Quaternary evolution of the rivers of northeast Hainan Island, China: Tracking the history of avulsion from mineralogy and geochemistry of river and delta sands

• Fe-Ti oxides and Fe-(hydr)oxides dominate heavy minerals and coat detrital grains.
• Specific minerals and trace elements linked to specific sources
• Bulk sample REE controlled by monazite, allanite, titanite, zircon and epidote
• River avulsion tracked by heavy minerals and bulk geochemistry of sands
• Geochemistry of sands insufficient for provenance interpretation, needs mineralogy

The mineralogy and geochemistry of sands were investigated in the Nandu and Wanquan rivers, Hainan Island, China, to determine the history of avulsion in the lower reaches of the Nandu River. The study also provided the opportunity to assess the utility of geochemical analysis of sands as a provenance tool. Much of the heavy mineral fraction in the rivers consists of subangular Fe-Ti oxide and Fe-(hydr)oxide minerals, and less stable minerals such as amphibole, epidote, and andalusite, whereas rounded resistant ilmenite, rutile, tourmaline and zircon predominate on the deltaic coast. Mineral assemblage and chemical composition of individual samples are related to specific source areas and river tributaries. The results demonstrate northwestwards flow of the Nandu River during the mid-Holocene and earlier avulsion of the river to the northeast coast, probably during a Late Pleistocene marine highstand. Minor basement tilting, producing little relief, was sufficient to divert the lower reaches of rivers, and this effect was enhanced where basalt flows dammed former river courses. Bulk sample REE geochemistry is largely controlled by the relative abundance of monazite, allanite, titanite, zircon and epidote, derived principally from granites. Detrital geochemistry alone shows too much variability to interpret provenance. However, a smaller number of heavy mineral analyses provide an understanding of the mineralogical origins of geochemical variation, thus enabling interpretations of provenance.