PROVENANCE OF TERRESTRIAL SEDIMENT IN THE ANDAMAN SEA
Keywords:
Andaman Sea, clay mineral, provenance, X-ray diffractionAbstract
Clay mineralogy of surface samples throughout the Andaman Sea and surrounding fluvial drainage basins were investigated to reveal the sources and determine the transport patterns of detrital fine-grained sediments. A total of 61 samples were obtained from the Irrawaddy delta shelf (IDS), Myanmar and the eastern continental shelf (ECS) of the Andaman Sea, Thailand and analyzed for clay mineralogy by X-ray diffraction (XRD). Clay mineralogy of the IDS and ECS revealed varying compositions. Clay minerals of the IDS comprised smectite (44%), illite (23%), chlorite (16%), and kaolinite (17%) with all showing high chemical weathering. ECS clay minerals were high in kaolinite (47%), smectite (23%), illite (18%), and chlorite (11%). Provenance analysis revealed that smectite was found in the IDS due to terrestrial sediment input supplied by the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers. In contrast, kaolinite composition in the ECS was similar to clay mineral analysis of sedimentary samples obtained from the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. Results confirmed that terrigenous sediments in the Andaman Sea resulted from mixing provenance sources. Although, the terrigenous material in the Andaman Sea sediments is mainly composed of the Irrawaddy River and Salween River the findings revealed different clay minerals in a west to east transect of the IDS area, indicating varying provenance and weathering processes of the parent rocks. Results confirmed that the west IDS was underlined by the Irrawaddy River delta input, while the east was supplied by input from the Salween River.
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