Mineral provinces and material provenance of the surficial sediments near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea

Characteristics and distribution patterns of clastic minerals (0.063~0.125 mm) in bottom sediments represent a significant indicator for the identification of the origin of sediment.One hundred and fourteen surface sediment samples, which were collected from the area near the Zhongsha Islands in the South China Sea, were analysed to identify the mineral suites and their distributions in the study area.The area can be divided into three mineral provinces:(Ⅰ) a province of biogenic minerals, which mainly originate from the Zhongsha Atoll; (Ⅱ) a province of volcanogenic minerals, which are mainly derived from local basaltic seamounts and small-scale volcanoes that are probably erupting, with some influences from the island-arc volcanic region around the South China Sea; and (Ⅲ) a mixed mineral province whose material source includes biogenic minerals, volcanogenic minerals and terrigenous minerals; the last province can be subdivided into a mixed mineral sub-province of the northeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are mainly derived from China's Mainland and do not exceed 17°N, and a mixed mineral sub-province of the southeastern part of the study area, in which terrigenous minerals are derived from Kalimantan and Indochina Peninsula and might be further transported into the deep sea basin through submarine canyons.