Geochemical Journal, Vol. 41, pp.

303 to 321, 2007

Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments from active margin off

southwestern Taiwan
J U-CHIN CHEN ,1* C. Y. LO,1 Y. T. LEE,1 S. W. HUANG,1 P. C. CHOU,1 H. S. YU,1 T. F. YANG,2
Y. S. WANG3 and S. H. CHUNG3
1

Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan

2
Institute of Geoscience, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
3
Central Geological Survey, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei, Taiwan
(Received June 13, 2006; Accepted June 8, 2007)
The cored sediments sampled by R/V Marion Dufrense are mostly muds consisting mainly of quartz, feldspar, illite,
chlorite + kaolinite and calcite. Authigenic carbonates mainly composed of aragonite, calcite, dolomite and associated
with Fe-montmorillonite and pyrite occur in core samples collected from station MD-052911 (2215.6 N, 11951.0 E) at
21372140 cm and 22372240 cm depth which may be formed via sulfate reduction by CH4. In general Illite/Quartz
intensity ratios of the sediments show little variation with core depth indicating the relatively constant abundance of illite
in the source rock on Taiwan. The cored sediments have higher average Al2O 3, FeO and MgO but lower SiO2, Na2O, and
CaO contents when compared with upper continental crust (UCC). High field strength elements (Zr, Hf, Y, Nb and Ta) are
also depleted in the cored sediments. CaO, Sr, Mn and Pb in the core samples collected from station MD-052912 (2221.5
N, 11948.5 E) tend to decrease with depth which may be essentially related to the decrease of biogenic CaCO3 with core
depth. The La/Th, La/Sc, Th/Sc ratios of the cored sediments are similar to those of UCC, however the (La/Yb)N ratios of
the cored sediments are higher. The cored sediments display similar REE patterns with LREE enrichment and negative Eu
anomaly reflecting a felsic nature of the source rock which can also be identified in the LaThSc plot. The chemistry of
the sediments can be deduced using a mixing model involved four end members i.e., shale, greywacke, quartzite and
limestone.
Keywords: cored sediments, mineralogy and chemistry, active margin, off SW Taiwan

The Central Geological Survey of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan sponsored a comprehensive geophysical, geological and geochemical survey in the area
offshore southwestern Taiwan (Fig. 1) where previous
geophysical data indicated that bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) are widely distributed and that gas hydrates
may exist in the continental slope of the South China Sea
and the accretionary wedge near southern Taiwan (Liu et
al., 1999, 2004; Schnurle et al., 2002). Chi et al. (1998)
suggested that the area with BSR distribution off southwestern Taiwan may exceed 20,000 square kilometers.
The objectives of this study are to present mineralogical
and chemical data in the cored sediments in order to shed
some light on the source of these sediments. In addition
the nature of the sediments and its relationship with the
potential occurrence of gas hydrate in the study area will
be discussed.

INTRODUCTION
Taiwan Island located at the junction of the Ryukyu
and Luzon Arcs in the northwestern Pacific, was formed
by the oblique collision between the Luzon Arc and the
Chinese continental margin in Late Cenozoic about 5 Ma
(Biq, 1997; Suppe, 1981; Ho, 1988). South of Taiwan,
the South China Sea lithosphere is subducting eastward
under the Luzon arc. East of Taiwan, the Philippine Sea
plate is subducting northward under the Ryukyu arc.
Liu et al. (1997) concluded that the structural grain of
the Taiwan mountain belt trends NNE-SSW, forming an
arc convex toward the Asian continent. The orogenic
structural features are well demonstrated by a series of
stacked folds and thrust sheets verging west (Ho, 1982)
on Taiwan. These orogenic structural features are believed
to extend southward to offshore southwestern Taiwan
(e.g., Letouzey and Sage, 1988; Liu et al., 1997).

GEOLOGICAL SETTINGS
Taiwan offers a typical example of present-day arccontinent collision between the Luzon arc of the Philippine Sea Plate and the Chinese continental margin. Suppe

*Corresponding author (e-mail: jcchen@oc.ntu.edu.tw)

Copyright 2007 by The Geochemical Society of Japan.

303

Japan
China
T.S.

K.C.

Taiwan

MD052912

MD052911
meter

MD052913

Fig. 1. Location map showing the study area and the coring sites. T.S., Taiwan Strait; K.C., Kaoping Canyon; star indicates the
coring site offshore Fanshan, southern Taiwan (Lee, 1987).

(1984) concluded that the collision, flipping and backarc spreading have been propagating along the continental margin at essentially identical rates since the late
Pliocene. The active and relict accretionary wedges on
both sides of Luzon are interpreted as resulting from two
changes in the direction of subduction by the Luzon arc
(Bowin et al., 1978).
Tectonically, south of 23N, including Southern Taiwan and offshore areas are considered in the incipient
collision zone. The Pingtung Plain of Taiwan and the
Kaoping shelf and slope region are subjected to contraction due to collision between the Luzon arc and the Chinese margin indicated by west-vergent thrust faults and
folds. On the other hand, rift-extension dominates in the
Chinese margin immediately west of the Kaoping slope
as evidenced by the absence of flexural extension normal
faults in the Pliocene-Quaternary sediments (Yu and
Huang, 2006).
The rock sequence of Taiwan Island is readily divisible into a pre-Tertiary basement and Cenozoic cover more
than 10 km thick. The basement outcrops in the form of a
304 J.-c. Chen et al.

240-km-long inlier on the eastern flank of the Central

Range, and consists mainly of a schist-marble complex
with minor amounts of ortho- and paragneisses and
amphibolites. The Cenozoic sequence covering the basement can be divided into a Central Range Group and a
Foothill Zone Group. The former group is a succession
principally of slate and phyllite with subordinate quartzite exposed mainly on the crest and west flank of the Central Range, while the latter group is a late Tertiary and
Quaternary record of recurrent marine transgressions and
regressions consisting of a marine sandstone-shalemudstone sequence interrupted by three Miocene coalbearing formations.
The cover succession of western Taiwan is in the form
of a prism tapering westward from 8000 m thick in the
Foothill Zone, thinning rapidly to only 500 m on the
Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait (Biq et al., 1985).
Previous studies (Covey, 1984; Yu and Chou, 2001; Lin
and Watts, 2002) suggested that the foreland basin west
of the Taiwan mountain belt was formed during Pliocene
as the flexural response to the loading of the Taiwan

1095
11959.284 E
1268
MD052913

2209.156 N

3044
MD052912

2221.500 N

11948.500 E

1093

Mostly homogeneous grey mud, locally with foram and shell debris, carbon-bearing materials occur below 1000 cm,
authigenic carbonates occur at 21002200 cm and 22502300 cm which contain aragonite, calcite, dolomite,
Fe-montmorillonite and pyrite, also with Pogonophora which live in a reducing environment.
Mostly homogeneous grey mud, locally carbon-bearing materials occur (20502100 cm).
Compaction seems to be stronger below 1000 cm.
Mostly homogeneous grey mud, carbon-bearing materials occur at 20502100 cm.
1076
11951.079 E
2215.617 N
2389
MD052911

Core recovery
(cm)
Station

The sediments were sampled by the giant corer Calypso on board R/V Marion Dufrense of the French Polar Research Institute in May, 2005. Cored samples obtained at three stations i.e., MD-052911, MD-052912 and
MD-052913 were analyzed in this study. The basic data
for the sampling stations including longitude, latitude,
water depth, core length and the general descriptions of
the cores are given in Table 1.
Mineral identification of bulk sediments was carried
out by X-ray diffraction on a Philips PW 1830 X-ray
diffractometer with Cu radiation and Ni filter. Sediment
samples were washed three times with distilled water by
a centrifuge to remove sea water and dried in the oven at

Table 1. General description of the cores

A NALYTICAL METHODS

Latitude

Longitude

Water depth
(m)

Description

orogen on the edge of the eastern Chinese margin.

Pliocene-Quaternary sediments more than 5000 m
thick derived from the Taiwan orogen have filled the foreland basin (Yu and Chou, 2001). The foreland basin west
of Taiwan formed earlier in northern Taiwan and then
propagated southward along the spike of the Taiwan
orogen, resulting in a mature foredeep in the north and a
youthful one in the south (Covey, 1984; Brusset et al.,
1999; Chiang et al., 2004).
The study area is located on the continental slope west
of the Kaoping Canyon (Fig. 1) where an active accretionary wedge containing a widely distributed bottom
simulating reflector exists. The wide occurrence of BSR
together with venting phenomena observed by deep-sea
camera using WHOIs TowCam system in October 2005
(Lin, 2006, personal communication) strongly indicate the
occurrence of gas hydrates in the study area. High CH4
contents were found in the pore gas of the obtained core
samples in this area which generally increase with core
depth (Chuang et al., 2006). The 13C of CH4 gases range
from 54.4 to 95.0 and the 13C of CO2 ranges from
11.6~29.9 (Chuang et al., 2006), indicating that an
organic gas source predominates at shallower depth; however some thermogenic gases may be introduced from
deeper sources. The 13C of the authigenic carbonates
from the core samples collected in this area is between
47 to 55, indicating the influence of CH4 (Huang
et al., 2006) which is significantly different from the biogenic carbonates found in the same core. In addition, the
correlation plot of 13B vs. Cl/B indicates that boron in
the pore waters is strongly influenced by desorption of
exchangeable boron while bottom water boron is affected
by a unknown mechanism which may be related to the
presence of gas hydrate (Chao and You, 2006). It should
be noted that Lin et al. (2006) concluded that sulfate
showed various degree of depletion in the study area with
rapid depletion as shallow as about 2 meters below the
sediment/water interface.

Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 305

Fig. 2. X-ray intensity ratio variations of constituting minerals with core depth. (A) Feldspar/Quartz, (B) Chl.+Kao./Quartz,
(C) Calcite/Quartz, (D) Illite/Quartz.

105C for 12 hrs. The dried samples were ground into

powders with an agate mortar and the powdered samples
were dissolved in a mixture of ultrapure HF and HNO3.
Major (except SiO2) and trace (including REE) elements
of the sample solutions were analyzed by ICP-MS at National Tsing-Hwa University using U.S.G.S. standard
rocks W-2, BCR-1, AGV-1, GSP-1, G-2 and NBS standards Obsidian and Basalt to draw the calibration curves.
The precision for all ICP-MS analyses is estimated better
than 5% of the amounts present, based on replicate analyses of BCR-1. SiO2 was analyzed by NaOH fusion of sam306 J.-c. Chen et al.

ple powers followed by ammonium molybdate colorimetry (Shapiro and Brannock, 1962) using a Shimadzu
UV1201 spectrophotometer. Replicate analyses of
U.S.G.S. standard rock BCR-1 indicated the precision for
SiO2 analysis is better than 1.5% of the amounts present.
MINERALOGY OF THE CORED SEDIMENTS
The cored sediments are mostly muds with >4 phi fractions averaging 97% of the total sediments. Mud content
shows little variation with core depths. Major minerals

Fig. 3. Average major element contents of the cored sediments

normalized to upper continental crust (Taylor and McLennan,
1985).

Fig. 4. CaO, Sr, Mn and Pb variations with core depth for

MD052912.

of bulk sediments identified by XRD include quartz, feldspar, illite, chlorite + kaolinite and calcite. In core MD052911 Feldspar/Quartz intensity ratios are high at certain depths (Fig. 2) which may be related to the mineral
components of the source rocks during deposition. In core
MD-052912 Calcite/Quartz intensity ratios tend to decrease with core depth due to the decrease of biogenic
debris with core depth (Fig. 2).
Special effort was made to search for authigenic carbonates by visual and petrographic investigation because
distinct C13 values (47~55) of bulk carbonates had
been found which implied sulfate reduction by methane
which could be derived from gas hydrate (Huang et al.,
2006). Authigenic carbonates were found at 21372140
cm and 22372240 cm depths in core MD-052911; both
showed high Calcite/Quartz intensity ratios (Fig. 2c).
XRD analysis indicates that the authigenic carbonates
contain essentially aragonite, calcite, dolomite and are
associated with Fe-montmorillonite and pyrite. On the
other hand, in some core samples the high Calcite/Quartz

Fig. 5. Trace element contents of the cored sediments normalized to upper continental crust (Taylor and McLennan, 1985).

Fig. 6. Chondrite-normalized REE patterns of the cored

sediments.

Fig. 7. (La/Yb)N and Eu anomaly variations with cores depth.

ratios are related to biogenic debris such as foraminifera,

for example at 1000 cm and 1500 cm of core MD-052911.
The biogenic carbonates in MD-052911 generally have
C13 about 2 to 3 (Huang et al., 2006) which are
much heavier than the authigenic carbonate found in the
Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 307

Table 2. Chemical compositions of the cored sediments. (A) MD-052911.

Sample (cm)

46~49

137~140

237~240

337~340

437~440

537~540

637~640

737~740

837~840

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

55.73
17.58
6.25

56.06
16.76
5.98

57.59
17.42
6.16

56.98
17.55
6.31

57.39
17.28
5.96

55.93
17.33
6.98

57.05
16.86
6.15

56.48
17.38
6.16

57.20
16.67
6.06

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.49
4.50
2.23
3.37
0.054
0.64
0.34
7.39
100.586

2.42
4.96
2.18
3.25
0.053
0.61
0.21
8.06
100.541

2.41
3.67
2.23
3.41
0.051
0.63
0.17
7.03
100.775

2.42
4.03
2.24
3.38
0.051
0.62
0.15
7.11
100.834

2.36
3.52
2.16
3.39
0.052
0.62
0.23
7.20
100.158

2.83
3.86
2.11
3.55
0.075
0.61
0.33
7.60
101.200

2.31
4.53
2.09
3.35
0.049
0.61
0.33
7.69
101.013

2.34
4.55
2.07
3.45
0.053
0.63
0.25
7.49
100.852

2.26
4.02
2.04
3.29
0.049
0.61
0.36
7.14
99.701

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

436
14.8
93
11.5
2.05
78
21.0
40.1
19.7
154
16.0
221
1.1
14.1
2.84
129
18.4
99
79
39.6
72.7
32.0
5.8
1.07
4.30
0.58
1.89
0.23
0.66
15.0

410
13.8
90
11.2
1.94
74
19.0
40.5
19.1
151
15.2
231
1.0
13.1
2.53
121
17.4
87
74
37.8
70.3
30.7
5.5
1.04
4.14
0.54
1.77
0.23
0.67
15.3

446
14.6
93
11.8
1.94
76
20.3
40.4
20.9
158
15.6
198
1.1
13.8
2.59
126
17.9
88
76
39.4
72.1
31.8
5.7
1.08
4.32
0.55
1.86
0.23
0.66
15.2

452
15.0
92
11.8
1.82
78
19.0
40.3
21.2
160
15.7
207
1.1
13.9
2.61
124
17.1
102
70
39.5
73.1
32.5
5.9
1.11
4.39
0.56
1.75
0.22
0.67
16.1

454
14.4
90
11.8
1.96
77
19.0
39.8
21.8
159
15.4
193
1.1
13.5
2.50
123
17.5
130
75
38.2
70.9
32.0
5.8
1.08
4.44
0.55
1.82
0.23
0.65
15.0

489
17.8
101
13.0
2.50
77
19.1
44.1
25.2
168
16.4
171
1.1
14.9
2.40
127
22.1
79
93
38.1
70.5
32.5
6.0
1.14
4.92
0.65
2.25
0.28
0.64
12.2

451
14.4
89
11.8
1.87
75
18.3
36.5
21.1
156
15.4
209
1.0
13.3
2.53
123
17.5
78
74
38.0
70.2
31.4
5.8
1.06
4.39
0.56
1.82
0.22
0.64
15.0

474
14.6
90
12.1
1.96
75
19.4
38.1
21.8
161
15.6
218
1.1
13.8
2.71
125
18.0
82
75
39.1
72.1
32.5
5.9
1.12
4.39
0.57
1.88
0.23
0.67
14.9

454
13.7
89
11.7
1.67
74
18.6
36.6
20.1
155
14.9
207
1.0
13.0
2.41
123
16.1
69
65
37.1
68.5
31.2
5.7
1.06
4.28
0.53
1.70
0.21
0.66
15.6

Eu/Eu* = Eun/(SmnGd n)1/2.

N: C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

same core.
The clay minerals in the mudstones widely distributed in southern Taiwan generally comprise 60~65% illite,
20~30% chlorite and minor to 15% kaolinite of the total
clay minerals (Chen, 1973; Chen et al., 2004).
Montmorillornite occurs in trace amounts. A similar clay
mineral assemblage was found in the Taiwan Strait shelf
sediments (Chen, 1973). In general Illite/Quartz intensity ratios show limited variations with core depth (Fig.
2), indicating relative constant I/Q ratios in the source
308 J.-c. Chen et al.

rocks, however this ratio is high at 1500 cm depth in core

MD-052911.
Authigenic pyrites are commonly found in the cored
sediments (Horng et al., 2004). They can fill into the
foraminiferal chambers or replace parts of molluscan
shells. In addition, authigenic pyrites can form elongated
tubes 2~3 cm long and 0.2~0.3 cm wide which are porous in the center (Huang et al., 2006). Pyrite tubes with
similar morphology and size rage were also found in the
Hydrate Ridge of the Cascadian margin off Oregon where

Table 2. (continued). (A) MD-052911.

Sample (cm)

937~940

1037~1040

1137~1140

1237~1240

1337~1340

1437~1440

1537~1540

1637~1640

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

55.15
18.01
6.56

56.23
17.74
6.33

57.67
17.15
6.35

58.27
16.77
6.49

58.31
16.90
6.38

55.89
17.17
6.79

56.04
17.27
6.59

58.34
16.20
6.07

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.42
4.62
2.24
3.54
0.054
0.64
0.16
7.40
100.793

2.41
4.02
2.07
3.46
0.054
0.64
0.23
7.48
100.667

2.67
3.47
1.97
3.45
0.062
0.61
0.35
7.00
100.749

2.66
3.57
1.90
3.39
0.069
0.60
0.20
6.23
100.154

2.63
3.41
1.96
3.44
0.068
0.57
0.22
7.14
101.014

2.71
3.66
2.08
3.47
0.072
0.62
0.18
7.25
99.895

2.81
3.84
2.02
3.52
0.080
0.62
0.23
7.62
100.645

2.61
3.52
1.87
3.31
0.070
0.57
0.19
7.59
100.356

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

480
15.4
96
12.4
1.96
77
21.2
43.9
21.5
163
16.3
225
1.1
14.2
2.61
129
18.2
104
75
40.8
75.5
33.1
6.0
1.14
4.40
0.57
1.87
0.23
0.68
15.6

487
16.4
101
12.5
2.39
77
19.4
41.7
24.4
165
15.9
173
1.1
14.7
2.45
125
20.5
81
88
39.2
72.8
32.7
6.1
1.13
4.61
0.62
2.09
0.26
0.65
13.5

491
16.3
93
12.4
2.49
76
18.6
41.6
24.9
163
15.8
175
1.1
15.0
2.44
123
21.1
80
89
38.3
71.2
32.7
6.2
1.14
4.80
0.64
2.24
0.27
0.64
12.2

488
16.5
96
12.5
2.05
76
17.8
41.9
24.7
164
15.7
163
1.0
14.5
2.09
121
19.2
75
76
36.7
69.1
31.9
5.9
1.12
4.67
0.61
1.95
0.24
0.65
13.5

501
17.3
99
12.8
2.72
76
20.2
43.8
28.1
167
16.5
174
1.1
15.7
2.41
127
22.9
112
98
39.9
73.7
33.9
6.3
1.16
4.93
0.68
2.37
0.29
0.64
12.1

472
16.3
92
12.4
2.32
72
17.4
41.0
24.7
160
15.1
161
1.1
14.4
2.22
117
20.0
88
82
35.7
68.2
31.9
6.0
1.11
4.73
0.62
2.15
0.26
0.64
11.9

471
15.0
97
12.3
2.05
79
20.9
39.9
21.6
162
16.0
202
1.1
13.9
2.62
128
18.3
89
78
40.0
74.2
32.7
5.9
1.10
4.55
0.57
1.88
0.24
0.64
15.3

493
17.3
97
12.5
2.72
74
20.0
44.1
25.3
164
16.2
171
1.1
15.5
2.42
125
22.5
93
98
39.9
73.8
33.7
6.2
1.16
4.85
0.65
2.32
0.29
0.64
12.3

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(Smn Gdn)1/2.

N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

dissociation of gas hydrate was observed (Suess et al.,

2001).
CHEMISTRY OF THE CORED SEDIMENTS
The results of the chemical analyses are listed in Table 2. Figure 3 shows the variations of the average values
of major elements in the cored sediments (MD-052911,
MD-052912 and MD-052913) normalized to upper continental crust (UCC) (Taylor and McLennan, 1985). It is

clear that the cored sediments have higher FeO and TiO2,
but lower SiO2, CaO, Na2O, MnO and similar K2O contents when compared with UCC. The relatively higher
CaO found in MD-052911 cored sediments (compared
with MD-052912 and MD-052913) may be due to the
occurrence of biogenic debris and authigenic carbonates.
Figure 4 shows the CaO, Sr, Mn, and Pb of the cored
sediments tend to decrease with core depths which may
be essentially related to the decrease of biogenic CaCO3
with core depth at MD052912 since Sr, Mn and Pb may
Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 309

Table 2. (continued). (A) MD-052911.

Sample (cm)

1737~1740

1837~1840

1937~1940

2037~2040

2137~2140

2237~2240

2337~2340

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

59.38
16.27
5.79

59.53
15.76
6.13

59.42
15.81
6.19

59.20
16.15
6.06

51.47
12.66
5.23

60.64
15.12
5.54

61.07
15.82
5.85

57.4
16.7
6.2

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.21
3.78
1.99
3.21
0.050
0.59
0.17
7.81
101.234

2.56
3.23
1.91
3.24
0.063
0.57
0.13
7.76
41.35

2.57
3.00
1.93
3.25
0.064
0.56
0.16
7.60
41.14

2.55
3.06
1.90
3.31
0.060
0.56
0.13
7.30
41.08

2.66
11.07
1.43
2.47
0.043
0.49
0.11
12.01
48.18

2.20
4.85
1.67
2.93
0.049
0.56
0.11
7.08
40.10

2.21
4.00
1.63
3.16
0.054
0.56
0.06
6.23
39.57

2.5
4.2
2.0
3.3
0.058
0.6
0.2
7.5
100.580

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

453
14.3
87
11.8
1.76
73
16.8
38.4
21.3
155
14.9
197
1.1
13.2
2.41
117
16.4
85
66
35.4
66.6
31.0
5.7
1.06
4.16
0.52
1.75
0.21
0.66
14.5

479
16.7
88
12.7
2.59
73
16.5
41.8
25.5
161
14.7
160
1.1
14.9
2.41
117
21.2
87
89
35.3
67.7
32.2
6.0
1.13
4.74
0.64
2.26
0.27
0.65
11.2

474
16.4
91
12.8
2.30
75
15.8
41.9
24.8
162
15.2
159
1.1
14.4
2.35
117
20.1
88
81
34.7
66.5
32.0
5.9
1.10
4.70
0.63
2.15
0.26
0.64
11.6

475
16.1
92
13.0
2.40
78
16.6
42.9
25.0
164
15.4
161
1.1
14.8
2.73
117
20.3
89
82
35.0
67.7
32.4
5.9
1.11
4.74
0.63
2.22
0.27
0.64
11.3

325
12.4
70
9.9
1.63
60
11.3
33.2
17.8
106
12.1
322
0.9
11.1
9.94
100
14.6
68
60
28.2
54.6
25.7
4.6
0.85
3.44
0.46
1.56
0.19
0.65
12.9

379
13.4
82
11.6
1.97
68
16.4
35.9
21.8
147
13.8
226
1.1
13.3
6.45
109
16.7
81
68
34.5
66.2
31.2
5.7
1.05
4.28
0.54
1.79
0.22
0.65
13.8

450
14.6
76
13.0
1.82
76
15.2
38.8
24.7
161
14.8
206
1.0
13.7
2.96
116
16.6
91
65
34.1
65.8
31.0
5.7
1.06
4.23
0.54
1.78
0.21
0.66
13.8

Avg.

458
15.3
91
12.1
2.12
75
18.2
40.3
22.8
158
15.4
197
1.1
14.0
2.98
121
18.8
89
78
37.3
69.7
31.9
5.8
1.09
4.47
0.58
1.96
0.24
0.65
13.6

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(SmnGdn) 1/2.

N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

replace Ca site in the crystal lattice (Li, 2000). For MD052911 and MD-052913 no regular chemical variation
trends were found with core depth (variation diagrams
are not shown here).
The high field strength elements (Zr, Hf, Y, Nb, and
Ta) are relatively depleted in the cored sediments (Fig. 5)
when compared to UCC (Taylor and McLennan, 1985)
which may be related to the abundance of heavy minerals
such as rutile and zircon. The chondrite-normalized REE
patterns of the cored sediments are shown in Fig. 6. It is
310 J.-c. Chen et al.

apparent that these sediments have similar patterns with

light REE enrichment and negative Eu anomaly. The Eu
anomaly may reflect the nature of the source rock
(McLennan and Taylor, 1991; Awwiller, 1994; Lee, 2002).
The (La/Yb)N and Eu anomaly variations with core depth
are shown in Fig. 7. Generally no regular variation trend
was found, except that (La/Yb)N ratios tend to increase
slightly with core depths at station MD-052912 which may
be due to the occurrence of minor montmorillorite at depth
(Jiang et al., 2006).

Table 2. (continued). (B) MD-052912.

Sample (cm)

37~40

137~140

237~240

337~340

437~440

537~540

637~640

737~740

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

59.08
15.53
6.37

58.77
15.78
6.35

57.33
16.39
6.74

58.43
15.08
6.61

53.96
17.77
6.73

54.09
17.90
6.77

53.50
18.52
7.01

55.43
18.01
6.95

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.62
3.58
1.91
3.15
0.076
0.72
0.08
7.46
100.573

2.64
3.72
1.95
3.17
0.074
0.72
0.14
7.56
100.875

2.77
4.01
2.07
3.32
0.081
0.73
0.15
7.44
101.024

2.57
3.97
1.97
3.18
0.087
0.74
0.26
7.55
100.448

3.02
4.01
2.27
3.64
0.081
0.85
0.23
7.51
100.078

2.96
3.76
2.14
3.62
0.087
0.86
0.19
7.45
99.824

3.11
3.81
2.20
3.75
0.081
0.87
0.12
7.80
100.773

3.11
3.52
2.18
3.68
0.076
0.76
0.15
7.03
100.886

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

493
15.9
87
12.5
2.38
67
17.1
41.9
27.1
161
14.3
165
1.1
14.9
1.41
115
21.8
108
91
35.0
68.6
33.6
5.9
0.91
4.18
0.69
2.27
0.31
0.56
11.1

494
15.9
88
12.4
2.25
66
17.0
42.3
29.4
162
14.3
168
1.0
14.5
1.34
115
21.2
104
89
35.2
69.1
33.5
5.9
0.92
4.29
0.69
2.23
0.30
0.56
11.3

521
16.4
77
13.0
2.32
70
17.1
44.5
26.6
167
14.6
181
1.1
14.5
1.43
118
22.1
101
92
34.2
68.1
35.1
6.2
0.96
4.76
0.74
2.38
0.31
0.54
10.3

491
16.6
89
10.5
2.56
65
18.0
45.0
25.7
n.d.
13.9
171
1.1
12.4
1.34
117
20.8
98
99
29.6
62.5
30.6
5.5
0.88
4.25
0.69
2.33
0.31
0.56
9.1

515
17.8
101
12.8
2.52
76
18.3
45.2
28.7
167
18.0
175
1.1
15.7
2.87
135
22.9
102
101
42.1
77.9
34.1
6.5
1.18
5.15
0.71
2.26
0.29
0.62
13.3

520
18.6
103
13.8
2.70
79
18.8
46.6
32.7
174
18.7
170
1.2
16.4
3.04
144
23.3
109
104
43.1
87.6
34.2
6.6
1.19
5.09
0.74
2.35
0.31
0.63
13.2

506
18.6
103
13.1
2.58
79
17.8
46.5
34.8
167
18.2
168
1.1
15.5
3.09
137
22.8
110
98
41.5
76.8
33.7
6.4
1.15
5.20
0.71
2.30
0.30
0.61
12.9

510
18.4
108
12.9
2.50
75
18.9
45.9
29.4
166
17.7
169
1.1
15.8
2.79
134
22.4
104
97
43.5
87.6
35.1
6.7
1.21
5.29
0.72
2.23
0.30
0.62
14.0

Eu/Eu* = Eun/(SmnGd n)1/2.

n.d.: not determined.
N: C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

The REE contents of the cored sediments are higher

than UCC (Table 2). The average (La/Yb)N ratios of the
sediments from MD052911, MD052912 and MD052913
ranging from 13.61 to 14.62 (Table 3), are generally higher
than the ratio of UCC (9.2). Based on the (La/Yb)N ratio
and the negative Eu anomaly it is suggested that the source
rocks of the cored sediments may be felsic (Cullers and
Graf, 1983; Cullers, 1995). The average La/Sc, La/Th and
Th/Sc ratios of the cored sediments are listed in Table 3.

The corresponding ratios of UCC are also listed for comparison. It is clear that these ratios are similar to UCC.
Cullers (1994) and Nyakairu and Koeberl (2001) suggested that the variations of LaThSc can be used to
distinguish the source rocks for the sediments. In Fig. 8
it is clear that the cored sediments generally fall within
the field of mixed sources close to the felsic end member
(E in Fig. 8).
In the (K2O/Na2O) vs. SiO2 plots (Fig. 9) the cored
Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 311

Table 2. (continued). (B) MD-052912.

Sample (cm)

837~840

937~940

1037~1040

1137~1140

1237~1240

1337~1340

1437~1440

1537~1540

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

55.19
18.07
6.89

54.39
19.28
6.97

54.91
18.28
6.70

56.24
18.73
6.59

55.27
18.56
6.99

55.33
18.77
7.22

53.76
19.62
6.83

54.52
19.72
6.96

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

3.13
3.45
2.22
3.68
0.073
0.71
0.17
6.98
100.552

2.96
2.99
2.24
3.85
0.065
0.88
0.24
6.58
100.432

2.78
3.48
2.22
3.63
0.060
0.86
0.17
6.99
100.087

2.70
3.04
2.25
3.67
0.056
0.87
0.20
6.47
100.814

2.63
3.62
2.18
3.65
0.058
0.87
0.18
6.33
100.339

2.72
3.30
2.03
3.72
0.067
0.88
0.22
5.74
99.998

2.66
3.04
2.15
3.88
0.062
0.91
0.27
6.79
99.968

2.70
2.92
2.26
3.89
0.062
0.90
0.29
6.66
100.889

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

521
18.4
100
13.2
2.71
79
18.8
44.9
27.9
168
18.1
170
1.2
16.4
3.49
134
23.0
102
102
43.2
85.3
34.7
6.6
1.18
5.26
0.72
2.29
0.30
0.61
13.5

533
17.9
104
14.0
2.38
85
18.6
45.8
28.7
176
18.6
168
1.2
15.7
3.43
143
21.2
107
93
43.0
87.8
34.7
6.5
1.18
5.15
0.68
2.14
0.28
0.62
14.4

497
16.7
96
13.0
2.40
82
18.2
44.1
26.5
165
17.7
188
1.2
15.2
4.26
137
21.1
119
93
42.7
84.5
34.5
6.5
1.17
4.97
0.68
2.17
0.28
0.63
14.1

513
16.4
94
13.3
2.11
80
18.8
42.0
24.5
168
17.7
183
1.1
15.3
3.37
140
19.5
97
85
42.7
84.9
34.7
6.4
1.18
4.97
0.66
1.98
0.25
0.64
15.5

504
16.9
96
13.2
1.87
80
18.4
43.3
26.6
167
17.4
193
1.1
14.5
2.66
136
17.9
103
77
42.1
79.4
33.5
6.2
1.15
4.92
0.62
1.81
0.23
0.63
16.7

521
16.7
95
13.2
1.97
80
18.8
n.d.
29.8
168
17.8
183
1.1
14.7
2.93
138
19.6
120
80
42.4
84.5
34.4
6.4
1.17
5.09
0.64
1.95
0.25
0.63
15.6

527
17.4
101
13.9
1.84
83
19.5
45.5
32.2
175
18.3
182
1.2
14.7
2.58
144
17.9
112
74
43.0
87.2
34.5
6.4
1.17
4.91
0.63
1.84
0.23
0.63
16.7

528
18.1
105
14.0
1.77
86
19.1
47.3
31.4
176
18.5
175
1.2
14.8
2.64
144
17.8
125
73
43.0
88.2
34.9
6.6
1.18
4.98
0.63
1.83
0.22
0.63
16.9

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(Smn Gdn)1/2.

n.d.: not determined.
N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

sediments fall within the active continental margin field

which is concordant with the conclusion reached by Yu
and Song (1993). It is clear that the variation field of the
cored sediments shown in Fig. 9 is different from the
northern Taiwan Strait shelf sediments (Chao and Chen,
2003) deposited in a passive margin environment defined
by Roser and Korsch (1986). The northern Taiwan Strait
shelf sediments are SiO2 rich generally ranging from 70%
to 89% but they are Al2O3 poor varying from 4.3 to 12.0%.
The MgO, FeO, CaO, Na 2O and K2O contents in the
312 J.-c. Chen et al.

northern Taiwan Strait shelf sediments are also lower than

those found in the cored sediments analyzed in the present
study. The La/Th ratios of the northern Taiwan Strait shelf
sediments vary from 2.8 to 4.8 which are higher than those
found in the cored sediments of the present study (Table
3). The La/Sc ratios of the northern Taiwan Strait shelf
sediments ranging from 3.2 to 3.9 are also higher than
those found in the cored sediments of the present study
(Table 3).

Table 2. (continued). (B) MD-052912.

Sample (cm)

1637~1640

1737~1740

1837~1840

1937~1940

2037~2040

2137~2140

2237~2240

2337~2340

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

58.11
17.91
6.29

55.87
18.81
6.84

56.71
18.36
6.50

60.25
16.19
5.89

59.63
17.39
6.15

58.58
17.83
7.13

62.47
15.96
5.68

61.58
16.82
6.42

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.50
2.47
2.03
3.54
0.059
0.68
0.08
6.69
100.353

2.55
2.97
2.11
3.75
0.064
0.88
0.16
6.68
100.667

2.57
2.82
2.20
3.62
0.057
0.78
0.33
6.84
100.787

2.21
2.94
1.88
3.29
0.052
0.58
0.08
6.88
100.240

2.30
2.19
2.06
3.32
0.052
0.90
0.37
5.79
100.139

2.36
2.92
2.17
3.40
0.056
0.88
0.23
5.45
100.997

2.08
2.37
1.90
3.17
0.052
0.59
0.12
6.30
100.689

2.25
2.47
1.97
3.20
0.052
0.70
0.19
4.77
100.430

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

512
16.2
92
13.4
1.68
75
17.9
40.7
26.5
166
17.3
159
1.1
14.8
2.36
133
17.5
98
68
40.6
75.7
32.8
6.2
1.13
4.52
0.60
1.73
0.22
0.65
16.8

525
18.6
96
13.8
1.86
80
18.6
43.7
31.8
173
18.1
176
1.1
15.0
2.94
141
18.7
109
75
42.2
80.4
34.0
6.4
1.14
4.94
0.62
1.89
0.23
0.62
16.0

519
16.4
99
13.1
1.90
80
18.0
42.8
26.8
166
17.6
169
1.1
14.7
3.01
135
18.5
104
76
41.2
77.9
33.8
6.4
1.14
4.88
0.62
1.84
0.23
0.63
16.1

494
13.9
82
13.0
1.76
73
17.9
37.3
20.7
158
15.0
177
1.1
13.5
2.24
119
16.3
84
62
33.3
64.8
30.9
5.7
1.06
4.16
0.53
1.76
0.21
0.67
13.6

470
15.3
92
11.2
1.92
77
19.1
40.3
23.6
151
16.3
155
1.2
14.4
2.64
125
17.9
93
77
41.8
86.1
34.5
6.5
1.18
4.93
0.64
1.82
0.22
0.64
16.5

493
16.1
94
12.1
2.14
77
18.5
41.7
25.4
158
17.2
175
1.2
14.7
2.99
130
19.2
107
83
42.2
86.1
34.2
6.4
1.14
4.76
0.63
1.95
0.25
0.63
15.6

473
14.3
81
11.6
1.82
72
17.8
37.6
22.2
153
14.3
160
1.1
13.6
2.39
111
16.6
84
64
35.0
68.5
32.4
5.9
1.09
4.56
0.57
1.79
0.22
0.64
14.0

464
16.0
87
11.4
2.12
71
18.0
39.3
22.4
151
16.7
162
1.1
14.6
2.94
124
18.9
94
82
41.6
80.3
33.3
6.2
1.11
4.48
0.61
1.89
0.25
0.64
15.8

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(Smn Gdn)1/2.

N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

C ONTRIBUTIONS OF DIFFERENT SOURCE ROCKS

AND THE M IXING MODEL
From the LaThSc plots (Fig. 8) it is clear that the
cored sediments were derived from mixed sources. As
mentioned above, the Foothill Zone of Taiwan consists
mainly of sandstone, shale and mudstone with minor
amounts of limestone which are the potential source rocks
for the cored sediments. Since detailed chemical compositions of these potential source rocks are not available at

present, we select four end members i.e., shale,

greywacke, quartzite and limestone (Table 5) from the
literature (Govindaraju, 1989; Condie, 1993; Meisel et
al., 1990) to deduce the percentage of contributions of
different source rocks using a mixing model designed by
Ho and Chen (1996).
The computer model was designed to use all constituting elements to find out the percentages of contribution of each end member by linear regression analysis
based on the following equation:
Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 313

Table 2. (continued). (B) MD-052912.

Sample (cm)

2437~2440

2537~2540

2637~2640

2737~2740

2837~2840

2937~2940

3031~3034

Avg.

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

59.10
17.33
6.10

60.26
17.08
6.42

59.66
18.32
6.15

57.95
17.69
7.14

58.50
17.73
6.22

63.95
15.36
5.71

60.14
17.20
6.17

57.51
17.61
6.56

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.33
2.63
2.14
3.31
0.051
0.88
0.18
6.34
100.383

2.29
2.30
1.98
3.28
0.058
0.87
0.16
5.89
100.587

2.26
1.96
2.11
3.62
0.053
0.67
0.19
5.80
100.786

2.21
2.66
2.01
3.43
0.053
0.65
0.17
5.76
99.738

2.35
3.19
2.07
3.40
0.056
0.67
0.16
6.90
101.240

2.03
2.12
1.75
2.96
0.052
0.60
0.09
5.94
100.554

2.24
2.53
2.02
3.33
0.050
0.65
0.25
6.26
100.851

2.57
3.06
2.08
3.49
0.063
0.78
0.19
6.60
100.516

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

472
15.5
92
11.5
2.30
73
18.8
40.0
23.3
155
17.0
164
1.2
15.1
3.24
128
20.2
100
90
43.1
84.9
34.7
6.3
1.16
4.78
0.64
2.01
0.26
0.64
15.3

461
15.9
90
11.4
2.33
73
18.9
40.7
23.2
152
16.7
153
1.2
14.8
3.04
125
20.0
95
90
43.0
86.4
34.8
6.5
1.15
4.90
0.65
2.05
0.26
0.62
15.0

485
15.8
97
13.1
1.74
79
21.5
41.0
26.2
172
16.0
146
1.2
14.6
2.12
128
16.9
95
68
41.6
79.8
33.8
6.1
1.13
4.44
0.58
1.73
0.22
0.66
17.2

464
15.6
97
11.7
2.45
78
21.0
41.4
22.4
160
15.8
180
1.2
14.9
2.73
127
20.4
95
93
42.5
87.6
34.1
6.2
1.16
4.82
0.61
2.10
0.26
0.65
14.5

431
14.1
83
10.9
2.36
70
18.0
37.9
21.3
147
13.9
145
1.1
14.3
2.66
109
18.3
81
81
37.5
71.7
34.2
6.3
1.14
4.76
0.61
1.99
0.24
0.63
13.6

451
15.9
95
11.6
2.21
76
20.2
39.9
21.4
156
15.3
156
1.1
14.1
2.43
123
18.7
77
85
40.7
81.2
33.4
6.1
1.14
4.70
0.59
1.97
0.24
0.65
14.8

496
16.5
94
12.6
2.18
76
18.7
42.5
26.6
164
16.7
169
1.1
14.8
2.67
129
19.7
101
85
40.5
79.8
33.9
6.3
1.12
4.80
0.65
2.03
0.26
0.63
14.3

466
15.9
96
12.5
2.22
79
20.9
39.9
23.9
163
15.7
164
1.2
14.6
2.38
126
18.7
91
83
41.5
82.0
33.5
6.1
1.14
4.61
0.60
2.00
0.25
0.66
14.9

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(SmnGdn) 1/2.

N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

S = A + B + C + D +

C=

WC( j ) X j
j =1

A=

WA( j ) X j
j =1

D=

WD( j ) X j .
j =1

B=

WB( j ) X j
j =1

314 J.-c. Chen et al.

Where S represents elemental concentration of each sample;

Table 2. (continued). (C) MD-052913.

Sample (cm)

37~40

134~137

242~244

337~340

437~440

537~540

637~640

737~740

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

60.23
17.53
6.53

59.98
17.71
6.30

58.75
17.35
6.65

56.93
17.77
6.84

59.56
17.15
6.52

55.93
18.98
6.89

55.81
19.25
6.80

62.31
15.81
6.03

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total

2.39
2.03
1.86
3.52
0.067
0.61
0.20
5.63
100.595

2.38
2.02
1.84
3.55
0.063
0.61
0.24
5.76
100.447

2.50
2.66
2.01
3.46
0.072
0.59
0.24
6.60
100.884

2.67
3.04
1.96
3.62
0.073
0.61
0.20
6.56
100.280

2.62
2.76
1.97
3.45
0.073
0.59
0.20
6.43
101.325

2.74
2.68
1.80
3.80
0.073
0.87
0.14
5.85
99.758

2.70
2.67
1.99
3.81
0.070
0.88
0.20
6.08
100.260

2.12
2.05
1.62
3.12
0.061
0.56
0.01
6.08
99.780

Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

507
16.7
91
14.4
1.73
77
19.6
40.9
30.0
176
15.6
148
1.2
14.9
2.80
120
16.6
103
63
37.3
71.6
34.5
6.2
1.2
4.6
0.58
1.72
0.21
0.66
15.5

512
15.8
90
14.7
1.66
80
19.3
40.3
29.2
180
15.9
151
1.2
14.9
2.19
121
15.6
101
60
37.1
71.7
34.0
6.2
1.1
4.5
0.55
1.67
0.20
0.66
15.9

531
17.3
91
14.2
1.84
80
18.6
44.1
28.8
174
15.7
172
1.2
14.7
2.14
119
16.7
n.d.
64
35.1
68.6
34.0
6.1
1.1
4.7
0.59
1.79
0.23
0.64
14.1

507
17.9
95
14.4
2.10
83
19.3
46.4
28.3
177
16.2
178
1.1
14.8
2.28
126
18.2
129
75
36.7
71.2
34.3
6.3
1.1
4.8
0.60
1.97
0.24
0.64
13.4

496
17.5
94
13.5
1.96
77
16.8
43.9
26.0
165
17.3
170
1.1
15.0
2.44
128
17.6
103
74
39.2
73.8
32.7
6.1
1.10
4.62
0.62
1.83
0.24
0.63
15.3

519
18.4
103
14.3
2.18
84
19.4
45.9
26.3
178
18.3
171
1.2
15.6
2.82
138
19.4
103
86
42.6
87.1
34.5
6.5
1.18
4.98
0.67
2.03
0.26
0.64
15.1

520
17.5
102
14.2
2.02
84
19.4
45.3
28.9
175
18.2
170
1.1
15.1
2.36
139
18.3
111
80
43.2
87.6
33.5
6.3
1.15
4.88
0.63
1.88
0.24
0.63
16.4

484
13.8
81
14.4
1.72
65
16.8
36.6
23.8
160
13.9
149
1.1
14.7
1.46
112
16.0
99
67
35.6
69.3
30.6
5.1
0.8
3.3
0.62
1.89
0.26
0.57
13.5

Eu/Eu* = Eun/(SmnGd n)1/2.

n.d.: not determined.
N: C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

A, B, C and D represent end members;

, , and denote percentage of contribution of A, B, C
and D respectively;
denotes deviation, minimum is required;
W represents weighting;
j denotes any constituting element;
x denotes variable.
It should be mentioned that minimum is required

during the calculation. If we know the chemical compositions of all of the potential source rocks should equal
to zero. In the model values vs. analytical results plots a
perfect fit will display all the data points falling on the
45 slope line.
In order to simplify the mixing model, we assume that
the sediments were formed from a single mixing event
involving these four end members, which may not be the

Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 315

Table 2. (continued). (C) MD-052913.

Sample (cm)

837~840

937~940

1037~1040

1137~1140

1238~1241

Avg.

SiO2 (wt%)
Al 2O 3
FeO

60.89
17.01
6.42

59.31
17.02
6.38

62.19
15.94
5.96

57.01
18.13
6.67

58.58
17.89
6.51

59.04
17.50
6.50

2.30
2.31
1.68
3.37
0.063
0.59
0.10
6.20
100.936

2.26
2.67
2.04
3.34
0.062
0.59
0.10
6.70
100.475

2.07
2.11
1.80
3.17
0.055
0.57
0.05
6.70
100.619

2.49
2.81
1.96
3.59
0.065
0.64
0.22
6.79
100.374

2.42
2.52
1.90
3.55
0.067
0.63
0.28
6.84
101.201

2.44
2.49
1.88
3.49
0.066
0.64
0.17
6.33
100.533

519
15.2
89
14.4
1.87
71
17.7
40.9
25.0
172
14.7
163
1.1
14.5
1.30
119
17.6
102
75
35.0
69.5
33.4
5.6
0.9
3.9
0.61
1.91
0.26
0.58
13.2

503
15.1
88
13.8
1.73
71
17.4
42.3
25.8
168
14.6
173
1.1
13.9
1.30
120
17.1
125
70
35.1
69.0
32.9
5.7
0.9
3.9
0.59
1.82
0.25
0.57
13.8

483
14.2
80
13.3
2.02
64
17.5
37.5
26.6
161
14.3
148
1.1
14.3
1.21
112
17.1
106
73
34.7
67.7
31.0
5.2
0.8
3.4
0.58
1.86
0.25
0.61
13.4

496
16.2
102
13.3
2.05
79
20.8
43.1
23.6
170
17.7
172
1.1
14.9
2.31
128
18.4
93
78
40.8
81.6
33.7
6.2
1.14
4.63
0.59
1.92
0.23
0.65
15.3

503
16.8
118
13.5
1.90
79
20.6
50.4
24.6
171
16.5
163
1.1
14.8
2.20
126
17.6
80
72
39.5
74.5
32.9
6.0
1.11
4.62
0.57
1.86
0.22
0.64
15.2

506
16.3
94
14.0
1.91
76
18.7
42.9
26.7
171
16.0
164
1.1
14.8
2.06
124
17.4
104
72
37.8
74.1
33.2
6.0
1.05
4.37
0.60
1.86
0.24
0.63
14.6

MgO
CaO
Na 2O
K 2O
MnO
TiO2
P 2O 5
L.O.I.
Total
(ppm)
Ba
Co
Cr
Cs
Hf
Li
Nb
Ni
Pb
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zn
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu
Eu/Eu*
(La/Yb)N

Eu/Eu* = Eu n/(Smn Gdn)1/2.

N : C1 chondrite normalized (Sun and McDonough, 1989).

case in nature. It should be mentioned that a single mixing event involving various end members may reach a
similar final composition as a polycycling process. For
example a polycycling process involving four end members (i.e., shale, greywacke, quartzite and limestone) may
generate final sediments which have bulk chemistry similar to those sediments produced by a single mixing event
involving these four end members but with different percentages of contributions based on the following assumption:
316 J.-c. Chen et al.

Table 3. La/Sc, La/Th, Th/Sc and (La/Yb)N ratios of the

cored sediments as compared with upper continental crust
(Taylor and McLennan, 1985)

La/Th
La/Sc
Th/Sc
(La/Yb) N

MD052911

MD052912

MD052913

UCC

2.66
2.43
0.91
13.6

2.73
2.43
0.89
14.3

2.56
2.37
0.93
14.6

2.80
2.73
0.97
9.2

Fig. 8. LaThSc variations for the cored sediments (variation fields modified from Cullers, 1994). The Taiwan strait shelf
sediments (Chao and Chen, 2003) are also plotted for comparison. Shale after Govindaraju (1989), greywacke after Condie
(1993), quartzite after Meisel et al. (1990), limestone after Govindaraju (1989), mudstone (Erhjenchi) after Chang (1996).

Fig. 9. K2O/Na2O vs. SiO2 plots for the cored sediments (variation field after Roser and Korsch, 1986). Taiwan Strait shelf
sediments from Chao and Chen (2003); mudstone (Erhjenchi and Tzengwenchi) from SW Taiwan after Chang (1996); Fanshan
sediments after Lee (1987).

S1 1
r

S = [W1 , W2 , W3 ]S2 = 2
S
3 3

A
1 1 1
B
2 2 + 2 .
C
3 3 3
D

Where S denotes cored samples analyzed;

S1, S2 and S3 represent sediments for (polycycling) process 1, 2 and 3 respectively (all are unknown);
W denotes weighting (i.e., percentage of contribution, all
are unknown);

1, 1 and 1 represent contributing percentages of end

member A, B, C and D respectively (unknown);
A, B, C and D denote four end members (source rocks);
denotes deviation.
The calculated results for selected sediments from
cores MD-052911, MD-052912 and MD-052913 are
shown in Table 5. The calculated chemical compositions
based on the mixing models and the analyzed data of the
cored sediments are plotted in Fig. 10 in order to test the
validity of the models. It is clear that most elements fall
close to the 45 slope line indicating that the mixing model
Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 317

Table 4. Chemical compositions of the end members used in

mixing models calculations
Shale 1 )

Graywacke 2 )

Quartzite 3 )

Limestone 4 )

59.23
18.82
6.91
2.01
6.91
0.35
4.16
0.66
0.16
5.97
98.87

66.3
15.5
6.2
2
3.2
3.1
2.3
0.72
0.14
n.d.
99.46

92.7
4.18
0.11
0.42
0.06
0.06
1.15
0.44
n.d.
n.d.
99.12

15.6
5.03
2.3
5.19
35.67
0.08
0.78
0.33
0.05
34.14
99.17

450
21
99
2.9
14.3
36.8
205
18.50
90
1.00
12.8
1.5
87
26.0
96
62.0
109.0
48.0
8.4
1.70
6.70
1.02
2.6
0.41

650
15
70
3.9
10
30
100
14.00
280
0.85
8.5
1.8
130
28.0
145
28.0
61.0
26.0
4.9
0.90
4.34
0.66
2.2
0.38

Table 5. Results of mixing model calculations

and the percentages of contributions of different end members to the cored sediments
Sample

SiO2 (wt%)
Al2 O3
FeO
MgO
CaO
Na 2 O
K2 O
TiO2
P2 O5
L.O.I.
Total
Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Hf
Nb
Ni
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu

133
1.1
86
18
n.d.
5
67
3.1
n.d.
1
6.2
2.5
n.d.
n.d.
634
17
25.7
9.8
2
0.4
n.d.
0.5
2.2
0.4

120
9
32
1.8
6.6
17.8
32
6
913
0.46
4.1
1.9
36
9.1
52
14.6
25.4
12
2.4
0.51
1.9
0.35
0.9
0.14

SiO2 (wt%)
Al2 O3
FeO
MgO
CaO
Na 2 O
K2 O
TiO2
P2 O5
Ba (ppm)
Co
Cr
Hf
Nb
Ni
Rb
Sc
Sr
Ta
Th
U
V
Y
Zr
La
Ce
Nd
Sm
Eu
Gd
Tb
Yb
Lu

Shale: GSR-5 (Govindaraju, 1989).

Graywacke: AMCG, average Meso-Cenozoic greywackes (Condie,
1993).
3)
Quartzite: AQTZ, A-DC quartzite in Tasmania, Australia (Meisel et
al., 1990).
4)
Limestone: GSR-6 (Govindaraju, 1989).

is acceptable. We fully understand that these calculations

are not perfect since some data points are a little far away
from the 45 slope line. The calculated results show P2O5,
Nb and Ni deficiency but HREE and Zr enrichment, which
may be related to the deficiency of apatite, Ti-bearing
mineral and olivine and the surplus of zircon in the source
rocks. It is clear that the percentages of contributions of
these four end members to the cored sediments vary from
core to core (Table 5). However, greywacke is the dominant contributor (45.18~61.12%) followed by shale
(30.20~41.17%). It should be noted that the present model
318 J.-c. Chen et al.

M-Ex. 2

M-Ex. 3

65.60
15.71
5.94

66.07
15.52
5.90

64.21
15.35
5.74

1.89
4.47
1.85
2.86
0.67
0.14

1.89
4.23
2.01
2.76
0.68
0.13

1.96
5.58
1.55
2.90
0.65
0.13

533
16.0
82
4.67
10.7
30.3
135
14.7
193
0.9
9.8
1.75
103
24.9
167
39.2
75.1
32.5
5.9
1.14
4.82
0.77
2.34
0.39

545
15.6
80
4.74
10.5
29.9
129
14.4
203
0.9
9.6
1.77
106
25.0
170
37.3
72.4
31.2
5.7
1.10
4.69
0.75
2.31
0.39

497
15.9
82
4.83
10.6
29.8
137
14.5
197
0.9
9.9
1.75
96
23.7
171
40.4
75.9
32.9
6.0
1.17
4.79
0.78
2.32
0.39

Percentage of contribution

1)

2)

M-Ex. 1

Shale 1 )
Graywacke 2 )
Quartzite 3 )
Limestone 4 )

35.85
55.43
8.12
0.59

30.20
61.12
8.18
0.50

41.17
45.18
10.04
3.61

M-Ex. 1: Mixing Model Example 1, MD052911 137140 cm.

M-Ex. 2: Mixing Model Example 2, MD052912 237240 cm.
M-Ex. 3: Mixing Model Example 3, MD052913 11371140 cm.
1)
Shale: GSR-5 (Govindaraju, 1989).
2)
Graywacke: AMCG, average Meso-Cenozoic greywackes (Condie,
1993).
3)
Quartzite: AQTZ, A-DC quartzite in Tasmania, Australia (Meisel et
al., 1990).
4)
Limestone: GSR-6 (Govindaraju, 1989).

can not evaluate the variation of clay mineral proportions

as related to the distance to Taiwan Island (Jiang et al.,
2006), since various source rocks (end members) such as
shale and greywacke may contain clay minerals although
in different proportions.

Fig. 10. Calculated chemical compositions vs. analyzed data of the cored sediments to test the mixing models.

CONCLUSIONS
The cored sediments are mostly muds consisting
mainly of quartz, feldspar, illite chlorite + kaolimite and
calcite. In MD-052912 sediments the Calcite/Quartz intensity ratios tend to decrease with core depth due to the
decrease of biogenic debris with core depth. Authigenic
carbonates consisting mainly of aragonite, calcite and
dolomite associated with Fe-montmorillonite and pyrite
occur in core MD-052911 which may be formed via
sulfate reduction by methane. In general Illite/Quartz intensity ratios of the sediments show limited variations
with core depth which may be due to the relatively constant abundance of illite in the source rock on Taiwan.
Authigenic pyrites are commonly found in the cored
sediments and form small elongated tubes in some cases.

The average SiO2, Na2O, CaO and MnO contents of

the cored sediments are generally lower than those of
upper continental crust defined by Taylor and McLennan
(1985). The high field strength elements (Zr, Hf, Y, Nb
and Ta) are also depleted in the cored sediments when
compared with UCC. The sediments display similar
chondrite-normalized REE patterns with light REE enrichment [(La/Yb)N ranging from 13.61 to 14.62] and
negative Eu anomaly reflecting the felsic nature of the
source rocks.
Based on the LaThSc variations the source rocks
are deduced to be of mixed origin, close to the felsic
end member. The chemistry of the cored sediments can
be deduced by mixing models involving 4 end members
i.e., shale, greywacke, quartzite and limestone.

Mineralogy and chemistry of cored sediments 319

AcknowledgmentsWe thank Drs. C. S. Liu, S. Lin, C. Y.

Huang, C. S. Horng, C. F. You and P. Schnurle for their helpful
discussions especially on the selection of sampling sites. Many
thanks are given to the caption and crew of R/V Marion
Dufresne for their help on sediments sampling. Special thanks
are due to Drs. K. Sugitani, Sam Boggs and two anonymous
reviewers for their penetrating reviews of the manuscript which
improved the paper substantially. This work was supported by
the Central Geological Survey of the Ministry of Economic
Affairs of the Republic of China under grant 5226902000-0594-02.

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