Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-2lccl Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T03:16:57.843Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A raised OIS 3 sea level recorded in coastal sediments, southern Changjiang delta plain, China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Zhanghua Wang ,
Brian G. Jones ,
Ting Chen ,
Baocheng Zhao  and
Qing Zhan
Zhanghua Wang*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory for Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Brian G. Jones
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia
Ting Chen
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory for Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Baocheng Zhao
Affiliation:
Shanghai Geological Survey, Shanghai 200072, China
Qing Zhan
Affiliation:
Shanghai Geological Survey, Shanghai 200072, China
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: + 86 21 62546441. E-mail address:zhwang@geo.ecnu.edu.cn (Z. Wang).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The distribution of marine-influenced oxygen isotope stage (OIS) 5 to OIS 1 sediments was examined in several late Quaternary boreholes from the southern Changjiang (Yangtze) delta plain, China, using different dating methods including OSL, U-series, AMS 14C and paleomagnetism. Results demonstrate that coastal and estuarine deposition during OIS 5 and OIS 3 occurred throughout the study area. However, Holocene transgressive sediments were absent on the Taihu block. The burial depth of intertidal to subtidal sediment deposited during OIS 5e records 30–80 m subsidence caused by sediment compaction and tectonic movement since that time. However, coastal sediments formed during the late phase of OIS 3 were buried to a depth of ca. 6–15 m in the Taihu Lake area, while the burial depth increased eastward to ca. 45–60 m on the coastal plain. This phenomenon, combined with the distribution of Holocene marine strata, indicates at least 25–30 m uplift of the Taihu block since the end of OIS 3. We suggest that this uplift was mainly caused by the differential subsidence due to substantial amount of post-glacial deposition by the Changjiang and Huanghe Rivers on the continental shelf of east China marginal sea.

Keywords

OIS 3 sea levelDifferential subsidenceUplift of Taihu blockChangjiang coast
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 3 , May 2013 , pp. 424 - 438
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arz, H.W., Lamy, F., Ganopolski, A., Nowaczyk, N., and Pätzold, J. Dominant Northern Hemisphere climate control over millennial-scale glacial sea-level variability. Quaternary Science Reviews 26, (2007). 312–321.Google Scholar
Bard, E., Hamelin, B., and Fairbanks, R.G. U-Th ages obtained by mass spectrometry in corals from Barbados: sea level during the past 130,000 years. Nature 346, (1990). 456–458.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brigham-Grette, J. New perspectives on Beringian Quaternary paleogeography, stratigraphy, and glacial history. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 15–24.Google Scholar
Brigham-Grette, J., Hopkins, D.M., Ivanov, V.F., Basilyan, A.E., Benson, S.L., Heiser, P.A., and Pushkar, V.S. Last Interglacial (isotope stage 5) glacial and sea-level history of coastal Chukotka Peninsula and St. Lawrence Island, Western Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 419–436.Google Scholar
Brigham-Grette, J., Gualtiere, L.M., Glushkova, O.Y., Hamilton, T.D., Mostoller, D., and Kotov, A. Chlorine-36 and 14C chronology support a limited last glacial maximum across central Chukotka, northeastern Siberia, and no Beringian ice sheet. Quaternary Research 59, (2003). 386–398.Google Scholar
Cabioch, G., and Ayliffe, L.K. Raised coral terraces at Malakula, Vanuatu, southwest Pacific, indicate high sea level during marine isotope stage 3. Quaternary Research 56, (2001). 357–365.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cann, J.H., Belperio, A.P., Gostin, V.A., and Murray-Wallace, C.V. Sea level history, 30,000 to 45,000 yr BP, inferred from benthic foraminifera, Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. Quaternary Research 29, (1988). 153–175.Google Scholar
Cann, J.H., Belperio, A.P., Gostin, V.A., and Rice, R.L. Contemporary benthic foraminifera in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia, and a refined Late Pleistocene sea-level history. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences 40, (1993). 197–211.Google Scholar
Cassata, W.S., Singer, B.S., and Cassidy, J. Laschamp and Mono Lake geomagnetic excursions recorded in New Zealand. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 268, (2008). 76–88.Google Scholar
Channell, J.E.T. Late Brunhes polarity excursions (Mono Lake, Laschamp, Iceland Basin and Pringle Falls) recorded at ODP Site 919 (Irminger Basin). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 244, (2006). 378–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chappell, J. Sea level changes forced ice breakouts in the Last Glacial cycle: new results from coral terraces. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 1229–1240.Google Scholar
Chappell, J., and Shackleton, N.J. Oxygen isotopes and sea-level. Nature 324, (1986). 137–140.Google Scholar
Chappell, J., Omura, A., Esat, T., McCulloch, M., Pandolfi, J., Ota, Y., and Pillans, B. Reconciliation of late Quaternary sea levels derived from coral terraces at Huon Peninsula with deep sea oxygen isotope records. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 141, (1996). 227–236.Google Scholar
Chen, Z., and Stanley, D.J. Quaternary subsidence and river channel migration in the Yangtze delta plain, eastern China. Journal of Coastal Research 11, (1995). 927–945.Google Scholar
Chen, Z.Y., and Stanley, D.J. Sea-level rise on eastern China's Yangtze delta. Journal of Coastal Research 14, (1998). 360–366.Google Scholar
Chen, Z., Chen, Z., and Zhang, W. Quaternary stratigraphy and trace-element indices of the Yangtze delta, eastern China, with special reference to marine transgressions. Quaternary Research 47, (1997). 181–191.Google Scholar
Chen, Z., Song, B., Wang, Z., and Cai, Y. Late Quaternary evolution of the subaqueous Yangtze delta, China: sedimentation, stratigraphy, palynology, and deformation. Marine Geology 162, (2000). 423–441.Google Scholar
Chen, Q., Li, C., Li, P., Liu, B., and Sun, H. Late Quaternary palaeosols in the Yangtze delta, China, and their palaeoenvironmental implications. Geomorphology 100, (2008). 465–483.Google Scholar
Chen, J., Wang, Z., Li, X., and Chen, Z. Provenance of Picea and Abies pollens in late Quaternary sediments of the Yangtze River delta. Quaternary Sciences 29, (2009). 290–298. (in Chinese, with English abstract) Google Scholar
Chivas, A.R., García, A., van der Kaars, S., Couapel, M.J.J., Holt, S., Reeves, J.M., Wheeler, D.J., Switzer, A.D., Murray-Wallace, C.V., Banerjee, D., Price, D.M., Wang, S.X., Pearson, G., Edgar, N.T., Beaufort, L., De Deckker, P., Lawson, E., and Cecil, C.B. Sea-level and environmental changes since the last interglacial in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia: an overview. Quaternary International 83–85, (2001). 19–46.Google Scholar
Couapel, M.J.J., Beaufort, L., Jones, B.G., and Chivas, A.R. Late Quaternary marginal marine palaeoenvironments of northern Australia as inferred from cluster analysis of coccolith assemblages. Marine Micropaleontology 65, (2007). 213–231.Google Scholar
Fang, X.-M., Li, J.-J., Van der Voo, R., Niocaill, C.M., Dai, X.-R., Kemp, R.A., Derbyshire, E., Cao, J.-X., Wang, J.-M., and Wang, G. A record of the Blake Event during the last interglacial paleosol in the western Loess Plateau of China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 146, (1997). 73–82.Google Scholar
Felzer, B. Climate impacts of an ice sheet in east Siberia during the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 437–447.Google Scholar
Galbraith, R.F., Roberts, R.G., Laslett, G.M., Yoshida, H., and Olley, J.M. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia: part I, experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41, (1999). 339–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glushkova, G.Y. Geomorphological correlation of Late Pleistocene glacial complexes of western and eastern Beringia. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 405–417.Google Scholar
Grosswald, M.G. Late-Weichselian ice sheets in Arctic and Pacific Siberia. Quaternary International 45–46, (1998). 3–18.Google Scholar
Grosswald, M.G., and Hughes, T.J. The Russian component of an Arctic ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 121–146.Google Scholar
Gualtieri, J., Vartanyan, S., Brigham-Grette, J., and Anderson, P.M. Pleistocene raised marine deposits on Wrangel Island, northeast Siberia and implications for the presence of an East Siberian ice sheet. Quaternary Research 59, (2003). 399–410.Google Scholar
Hanebuth, T.J.J., Saito, Y., Tanabe, S., Vu, Q.L., and Ngo, Q.T. Sea levels during late marine isotope stage 3 (or older?) reported from the Red River delta (northern Vietnam) and adjacent regions. Quaternary International 145–146, (2006). 119–134.Google Scholar
Heiser, P.A., and Roush, J.J. Pleistocene glaciations in Chukotka, Russia: moraine mapping using satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 393–404.Google Scholar
Hori, K., Saito, Y., Zhao, Q., Cheng, X., Wang, P., Sato, Y., and Li, C. Sedimentary facies and Holocene progradation rates of the Changjiang (Yangtze) delta, China. Geomorphology 41, (2001). 233–248.Google Scholar
Hori, K., Saito, Y., Zhao, Q., and Wang, P. Architecture and evolution of the tide-dominated Changjiang (Yangtze) River delta, China. Sedimentary Geology 146, (2002). 249–264.Google Scholar
Kwon, M., Yun, S., Doh, S., and Son, B. Metal enrichment and magnetic properties of core sediments from the eastern Yellow Sea, East Asia: implications for paleo-depositional change during the late Pleistocene/Holocene transition. Quaternary International 230, (2011). 95–105.Google Scholar
Li, C., Chen, Q., Zhang, J., Yang, S., and Fan, D. Stratigraphy and palaeoenvironmental changes in the Yangtze delta during the Late Quaternary. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 18, (2000). 453–469.Google Scholar
Li, B., Li, C., and Shen, H. A preliminary study on sediment flux in the Changjiang delta during the postglacial period. Science in China (Series D) 46, (2003). 743–752.Google Scholar
Lin, J., Zhang, S., Qiu, J., Wu, B., Huang, H., Xi, J., Tang, B., Cai, Z., and He, Y. Quaternary marine transgressions and paleoclimate in the Yangtze River delta region. Quaternary Research 32, (1989). 296–306.Google Scholar
Linsley, B.K. Oxygen-isotope record of sea level and climate variations in the Sulu Sea over the past 150,000 years. Nature 380, (1996). 234–238.Google Scholar
Liu, J., Saito, Y., Wang, H., Zhou, L., and Yang, Z. Stratigraphic development during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene offshore of the Yellow River delta, Bohai Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 36, (2009). 318–331.Google Scholar
Ma, Z., Wang, Z., Liu, J., Yuan, B., Xiao, J., and Zhang, G. U-series chronology of sediments associated with Late Quaternary fluctuations, Balikun Lake, northwestern China. Quaternary International 121, (2004). 89–98.Google Scholar
Mallinson, D., Burdette, K., Mahan, S., and Brook, G. Optically stimulated luminescence age controls on late Pleistocene and Holocene coastal lithosomes, North Carolina, USA. Quaternary Research 69, (2008). 97–109.Google Scholar
McArthur, J.M., Ravenscroft, P., Banerjee, D.M., Milsom, J., Hudson-Edwards, K.A., Sengupta, S., Bristow, C., Sarkar, A., Tonkin, S., and Purohit, R. How paleosols influence groundwater flow and arsenic pollution: a model from the Bengal Basin and its worldwide implication. Water Resources Research 44, (2008). w11411 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray-Wallace, C.V. Pleistocene coastal stratigraphy, sea-level highstands and neotectonism of the southern Australian passive continental margin — a review. Journal of Quaternary Science 17, (2002). 469–489.Google Scholar
Parham, P.R., Riggs, S.R., Culver, S.J., Mallinson, D.J., and Wehmiller, J.F. Quaternary depositional patterns and sea-level fluctuations, northeastern North Carolina. Quaternary Research 67, (2007). 83–99.Google Scholar
Peltier, W.R., and Fairbanks, R.G. Global glacial ice volume and Last Glacial Maximum duration from an extended Barbados sea level record. Quaternary Science Reviews 25, (2006). 3322–3337.Google Scholar
Potter, E.-K., and Lambeck, K. Reconciliation of sea level observations in the western North Atlantic during the last glacial cycle. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 217, (2003). 171–181.Google Scholar
Prescott, J.R., and Hutton, J.T. Cosmic ray contributions to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variations. Radiation Measurements 23, (1994). 497–500.Google Scholar
Reeves, J.M., Chivas, A.R., Garcia, A., and De Deckker, P. Palaeoenvironmental change in the Gulf of Carpentaria (Australia) since the last interglacial based on Ostracoda. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 246, (2007). 163–187.Google Scholar
Reeves, J.M., Chivas, A.R., García, A., Holt, S., Couapel, M.J.J., Jones, B.G., Cendón, D.I., and Fink, D. The sedimentary record of palaeoenvironments and sea-level change in the Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia, through the last glacial cycle. Quaternary International 183, (2008). 3–22.Google Scholar
Ren, M.-E., and Shi, Y.-L. Sediment discharge of the Yellow River (China) and its effect on the sedimentation of the Bohai and the Yellow Sea. Continental Shelf Research 6, (1986). 785–810.Google Scholar
Shackleton, N.J. Oxygen isotopes, ice volume and sea level. Quaternary Science Reviews 6, (1987). 183–190.Google Scholar
Sher, A. Is there any real evidence for a huge ice sheet in East Siberia?. Quaternary International 28, (1995). 39–40.Google Scholar
Siddall, M., Rohling, E.J., Almogi-Labin, A., Hemleben, Ch., Meischner, D., Schmelzer, I., and Smeed, D.A. Sea-level fluctuations during the last glacial cycle. Nature 423, (2003). 853–858.Google Scholar
Siegert, M.J., Dowdeswell, J.A., Hald, M., and Svendsen, J.-I. Modelling the Eurasian Ice Sheet through a full (Weichselian) glacial cycle. Global and Planetary Change 31, (2001). 367–385.Google Scholar
Stanley, D.J., and Chen, Z.Y. Yangtze delta, eastern China: 1. Geometry and subsidence of Holocene depocenter. Marine Geology 112, (1993). 1–11.Google Scholar
Stanley, D.J., and Chen, Z.Y. Neolithic settlement distributions as a function of sea level-controlled topography in the Yangtze delta, China. Geology 24, (1996). 1083–1086.Google Scholar
Syvitski, J.P.M., Kettner, A.J., Overeem, I., Hutton, E.W.H., Hannon, M.T., Brakenridge, G.R., Day, J., Vörösmarty, C., Saito, Y., Giosan, L., and Nicholls, R.J. Sinking deltas due to human activities. Nature Geoscience 2, (2009). 681–686.Google Scholar
Ta, T.K.O., Nguyen, V.L., Tateishi, M., Kobayashi, I., Tanabe, S., and Saito, Y. Holocene delta evolution and sediment discharge of the Mekong River, southern Vietnam. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 1807–1819.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanabe, S., Saito, Y., Sato, Y., Suzuki, Y., Sinsakul, S., Tiyapairach, S., and Chaimanee, N. Stratigraphy and Holocene evolution of the mud-dominated Chao Phraya delta, Thailand. Quaternary Science Reviews 22, (2003). 789–907.Google Scholar
Waelbroeck, C., Labeyrie, L., Michel, E., Duplessy, J.C., McManus, J.F., Lambeck, K., Balbon, E., and Labracherie, M. Sea-level and deep water temperature changes derived from benthic foraminifera isotopic records. Quaternary Science Reviews 21, (2002). 295–305.Google Scholar
Wageman, J.M., Hilde, T.W.C., and Emery, K.O. Structural framework of East China Sea and Yellow Sea. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 54, (1970). 1611–1643.Google Scholar
Wang, P. Collection of Papers on Marine Micro-faunas. (1980). Ocean Press, Beijing. 204 (in Chinese) Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Chen, Z., and Tao, J. Clay mineral analysis of sediments in the Changjiang delta plain and its application to the Late Quaternary variations of sea level and sediment provenance. Journal of Coastal Research 22, (2006). 683–691.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Z., Zhao, B., Chen, J., and Li, X. Chronostratigraphy and two transgressions during the Late Quaternary in Changjiang delta area. Journal of Palaeogeography 10, (2008). 99–110. (in Chinese, with English abstract) Google Scholar
Wang, Z., Zhuang, C., Saito, Y., Chen, J., Zhan, Q., and Wang, X. Early mid-Holocene sea-level change and coastal environmental response on the southern Yangtze delta plain, China: implications for the rise of Neolithic culture. Quaternary Science Reviews 35, (2012). 51–62.Google Scholar
Weninger, B., and Jöris, O. A 14C age calibration curve for the last 60 ka: the Greenland-Hulu U/Th timescale and its impact on understanding the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition in Western Eurasia. Journal of Human Evolution 55, (2008). 772–781.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wright, J.D., Sheridan, R.E., Miller, K.G., Uptegrove, J., Cramer, B.S., and Browning, J.V. Late Pleistocene sea level on the New Jersey margin: implications to eustasy and deep-sea temperature. Global and Planetary Change 66, (2009). 93–99.Google Scholar
Xiao, S., Li, A., Jiang, F., Li, T., Wan, S., and Huang, P. The history of the Yangtze River entering the sea since the Last Glacial Maximum: a review and looking forward. Journal of Coastal Research 20, (2004). 599–604.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yang, S.L., Milliman, J.D., Li, P., and Xu, K. 50,000 dams later: erosion of the Yangtze river and its delta. Global and Planetary Change 75, (2011). 14–20.Google Scholar
Yoneda, M., Uno, H., Shibata, Y., Suzuki, R., Kumamoto, Y., Yoshida, K., Sasaki, T., Suzuki, A., and Kawahata, H. Radiocarbon marine reservoir ages in the western Pacific estimated by pre-bomb molluscan shells. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 259, (2007). 432–437.Google Scholar
Zhang, Y., Xue, Y.-Q., Wu, J.-C., Yu, J., Wei, Z.-X., and Li, Q.-F. Land subsidence and earth fissures due to groundwater withdrawal in the southern Yangtse delta, China. Environmental Geology 55, (2008). 751–762.Google Scholar
Zhao, B., Wang, Z., Chen, J., and Chen, Z. Marine sediment records and relative sea level change during late Pleistocene in the Changjiang delta area and adjacent continental shelf. Quaternary International 186, (2008). 164–172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhu, R.X., Zhou, L.P., Laj, C., Mazaud, A., and Ding, Z.L. The Blake geomagnetic polarity episode recorded in Chinese loess. Geophysical Research Letters 21, (1994). 697–700.Google Scholar