Shikui Zhai

A quantitative assessment of human impacts on decrease in sediment flux from major Chinese rivers entering the western Pacific Ocean

Major rivers with high sediment or water discharge act as natural integrators of surficial processes, including human activities within their drainage basins, and they are also the primary sources of terrestrial materials entering the ocean. The river-derived materials flux entering the coastal oceans, however, has been strongly affected by anthropogenic activities. Recent studies related to human impacts on river sediment flux have mainly focused on qualitative descriptions. Here we present a quantitative assessment of human impacts on decrease in sediment flux from nine major Chinese rivers entering the western Pacific Ocean, including Changjiang (Yangtze), Huanghe (Yellow), Zhujiang (Pearl), Songhuajiang, Liaohe, Haihe, Huaihe, Qiantangjiang, and Minjiang. During 1959-2007, dams and reservoirs, soil and water conservation programs, water consumption, as well as sand mining decreased the amount of sediment delivered to the ocean by 28, 11.5, 7.5 and 3 gigatons (Gt), respectively. If combined (50 Gt for the period 1959-2007), this reduction was close to the total decreased sediment flux (43 Gt) measured from these nine major rivers over the same period. Besides, the temporal variations in water and sediment fluxes into the ocean from these rivers generally during 1953-2007 were presented. These results are useful for further studies on Chinese and even global river-derived material flux to the ocean and associated ecological risks. Citation: Chu, Z. X., S. K. Zhai, X. X. Lu, J. P. Liu, J. X. Xu, and K. H. Xu (2009), A quantitative assessment of human impacts on decrease in sediment flux from major Chinese rivers entering the western Pacific Ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L19603, doi:10.1029/2009GL039513.

Heavy metals in Changjiang estuarine and offshore sediments: responding to human activities

The Changjiang (Yangtze) estuarine and offshore sediments were analyzed for total heavy metals concentrations and chemical fractions. Distributions of heavy metals show typical banded diffusion pattern, with high concentrations near the river mouth and following a decreasing trend in the offshore direction. According to chemical fractions, Fe/Mn oxide fraction is the major non-residual fraction in the Changjiang estuarine and offshore sediments. Higher percentage of non-residual fraction of Pb implies that, the industrial contaminations transported via the atmosphere and river input, may affect the non-residual fraction of heavy metals. Over past fifteen years, the concentration of Pb normalizing to Al presents significant increasing trend, corresponding to the effect of human activities. By comparison of heavy metals fractions in 2003 to 2006, it has been realized that increasing water and sediment may cause a higher percentage non-residual fraction of Cu in the southern part of offshore muddy sediments.

He, Ne and Ar isotope compositions of fluid inclusions in hydrothermal sulfides from the TAG hydrothermal field Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Helium, neon and argon isotope compositions of fluid inclusions have been measured in hydrothermal sulfide samples from the TAG hydrothermal field at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Fluid-inclusion3He/4He ratios are 2.2—13.3 times the air value (Ra), and with a mean of 7.2 Ra. Comparison with the local vent fluids (3He/4He=7.5—8.2 Ra) and mid-ocean ridge basalt values (3He/4He=6—11 Ra) shows that the variation range of3He/4He ratios from sulfide-hosted fluid inclusions is significantly large. Values for20Ne/22Ne are from 10.2 to 11.4, which are significantly higher than the atmospheric ratio (9.8). And fluid-inclusion40Ar/36Ar ratios range from 287 to 359, which are close to the atmospheric values (295.5). These results indicate that the noble gases of fluid inclusions in hydrothermal sulfides are a mixture of mantle- and seawater-derived noble gases; the partial mantle-derived components of trapped hydrothermal fluids may be from the lower mantle; the helium of fluid inclusions is mainly from upper mantle; and the Ne and Ar components are mainly from seawater.

Yangtze River Sediment: In Response to Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) Water Impoundment in June 2003

Abstract The well-known and enormously controversial Three Gorges Reservoir (TGR) on the Yangtze River, China, impounded about 9.936 × 109 m3 of water (between Qingxichang and Huanglingmiaodou) for the first time from May 25 to June 10, 2003, finally elevating the water level to about 135 m above mean sea level at the dam. Mainly on the basis of daily, monthly, and annual water and sediment data sets of the Yangtze River at mainstream hydrological stations above and below the TGR Dam in 2003, we preliminarily examined the effects made by the TGR water impoundment in June 2003 on the Yangtze River sediment. According to sediment transport balance method, the estimated amount of suspended sediment impounded in the TGR is (1) about 3.1816 × 106 t between Qingxichang and Huanglingmiaodou during June 1 to June 10; (2) about 1.247 × 108 t between Cuntan and Yichang in 2003, which in June accounted for 25.9% and from June to December accounted for 99.2%; and (3) about 1.359 × 108 t between Cuntan and Yichang in 2003, if considering eroded sediment from the channel between the TGR Dam and Yichang. The TGR sedimentation resulting from the TGR water impoundment leads to unnaturally clear water discharged from the TGR Dam, which results in the Yangtze River suspended sediment concentration and sediment load downstream of the TGR Dam in 2003 being reduced more than those above the TGR Dam, and the channel just below the TGR Dam significantly eroded (about 4.759 × 105 t between Yichang and Shashi from June 1 to June 10).

A heavy mineral viewpoint on sediment provenance and environment in the Qiongdongnan Basin

Based on heavy mineral data in core samples from eleven drillings, supplemented by paleontological, element geochemical and seismic data, the evolution of sediment provenance and environment in the Qiongdongnan Basin (QDNB) was analysed. The results show that the basement in the QDNB was predominantly composed of terrigenous sediments. Since the Oligocene the QDNB has gradually undergone transgressions and evolution processes in sedimentary environment from terrestrial-marine transitional to littoral-neritic, neritic, and bathyal roughly. The water depth showed a gradually increasing trend and was generally greater in the southern region than that in the northern region in the same time. With changes in sedimentary environment, provenances of the strata (from the Yacheng Formation to the Yinggehai Formation) showed principal characteristics of multi-sources, evolving from autochthonous source, short source to distant source step by step. During the Early Oligocene, the sediments were mainly proximal basaltic pyroclastic source and adjacent terrigenous clastic source, afterwards were becoming distant terrigenous clastic sources, including Hainan Island on the north, Yongle Uplift on the south, Shenhu Uplift on the northeast, the Red River System on the northwest and Indochina Peninsula on the southwest, or even a wider region. The Hainan Island provenance began to develop during the Early Oligocene and has become a main provenance in the QDNB since the Middle Miocene. The provenances from Yongle Uplift and Shenhu Uplift most developed from the Late Oligocene to the Early Miocene and gradually subsided during the Middle Miocene. During the Late Miocene, as a main source of sediments filled in the central canyon, the Red River System provenance added to the QDNB massively, whose impact terminated at the end of the Pliocene. The western Yinggehai Basin (YGHB) provenance derived from Indochina Peninsula had developed from the Pliocene on to the Pleistocene. In addition, the material contribution of marine authigenous source to the basin (especially to the southern region) could not be ignored.

Two possible hydrothermal vents in the northern Okinawa Trough

As the Okinawa Trough is a back-arc basin in early spreading, modern submarine hydrothermal activity and minerallization have many characteristics which have aroused wide attention. Up to now, three well-known hydrothermal venting areas are all located in the middle part of the trough. During two cruise investigations to map and sample the seafloor, numbers ofCalyptogena sp. shells were dredged at two sites in the northern trough with comparatively thicker crust and numerous submarine volcanoes. Based on the fact thatCalyptogena sp. is only observed around the hydrothermal vents and lives on hydrothermal activities, it is predicted that there is the possibility of modern hydrothermal activities in the northern part of the trough. In this note, the shell is carefully characterized and the sample locations with possible hydrothermal activity are given. It is pointed out that the research of biogenic fossils to trace hydrothermal activity changes in venting time, strength fluctuations, evolution in chemical compositions and so on should be stressed in the future in addition to the study of the ecological characteristics of hydrothermal organisms.

Geochemical features of trace and rare earth elements of pumice in middle Okinawa Trough and its indication of magmatic process

Pumice, the most widely distributed volcanic rock in Okinawa Trough, is loose and porous. Since its formation, it has definitely suffered from the denudation of the sea to different degrees. In order to truly reveal the geochemical features of pumice, we choose the method of mineral separation. Firstly, the phenocryst is separated from glass. Then the phenocryst is divided into light and heavy mineral compositions. By ICP-MS (inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry) analytical technology, the contents of trace and rare earth elements in the whole pumice, the glass and the heavy and light mineral compositions are determined respectively. By researching the elemental geochemical features, the magma dynamic processes are found. It shows that the initial magma for the pumice in Okinawa Trough came from the depleted mantle, from which the N-MORB (normal type of mid-ocean ridge basalt) is formed, homologous with the local basalts. But they are formed in different periods of magma crystal fractionation. Featured with sufficient crystal fractionation for pumice, it is found that the earlier crystallizing minerals are olivine, plagioclase and pyroxene. The pumice magma, formed from the depleted mantle, was mixed with additional subduction-related materials (components), and contaminated with the mass from upper crust when it rose up into the crust. As the Okinawa Trough is a back-arc basin in its early back-arc spreading stage, its magmatism has a series of its own unique characteristics, different from not only the mid-ocean ridge expansion, but also the mature back-arc basin.

Mineralogical characteristics of polymetallic sulfides from the Deyin-1 hydrothermal field near 15°S, southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

A seafloor hydrothermal field, named Deyin-1 later, near 15°S southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge (SMAR) was newly found during the 22nd cruise carried out by the China Ocean Mineral Resources Research & Development Association (COMRA). Sulfide samples were collected at three stations from the hydrothermal field during the 26th cruise in 2012. In this paper, mineralogical characteristics of the sulfides were analyzed with optical microscope, X-ray diffractometer, scanning electron microscope and electron microprobe to study the crystallization sequence of minerals and the process of hydrothermal mineralization. According to the difference of the ore-forming metal elements, the sulfide samples can be divided into three types: (1) the Ferich sulfide, which contains mainly pyrite and chalcopyrite; (2) the Fe-Cu-rich sulfide consisting predominantly of pyrite, chalcopyrite and isocubanite, with lesser amount of sphalerite, marmatite and pyrrhotine; and (3) the Fe-Zn-rich sulfide dominated by pyrite, sphalerite and marmatite, with variable amounts of chalcopyrite, isocubanite, pyrrhotine, marcasite, galena and gratonite. Mineral precipitations in these sulfides are in the sequence of chalcopyrite (isocubanite and possible coarse pyrite), fine pyrite, sphalerite (marmatite), galena, gratonite and then the minerals out of the dissolution. Two morphologically distinct generations (Py-I and Py-II) of pyrite are identified in each of the samples; inclusions of marmatite tend to exist in the coarse pyrite crystals (Py-I). Sphalerite in the Fe-Zn-rich sulfide is characterized by a “chalcopyrite disease” phenomenon. Mineral paragenetic relationships and a wide range of chemical compositions suggest that the environment of hydrothermal mineralization was largely changing. By comparison, the Fe-rich sulfide was formed in a relatively stable environment with a high temperature, but the conditions for the formation of the Fe-Cu-rich sulfide were variable. The Fe-Zn-rich sulfide was precipitated during the hydrothermal venting at relatively low temperature.

Geochemical characteristics and their significances of rare-earth elements in deep-water well core at the Lingnan Low Uplift Area of the Qiongdongnan Basin

A geochemical analysis of rare-earth elements (REEs) in 97 samples collected from the core of deep-water Well LS-A located at the Lingnan Low Uplift Area of the Qiongdongnan Basin is conducted, with the purpose of revealing the changes of sedimentary source and environment in the study region since Oligocene and evaluating the response of geochemical characteristics of REEs to the tectonic evolution. In the core samples, both ΣREE and ΣLREE (LREE is short for light-group REEs) fluctuate in a relatively wide range, while ΣHREE (HREE is short for heavy-group REEs) maintains a relatively stable level. With the stratigraphic chronology becoming newer, both ΣREE and ΣLREE show a gradually rising trend overall. The ΣREE of the core is relatively high from the bottom of Yacheng Formation (at a well depth of 4 207 m) to the top of Ledong Formation, and the REEs show partitioning characteristics of the enrichment of LREE, the stable content of HREE, and the negative anomaly of Eu to varying degrees. Overall the geochemical characteristics of REEs are relatively approximate to those of China’s neritic sediments and loess, with significant “continental orientation”. The ΣREE of the core is relatively low in the lower part of Yacheng Formation (at a well depth of 4 207–4 330 m), as shown by the REEs partitioning characteristics of the depletion of LREE, the relative enrichment of HREE, and the positive anomaly of Eu; the geochemical characteristics of REEs are approximate to those of oceanic crust and basalt overall, indicating that the provenance is primarily composed of volcanic eruption matters. As shown by the analyses based on sequence stratigraphy and mineralogy, the provenance in study region in the early Oligocene mainly resulted from the volcanic materials of the peripheral uplift areas; the continental margin materials from the north contributed only insignificantly; the provenance developed to a certain extent in the late Oligocene. Since the Miocene, the provenance has ceaselessly expanded from proximal to distal realm, embodying a characteristic of multi-source sedimentation. In the core strata with 31.5, 28.4, 25.5, 23, and 16 Ma from today, the geochemical parameters of REEs and Th/Sc ratio have significant saltation, embodying the tectonic movement events in the evolution of the Qiongdongnan Basin. In the tectonic evolution history of the South China Sea, the South China Sea Movement (34-25 Ma BP, early expansion of the South China Sea), Baiyun Movement (23 Ma BP), late expansion movement (23.5-16.5 Ma BP), expansion-settlement transition, and other important events are all clearly recorded by the geochemical characteristics of REEs in the core.

Geochemical characteristics of major and trace elements in the Okinawa Trough basaltic glass

The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc basin at an initial spreading stage that is under the influence of subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate. In this study, we analyzed the geochemical compositions of basaltic glass in the OT and discussed the effects of different magmatic sources, evolution, and subducted components in basalts. Our results showed that the middle and southern regions of the OT exhibit characteristics consistent with an iron-rich tholeiite series. Trace element proportions conform to the typical spider diagram pattern characteristic of back-arc basin basalts, rich in large ion lithophile elements (LILEs) including Rb, Ba, Pb, U, and Th, while depleted in high field-strength elements (HFSEs) including Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, and Ti. The distribution of rare earth elements (REEs) is also consistent with enrichment by right-leaning light rare earth elements (LREEs). The addition of enriched mantle type I (EMI) materials as well as mantle heterogeneity may have led to variable degrees of enrichment in different regions. The magma source of the middle trough has undergone crystallization towards pyroxene, while development of plagioclase was restricted partly, and the crystallization of spinel and olivine ceased altogether. At the same time, crystallization of the southern OT magma source was dominated by olivine and including the formation of plagioclase, pyroxene, and magnetite (or titanomagnetite). Finally, the results of this study showed that 90% Th, 95% Ba in the southern basalt, 50%–70% Th and 70%–90% Ba in the middle basalt originated from subducted component. Different subducted component influence may be due to different subduction zone structural feature.