Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

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Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy ⇑ Mengying He a, Hongbo Zheng b, , Xiangtong Huang c, Juntao Jia d, Ling Li a a Institute of Surficial Geochemistry, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, PR b School of Geography Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, PR China c State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, PR China d School of Earth Science & Technology, China University of Petroleum, Qingdao 266555, PR China article info abstract

Article history: River bed sediments were collected from the main stream and major tributaries of the River for Available online xxxx clay mineralogy study. Surface sediments from the Yarlung Zangbo River on the were also examined for comparison. The results show that the clay mineral compositions of the Yangtze River dis- Keywords: play a similar pattern through the whole truck stream, with illite being dominant, kaolinite and chlorite Clay minerals being lesser abundant, and smectite being minor component. Clay mineralogy shows distinct differences Provenance in the tributaries, which correspond to the heterogeneous source rocks and weathering intensity of the Weathering drainage. The illite crystallity and the illite chemical weathering index (5 Å/10 Å peak ratio) both increase Erosion downstream, indicating a increasing trend of hydrolysis along the river. It also indicates that the upper- The Yangtze River stream of the drainage is characterized with physical weathering while the middle- and lower reaches are controlled by chemical weathering process. In accordance with the result derived by the illite indexes, sediment input from upperstream including Yalong Jiang, Dadu He, Min Jiang and Jialing Jiang accounts for the major sediment load, whereas Wu Jiang, Xiang Jiang, Gan Jiang and Dongting Lake provide rela- tively less sediments. Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction et al., 2003; Kessarkar et al., 2003; Liu et al., 2003a,b; Suresh et al., 2004; Liu et al., 2007; Long et al., 2007; Dou et al., 2010). The large river systems draining the Tibetan Plateau are the ma- As one of the rivers that originate from the eastern Tibetan Pla- jor transfer of continental masses to the ocean, playing significant teau, the Yangtze River is the third longest in the world and the roles in global geochemical cycles, and are thus the key areas in the fourth largest in terms of its water discharge. It has numerous trib- ‘‘source to sink’’ studies. Information about the bedrock lithology, utaries, entering the East China Sea with great amount of water weathering regimes, erosion and sedimentation rates are all funda- discharge, sediments and associated chemicals. The changes of mental issues in better understanding the catchment behaviors. the Yangtze River deposition area and the process of sediments Heavy minerals and geochemical fingerprints of river sediments from ‘‘source to sink’’ transport pattern have been widely dis- are most widely used for the determination of provenance, cussed. In recent years, various approaches of the sediment source tectonics and weathering in the source region (Moral-Cardona in the Yangtze River have been performed, such as Sr–Nd isotopic et al., 1996; Clift et al., 2002a,b,c; Cawood et al., 2003; Kuhlmann compositions (Yang et al., 2007), detrital mineral compositions et al., 2004; Boulay et al., 2005; Moral Cardona et al., 2005; (Wang et al., 2006; Yang et al., 2006), heavy mineral compositions Lim et al., 2006; Alt-Epping et al., 2007; Lan et al., 2007; Borges (Yang et al., 2009), carbon distribution (Wu et al., 2007) and mag- et al., 2008; Liu et al., 2008; Yang et al., 2009; Singh, 2010; Wu netic properties (Wang et al., 2007; Liu et al., 2010), whereas the et al., 2011). Clay mineral assemblages are sensitive to bedrock clay assemblages of the Yangtze River drainage, and their implica- geology and chemical weathering and therefore have long been tions, have not been fully investigated. Previous studies examined regarded as a powerful indicator of the nature of the source areas. the clay mineralogy based on scattered samples collected mainly In addition, in comparison with heavy minerals, clay minerals are from the Yangtze estuarine and the inner shelf area, and were easily transported as suspended load, and are more powerful to mostly concerned with their general comparison with other rivers, trace the provenance (Franz et al., 2001; Gingele et al., 2001; Chen such as the and (Yang, 1988; Fan et al., 2001; Zhou et al., 2003; Ding et al., 2004; Fang et al., 2007). In this study, we will examine the clay mineral assemblages of the river bed samples from the main stream and major tributaries ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +86 25 83597512. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. He), [email protected] (H. of the Yangtze River, as well as the surface (soil) samples from the Zheng). drainage basin. The principal objectives are to characterize the clay

1367-9120/$ - see front matter Ó 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 2 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx mineral distribution in the Yangtze River drainage, determining (Yang et al., 2004; Wu et al., 2005). Different drainage basins in the mixing of sediments from different tributaries, and ultimately the mainstream and its major tributaries consist of distinct tecton- to understand how tectonics, basement geology and climates inter- ics and source rocks. Generally speaking, in the upper basin, the play to control the erosion and the production of clay mineral in drainage is covered by Mesozoic rocks with subordinate upper the drainage. Paleozoic and Cenozoic rocks, the eastern Tibetan Plateau is mainly the metaigneous and metasedimentary rocks, carbonate rock and 2. The Yangtze River catchment igneous rock, especially the Himalayan intermediate-acid igneous rock, which is rich in K. The middle-lower basins mostly consist The Yangtze River is one of the world’s great rivers, which is about of Paleozoic marine and the Quaternary fluviolacustrine sedimen- 6300 km long. With a catchment area of 1.8 106 km2 and an an- tary rocks, together with intermediate-felsic igneous rocks, and nual average discharge of 9.6 1011 m3, it is the largest river in older metamorphic rocks. Clearly, different tributaries consist of China and ranks the third in the world. The Yangtze River catchment distinct tectonic and source rock types (Fig. 2). can be divided into five broad physiographic provinces. From west to Tectonically, the upper and lower reaches are very different: the east, these include the northeast Tibet Plateau, the high mountains western catchments, dominated by the Longmen Shan, are subject of the Longmen Shan (‘‘Shan’’ is ‘‘Mountain’’ in Mandarin) and asso- to ongoing uplift, whereas eastern China is comparatively stable. ciated ranges, the Basin, mixed mountain and basin terrains The Longmen Shan rises to over 6000 m, and the rivers receive (broadly referred to as the Three Gorges area), and eastern lowlands. large inputs of sediment from landslides cascading off steep unsta- Conventionally, the basin is divided into three reaches, the up- ble slopes that rise 1500–2500 m above the local valleys. In con- stream, midstream and the downstream (Chen et al., 2001), but geo- trast, the eastern lowlands are a complex of floodplains and graphically, the upstream can be divided into two segments, the lacustrine basins, rimmed by relatively low mountains. Jinsha Jiang segment and the Chuan Jiang segment (Fig. 1). The Jinsha Meteorologically, the Yangtze River catchment is dominated by Jiang (‘‘Jiang’’ means ‘‘River’’) descends from the plateau through the Asian monsoon system, with seasonal alternation between the mountains and is joined in the by several major trib- warm and wet summer monsoon, and the cold and dry winter utaries that pass through very deep valleys and gorges in the Long- monsoon. However, there is slight difference in the patterns of men Shan, including the Yalong Jiang, the Dadu He (‘‘He’’ is ‘‘River’’ in monsoon precipitation between the upper and lower streams, be- Mandarin), and the Min Jiang. The Chuan Jiang mainly flows through cause the upper mainly receives rainfall from the south Asian mon- the Sichuan Basin, containing the tributaries of the Jialing Jiang and soon. Annual precipitation tends to decrease westward from about the Wu Jiang, which are joined the main stream before passing 1000 mm in the eastern lowlands to about 700 mm in the Sichuan through the Three Gorges to the eastern lowlands. Further mid- Basin, but rises to over 1700 mm on the eastern flanks of the cen- stream, the Yangtze River is joined by the Han Jiang from the moun- tral Longmen Shan. West of the Longmen Shan, precipitation de- tainous northwest, and the Yuan Jiang, Xiang Jiang and Gan Jiang creases across the plateau, from about 600 mm in the middle from the south. And several large lakes such as Dongting Lake and reaches of the Yalong Jiang to about 400 mm at the head of the Jin- Poyang Lake separate the tributaries from the mainstream and trap sha Jiang. Summer temperatures tend to be warm throughout the a great deal of sediments. From Hukou downstream, the Yangtze Yangtze River catchment, particularly in the eastern lowlands River enters the lower reaches, and tributaries are much smaller in where the average for July can exceed 30 °C. Winter is mild to cool size compared with that in the upper reaches. in the eastern lowlands and Sichuan Basin, whereas winter on the Geologically, the Yangtze River runs across the Yangtze Craton plateau is very cold and dry, with sub-zero temperatures. The framed by the Mesozoic Yanshanian orogenic belt. It is character- mountains of the Longmen Shan are covered by permanent snow ized by complex rock compositions, including widely distributed above 5100–5300 m (The Changjiang Water Resources Commis- carbonate rock, continental sandstone, volcanic rocks and gneiss sion. See http://www.cjw.gov.cn).

Fig. 1. The landscape of the Yangtze River drainage basin. It can be divided into four parts: the Jinsha Jiang segment, Chuan Jiang segment, Midstream and Downstream.

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 3

Fig. 2. A sketch geology map of the Yangtze River drainage basin. 1–12: major tributaries.

3. Sampling strategy and laboratory analysis two runs were measured from 3° to 36°2h, with a step size of 0.01°, and the last was from 24° to 26°2h, with a step size of 0.0025°. This study of large-scale sediment sources and sinks in the Yan- Identification and interpretation of clay minerals were made gtze River system began in the year May 2001 with collection of according to the XRD diagram of ethylene-glycol salvation. Semi- bulk samples of river sand and mud from the delta, trunk stream quantitative calculations of each peak’s parameters were carried and major tributaries. Sampling was extended in July 2004 into se- by JADE software. Relative percentages of illite, smectite, kaolinite lected headwaters of the Yangtze River in the Longmen Shan and and chlorite were determined using ratios of integrated peak areas adjacent plateau, where samples were collected from exposed bed- of (001) series of their basal reflections, and were weighted by rock surfaces and top soils, as well as from larger rivers. In March empirically estimated factors (Biscaye, 1965). Accordingly, the 2008 and 2009, sampling of sand from trunk stream and major smectite 17 Å peak area is multiplied by 1, the 10 Å illite peak area tributaries was repeated, because some of the samples collected by 4 and both the kaolinite and chlorite proportions of their 7 Å previously were used up. peak by 2 (Petschick et al., 1996). Kaolinite with a peak at 3.58 Å Channel deposits tend to be preserved stratigraphically, such as and chlorite at 3.54 Å were identified from the slow-scan diagrams. mid-channel bars, lateral bars and point bars, and were preferred Additionally, some mineralogical characters of illite were deter- targets. Sampling was intentionally carried out during seasons of mined on the glycolated curve. Illite chemistry index refers to low river levels except in 2004, so that channel deposits are acces- the 5 Å/10 Å peak areas. This ratio can be useful to discover clay sible. A number of samples were taken from river dredges or from mineral sources and hydrolysis strength. According to Esquevin stockpiles of dredged sand when river levels were high. Aiming to (1969), high 5 Å/10 Å values (>0.4) correspond to Al-rich (musco- get representative material, our riverbed samples were mixtures of vite) illite, which is released following strong hydrolysis, while ra- sub-samples taken from several points around each sampling site, tios below 0.4 represent (Fe,Mg)-rich illites, which is characterized whereas dredge and stockpile samples were assumed to have been for physically eroded or unweathered rocks (Liu et al., 2003a,b; well-mixed during dredging operations. Wan et al., 2008). As a measure of the lattice ordering and the crys- Sand and mud samples (totally 56 sediment samples) were col- tallite size of clay minerals, illite crystallinity is used to trace lected from the mainstream and major tributaries of the Yangtze, source regions and transport paths. It is made by computing the including 47 sand samples and nine soil samples which are mainly IB (=integral-breadth or integral-width) of the glycolated 10 Å-il- located in the upstream. The sampling sites cover the whole drain- lite peaks. The IB is the width (in °D2h) of the rectangle, which is age, from the ‘‘first bend’’ in Shigu to the river mouth in Shanghai of the same height and same area as the measured peak (Petschick (Fig. 3). The samples from the major tributaries were taken at the et al., 1996). IB-values are more sensitive for peak tail variations confluence with the mainstream, surely avoid cities and possible than the usually applied FWHM = full width at half maximum pollution places. In addition, we also took four sand samples and (Krumm and Buggisch, 1991). Lower IB-values indicate higher three soil samples in the Yarlung Zangbo River and its tributaries crystallinity, characteristic of weak hydrolysis in continental in Tibet. sources and climate conditions (Ehrmann, 1998). Clay mineral analyses were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD) on oriented mounts of clay sized particles (<2 lm), which were 4. Results based on the Stokes settling velocity principle after removal of car- bonate and organic matter. Three XRD runs were performed, follow- It is shown from the X-ray spectra (Fig. 4), the clay mineral ing air-drying, ethylene-glycol salvation and the slow-scan. The first assemblages of the Yangtze River drainage consist mainly of illite,

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 4 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

Fig. 3. Locations of surface samples in the Yangtze River drainage basin and the Yarlung Zangbo River drainage. See Table 1 for detailed geographic positions.

Fig. 4. Characteristic diffraction profiles of typical samples from the Yangtze River drainage basin. Samples YZ27 from Fuling, YZ20 from and YZ51 from Nanchang contain very scarce smectite, sample YZ2 from contains relatively more semctite. Sample YZ51 contains more kaolinite. See Fig. 1 and Table 1 for detail information.

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 5 kaolinite, chlorite and smectite (Table 1). Illite (23–90%) is the IB-values fall in the range of 0.29–0.89°D2h with the average of most dominant clay mineral with an average of 69%. Kaolinite 0.45°D2h. (1–55%) and chlorite (3–26%) are less abundant with average con- The clay mineral distribution of surface sediments through the tents of 15% and 14%, respectively. Smectite is very scarce, and is main stream displays a similar pattern (Fig. 5). In the main stream, <5% for most samples with two exceptions (>5%) in the tributaries. the average contents of chlorite and smectite are nearly stable Illite chemistry index of all the Yangtze River sediments is between while the average contents of illite and kaolinite have opposite 0.21 and 1.33 with the average of 0.47, indicating that most illite is variations. From the Jinsha Jiang to the downstream, chlorite is rich in Al, and forms under a strong hydrolysis environment. Illite 16%, 18%, 14% and 17%, respectively, and smectite is 4%, 1%, 3%

Table 1 Geographic locations and clay mineral assemblages of surface sediments in the Yangtze River drainage basin and the Yarlung Zangbo River.

No. Samples Longitude Latitude Locations Smectite% Illite% Kaolinite% Chlorite% Illite chemistry index Illite IB-values (°D2h) 1 YZ01 99°58052.0800 26°52014.4600 Shigu 0.34 72.57 9.93 17.16 0.27 0.29 2 YZ02 100°02.3750 26°51.6060 Shigu 7.47 75.33 9.04 8.16 0.60 0.46 3 YZ03 101°29025.800 26°35016.200 4.99 57.29 17.56 20.17 0.42 0.38 4 YZ04 101°31048.100 30°19042.600 Tagongxiang 2.33 68.59 16.35 12.73 0.38 0.42 5 YZ05 101°49016.200 26°4602.400 Panzhihua 1.32 55.90 23.02 19.76 0.49 0.39 6 YZ06 101°49013.800 26°35028.800 Panzhihua 4.44 62.27 13.16 20.13 0.36 0.36 7 YZ07 104°2401200 28°43024.600 Yibin 0.39 66.37 14.18 19.06 0.30 0.35 8 YZ08 101°56014.400 30°54034.600 Daduhe 0.37 88.45 2.41 8.78 0.32 0.35 9 YZ09 102°48032.300 30°01031.200 Qingyijiang 0.71 75.28 4.86 19.16 0.40 0.45 10 YZ10 102°13017.100 29°53032.100 Daduhe 2.54 81.60 1.91 13.96 0.24 0.45 11 YZ11 102°11049.300 30°00015.800 Daduhe 2.12 80.94 3.54 13.40 0.28 0.39 12 YZ12 102°11049.300 30°00015.800 Daduhe 1.27 77.50 12.01 9.21 0.43 0.41 13 YZ13 102°35044.800 30°5904.800 Xiaojinchuan 0.35 87.64 3.31 8.69 0.34 0.40 14 YZ14 102°59041.700 30°5303200 Balangshan 0.35 89.97 1.63 8.04 0.32 0.44 15 YZ15 102°41038.400 29°49048.0600 Daduhe 0.54 78.31 8.91 12.24 0.32 0.57 16 YZ16 102°59041.700 29°50054.900 Daduhe 0.27 81.63 2.23 15.87 0.47 0.58 17 YZ17 103°4308.800 32°05037.200 Diexihai 0.17 82.79 5.89 11.14 0.35 0.39 18 YZ18 103°37042.100 32°32025.800 Minjiang 0.26 82.76 7.37 9.61 0.33 0.36 19 YZ19 103°52047.400 30°04036.900 Meishan 3.65 69.63 13.36 13.36 0.31 0.40 20 YZ20 104°350900 28°4704.800 Yibin 0.14 69.43 9.84 20.59 0.39 0.40 21 YZ21 104°41026.400 28°4700000 Yibin 0.21 61.56 12.42 25.81 0.53 0.48 22 YZ22 106°32019.200 29°28018.600 Chongqing 0.33 67.60 15.24 16.83 0.53 0.38 23 YZ23 106°29022.200 29°23035.400 Chongqing 0.01 68.24 15.88 15.88 0.46 0.43 24 YZ24 106°1908.600 30°4023.300 Yunmen 25.52 63.21 7.20 4.06 0.33 0.49 25 YZ25 106°2901.800 29°33022.800 Chongqing 3.23 65.82 14.90 16.05 0.39 0.39 26 YZ26 106°3700.600 29°37011.400 Chongqing 3.44 62.62 15.41 18.53 0.35 0.38 27 YZ27 107°2108.600 29°4401.000 Fuling 1.11 56.82 20.91 21.16 0.50 0.40 28 YZ28 107°32013.800 29°24024.200 Wujiang 1.04 87.23 5.27 6.46 0.36 0.67 29 YZ29 107°23033.800 29°36020.800 Fuling 0.58 74.98 12.22 12.22 0.40 0.57 30 YZ30 107°24037.200 29°4408.400 Fuling 0.64 71.78 16.98 10.60 0.64 0.67 31 YZ31 110°20045.900 31°302.800 Badong 1.39 81.98 8.48 8.15 0.58 0.48 32 YZ32 111°18043.700 30°39049.500 Yichang 0.74 62.31 20.70 16.26 0.68 0.43 33 YZ33 112°14027.200 30°17043.900 Shashi 5.73 70.29 7.60 16.39 0.49 0.47 34 YZ34 112°2401500 30°1042.600 Jiangling 5.06 67.34 10.19 17.41 0.44 0.45 35 YZ35 113°5031.900 29°23048.800 Jianli 4.57 69.52 11.53 14.38 0.37 0.47 36 YZ36 112°55007.600 29°32049.500 Yueyang 1.34 69.69 11.91 17.06 0.42 0.46 37 YZ37 111°41011.200 29°01025.900 Changde 0.00 70.67 19.87 9.46 0.47 0.47 38 YZ38 113°5031.900 29°23048.800 Dongting Lake 0.98 45.87 30.91 22.25 0.52 0.37 39 YZ39 113°06008.900 29°24002.100 Yueyang 1.02 51.31 28.19 19.48 1.16 0.46 40 YZ40 112°56055.200 28°08051.600 Changsha 0.10 40.41 46.02 13.46 0.97 0.45 41 YZ41 113°11027.300 29°29028.500 Yueyang 4.58 58.35 18.68 18.40 0.50 0.34 42 YZ42 113°53030.800 29°58056.300 Jiayu 5.04 68.18 12.91 13.87 0.43 0.49 43 YZ43 114°14032.300 30°28031.000 Wuhan 1.75 74.22 14.96 9.07 0.33 0.40 44 YZ44 114°17025.800 30°33016.900 Wuhan 2.33 70.13 9.87 17.67 0.52 0.51 45 YZ45 111°47053.600 32°605800 Xiangfan 4.94 83.92 1.43 9.71 0.21 0.52 46 YZ46 112°703800 32°1038.600 Xiangfan 1.42 71.94 13.33 13.31 0.32 0.42 47 YZ47 113°25057.800 30°23033.500 Xiantao 9.72 63.36 23.25 3.90 0.34 0.37 48 YZ48 114°25032.900 30°40019.100 Wuhan 1.15 63.36 32.44 3.06 0.49 0.41 49 YZ49 115°54029.600 29°43007.500 Jiujiang 1.06 63.59 17.51 17.84 0.60 0.45 50 YZ50 116°12034.500 29°45011.300 Hukou 0.95 63.47 25.24 10.34 0.50 0.89 51 YZ51 115°51021.500 28°38057.900 Nanchang 1.02 23.49 55.08 20.41 1.33 0.52 52 YZ52 116°18026.800 29°46003.100 Hukou 2.25 59.03 19.53 19.19 0.47 0.47 53 YZ53 118°2003.400 31°21012.100 Wuhu 0.27 79.26 8.57 11.90 0.40 0.40 54 YZ54 118°39059.000 31°59004.600 Nanjing 0.91 64.94 17.10 17.05 0.39 0.46 55 YZ55 118°39059.000 31°59004.600 Nanjing 3.64 56.17 22.22 17.96 0.68 0.51 56 YZ56 121°46008.100 31°20038.100 Changxing Island 0.30 56.85 23.29 19.56 0.67 0.56 57 YZ59 90°55046.600 29°26040.900 Lasa River 5.00 84.03 5.33 5.64 0.13 0.77 58 YZ61 90°55046.600 29°26040.900 Gyantse 1.98 85.29 5.20 7.53 0.19 0.59 59 YZ60 89°35043.500 28°54037.000 Nianchu River 0.14 78.24 1.68 19.93 0.26 0.70 60 YZ62 88°49015.100 29°19005.300 Xigaze 2.17 72.81 6.96 18.06 0.66 0.77 61 YZ65 88°51029.400 29°19007.300 Yarlung Zangbo River 7.00 67.93 9.39 15.68 0.42 0.45 62 YZ63 90°10018.500 29°20052.500 Lhasa 1.90 83.19 3.98 10.93 0.30 0.66 63 YZ64 90°41008.500 29°19038.200 Yarlung Zangbo River 9.86 73.20 6.73 10.21 0.50 0.65

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 6 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx

Fig. 5. Average clay mineral contents in surface sediments of the Yangtze River drainage basin (1–4: main stream; 5–14: tributaries). and 1%, respectively. However, the content of illite decreases from all the tributaries are below 0.4, except the Yalong Jiang, represent- 67% to 63%, and kaolinite increases from 12% to 18% (Table 2). ing a weak hydrolysis, and a mainly physical weathering. But that For the tributaries, obvious differences are revealed. The aver- of the Xiang Jiang, Dongting Lake and Gan Jiang in the midstream age contents of illite in the upstream especially the Dadu He and are all above 0.8, indicating that the chemical weathering domi- the Wu Jiang are 80% (Fig. 5:6, 9), but in the midstream, the Dong- nates and the hydrolysis is strong in this area (Table 2). ting Lake, Xiang Jiang and Gan Jiang (Fig. 5:11, 12, 15) are all less The clay mineral distributions in the Yarlung Zangbo River are than 50%. Whereas the average contents of kaolinite in the mid- similar to the Yangtze River. Illite is also the controlled mineral, stream such as the Xiang Jiang, Dongting Lake, Gan Jiang and the but the average content is much higher, about 78%. Chlorite Poyang Lake (Fig. 5:11, 12, 14, 15) are all above 25%, while the (12%) is much more than kaolinite (6%). The average content of Dadu He, Min Jiang and Wu Jiang in the upstream are below 10% smectite is 4%, higher than that of the Yangtze drainage. The illite (Fig. 5:6, 7, 9). In addition, the high average content of smectite chemistry index is 0.35, indicating a weak hydrolysis (Table 1 and concentrates on the Jialing Jiang (Fig. 5:8) with an average of 14% Fig. 5). and the Han Jiang (Fig. 5:13) which is 5%. There is a clearly changing of Illite IB-values in the main stream, increasing from the average 0.37°D2h in the Jinsha Jiang to 5. Discussion 0.44°D2h in the Chuan Jiang, and 0.45°D2h in the midstream to 0.48°D2h in the downstream, which indicate that the crystallinity 5.1. Source rock and weathering control on clay mineral associations of the Yangtze sediments becomes poor and the hydrolysis of the drainage gets strong (Table 2). The same as the IB-values, illite Clay minerals are practical ubiquitous in modern soils and sed- chemistry index in the main stream is from 0.41, 0.47 to 0.48 iments, they are also the primary component phases in shales, and 0.53, respectively and that of the tributaries also increases which constitute the surface or nearest-surface bedrock on most along the drainage. In the upstream, the illite chemistry index of of the continents. The formation of clay minerals assemblages in

Table 2 Average clay mineral assemblages of main stream and various tributaries in the Yangtze River drainage basin.

Rivers Sample number Smectite% Illite% Kaolinite% Chlorite% Illite chemistry index Illite IB-values (°D2h) Jinsha Jiang 4 4 67 12 16 0.41 0.37 Chuan Jiang 7 1 65 16 18 0.47 0.44 Yalong Jiang 2 2 62 20 16 0.43 0.40 Dadu He 9 1 82 5 12 0.35 0.45 Min Jiang 4 1 76 9 14 0.35 0.39 Jialing Jiang 2 14 65 11 10 0.36 0.44 Wu Jiang 2 1 81 9 9 0.38 0.62 Midstream 12 3 68 15 14 0.49 0.45 Han Jiang 3 5 73 13 9 0.29 0.44 Yuan Jiang 1 0 71 20 9 0.47 0.47 Dongting Lake 2 1 49 30 21 0.84 0.42 Xiang Jiang 1 0 40 46 13 0.97 0.45 Gan Jiang 1 1 23 55 20 1.33 0.52 Poyang Lake 1 1 63 25 10 0.50 0.89 Downstream 5 1 63 18 17 0.52 0.48

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 7 ancient sequences are controlled by pre- and post-burial condi- Paleozoic metamorphic rocks (Zhang et al., 2005). With the basic tions, containing geologic, climatic, tectonic process and some- chemical composition in the upstream, the two drainages consti- times even anthropogenic (Chamley, 1989; Thiry, 2000; Laura tute more smectite. et al., 2002). The uppermost stream of the Yangtze River drainage is strongly In general, illite and chlorite are detrital clay minerals, products influenced by South Asian monsoon climate, while the reminder of of physical weathering and glacial scour. Illite is considered as a the drainage is controlled by East Asian monsoon regime with primary mineral, which reflects decreased hydrolytic processes in warm and humid climate during summer season. Chemical weath- continental weathering and increased direct rock erosion under ering in the lower drainage is therefore generally intense. This is cold and arid climate conditions, it may result from the weathering reflected by the chemical index of alteration (CIA) values. The of micas and feldspars, their formation in soils and sediments is fa- CIA values in the upstream of the Yangtze River ranges from 46.5 vored by high K+ and moderate silica concentrations. Chlorite is a to 69.2, with an average value of 60.5 in the upper stream, indicat- characteristic mineral for low-grade metamorphic and basic source ing relatively weak weathering degree (Wu et al., 2011). Whereas rocks, but it is not resistant to chemical weathering and transpor- in the mainstream and major tributaries of the Yangtze River tation. Kaolinite and smectite, in contrast, are products of chemical drainage, the CIA values reveal an increased trend, from 54.5 to weathering. Kaolinite often forms from weathering of the potas- 81.4, with an average value of 63.4, which represents an increasing sium feldspar and muscovite mica in rocks such as granite. High chemical weathering (Shao et al., 2012). concentrations of kaolinite are normally restricted to moist tem- In this study, the average content of illite decrease about 20% perate and tropical regions, where long-continued and intense from the upstream to downstream in the tributary rivers, and the hydrolysis, it is the clay that is most stable under acid-weathering illite chemical index and the illite crystallinity increase along the conditions. Smectite normally forms by hydrolysis under climatic drainage, displaying a warmer and more humid trend climate. It conditions between warm-humid and cold-dry, in environments is supposed the physical weathering in the upstream, especially characterized by very slow movement of water. They tend to form the Jinsha Jiang segment, and the chemical weathering in the early in the weathering of unstable Fe-, Mg-, and Ca-rich minerals mid-downstream, which are accordant with the CIA value. And in igneous or metamorphic rocks. When smectite is buried in deep the change of weathering intensity is consistent with the clay com- sedimentary basins, they are gradually transformed into more sta- position. The contents of illite and chlorite are more in the up- ble kaolinite by a combination of time and temperature (Biscaye, stream tributaries under a weak hydrolysis and a cold and arid 1965; Zhang, 1992; Petschick et al., 1996; Lu, 1997; Ehrmann, climate conditions, while tributaries in the midstream contain 1998; Kong and Xiang, 2003; Liu et al., 2004). more kaolinite because of the stronger hydrolysis and moist tem- Due to the relationship of clay minerals and the source rocks, in perate. Obviously, clay mineral assemblages can reflect both the the upper basin of the Yangtze River, the soils are frozen or form source rock types and weathering intensity. bogs at very high elevations, resulting in the clay minerals of soils However, undeniable, higher illite content covers the main in the eastern Tibetan Plateau are dominated by illite. Additionally, stream of the whole drainage, not varying with the weathering the tributaries in the Jinsha Jiang segment like Yalong Jiang and or the rock types (Fig. 5:1–4). Clearly, the sediments in the main Min Jiang are covered by Paleozoic carbonate rocks, Permian basalt stream can only reflect section information of the drainage. From (the Emeishan basalt), Jurassic red sandstone, Mesozoic–Cenozoic the main stream alone to identify drainage weathering intensity sedimentary and igneous rocks (Pan et al., 1997; Qin et al., is inadequate, it must be combined with the result of tributaries 2006). The young intermediate-acid igneous rocks and the basic also. basalt are available to the formation of illite and chlorite, so the upper region of the Yangtze River contains higher contents of illite 5.2. Provenance reflected by the clay mineral distributions and chlorite, especially the illite. Because of the strong tectogenesis of the Tibetan and the strong erosion of the river, the illite can be Without doubt, most sediment in the main stream of the Yan- easily carried from the upstream to the mid-downstream, leading gtze River comes from the tributaries, for that reason, the clay min- the whole drainage mainly illite (Fig. 5). In contrast, the drainages eral distribution in the tributaries plays an important role in the of Dongting Lake and the Poyang Lake are characterized by the red main stream. The ternary diagrams with end members of illite, sandstone, shale and granite, resulting in higher content of kaolin- smectite and kaolinite + chlorite (Fig. 6) displays a pattern that ite in this area, naturally, less illite. As for the Jialing Jiang and the the clay mineral assemblages in the main stream have few differ- Han Jiang, they all come from the Qinling Mountain, where mainly ences, containing more illite, less smectite. The contents of illite distribute the Quaternary loess, Cenozoic sedimentary rocks and in the tributaries of the upstream are all higher than that of the

Fig. 6. The triangular map with end members of illite, smectite and gaolinite + chlorite.

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 8 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx main stream, like the Dadu He, Min Jiang and Jialing Jiang. Accord- Table 3 ingly, we can deduce that the tributaries of the upstream contrib- Clay mineral assemblages in the rivers originating from the Tibetan Plateau. ute more to the main stream. Similarly, the content of smectite in Rivers Smectite% Illite% Kaolinite% Chlorite% the Jialing Jiang and Han Jiang is high, meanwhile, that in the mid- The Yangtze River 0 73 10 17 stream are higher than the Chuan Jiang segment, so the contribu- 77598 tions to the main stream of these two rivers are more also. The Yellow Rivera 42 45 5 8 Whereas, the Xiang Jiang and Gan Jiang have more kaolinite and 40 45 6 9 The Yarlung Zangbo River 10 73 7 10 chlorite, but the content of them in the mid-downstream of the 768916 main stream is not much higher, supposedly, most of the kaolinite The Gangesb 12 66 0 22 is reserved in the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake. Thus, they con- 10 58 4 28 tribute little to the main stream. a Cheng et al. (2003). Equally, the illite chemical index and illite crystallinity can also b Raman et al. (1995). prove the conclusions above. The average illite chemical index in- crease from the up- to downstream, with highest in the Dongting Lake, the Xiang Jiang and Gan Jiang, but the index in the main exception of the Yellow River. The content of smectite in the Yel- stream does not change more from the up- to midstream (Table low River is only less than the content of illite due to the widely 2), it is not influenced by this high area, therefore, the Dongting distribution of loess in the source area. The same distribution of Lake system and the Poyang Lake system not devote more sedi- the clay minerals represents these big rivers have close source ments to the Yangtze drainage. Even more, as the tracer of the materials and have been subjected to the similar weathering and provenance, the illite crystallinity and the illite chemical index tectonics. Although the Yangtze River and the Yellow River origi- can be finely linearity (Fig. 7). Most samples concentrate in a re- nates from the eastern Tibetan Plateau and the Ganges and Yarlung gion while that of the Wu Jiang, the Poyang Lake, Dongting Lake, Zangbo River are draining the southwest, they are all of Mesozoic– Xiang Jiang and Gan Jiang are outside, this phenomena can also Cenozoic collisional age, currently active, and are lithologically indicate that these rivers contribute little to the main stream. complex with igneous intrusive and extrusive rocks, metamorphic rocks as well as clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks, and some 5.3. Influence of the Tibetan Plateau on big rivers with ophiolite sequences (Borges et al., 2008). Higher contents of illite in these rivers reflect the actively eroding of the rocks in During the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and surrounding ranges, the source. In addition, in such high energy stream and fast sedi- tectonic processes have interacted with climatic change and local ment turnover systems, the local rocks in the source appear to be random effects to determine the development of the major river the first order control on the sediment compositions clearly. systems. Borges et al. (2008) investigated the petrography and ma- What’s more, the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau has dramatically jor, trace and rare earth element compositions of the bed sedi- increased the slope of the eastern Tibetan margin, where reside the ments from the large rivers draining the eastern Tibetan Plateau upper reaches of the Yangtze and Yellow River. More primary min- and found that the river sediments are felsic, similar to the upper erals such as the illite and chlorite indicate more physical erosion continental crust. The high physical erosion in such high energy of the plateau. These minerals are transported though the main systems manifests a provenance control from local rocks on the stream very rapidly to the river delta without much chemical alter- sediment compositions. Wu (2011) analyzed the mineralogy and ation. As well as the surface of the Tibetan Plateau, the Yarlung geochemistry of the riverbed sediments in the headwaters of the Zangbo River and the Ganges also reflect a strong mechanical Yangtze River, concluding that the chemical weathering is very denudation. As a result, the tectonic factors also exert control on minor. In order to obtain a thoroughly recognition for the effect, the mineralogical variations in sediments. we used previously published data of the clay minerals on the upper reaches of the Yellow River (Cheng et al., 2003) and Ganges 6. Conclusions (Raman et al., 1995). The clay mineral assemblages of these rivers are similar to the The X-rays diffraction analysis (XRD) was applied to measure Yangtze River (Table 3). Illite is the dominate mineral and chlorite the clay mineral compositions sediments in the Yangtze River is less abundant, kaolinite and smectite are scarce, with the and the Yarlung Zangbo River. Ilite, smectite, chlorite and kaolinite

Fig. 7. Correlations of illite chemistry index with illite IB-values of surface sediments in main stream and tributaries of the Yangtze River drainage basin. See Tables 1 and 2 for mineralogical data.

Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001 M. He et al. / Journal of Asian Earth Sciences xxx (2012) xxx–xxx 9 are present as major clay minerals in the sediments. The clay min- Esquevin, J., 1969. Influence de la composition chimique des illites surcristallinite. eral compositions of the Yangtze River display a similar pattern Bull Centre Rech Rau-SNPA 3, 147–153. Fan, D.J., Yang, Z.S., Mao, D., 2001. Clay minerals and geochemistry of the sediments along the main stream, but different in the tributaries. The differ- from the Yangtze and yellow rivers. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology 21, ence of these tributaries responds to the heterogeneous source 7–12 (in Chinese). rocks and weathering intensity. Fang, X.S., Shi, X.F., Wang, G.Q., 2007. 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Please cite this article in press as: He, M., et al. Yangtze River sediments from source to sink traced with clay mineralogy. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences (2012), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2012.10.001