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The Okinawa Trough is a natural laboratory for the study of air-sea interaction and paleoenvironmental change. It has been demonstrated that present offshore export of particles in the bottom nepheloid layer occur primarily with downwelling from the northeast winter monsoon, which is inhibited by a transverse circulation pattern in summer. This current system was very different during the Last Glacial Maximum owing to low sea level (−120 m) and exposure of a large shelf area. We collected sediment core Oki01 from the middle Okinawa Trough during 2012 using R/V Kexue No. 1 to elucidate the timing and cause of the current system transition in the East China Sea. Clay mineral, dry density, and elemental (Ti, Ca) composition of core Oki01 was analyzed. The results indicate that clay minerals derived mainly from the Huanghe (Yellow) and the Changjiang (Yangtze) Rivers during 16.0-11.6 ka, and the modern current system in the East China Sea formed beginning in the early Holocene. Therefore, mixing of East China Sea continental shelf, Changjiang River and partially Taiwan Island sediment are the major contributors. The decrease of log(Ti/Ca) and alternating provenance since the early Holocene indicate less sediment from the East China in summer because of resistance of the modern current system, i.e., a 'water barrier' and upwelling. Conversely, sediment delivery persists in winter and log(Ti/Ca) indicates the winter monsoon signal since the early Holocene. Our evidence also suggests that sediment from Taiwan Island could be transported by the Kuroshio Current to the middle Okinawa Trough, where it mingles with winter monsoon-induced export of sediment from the Changjiang River and East China Sea continental shelf. Although the present research advances understanding of the evolutionary history of paleoenvironmental change in the Okinawa Trough, more sediment cores should be retrieved over wide areas to construct a larger scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The South Yellow Sea (SYS) is strongly influenced by the substantial sediment loads of the Huanghe (Yellow) (including the modern Huanghe and abandoned old Huanghe subaqueous delta) and Changjiang (Yangtze) Rivers. However, the dispersal patterns of these sediments, especially in the western SYS, have not been clearly illustrated. In this study, we have analyzed clay minerals, detrital minerals, and grain sizes for 245 surface sediment samples (0-5 cm) collected from the western SYS. The clay minerals, on average, consist of 67% illite, 14% smectite, 11% chlorite, and 8% kaolinite. Clay minerals, detrital minerals, and grain size analyses of surface sediments, combined with water mass hydrology analysis, reveal that sediments in the western SYS are mainly derived from the modern Huanghe River, the abandoned subaqueous delta of the old Huanghe River, some material from the Changjiang, and coastal erosion. The clay minerals (especially illite and smectite) and quartz/feldspar ratio distribution patterns, reveal that the influence of modern Huanghe sediments can reach 35°N in the northwestern part of the study area, an influence that can be enhanced especially in winter owing to northerly winds. Conversely, sediments along the Jiangsu coast are mixed, in summer, with material from the Changjiang arriving via northward flow of Changjiang Diluted Water. The Subei Coastal Current carries the refreshed sediments northward into the western SYS. Sediment distribution and transport in the western SYS are mainly controlled by the oceanic circulation system that is primarily related to the monsoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a paleoflood study to determine the flood frequency of the Changjiang River, based on core cj0702, taken from the Changjiang River subaqueous delta. We identified flood deposits by means of high-resolution grain-size variation, sensitive population, geochemical indexes and magnetic susceptibility. The core covers a time span of 120 years by Pb dating and was sampled at 1-2 cm intervals. Grain size, geochemical elements, and physical parameters were analyzed. The results indicate that the sediment of the core is mainly composed of silt and clay, as well as groups of interbedded silt, clay silt, and clay. Vertically, the grain size pattern was controlled by seasonal variations in water discharge and by the sediment input in winter from the abandoned Huanghe River delta. River flooding caused extreme values in all our measured parameters. We identified more than 20 flood events that occurred since 1887 using the physical parameter analysis method. The environmentally sensitive component of sediment grain size (14.32-96.39 μm) contribution>30%, Zr/Rb ratio>1.5, and magnetic susceptibility>16 were selected as the criteria for flood identification generally. We also found that floods that had taken place in the upstream, midstream, or downstream parts of the river were clearly identified by these indexes while the large-scale floods that covered the whole drainage area did not leave clear indications in the sediment record. This study for identification of flood events is of great significance for understanding hyperpycnal current sedimentation as well as for forecasting of floods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the provenance and evolution of eolian input in the last 1.95 Ma in the Parece Vela Basin in the eastern Philippine Sea, the clay mineral assemblage of a gravity core PV090510 from the basin was investigated using paleogeomagnetic dating and X-ray diffraction. The assemblage of the core mainly consisted of smectite (∼46%) and illite (∼40%), with some chlorite (∼10%) and kaolinite (∼4%). Analysis of the provenance of these minerals suggested that smectite was mainly derived from volcanic rocks of the Mariana Arc, while illite, chlorite, and kaolinite were mainly transported as eolian dust by the East Asian monsoon from central Asia. We used the ratio of (illite+chlorite+kaolinite)/smectite as a proxy for Asian eolian input to the Parece Vela Basin since 1.95 Ma. This ratio followed glacial and interglacial cycles and was consistent with the intensity of the East Asian monsoon and aridity of central Asia since 1.95 Ma. The changes of the ratio reflected three different stages of the East Asian monsoon and provenance climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To decipher the sedimentary evolution and environmental changes since the late Last Deglaciation, two gravity cores were analyzed from the western North Yellow Sea (NYS). The two cores (B-L44 and B-U35) were sampled for grain size, clay minerals, detrital minerals, and C dating. They are comparable in lithofaies, and the observed succession was divided into four depositional units based on lithology and mineral assemblages, which recorded the postglacial transgression. Depositional unit 4 (DU 4) (before 11.5 ka) was characterized with enrichment in sand, and was interpreted as nearshore deposits in shallow water during the Younger Dryas Event. DU 3 (11.5-9.6 ka) displayed a fining-upward succession composed of sediments from local rivers, such as the Huanghe (Yellow) River, and from coastal erosion, which clearly were related to the Early Holocene transgression. Stable muddy deposition (DU 2) in NYS began to form at about 9.6 ka, which received direct supply of fine materials from the Shandong subaqueous clinoform. It is believed that the Yellow Sea circulation system played a major role in controlling the formation of fine sediment deposition in DU 1 (after 6.4 ka) after the sea level maximum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]