Detrital Minerals in the Surrounding River Sediments, Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea: Composition and its Geological Significance

Key words: 
• detrital minerals /
• provenance /
• medium and small river /
• Liaodong Bay

Abstract: According to the characteristics of detrital minerals in downstream floodplain sediments from seven rivers around Liaodong Bay, detrital mineral assemblages among the rivers, and impacts of rocks in drainage basin and sediment grain size on detrital mineral assemblages were analyzed. Light mineral assemblages are mainly Quartz, Plagioclase and Potassium Feldspar. Because rivers flowing in western Liaodong Bay (Liuguhe, Xiaolinhe, Dalinghe) and rivers flowing in eastern Liaodong Bay (Shuangtaizihe, Daliaohe, Fuzhouhe) are located on two tectonic blocks separately, different rock types in drainage basin lead to prominent discrepancies of heavy mineral assemblage in river sediments. The western rivers are characterized by low hornblende and high metal minerals, but the eastern rivers are reverse, so that these two compositions can identify rivers flowing in western and eastern Liaodong Bay effectively, and they can also separate Luanhe sediment from rivers in Liaoning. The garnet and augite can distinguish the three rivers flowing in western Liaodong Bay, because content of the garnet is high in Dalinghe, the augite is high in Xiaolinghe, and both are low in Liuguhe. The epidote and actinolite can differentiate the three rivers flowing in eastern Liaodong Bay, because content of the epidote is high in Shuangtaizihe, the actinolite is high in Daliaohe, and both are low in Fuzhouhe. Low contents characteristics of schistose minerals and carbonate minerals of these seven rivers are different from Huanghe sediments.