The biogenic silica (BSi) ,total organic carbon (TOC) ,total nitrogen (TN) and grain size were analyzed with a gravity core (3250-6) collected from the mud area in the north East China Sea.The average deposition rate of the upper core was about 0.078cm yr1based on the results of 210Pbex.The mean grain size increased with depth in general.The frequency distribution of grain size showed that two marked changes of deposition environment occurred at 30 cm and 50 cm depths (about 1550 AD and 1300 AD,respectively) .The variations of BSi and TOC indicated two distinct major periods of primary productivity over the past 800 years:a stage of low primary productivity corresponding to weak upwelling and low nutrient input below 30 cm depth (about 1200-1550 AD) ,and a stage of high primary productivity with strong currents and upwelling above 30 cm depth (about 1550-1950 AD) .The stage with high primary productive appeared to be due to the northward-expanded muddy area caused by strong Asian Winter Monsoon and enhanced Yellow Sea Warm Current in winter.In conclusion,the BSi and TOC in the muddy sediments,the symbols of marine primary productivity,can be then used to investigate the evolution history of currents and relative climate change in the offshore areas.
LIU YiZHOU XinHUANG WenWANG YuhongJIA NanJI HaoyuanHUANG YiyaSUN Liguang
Large areas of muddy sediments on the coastal shelves of China provide important samples for studying climate and ecological changes.Analysis of a large number of such samples,which is essential for systematic study on environmental information recorded in mud areas because of complicated sedimentary environment and variable sedimentary rate,requires a fast and economical method.In this study,we investigated the potential of X-ray fluorescence core scanner(XRFS),a fast analytical instrument for measuring the elemental concentrations of muddy sediments,and observed a significant correlation between the element concentrations of muddy sediments determined by regular X-ray fluorescence spectrometer(XRF)and XRFS,respectively.The correlations are mainly determined by excitation energy of elements,but also influenced by solubility of element ions.Furthermore,we found a striking link between Al concentrations and marine-originated organic carbon(MOC),a proxy of marine primary productivity.This indicates that MOC is partly controlled by sedimentary characteristics.Therefore,XRFS method has a good potential in fast analysis of a large number of muddy sediment samples,and it can also be used to calibrate MOC in ecological study of coastal seas.
Relocation of the Yellow River estuary has significant impacts on not only terrestrial environment and human activities,but also sedimentary and ecological environments in coastal seas.The responses of regional geochemical characteristics to the relocation event,however,have not been well studied.In the present study,we performed detailed geochemical elemental analyses of a sediment core from the northern Yellow Sea and studied their geochemical responses to the 1855 AD relocation of the Yellow River estuary.The results show that TOC/TN,Co/Al2O3,Cr/Al2O3,Ni/Al2O3and Se/Al2O3ratios all decreased abruptly after 1855 AD,and similar decreases are observed in the sediments of the mud area southwest off the Cheju Island.These abrupt changes are very likely caused by the changes in source materials due to the relocation of the Yellow River estuary from the southern Yellow Sea to the Bohai Sea,which the corresponding decreasing trends caused by the changes in main source materials from those transported by the Liaohe River,the Haihe River and the Luanhe River to those by the Yellow River.Because the events have precise ages recorded in historical archives,these obvious changes in elemental geochemistry of sediments can be used to calibrate age models of related coastal sea sediments.
Considerable efforts have been made to extend temperature records beyond the instrumental period through proxy reconstructions,in order to further understand the mechanisms of past climate variability.Yet,the global coverage of existing temperature records is still limited,especially for some key regions like the Tibetan Plateau and for earlier times including the Medieval Warm Period(MWP).Here we present decadally-resolved,alkenone-based,temperature records from two lakes on the northern Tibetan Plateau.Characterized by marked temperature variability,our records provide evidence that temperatures during the MWP were slightly higher than the modern period in this region.Further,our temperature reconstructions,within age uncertainty,can be well correlated with solar irradiance changes,suggesting a possible link between solar forcing and natural climate variability,at least on the northern Tibetan Plateau.
