Rare-earth element geochemistry reveals the provenance of sediments on the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep -- Journal of Oceanology and Limnology,2019,37(3):998-1009

	Cite this paper:
	JIANG Zuzhou, SUN Zhilei, LIU Zhaoqing, CAO Hong, GENG Wei, XU Haixia, WANG Lisheng, WANG Libo. Rare-earth element geochemistry reveals the provenance of sediments on the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2019, 37(3): 998-1009

Rare-earth element geochemistry reveals the provenance of sediments on the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep

JIANG Zuzhou^1,2,3, SUN Zhilei^2,3, LIU Zhaoqing⁴, CAO Hong^2,3, GENG Wei^2,3, XU Haixia⁵, WANG Lisheng⁶, WANG Libo^2,3

1 School of Geosciences, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266580, China;
2 Laboratory for Marine Mineral Resources, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266071, China;
3 Key Laboratory of Marine Hydrocarbon Resources and Environmental Geology, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao Institute of Marine Geology, Qingdao 266071, China;
4 China Three Gorges New Energy Corp., Beijing 100053, China;
5 Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Development, PetroChina, Beijing 100083, China;
6 Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China

Abstract:

The hadal zone represents one of the last great frontiers in modern marine science, and deciphering the provenance of sediment that is supplied to these trench settings remains a largely unanswered question. Here, we examine the mineralogical and geochemical composition of a sediment core (core CD-1) that was recovered from the southwestern margin of the Challenger Deep within the Mariana Trench. Major element abundances and rare-earth element patterns from these sediments require inputs from both terrigenous dust and locally sourced volcanic debris. We exploit a two-endmember mixing model to demonstrate that locally sourced volcanic material dominates the sediment supply to the Challenger Deep (averaging~72%). The remainder, however, is supplied by aeolian dust (averaging~28%), which is consistent with adjacent studies that utilized Sr-Nd isotopic data. Building on a growing database, we strengthen our understanding of Asian aeolian dust input into the northwestern Pacific, which ultimately improves our appreciation of sedimentation in, and around, the hadal zone.

Key words: Challenger Deep|sediment|rare-earth elements|provenance|Asian aeolian dust

Received: 2018-03-05 Revised: 2018-04-24

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Articles by JIANG Zuzhou

Articles by SUN Zhilei

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Articles by GENG Wei

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Articles by WANG Lisheng

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