New Nd and Sr isotope data are presented in this paper for sediments from the Yellow and Yangtze River drainage basins. The average 143Nd/144Nd isotope compositions of fine-grained sediments from two drainage basins seem similar. The ages of sediments from the two drainage basins are relatively uniform but exhibit subtle differences. This reflects the different underlying bedrocks, in association with the unique tectonic terranes that comprise central and southeastern China, including the North China Block, the Yangtze Block, the South China Block, the Tibet Plateau and the Qinling-Dabie Orogenic Belt. In contrast, there is an obvious difference in the 87Sr/86Sr ratios between fine-grained sediments of the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, which actually reflects an increase in chemical weathering intensity from northwestern to southeastern China. |