Mineral-geochemical Association in Bottom Sediments of the East China Sea

Geochemistry and mineralogy of grain-size fractions from Holocene sed iments of the East China Sea and the adjacent regions have been investigated.The correlation between minerals and chemical element• contents was deter mined for both sandy and clayey fractions.The averages contents of rock f orming and some rare elements were found changing from coarse to fine fractions with the decrease in Si0 2 and the increase in actually all other ele ments.In general, geochemical differences between coarses and fines fractions are equivalent to acidic and inter111 ediate (or basic) igneous rock.Statistical cluster analysis for rock-for111 ing and some rare elements in 1-Sµm fractions revealed three zones having different sediment sources.The central zone oc cupied the whole outer East China Sea Shelf.Sedimen� (1-Sµm fraction) supply sources for it are terrigenous discharge from Ta iwan Island and the Philippine Archipelago.