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Some Features of Rare-Earth Element Distribution in Surface Sediments of the Bay of Tonkin (South China Sea)

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Abstract

The peculiarities of the distribution of rare-earth elements (REEs) in the surface bottom sediments in the Gulf of Tonkin (South China Sea) are considered. According to the results of granulometric analysis, the sediments are mainly represented by pelitic silt, silty pelite, and miktites. The REE contents normalized to the chondrite composition show the absence of cerium anomaly, the presence of negative europium anomaly and significant fractionation of light and heavy REEs. The values of indicator ratios LaN/YbN, Cr/Th, Th/Co, La/Sc, and Th/Sc indicate the predominance of rocks of intermediate and acidic composition in the erosion areas, due to which sediments were formed. The values of the Ce/La and (Fe + Mn)/Ti ratios characterize the surface sediments as typically terrigenous without the admixture of endogenous exhalative material. The Eu/Sm ratio values indicate low permeability of the sediments for upward fluid flows, which is consistent with the measured methane concentrations. The analysis of correlations indicates the dominance of the terrigenous source of REEs and that clay minerals and iron hydroxides play a significant role in the migration and accumulation of REEs.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors are grateful to the reviewers, as well as to Dr. V.A. Rashidov for valuable constructive recommendations and comments, which allowed the paper to be significantly improved.

Funding

The work was carried out in the framework of state order no. 121021500055-0 for the Pacific Oceanological Institute of the Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, “Gas-Geochemical Fields of the World Ocean, Geodynamic Processes, and Natural-Gas Flows Affecting the Formation of Geological Structures with Hydrocarbon Deposits and Authigenic Mineralization.”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Insitute, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 690041, Vladivostok, Russia

    A. A. Legkodimov, A. V. Sorochinskaya & R. B. Shakirov

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  1. A. A. Legkodimov
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  2. A. V. Sorochinskaya
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  3. R. B. Shakirov
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Correspondence to A. A. Legkodimov.

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Translated by M. Hannibal

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Legkodimov, A.A., Sorochinskaya, A.V. & Shakirov, R.B. Some Features of Rare-Earth Element Distribution in Surface Sediments of the Bay of Tonkin (South China Sea). Russ. J. of Pac. Geol. 17 (Suppl 2), S56–S65 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1819714023080080

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