Relocation of the Yellow River Estuary in 1855 AD Recorded in the Sediment Core from the Northern Yellow Sea  

作　　者：ZHOU Xin JIA Nan CHENG Wenhan WANG Yuhong SUN Liguang 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Polar Environment and School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China [2]Advanced Management Research Center, Ningbo University

出　　处：《Journal of Ocean University of China》2013年第4期624-628,共5页中国海洋大学学报（英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2010CB428902);National Natural Science Foundation of China(40876088)

摘　　要：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 1855AD relocation of the Yellow River estuary. The results show that TOC/TN, Co/A1203, Cr/A1203, Ni/A1203 and Se/A1203 ratios 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.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.

关 键 词：relocation of the Yellow River estuary muddy sediments northern Yellow Sea elemental geochemistry 

分 类 号：P736.21[天文地球—海洋地质]