://geolsoc.figshare.com/articles/dataset/Depositional_characteristics_of_the_northern_South_China_Sea_in_response_to_the_evolution_of_the_Pearl_River/3454040
<p>Geochemical data from South China Sea sedimentary rocks show the effects of both source composition and depositional environments.
This enables us to link tectonic trends with erosion in the Pearl River region since <em>c.</em> 32 Ma. In particular, a shift in the geochemistry appears to signal a response to a well-recorded regional tectonic event
at <em>c.</em> 23–25 Ma, probably corresponding to a jump in the seafloor spreading axis from the west to the SW within the South China
Sea. This may correlate with the uplift of the West Yunnan Plateau and possibly also the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Clay mineralogy,
sand–mud ratio, and major and rare earth element concentrations, also varied in response to the environment in the drainage
areas of the palaeo-Pearl River. By comparing data from the modern sources and the sedimentary record from the northern South
China Sea, especially the erosion–transportation–deposition patterns, three groups of index minerals (Ati, GZi, ZTR), as well
as rare earth elements can be recognized. These are used to characterize the Pearl River from the east to the west, representing
three different parent rock sources. The evolution of the palaeo-Pearl River can be tracked by variations of heavy minerals
and key elements that are indicative of provenance.
</p>
2016-06-21 11:51:28
West Yunnan Plateau
Pearl River
evolution
depositional environments
parent rock sources
Tibetan Plateau
Pearl River region
earth elements
drainage areas
earth element concentrations
west
source composition
ZTR
SW
tectonic event
clay mineralogy
South China Sea
link tectonic trends
32 Ma
Pearl River Geochemical data
erosion
Depositional characteristics
response
index minerals
rocks show
Geology