Distribution and Provenance of Detrital Minerals in Southern Coast of Shandong Peninsula

Detrital minerals of 137 offshore and 22 river sediment samples collected from Qingdao coastal areas have been analyzed. Four mineral assemblage provinces can be classified by Q-mode cluster analysis. Factor analysis identifies two major factors that account for the total variability in most common minerals: 1) based on the relationship of quartz, hornblende, actinolite, micas, and authigenic pyrite, 41.55% of the variability is related to sediment sources; 2) based on the relationship of epidote, garnet, sphere, and ilmenite, 23.21% can be related to strong hydrodynamic conditions that control transport and sedimentation. By comparing mineral compositions of river waters in the study area, the following four mineral provenances can be identified. The Qingdao-Laoshan nearshore area has a quartz-feldspar-epidote-hornblende-limenite-limonite-sphene assemblage, which is largely attributed to relict sediment and coastal erosion. The Jimo-Haiyang nearshore area has a quartz-feldspar-hornblende-epidote-limonite-mica-actinolite assemblage, derived largely from the Wulong River and Rushan River, and is also affected by the Huanghe River, while the Qianliyan Island area in the deeper offshore area separated by a mud belt has a similar assemblage. The Haiyang-Rushan nearshore area has a quartz-feldspar-hornblende-epidote-micas-limonite assemblage, indicating multiple sources from the Rushan River, the Wulong River, the Huanghe River, and coastal erosion. The central area, located in an eddy center, has a mica-authigenic pyrite-hornblende-quartz-feldspar assemblage, indicating multiple sources dominated by Huanghe River distal sediments.

Provenance analysis of surface sediments in the Holocene mud area of the southern coastal waters off Shandong Peninsula,China

The sedimentary record of mud areas is an important carrier of information on the Holocene evolution of marine environments. Based on fine interpretations of the shallow stratigraphic section data, a small mud deposit area has been found in the southern coastal waters off Shandong Peninsula. This mud area is mainly distributed in coastal waters north of Laoshantou to the vicinity of Rushan Estuary. Overall, it is parallel to the coastline and spreads in a banded pattern, gradually thinning from offshore to the sea. The isopach map of depth distribution is parallel with the shoreline, and the depocenter lies in coastal waters of the Aoshan Bay where the maximum thickness is up to 22.5 m. Accelerator mass spectrometry（AMS） ^（14）C dating shows that the mud area was formed in the Holocene. The test data of surface sediments from the mud area, including particle size, mineral characteristics, and rare earth element contents, are used in comparisons with the composition of materials from the major surrounding medium and small rivers flowing into the sea and the Huanghe（Yellow） River. In this paper, the sedimentary characteristics and provenance of the mud deposit area are discussed. The results show that the formation of this mud area resulted from the joint action of the Huanghe River and surrounding rivers flowing into the sea.