Heavy mineral composition in surface sediments of the Minjiang River estuary and its implications for provenance

230 surface sediment samples from the offshore and 20 samples from the river estuary of the Minjiang River are collected for this study. The distribution pattern of heavy minerals and their provenances are investigated with emphasis on provenances of sediments. A total of 27 species of heavy minerals are identified in the study area, dominated by hornblende, epidote, magnetite and biotite. According to the characteristics of heavy mineral assemblages, the research area is divided into two districts, and three subdistricts of mineral assemblages. The Minjiang estuarine depositional area (UnitⅠ-1) is dominated by an assemblage of hornblende-magnetite-epidote assemblage, under the control of the Minjiang River. The longshore mixed depositional area (Unit Ⅰ-2) is characterized by a hornblende-magnetite-biotite-epidote assemblage, resulted from the mixture of the Minjiang River materials and the materials carried by the Zhejiang-Fujian coastal current. The influence of the Minjiang River is obviously weakened in this area. The residual depositional area (Unit Ⅱ) has an assemblage of hornblende-epidote-magnetite, which is the Late Pleistocene deposits of transgressive boundary layer.