Suspended Sediment Composition of the Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers:
Grain-size Dependence and Spatiotemporal Variations
Abstract
Studies of the dissolved and sediment composition of global rivers
provide crucial insights into the relationship between climate,
weathering, and landscape dynamics. The chemical composition of
suspended riverine sediment constrains contemporary erosion and chemical
weathering, and is critical to the interpretation of sedimentary
records, such as continental shelf deposits. Here we present suspended
sediment flux and chemical composition data from the Irrawaddy
(Ayeyarwady) and Salween (Thanlwin) rivers in Myanmar, from samples
collected in the wet and dry seasons in 2017-2018. Analyses of major
element, 87/86Sr, and εNd composition are combined with a multi-step
leaching protocol to determine the ccompositions of silicate, carbonate,
and iron oxide components in the bulk sediment. Sources of the organic
matter are determined by analyses of carbon and nitrogen isotopes. We
show that, as in other large rivers, suspended sediment concentration
and composition in the river channel is depth-dependent due to
hydrodynamic sorting. Depth profile sampling is therefore required for
the complete characterization of the sediment flux and composition in
these rivers. Having accounted for hydrodynamic sorting, we demonstrate
that there are key differences in the composition of the Irrawaddy and
the Salween rivers at the mouth. We further show how the composition of
the Irrawaddy sediments evolves along a downstream transect from the
northern headwaters to the delta, due to inputs from tributaries
draining distinct lithologies and the continued weathering of sediments
transported through the floodplain. Finally, we discuss the implications
of our findings for the interpretation of offshore sedimentary deposits
and for quantifying the regional chemical weathering and carbon budgets.