Lead isotope compositions and modern sediments sources in the radial sand ridges from the Jiangsu coast, East China

Abstract

The formation of the Jiangsu radial sand ridges (RSRs) in East China has received extensive attention. However, the provenance of the Jiangsu RSRs sediments is still controversial. In this study, the Pb isotopic compositions of residual fractions were used to elucidate the provenance of the Jiangsu RSRs sediments. The results showed that Pb isotopic compositions of sediments in onshore RSRs were not significantly different with those of the landward offshore RSRs, indicating the shoreward transport of sediments from the landward offshore RSRs. The combination of Pb–Nd isotopic compositions revealed that the seaward offshore sediments mainly originated from the Yangtze River Mouth, while the onshore and landward offshore sediments were dominantly supplied by the Old Yellow River Delta through the southward flow. This study provides a deep insight into the evolution of Jiangsu RSRs, and is of great value to the Jiangsu coastal protection.