• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.588-598
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• 2020

The seafloor geology of Ieodo, a submerged volcanic island, has been poorly understood, although this place has gained considerable attention for ocean and climate studies. The main purpose of the study is to understand and elucidate types, distribution patterns and provenance of the surficial sediments in and around the Ieodo area. For this purpose, 25 seafloor sediments were collected using a box-corer, these having been analyzed for grain sizes. XRD (X-ray Diffraction) analysis of fine-grained sediments was conducted for characterizing clay minerals. The peak of Ieodo exists in the northern region, while in the southern area, shore platforms occur. The extensive platform in the south results from severe erosion by strong waves. However, the northern peak still survived from differential weathering. Grain size analyses indicated that gravels and gravelly sands with skeletons and shells were distributed predominantly on the volcanic apron and shore platform. Muddy sediments were found along the Ieodo and the adjacent deeper seafloor. Based on the analysis of clay mineral composition, illites were the most abundant in fine muds, followed by chlorites and kaolinites. The ratio plots of clay minerals for the provenance discrimination suggested that the Ieodo muds were likely to be derived from the Yangtze River (Changjiang River). As a consequence, gravels and gravelly sands with bioclastics may be supplied from the Ieodo volcanic apron by erosion processes. Wave activities might play a major role in transportation and sedimentation. In contrast, fine muds were assumed to be derived from the inflow of the Yangtze River, particularly in summer. Deposition in the Ieodo area is, therefore, probably controlled by the inflow from the Changjiang Dilute Water and summer typhoons from the south.