Modern changes of tidal troughs among the radial sand ridges in northern Jiangsu coastal zone

Using satellite images taken on different dates, GIS analysis of aerial photos, bathymetric maps and other field survey data, tidal troughs and major sand ridges in the northern Jiangsu coastal area were contrasted. The results show that there have been three types of movement or migration of tidal trough in this area: (1) Periodic and restricted, this type of trough usually developed along the beaches with immobile gully head as a result of the artificial dams and the swing range increased from gully head to the low reaches, so they have been obviously impacted by human activity and have longer swing periods; (2) Periodic and actively, this kind of trough, which swung with a fast rate and moved periodically on sand ridges, were mainly controlled by the swings of the host tidal troughs and hydrodynamic forces upon tidal sand ridge and influenced slightly by human constructions; (3) Steadily and slowly, they are the main tidal troughs with large scale and a steady orientation in this area and have slow lateral movement. The differences in migration mode of tidal trough shift result in different rates of migration and impact upon tidal sand ridges. Lateral accumulation on current tidal trough and deposition on abandoned tidal troughs are the two types of sedimentation of the tidal sand ridges formation. The whole radial sand ridge was generally prone to division and retreat although sand ridges fluctuated by the analysis of changes in talwegs of tidal troughs and shorelines of sand ridges.

Formation and evolution of the modern warm current system in the East China Sea and the Yellow Sea since the last deglaciation

To reconstruct the formation and evolution process of the warm current system within the East China Sea (ECS) and the Yellow Sea (YS) since the last deglaciation, the paleoceangraphic records in core DGKS9603, core CSH1 and core YSDP102, which were retrieved from the mainstream of the Kuroshio Current (KC), the edge of the modern Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) and muddy region under cold waters accreted with the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) respectively, were synthetically analyzed. The results indicate that the formation and evolution of the modern warm current system in the ECS and the YS has been accompanied by the development of the KC and impulse rising of the sea level since the last deglaciation. The influence of the KC on the Okinawa Trough had enhanced since 16 cal kyr BP, and synchronously the modern TWC began to develop with the rising of sea level and finally formed at about 8.5 cal kyr BP. The KC had experienced two weakening process during the Heinrich event 1 and the Younger Drays event from 16 to 8.5 cal kyr BP. The period of 7-6 cal kyr BP was the strongest stage of the KC and the TWC since the last deglaciation. The YSWC has appeared at about 6.4 cal kyr BP. Thus, the warm current system of the ECS and the YS has ultimately formed. The weakness of the KC, indicated by the occurrence of Pulleniatina minimum event (PME) during the period from 5.3 to 2.8 cal kyr BP, caused the main stream of the TWC to shift eastward to the Pacific Ocean around about 3 cal kyr BP. The process resulted in the intruding of continent shelf cold water mass with rich nutrients. Synchronously, the strength of the YSWC was relatively weak and the related cold water body was active at the early-mid stage of its appearance against the PME background, which resulted in the quick formation of muddy deposit system in the southeastern YS. The strength of the warm current system in the ECS and the YS has enhanced evidently, and approached to the modern condition gradually since 3 cal kyr BP.

Seismic stratigraphy of the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel system, northwest South China Sea

Based on more than 4000 km 2D seismic data and seismic stratigraphic analysis, we discussed the extent and formation mechanism of the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel. The Qiongdongnan deep sea channel is a large incised channel which extends from the east boundary of the Yinggehai Basin, through the whole Qiongdongnan and the Xisha trough, and terminates in the western part of the northwest subbasin of South China Sea. It is more than 570 km long and 4-8 km wide. The chaotic (or continuous) middle (or high) amplitude, middle (or high) continuity seismic facies of the channel reflect the different lithological distribution of the channel. The channel formed as a complex result of global sea level drop during early Pliocene, large scale of sediment supply to the Yinggehai Basin, inversion event of the Red River strike-slip fault, and tilted direction of the Qiongdongnan Basin. The large scale of sediment supply from Red River caused the shelf break of the Yinggehai Basin to move torwards the S and SE direction and developed large scale of prograding wedge from the Miocene, and the inversion of the Red River strike-slip fault induced the sediment slump which formed the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel.

Short-term morphological changes after sand-digging during a sand sculpture activity

The morphology of the beach backshore and foreshore at Huiquan Bay, Qingdao, China, is characterized by a single intertidal sandbar system with a spring tide range of 4.59 m. The beach was measured with a laser total station of Leica TPS402. Contours of the beach were generated using data collected in March and November 2005. The survey method provided 2 mm measuring accuracy and 4-10 m horizontal spacing. The net accretion volume of the foreshore was about 11, 215 m(3) from March to November. After sand sculpture activity, the axis of the sand trough migrated onshore from about 3.5 m to 17.5 m on the foreshore beach in November. At the same time, the axis of the sandbar crest migrated onshore no more than 42.25 m on the northwest foreshore; and it migrated offshore no more than 23.75 m on the southeast foreshore. On the northwest and southeast foreshore beach, two strips of erosion areas with a thickness of 0-0.2 m appeared on the sandbar crest. Accretion occurred at the bottom of the sand trough with a thickness of similar to 0.2-0.6 m. The sandbar height decreased after sand sculpture activity, and it was no more than 0.7 m in March and 0.6 m in November. Human activities, such as sand digging on the sandbar crest during sand sculpture activity, also can disturb the beach morphology of intertidal bar systems. This phenomenon also was validated by comparison of beach morphology, the results of a color artificial tracer experiment and a sediment transportation trend prediction.

Gas hydrate occurrence on the continental slope of the northern South China Sea

High-resolution multi-channel seismic data and geological samples were collected during two research cruises of the R/V FENDOU 4 in 1999 and 2000. Studies on these data and samples together with results from sites 1143-1145 and 1148 of ODP Leg 184 suggest that the geological structure on the continental slope of the northern South China Sea is favorable for the formation of gas hydrates. Bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs) and geochemical anomalies which indicate the existence of gas hydrates have been recognized in sediments of the Xisha Trough, the Dongsha Rise and the accretionary wedge of the Manila subduction zone. These gas hydrates are generated by two different mechanisms depending on the tectonic regime and the seismic and geochemical characteristics. The first applies to the passive continental margin of the nor-them South China Sea on the Dongsha Rise and in the Xisha Trough. The gas hydrates are associated with diapiric structures, active faults, slumps and gravity flows as well as high Late Cenozoic sedimentation rates. Their seismic expression includes BSRs, seismic blanking zones and velocity anomalies. The second mechanism is operative on the active continental margin along the Manila subduction zone, especially in the accretionary wedge. Here, gas hydrate occurrence is marked by widespread BSRs and acoustic 'pull-down' possibly related to the existence of free gas in the sediments beneath the BSR. The thickness of the seismic blanking zones averages 250 m, suggesting that the stable gas hydrate zone has about the same thickness. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The history of the Yangtze River entering sea since the last glacial maximum: a review and look forward

This review paper provides a brief review on the development of ideas in the fields of the sea level change of the ECS (East China Sea), the history of the Yangtze River entering the sea and paleochannels in the shelf of the ECS since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The paper summarizes two opposite theories about the Yangtze River entering the sea during the LGM. One theory is that the Yangtze River input a lacustrine in the north of Jiangsu province which was defunct in middle Holocene, and the river was once dry. The other was that the Yangtze River still existed and entered into the Okinawa Trough during the LGM, but scholars share different opinions on which course the river ran across and which place the river input the trough. This paper concludes future work is to study the evolution of the Yangtze River and the paleoclimate and the corresponding events as a whole from the view of regional and even global change, and more attention should be paid to the study on mud sediment, the Yangtze River's response to the changes in climate and sea-level, and the channel metamorphosis.

Radiolarian fauna in surface sediments of the northeastern East China Sea

Radiolarian abundance and species composition have been determined in 72 surface: sediment samples from the northeastern East China Sea. The results are compared with chemical and physical properties of the overlying water masses, and with sediment conditions. In the study area, radiolarian abundance and species number increase markedly from northwest to southeast, and their distributions can be divided into three provinces: the low-density zone corresponding to the shelf, the middle-density zone corresponding to the western slope of the Okinawa Trough and the high-density zone corresponding to the central part of the Okinawa Trough. The distribution of radiolarians correlates well with modem sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity, but shows a negative relation with nutrients and primary productivity of the overlying water. This distribution pattern is also strongly affected by the sediment type and terrigenous material input. Also, the Kuroshio Current has an important effect on controlling the distribution and species composition of radiolarian fauna in this area. Based on three Q-mode factors (accounting for 90.2% of the variance), three radiolarian assemblages have been distinguished, and their distributions are clearly correlated with oceanographic current patterns in the region. The mixed water assemblage dominated by Tetrapyle circularis, Tetrapyle quadriloba and Ommatartus tetrathalamus tetrathalamus is restricted to the area of the Mixed Water, but mainly influenced by the Shelf Water. The Kuroshio Water assemblage, which is dominated by Lithelius minor, Dictyocoryne profunda, Stylodictya multispina, Acrosphaera spinosa, Dictyocoryne truncatum, Spongaster tetrars, Stylodictya arachnia and Ommatartus tetrathalamus tetrathalamus, is basically controlled by the Kuroshio Surface Water. And the transition assemblage dominated by Tetrapyle quadriloba and Monozonium pachystylum is associated with the Tsushima Warm Current Water. The boundaries among these assemblages approximately coincide with the oceanographic front. And the changes in the distribution of these assemblages could be,regarded as-not only modifications of the water masses, but also indicators of the possible movements of the oceanic front. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Preliminary analysis of grain-size populations with environmentally sensitive terrigenous components in marginal sea setting

Terrigenous components were separated from the bulk sediment of Core A7 from the Okinawa Trough and Core A37 from the Ryukru Trench and grain-size distributions of these sub-samples were analyzed. Based upon an analysis of the grain-size data of the two sedimentary sequences, grain-size populations are identified to be sensitive to sedimentary environmental changes. The modal values and size ranges of the two main grain-size populations in Core A7 are evidently different from those of Core A37, indicating the spatial variability of sediment sources and transport processes between the two places. The downcore variations in the content of the environmentally sensitive grain-size populations reveal that during the accumulation of sedimentary material the environment remained relatively stable at the site where Core A7 was collected, except for the apparent events for the formation of two turbidite layers and a volcanic ash layer. However, the sedimentary sequence of Core A37 shows six sedimentary cycles, indicating a highly variable sedimentary environment at this location.

Sedimentary processes and development of the Zenisu deep-sea channel, Philippine Sea

Zenisu deep-sea channel originated from a volcanic arc region, Izu-Ogasawara Island Arc, and vanished in the Shikoku Basin of the Philippine Sea. According to the swath bathymetry, the deep-sea channel can be divided into three,segments. They are Zenisu canyon, E-W fan channel and trough-axis channel. A lot of volcanic detritus were deposited in the Zenisu Trough via the deep-sea channel because it originated from volcanic arc settings. On the basis of the swath bathymetry, submersible and seismic reflection data, the deposits are characterized by turbidite and debrite deposits as those in the other major deep-sea channels. Erosion or few sediments were observed in the Zenisu canyon, whereas a lot of turbidites and debrites occurred in the E-W channel and trough axis channel. Cold seep communities, active fault and fluid flow were discovered along the lower slope of the Zenisu Ridge. Vertical sedimentary sequences in the Zenisu Trough consist of the four post-rift sequence units of the Shikoku Basin, among which Units A and B are two turbidite units. The development of Zenisu canyon is controlled by the N-S shear fault, the E-W fan channel is related to the E-W shear fault, and the trough-axis channel is related to the subsidence of central basin.

ABUNDANCE OF CHEMICAL-ELEMENTS IN CONTINENTAL-SHELF SEDIMENT OF CHINA

For the first time, an element abundance table of China Shelf Sea sediments is published based on 286 samples from the continental shelf of China analyzed for 62 chemical elements. The shelf sediments result from the redistribution of sediments from China over the continental shelf. On the basis of comparison of element abundances among the China shelf samples, hemipelagic Okinawa Trough samples, and pelagic brown clay from the West Pacific, it is clear that each has its own elemental characteristics. Hg anomaly enrichment in Okinawa Trough sediments may be used as an indicator of hydrothermal activity.

Evolution and variation of the Tsushima warm current during the late Quaternary: Evidence from planktonic foraminifera, oxygen and carbon isotopes

The evolution and variation history of the Tsushima warm current during the late Quaternary was reconstructed based on the quantitative census data of planktonic foraminiferal fauna, together with oxygen and carbon isotope records of mixed layer dweller a ruber and thermocline dweller N. dutertrei in piston core CSH1 and core DGKS9603 collected separately from the Tsushima warm current and the Kuroshio dominated area. The result showed that the Tsushima warm current vanished in the lowstand period during 40-24 cal ka BP, while the Kuroshio still flowed across the Okinawa Trough, arousing strong upwelling in the northern Trough. Meanwhile, the influence of freshwater greatly increased in the northern Okinawa Trough, as the broad East China Sea continental shelf emerged. The freshwater reached its maximum during the last glacial maximum (LGM), when the upwelling obviously weakened for the lowest sea-level and the depression of the Kuroshio. The modern Tsushima warm current began its development since 16 cal ka BP, and the impact of the Kuroshio increased in the middle and northern Okinawa Trough synchronously during the deglaciation and gradually evolved as the main water source of the Tsushima current. The modern Tsushima current finally formed at about 8.5 cal ka BP, since then the circulation structure has been relatively stable. The water of the modern Tsushima current primarily came from the Kuroshio axis. A short-term wiggle of the current occurred at about 3 cal ka BP, probably for the influences from the enhancement of the winter monsoon and the depression of the Kuroshio. The cold water masses greatly strengthened during the wiggle.

Tectonics in the northwestern West Philippine basin

The West Philippine basin (WPB) is a currently inactive marginal basin belonging to Philippine Sea plate, which has a complex formation history and various crust structures. Based on gravity, magnetic and seismic data, the tectonics in West Philippine basin is characterized by amagma spreading stage and strike slip fractures. NNE trending Okinawa-Luzon fracture zone is a large fracture zone with apparent geomorphology and shows a right-handed movement. The results of joint gravity-magnetic-seismic inversion suggest that the Okinawa-Luzon fracture zone has intensive deformation and is a transform fault. Western existence of the NW trending fractures under Ryukyu Islands Arc is the main cause of the differences between south and north Okinawa Trough. The Urdaneta plateau is not a remained arc, but remnant of mantle plume although its lava chemistry is similar to oceanic island basalt (OIB).

Living planktonic foraminifera from the northwestern Pacific Ocean: SSU rDNA sequences and their paleoceanographic significance

Living planktonic foraminifera (PF) samples from the Okinawa Trough of the northwestern Pacific Ocean were taken for DNA analysis. The SSU rDNA sequences of two PF species, Globigerina sp. and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata collected at Station WP01, were obtained and compared with those from the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Only small differences (< 0.7%-1.2% for P. obliquiloculata, and 0.3% for Globigerina sp.) were found between samples from the north- and south-western Pacific Ocean areas and this molecular evidence supported that these micropaleontological species are the same species, which implies that the West Pacific Ocean circulation system influences the planktonic foraminiferal gene communication.

Observational evidence of the Yellow Sea warm current

The Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC) is one of the principal currents in the Yellow Sea in winter. Former examinations on current activity in the Yellow Sea have not observed a stable YSWC because of the positioning of current meters. To further understand the YSWC, a research cruise in the southern Yellow Sea was carried out in the winter of 2006/2007. Five moorings with bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) were deployed on the western side of the central trough of the Yellow Sea. The existence and distributional features of the YSWC were studied by analyzing three ADCP moorings in the path of the YSWC in conjunction with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data over the observed area in the southern Yellow Sea. The results show the following. (1) The upper layer of the YSWC is strongly influenced by winter cold surge; its direction and speed often vary along a south-north axis when strong cold surges arrive from the north. (2) The YSWC near the bottom layer is a stable northwest flowing current with a speed of 4 to 10 cm/s. By combining the analyses of the CTD data, we speculate that the core of the YSWC may lie near the bottom. (3) On a monthly average timescale, the YSWC is stably oriented with northward flow from the sea surface to the sea floor.

Cross-shelf circulation in the Yellow and East China Seas indicated by MODIS satellite observations

Ocean color and sea surface temperature data from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the Terra satellite are used to study the cross-shelf circulation and transport of suspended sediments in the Yellow and the East China Seas. The ocean color images show a significant turbid water plume extending in the southeast direction from the Subei coasts of China to the shelf edge south of Cheju during fall-winter, suggesting significant cross-shelf currents in the Yellow Sea/East China Sea in winter. The currents transport suspended sediments from the area of the old Huanghe mouth into the Okinawa Trough. Part of the turbid plume joins the Yellow Sea Warm Current to enter the Yellow Sea trough in winter. The satellite images suggest that the time scales of cross-shelf transport and surface-to-subsurface descending of the suspended sediments are a few weeks. The turbid plume grows in fall, reaches its maximum expansion and intensity in winter-spring, and subsides in late spring. In summer, the plume becomes coastally trapped. Substantial interannual variations of the intensity and coverage of the turbid plume are indicated by the observations. In comparison, the Changjiang Diluted Water in summer only transports a small amount of the Changjiang suspended sediment to the outer shelf south of Cheju, which does not enter the Yellow Sea owing to the weak intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current in summer. The dynamics of the cross-shelf circulation in the Yellow Sea in winter are hypothesized to be associated with (1) the convergence of the Yellow Sea Coastal Current and the Taiwan Warm Current off the Changjiang mouth and (2) the time-dependent forcing of the northerly wind bursts that drives the intrusion of the Yellow Sea Warm Current. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.