Importance of the Spatial Distribution of Rare Earth Elements in the Bottom Sediments of Reservoirs as a Potential Proxy for Tracing Sediments Sources. A Case Study in the Dominican Republic

The geochemical composition of rare earth elements (REE) in the bottom sediments of two Dominican reservoirs and in soils from their catchments was studied to identify possible sources of the deposited materials. Knowledge of the origin of the sediments will serve to control the excessive rates of erosion and sedimentation that occur annually due to periodic extreme climatic events that promote excessive silting of the lakes, followed by loss of storage capacity and degradation of water quality. The REE contents of sediments and soils were normalized to the North American Shale Composite (NASC) and the ratio of light/heavy rare earths (LREE/HREE ratio), Ce and Eu anomalies, and some fractionation parameters were determined. The REE patterns are more homogeneous in the sediments, indicating uniform sedimentation in both deposits. The sediment data reflect depletion of REE from the sources, enrichment of light REE (LREE) and some middle REE (MREE), and positive Eu and Ce anomalies. All data were plotted in correlation diagrams between some fractionation parameters of light–middle–heavy REE and anomalies of Ce and Eu. The similarity of the ratios between these parameters in all samples and the overlap of data from soils and rocks on the sediment projection in the diagrams allowed a good discrimination of the main sources of the materials.

The Geochemistry of 1 ky Old Euxinic Sediments of the Western Black Sea

To get more data on the geochemistry of Black Sea euxinic sediments, a 50-cm core was collected at a depth of 600 m on a Western Black Sea Continental Platform slope. The core contained unconsolidated sediments rich in cocoolithic ooze and mud. Epithermal Neutron and Prompt Gamma Activation Analysis were used to determine the content of nine major (Na, Mg, Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, and Fe as oxides) and 32 trace elements (Cl, Sc, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Zr, Mo, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Yb, Hf, Ta, W, Th, and U) with a precision varying between 3 and 9%. The core contained unconsolidated sediment rich in coccolithic ooze and mud. Previous 210 Pb geochronology suggests an age of ∼1 ky of considered sediments. Major components distribution showed that, except for Cl and Ca, the contents of all other elements are similar to Upper Continental Crust (UCC) and North American Shale Composite (NASC). The distribution of the 32 trace elements showed similarities to the UCC, except for redox-sensitive metals Fe, Se, Mo, and U, of which the significantly higher content reflects the presence of euxinic conditions during deposition. A chondrite normalized plot of nine rare earth elements indicated a similarity to UCC and NASC, suggesting a continental origin of sedimentary material.