Changes in marine sedimentation patterns in the northeastern South China Sea in the past 35,000 years

Kuan Ting Chen, Shu Kun Hsu, Andrew Tien Shun Lin, Chih Chieh Su, Nathalie Babonneau, Gueorgui Ratzov, Serge Lallemand, Pi Chun Huang, Lien Kai Lin, Hsiao Shan Lin, Ching Hui Tsai, Jing Yi Lin, Song Chuen Chen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

In the continental margin of the northeastern South China Sea, the sea level fluctuations since the Last Glacial Maximum have profoundly impacted the sedimentary environment. Our sub-bottom profiler data show a sedimentation process change from deposition to erosion during the Last Glacial Maximum. After the widespread erosion, the sedimentation process returned depositional throughout the Holocene, probably due to the rise of the sea level. This sedimentary process results in a widespread sedimentary unconformity in the continental slope, providing a benchmark for the end of the Last Glacial Maximum. Analyzing the sediment cores, we affirm that the change in current intensity is the primary factor controlling the sedimentary environments. The current intensities strengthened during the eustatic lowstand and weakened during the highstand periods, leading to alternating erosional and depositional processes. The widespread distribution of the erosive surface represents a regional-scale change in the sedimentary environment instead of a local event.

Original languageEnglish
Article number420
JournalCommunications Earth and Environment
Volume5
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2024

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Changes in marine sedimentation patterns in the northeastern South China Sea in the past 35,000 years'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this