dc.description.abstract | Understanding terrigenous organic carbon and other terrigenous material burial in the
marine environment is important in evaluating fate of terrigenous material transport to the
ocean. Pearl river is a primary source of terrigenous material entering the South China Sea.
Very few data is currently available in evaluating fate of terrigenous from the Pearl River
to the South China Sea. The purpose of this research is to investigate burial of organic
carbon and inorganic metals associate with aluminosilicate in the Pearl River Delta, shelf
and slope region. Sediments were collected inside the Pearl River, and in the Delta, shelf
and slope region. Organic carbon, carbonate carbon, metals (aluminum, iron, manganese,
zinc, copper, lead, cadmium) were determined.
The result demonstrated that organic carbon, aluminum silicate and associated metals
from the Pearl river are the most important terrigenous materials entering the northern
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South China Sea. High concentrations of organic carbon, and metals related to
aluminosilicate were found in the Pearl River Delta and adjacent shelf region, and rapidly
decreased away from the Delta. However, an elongate shape of higher concentrations of
organic carbon and metals related to aluminosilicate were found from the delta extending
southward to the slope region while other shelf regions showed very low concentrations.
Evidently, terrigenous organic carbon and aluminum silicates are actively transported from
the Pearl River Delta to the slope. Organic carbon and metals associated with aluminum
silicate showed very good linear correlations with respect to the aluminum concentrations,
indicating a diluting effect from the coarse-grained quartz sand.
The extent of terrigenous materials deposited on the Pearl River Delta and shelf
region seemed to be very limited. Most terrigenous materials are likely to deposit on the
Delta and shelf only, probably a major fraction of terrigenous materials were actively
transported to the slope region. | en |