Reconstructing Chemical Weathering Intensity in the Mekong River Basin Since the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

AbstractHigh‐resolution clay mineralogy and major element geochemistry of Core SO18383‐3 collected off the Mekong River mouth in the southern South China Sea have been investigated, aiming to reconstruct sediment provenance and chemical weathering intensity since the last glaciation. The chronology is based on foraminiferal accelerator mass spectrometry 14C dates. Clay mineral analysis suggests that the Mekong River is a major sedimentary source for the studied area. The values of chemical index of alteration (CIA) indicate moderate chemical weathering in the Mekong River basin. Smectite/(illite + chlorite) and smectite/kaolinite ratios coupled with TiO2/K2O ratio reveal the temporal variation in chemical weathering intensity in the Mekong River basin. The lower ratios around the Last Glacial Maximum (29.9–14.7 cal ka BP), the Heinrich Event 1 (~14.8 cal ka BP), the Younger Dryas interval (12.4–11.3 cal ka BP), and middle to late Holocene (7.6–1.1 cal ka BP) indicate weak chemical weathering intensity. In contrast, the higher ratios occurring during the Bølling‐Allerød period (14.7–12.7 cal ka BP) and the period of main deglaciation (14.7–7.6 cal ka BP) indicate stronger chemical weathering in the Mekong River basin. The good correlations between these proxies and the available proxy records of the East Asian summer monsoon intensity suggest that the intensity of chemical weathering in the Mekong River basin over the last 30 ka is significantly controlled by the summer monsoon. This study greatly increases our understanding of the principal forcing factor on continental weathering in the Mekong River basin since the Last Glacial Maximum.