Provenance of Surface Sediments from Some Sedimentary Basins in the Western South China Sea: Evidence from Trace Elements Analysis

This study presents the distribution and provenance of surface sediments from the Red River basin, Phu Khanh basin, and Southwest Sub-basin in the South China Sea. Thirty-eight surface sediment samples classified as clay, mud, and silt were analyzed for rare earth elements and yttrium (REY). The mean ΣREY concentrations in sediments are 220.4, 238.5, and 264.8 ppm for the Red River basin, Phu Khanh basin, and Southwest sub-basin. Light rare earth elements (LREE) constitute the majority of the ΣREE. The chondrite-normalized REE pattern suggested that all surface sediments appear to originate from the continental sources. The Red River in the north and the Mekong River in the south primarily contribute sedimentary materials in these basins.