Source tracing of rare earth elements: A case study of core 07 on the southern coast of Laizhou Bay

Rare earth elements (REEs) have proven to be useful indicators of sediment sources. To identify the group of elements most suitable for provenance identification, coastal sediment samples collected from core 07 in Laizhou Bay were analyzed for the presence of REEs. In addition, a corresponding analysis of contributions that different source made to multi-source sedimentary system and provenance discrimination study were undertaken, with the twofold purpose of assessing the effectiveness of REEs as source indicators, and evaluating relative inputs to the sedimentary system on the southern coast of Laizhou Bay from near source and distant origin rivers (i.e. the Bailang River and Yellow River, respectively). The study revealed that various REEs displayed similar cyclic variation in the vertical direction in core 07, with obvious changes at marine-continental stratigraphic boundaries, which could be used as stratigraphic division index. According to chondrite-normalized REE distribution patterns, the Bailang River and Yellow River comprise the main provenance of sediments in core 07. REE discrimination diagrams and the Provenance Index (PI) reveal that the sediments in early stage (Qp33~Qp31, 49.15-80.00 m) were primarily derived from Yellow River, and the sediments in late stage (Qh3~Qp33，5.80-49.15 m) were stemmed from Bailang River. Following extensive analysis, it was concluded that the main provenance of core 07 was the Bailang River, which has played an important role in the sedimentary system of the southern coast of Laizhou Bay since the early Late Pleistocene. Sediment from the Yellow River, rechannelled frequently in geological history, had limited influence in this area.