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Distribution and origin of sediments on the northern Sunda Shelf, South China Sea

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Abstract

Seventy-seven surface sediment samples and core samples from the outer Sunda Shelf were analyzed and a number of seismic profiles of the shelf were interpreted. The bottom sediments could be divided into six types: terrigenous sand, biogenic sand, silt-sand, clay-silt-sand, clayey silt and coral reef detritus. Our seismic data showed a thick, prograding Pleistocene deltaic sequence near the shelf-break and a thin Holocene sedimentary layer on the outer shelf. Eleven thermoluminescence (TL) ages were determined. The oldest relict sediments were derived from Late Pleistocene deposits. Based on sediment types, ages, and origins, five sedimentary areas were identified: area of modern Mekong sediments; insular shelf area receiving modern sediments from small Borneo rivers; shelf area near the Natuna-Anambas islands in the southeastern Gulf of Thailand Basin off the Malay Peninsula; area of relict sediments on the outer shelf north of the Natuna Islands, and typical coral reefs and detritus sediments.

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Shi-guo, W., Wong, H.K., You-lang, L. et al. Distribution and origin of sediments on the northern Sunda Shelf, South China Sea. Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 17, 28–40 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842697

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02842697

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