Smectite as a possible source-indicative clay mineral in the Yellow Sea

Clay mineral studies by XRD analyses of eleven surficial mud samples from the central and southeastern Yellow Sea reveal that clay minerals in all sediment samples are quite similar, except for the presence of smectite in the central Yellow Sea samples. Smectite, thus, is suggested to the significant clay mineral in distinguishing the finegrained sediment sources: the Huanghe River-derived muds contain smectite whereas smectite hardly exists in those from the Keum River.