DISTRIBUTION OF RARE EARTH ELEMENTS IN CORE SEDIMENTS OF KOLAKKUDI LAKE, SOUTHERN INDIA

The lake Kolakkudi represents a small, isolated and fresh water lake situated in southern part of TamilNadu, India and it surrounded by fluvial placer deposits of garnet rich sands. In the study area to obtain information about rare earth elements (REEs) of core sediments and conceded sediment composition and distribution of rare earth elements as well as surrounding soil was investigated. The concentration of REEs in core sediments varies from 0.42 to 49.1 ppm. The higher REE content in the core sediments samples from various locations which significance the plethora of clay and/or quartz with less significant effect caused by sedimentary sorting. According to the difference in the levels of the rare earth elements, the rare earth elements normalized patterns and associated fractionation parameters (SLREE/SHREE, (La/Yb)N, and (NdYb) N) showed similarities between the lake sediments and the surrounding clays, confirming a widespread influence of nearby local lithology on the lake sediment composition. On the other hand, the results of the statistical analysis suggest the contribution of both clay rich soils and garnet rich sands in the lake sediments to the total content of rare earth elements.