Coral records of Mid-Holocene sea-level highstands and climate responses in the northern South China Sea

High-resolution sea-level data and high-precision dating of corals in the northern South China Sea(SCS)during the Holocene provide a reference and historical background for current and future sea-level changes and a basis for scientific assessment of the evolutionary trend of coral reefs in the SCS.Although sporadic studies have been performed around Hainan Island in the northern SCS,the reconstructed sea level presents different values or is controversial because the indicative meaning of the sea-level indicators were neither quantified nor uniform criteria.Here,we determined the quantitative relationship between modern living coral and sea level by measuring the top surfaces of 27 live Porites corals from the inner reef flat along the east coast of Hainan Island and assessed the accuracy of results obtained using coral as sea-level indicators.Additionally,three in situ fossil Porites corals were analyzed based on elevation measurements,digital X-ray radiography,and U-Th dating.The survey results showed that the indicative meanings for the modern live Porites corals is(146.09±8.35)cm below the mean tide level(MTL).It suggested that their upward growth limit is constrained by the sea level,and the lowest low water is the highest level of survival for the modern live Porites corals.Based on the newly defined indicative meanings,6 new sea-level index points(SLIPs)were obtained and 19 published SLIPs were recalculated.Those SLIPs indicated a relative sea level fluctuation between(227.7±9.8)cm to(154.88±9.8)cm MTL between(5393±25)cal a BP and(3390±12)cal a BP,providing evidences of the Mid-Holocene sea-level highstand in the northern SCS.Besides that,our analysis demonstrated that different sea-level histories may be produced based on different indicative meanings or criteria.The dataset of 276 coral U-Th ages indicates that coral reef development in the northern SCS comprised the initial development,boom growth,decline,and flourishing development again.A comparison with regional records indicated that synergistic effects of climatic and environmental factors were involved in the development of coral reefs in the northern SCS.Thus,the cessation of coral reef development during the Holocene in the northern SCS was probably associated with the dry and cold climate in South China,as reflected in the synchronous weakening of the ENSO and East Asian summer monsoon induced by the reduction of the 65°N summer insolation,which forced the migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone.

Sedimentary Evolution of the Holocene Subaqueous Clinoform off the Southern Shandong Peninsula in the Western South Yellow Sea

Based on the stratigraphic sequence formed since the last glaciation and revealed by 3000 km long high-resolution shallow seismic profiles and the core QDZ03 acquired recently off the southern Shandong Peninsula, we addressed the sedimentary characteristics of a Holocene subaqueous clinoform in this paper. Integrated analyses were made on the core QDZ03, including sedimentary facies, sediment grain sizes, clay minerals, geochemistry, micro paleontology, and AMS 14 C dating. The result indicates that there exists a Holocene subaqueous clinoform, whose bottom boundary generally lies at 15–40 m below the present sea level with its depth contours roughly parallel to the coast and getting deeper seawards. The maximum thickness of the clinoform is up to 22.5 m on the coast side, and the thickness contours generally spread in a banded way along the coastline and becomes thinner towards the sea. At the mouths of some bays along the coast, the clinoform stretches in the shape of a fan and its thickness is evidently larger than that of the surrounding sediments. This clinoform came into being in the early Holocene(about 11.2 cal kyr BP) and can be divided into the lower and upper depositional units(DU 2 and DU 1, respectively). The unit DU 2, being usually less than 3 m in thickness and formed under a low sedimentation rate, is located between the bottom boundary and the Holocene maximum flooding surface(MFS), and represents the sediment of a post-glacial transgressive systems tract; whereas the unit DU 1, the main body of the clinoform, sits on the MFS, belonging to the sediment of a highstand systems tract from middle Holocene(about 7–6 cal kyr BP) to the present. The provenance of the clinoform differs from that of the typical sediments of the Yellow River and can be considered as the results of the joint contribution from both the Yellow River and the proximal coastal sediments of the Shandong Peninsula, as evidenced by the sediment geochemistry of the core. As is controlled mainly by coactions of multiple factors such as the Holocene sea-level changes, sediment supplies and coastal dynamic conditions, the development of the clinoform is genetically related with the synchronous clinoform or subaqueous deltas around the northeastern Shandong Peninsula and in the northern South Yellow Sea in the spatial distribution and sediment provenance, as previously reported, with all of them being formed from the initial stage of the Holocene up to the present.

Coastal dune rock development and Holocene climate changes in South China

Coastal dune rocks in China are eolian sands cemented by calcium carbonate under subaerial conditions, widely distributing on the tropical and subtropical coasts of South China. Particular temperature and precipitation as well as local wave and landform conditions are required for the formation of the dune rocks. A correspondence was found between Holocene environmental changes and coastal dune rock development by comparing the features of the sea-level and climate changes in the Holocene period with the ages, scales, and cementation of the dune rocks on the South China coasts. The findings provide well grounded explanation for some problems unresolved in the past researches on the coastal dune rock in South China： （1） There were no dune rocks with ages older than 6000 years in South China because the dune rocks formed before 6000 a BP were covered by the sea water that rose in the later period; （2） the dune rocks with ages of around 3000 a BP were widely found in South China today because the coastal dunes were cumulated on a large scale at that time as a result of temperature falling after the end of Megathermal; （3） Medieval Warm Period was the main period for the eolian dunes to be cemented into the coastal dune rocks in South China; （4） lack of dune rocks of younger than 1000 a BP was accounted for by that the climate conditions in recent one thousand years were not suitable for the cementation.

Sedimentary facies and paleoenvironmental interpretation of a Holocene marsh in the Gironde Estuary in France

The Monards Marsh is located on the northeastern bank of the Gironde Estuary in France. Lithological, sedimentolngical and mi- cropalacontological investigations were made on four cores to determine the evolution of Holocene sedimentary environments and processes in this area over the last 6 000 a. Three main lithological facies are distinguished from bottom to top： （ 1 ） grey laminated silty-sandy clay ; （2） homogeneous dark grey silty clay ; and （ 3 ） compact silty clay. About 26 benthic foraminifera species are identified and divided into six groups according to their ecological characteristics. In association with lithology, sedimentary structures and grainuiometry, the distribution of foraminifera group is used to define external slikke, internal slikke, external schorre, internal schorre, and continental marsh facies. Combined with 14C（AMS） dating, these data indicate four successive paleoenvironments in the Monards Marsh： （ 1 ） Holocene transgression resuited in the development of a basal schorre facies overlying fluvial deposits that transformed to slikke facies sedimentation; the transgression maximum occurred around 5 600 to 5 4430 a BP and was inferred to be associated with the last phase of the rapid Holocene sea-level rise; （2） post-trangressive maximum sedimentation resuited in a regressive sequence of deposits prograding towards the estuary, corresponding to the stahilisation of sea level after 5 4430 a BP; （3） a slight positive tendency in the sea level around 2 800 a BP recorded in the central part of the marsh; and （4） the wetland to a continental marsh environment. The sequential pattern for the evolution of wetlands in this estuarine area during the Holocene is fluvial facies - blackish schorre facies - slikke facies - blackish schorre facies - continental marsh facies. Characteristics of sedimentary facies distribution and evolution reveal that the development of Holocene salt marsh in this area was controlled by the sea-level change and tidal range. The sedimentary facies show an obvious surficial and vertical banding distribution in which the texture and structure, authigenie mineral, foraminifera distribution and bioturbation indicate many distinct difference characteristics.

Eolian versus fluvial supply to the northern Arabian Sea during the Holocene based on Nd isotope and geochemical records

The north-eastern Arabian Sea(NE-AS)comes under a strong influence of land–ocean–climate interactions and regulates biogeochemical processes through the supply of huge amounts of dissolved and particulate materials and nutrients via eolian and fluvial supply.These processes underwent dramatic changes in the coastal regions due to sea-level rise and climate change during the Holocene;however,their relative roles remain elusive.The NE-AS receives large amounts of dissolved and particulate fluxes,and therefore,reconstruction of the past surface water Nd isotope composition(eNd)and tracing the provenance of sediment using detrital eNd and geochemical records would enable us to assess the role of various processes controlling these fluxes to the northern Arabian Sea.In this study,we have generated authigenic and detrital eNd records and geochemical records in a sediment core from the coastal region of the NE-AS,offshore Saurashtra.We found that the authigenic eNd profile closely followed the Holocene sea-level records;early Holocene less radiogenic values(-8)were sharply shifted to more radiogenic values(-5.5)during the mid-Holocene(6–7 ka)and thereafter remained stable,close to the modern surface water eNd value.The detrital eNd record broadly followed the authigenic eNd record,however,they differ in magnitude.The geochemical records based on major and trace elemental abundances show a similar trend to the authigenic eNd record and concomitant changes with the Holocene sea-level.Our investigation reveals that lower sea-level stand combined with a stronger monsoon during the early Holocene resulted in enhanced fluvial weathering fluxes from the west-flowing rivers and contributed to less radiogenic Nd.This situation changed dramatically during the mid-Holocene due to the weakening of the south-west monsoon and rapid sea level rise,which caused enhanced influence of open ocean water characterised by more radiogenic eNd(-6)derived from the dissolution of dust from Arabia and African desserts.This dramatic shift in eNd profile indicates the enhanced influence of eolian over the fluvial supply of chemical weathering and erosion fluxes during the mid-Holocene.This observation is also consistent with the higher sedimentation rates with more radiogenic detrital supply.The finding of enhanced influence of eolian over fluvial mode of weathering and erosional inputs to the northern Arabian Sea has important implications for past nutrient supply(fluxes and compositions)and its impact on biogeochemical processes in the Arabian Sea.

Tidal changes in the Yellow/East China Sea caused by the rapid sea-level rise during the Holocene

Two-dimensional numerical simulations of M2 and K1 tides were performed in order to assess the effect of the rapid sea level change occurring during the last 20000 years in the Yellow/East China Sea (YECS). Results were interpreted by utilizing the difference of the dynamical nature inherited in diurnal and semi-diurnal tides. M2 tides at the coastal region south of Korea exceeded 2 m in amplitude when the sea-level was low, and decreased as the water depth become larger. In the Yellow Sea, on the other hand, tidal amplitudes were small at the low sea-level stages and increased along with the sea-level rise. The way of the increase was not monotonic but with fluctuations, which was due to the movement of the standing wave nodes. An additional experiment with closing the Taiwan Strait revealed that changing the sill depth of the strait not only affects the M2 tides around the southeastern Chinese coast, but also modifies the tides around the southwestern coast of Korea. This result recall us the significance of morphological condition on estimating the tidal field in the coastal ocean.

广东深圳大鹏半岛海岸地貌特征

大鹏半岛位于广东省深圳市东部,海岸地貌类型多样,可分为基岩海岸、堆积海岸和生物海岸3大类型。文章根据野外调查和室内实验分析的结果论述了大鹏半岛海岸地貌类型、分布和成因,并在前人的研究基础上讨论了大鹏半岛海岸地貌演化过程:由于大鹏半岛处在构造隆升区,海岸类型以基岩海岸为主。多处基岩海岸保留了完好的海蚀崖、海蚀平台、海蚀槽穴、海蚀柱等各类典型的海蚀地貌。该半岛的堆积海岸主要发育于岩石岬角间的海湾内,在有河流流入的海湾处形成岬湾沙坝―澙湖海岸,在无河流的海岸处则形成湾顶海滩。半岛中段狭窄的呈哑铃状腰部的东岸,因深入内凹、波浪减弱,有淤泥质海岸发育;红树林发育于淤泥质海岸以及各澙湖内,而半岛周边浅海区有珊瑚群落生长。大鹏半岛以及邻近地区海岸地貌特征和海岸沉积物年代数据显示:1)地质构造与海平面升降是塑造该半岛海岸地貌的主要因素;2)该半岛的海岸地貌是在中全新世早期以后才开始发育的;3)该半岛全新世以来不存在强烈的地壳抬升;4)该半岛海岸中全新世出现过高于现代海平面的高海面。

Emerged fossil corals on the coast of northwestern Hainan Island, China: Implications for mid-Holocene sea level change and tectonic uplift

Fossil corals are widespread on the coast of northwestern Hainan Island, China. Most of these corals are exposed during low tide levels, indicating that a higher sea level may have existed during their life time. The radiocarbon data introduced by this paper in combination with those from other sources show that the corals were alive mainly during the midto late-Holocene. Mid-Holocene sea levels 1-3 m higher than the present level were confirmed for adjacent coasts; however, the emerged corals on the investigated coast are not necessarily indicators of a higher eustatic sea level. They do predict relative sea levels of 1.5-3.4 m when using 1 m below the tidal datum as the upper limit of coral growth. However, using the Mean Lower Low Water as the coral's upper growth limit, the relative sea level on the non-volcanic coast was almost as high as the present level, whereas that on the volcanic coast was 0.4-2.0 m higher than present. Therefore, the exposure of these dead coral heads and their discrepancy in elevation may be the result of tectonic uplift caused by volcanic activities. From these results, the highest sea level of upward coral growth must be defined first when using fossil corals to reconstruct past sea levels. Meanwhile, vertical tectonics have to be taken into account as a significant factor when conducting high-resolution sea level reconstruction, although the South China coast is located in a "tectonically stable" region.