Influence of sea level change on sediment provenance variations since the last glaciation in the southern South China Sea

Abstract:

Clay mineralogy and grain size of 170 sediment samples from Core MD05-2893 located near the Molengraaff paleo-river mouth on the upper Sunda slope in the southern South China Sea were investigated to assess the effect of sea level change on sediment provenance variations. The clay mineral results show high contents of smectite (35-55%), moderate contents of illite (16-31%), kaolinite (11-29%), and chlorite (8-15%). Due to distinction of clay mineral assemblages from each sediment provenance, the Indonesian Archipelago is the majority of smectite source, whereas North Boneo mainly provides illite to the southern South China Sea. Therefore, the smectite/illite ratio is applied to determine the sediment provenance variations. Both the mineralogical ratio and median grain size show consistent sediment source and dynamic variations since the last glaciation, in which case the response of sediment provenance change due to the sea level rise is expected. Our study suggests a three-stage evolution of the sediment provenance variation on the Sunda slope in the southern South China Sea: (1) during the low sea level stand of the last glaciation, the high content of smectite implies that the Indonesian Archipelago provided the majority of sediments to this area through the Molengraaff paleo-river system; (2) during the sea level rise of the deglaciation, the decreasing of smectite content but the increasing of illite indicates that the Indonesian Archipelago reduced in sediments supply due to regression of coastline, whereas North Boneo increased sediment supply; (3) during the high sea level stand of Holocene, the smectite content increases again, implying that the Indonesian Archipelago provides sediments to this area again through the ocean circulation. Consequently, the sea level rise mainly results in sediment provenance change in the southern South China Sea since the last deglaciation.