Influences of the 1855 AD Huanghe (Yellow River) Relocation on Sedimentary Organic Carbon Burial in the Southern Yellow Sea

Abstract

The Huanghe (Yellow River) supplies large amount of sediments and terrestrial organic carbon (OC) to the eastern Chinese marginal seas. A relocation of the Huanghe outlet from the southern Yellow Sea (YS) to the Bohai Sea occurred in 1855 AD, however, detailed knowledge about the impact of this relocation on sedimentary source and OC burial in Chinese marginal seas is still critically lacking. In this study, we present total OC content and its isotope (δ13C), along with bulk total organic carbon (TOC)/total nitrogen (TN) molar ratio and lipid biomarker contents, in a sediment core HH12 from the southern YS with sediment age spanning the last 300 years. We find that TOC and terrestrial lipid biomarker mass accumulation rates were lower between 1855 AD and 1950 AD than that prior to 1855 AD in core HH12; and in accordance, both TOC/TN ratio and δ13C records indicate a gradual decrease of terrigenous source contributions to sedimentary OC. This suggests that the relocation of the Huanghe outlet reduced the transport of terrestrial OC to the southern YS. However, the δ13C record also indicates a relative increase of terrestrial OC contribution to sedimentary OC after 1950 AD, and the most likely explanation is increased contributions from the old Huanghe delta erosion and Korean rivers. Future studies should focus on better constraining the variations of terrestrial and marine endmembers with δ13C and Δ14C analyses of specific biomarkers to examine these linkages.

Controls on the Distribution, Enrichment, and Degradation of Dissolved Organic Matter in the Sea Surface Microlayer of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

“…Inputs from large rivers also strongly affect the hydrology and ecological environment of the survey area, for instance, the Changjiang is one of the largest rivers in the world with annual freshwater and sediment outflows of approximately 9.0 × 10 11 m 3 /yr and 4.8 × 108 t/yr, respectively (Dagg et al., 2004). The Huanghe (Yellow River) is the second largest river in China, which delivers 0.34–0.58 Mt POC per year and serves as the dominant source of terrestrial OC in the Bohai Sea and the YS sediments (J. Liu et al., 2022). Over the past several decades, the YS and the ECS have experienced escalating environmental shifts due to anthropogenic water pollution (Zhu et al., 2011).…”

“…The Huanghe (Yellow River) is the second largest river in China, which delivers 0.34-0.58 Mt POC per year and serves as the dominant source of terrestrial OC in the Bohai Sea and the YS sediments (J. Liu et al, 2022). Over the past several decades, the YS and the ECS have experienced escalating environmental shifts due to anthropogenic water pollution (Zhu et al, 2011).…”

Carbon stocks in the mud areas of the Chinese marginal seas

“…The sedimentation rates in this study were calculated by the activities of 210 Pb or 137 Cs. Sedimentation rates in cores HH12 (0.16 cm yr -1 ), 34 (0.48 cm yr -1 ), T06 (0.49 cm yr -1 ), 42-A (0.86 cm yr -1 ) and H3-A (0.5 cm yr -1 ) have been published (Duan et al, 2014;Liu et al, 2022;Peng et al, 2023). In addition, sedimentation rates for HH11, N05, C02, S07 and HH14 in the South Yellow Sea were 0.23 cm yr -1 , 0.13 cm yr -1 , 0.25 cm yr -1 , 0.3 cm yr -1 and 0.26 cm yr -1 , respectively.…”

“…YS, Yellow Sea; ECS, East China Sea; SSCC, South Shandong Coastal Current; YSCC, Yellow Sea Coastal Current; YSWC, Yellow Sea Warm Current; YDW, Yangtze Diluted Water; MZCC, Min-Zhe Coastal Current; TWC, Taiwan Warm Current; KC, Kuroshio Current; NKBC, Nearshore Kuroshio Branch Current. (Liu et al, 2022). The sediments were subsequently washed with deionized water until the pH = 7.…”

Postmortem treatment of preterm infants at the Gangshang site during the Late Neolithic period, Shandong Province, China

“…After the Yangshao period, the practice continued in Central China and remained popular until the Warring States Period and Qin and Han dynasties (Bai, 2001). During the Ming and Qing dynasties, jar burials were still found in Jiangsu and Sichuan provinces (Jin et al, 2014;Li et al, 2019). The practice continued until modern times among some minority groups in China.…”