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We investigate the phased evolution and variation of the South Asian monsoon and resulting weathering intensity and physical erosion in the Himalaya–Karakoram Mountains since late Pliocene time (c. 3.4 Ma) using a comprehensive approach. Neodymium and strontium isotopic compositions and single-grain zircon U–Pb age spectra reveal the sources of the deposits in the east Arabian Sea, and show a combination of sources from the Himalaya and the Karakoram–Kohistan–Ladakh Mountains, with sediments from the Indian Peninsula such as the Deccan Traps or Craton. We interpret shifts in the sediment sources to have been forced by sea-level changes that correlate with South Asian monsoon rainfall variation since late Pliocene time. We collected 908 samples from the International Ocean Discovery Program Hole U1456A, which was drilled in the east Arabian Sea. Time series of hematite content and grain size of the sediments were examined downcore. We found South Asian monsoon precipitation and weathering intensity experienced three phases from late Pliocene time. Lower monsoon precipitation, with a lower variability and strong weathering intensity, occurred during 3.4–2.4 Ma; an increased and more variable South Asian monsoon rainfall, along with strengthened but fluctuating weathering intensity, occurred at 1.8–1.1 Ma; and a reduced rainfall with lower South Asian monsoon precipitation variability and moderate weathering intensity marked the period 1.1–0.1 Ma. Maximum entropy spectral analysis and wavelet transform show that there were orbital-dominated cycles of periods c. 100 and c. 41 ka in these proxy-based time series. We propose that the monsoon, sea level, global temperature and insolation together forced the weathering and erosion in SW Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity and the Pacific Walker Circulation are controlled by the zonal sea surface temperature (SST) gradient between the western and Eastern Equatorial Pacific (EEP) and the corresponding barometric difference. Variations in the zonal SST gradient since the early Pleistocene have primarily been triggered by changes in the SST in the Eastern Equatorial Pacific. However, the response of the ENSO‐like long‐term state to the cooling of the EEP and its coupling role with tropical Pacific climate changes are still not well established. Here we present a high‐resolution grain‐size record spanning the last 2.36 Myr, obtained from marine core sediment located in the West Philippine Sea in order to decipher the tropical pacific climate changes and reveal its controlling mechanism. By combining our data with other long‐term climatic records from the Equatorial Pacific, we demonstrate that the cooling of SST and enhanced upwelling in the EEP resulted in the development of the Walker Circulation and increased monsoon precipitation in Luzon from 2.2 to 1.6 Myr, from 1.2 to 0.8 Myr, and since 0.2 Myr ago. The progressive cooling of the high‐latitudes in the Quaternary may be responsible for our observation here. A newly identified 100 kyr dominant period between 2.2 and 1.6 Myr in the ENSO‐like modulated Pacific climate records indicates that the ENSO‐like system may play a key role in facilitating or responding to the global climate changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the well-reconstructed paleoceanography of the late Quaternary deposits in the East (Japan) Sea (ES), provenances of terrigenous sediments and a comprehensive interpretation of their variations since the Last Glacial Maximum remain unclear, especially in regard to the mainland China- and Taiwan-derived matter. Grain size, conservative trace elements, rare earth elements (REEs), Nd isotope, and clay mineralogy of core sediments from the Ulleung Basin of the ES were investigated for better understanding of detrital sediment provenance and transport process and then their forcing mechanisms over the last 21 kyr. Geochemical–mineralogical multi-indices in this study showed notable three-phase changes in sediment provenance, which can be closely related to sea-level fluctuation, development of the Tsushima Warm Current as well as intermittent influence from the East Asian summer monsoon climate evolution. During Unit 1 (21.1–8.4 kyr BP) when the Tsushima Warm Current was absent in the ES, the paleo-Changjiang and the paleo-Huanghe mouth might be situated close to the study area and thus mainland China could have played major role in the southwestern Ulleung Basin sedimentation. In particular, the formation of rhythmic dark-colored alternation in Unit 1 is possibly attributable to the pulse of paleo-Huanghe discharge associated with centurial- to millennial-scale variability in the East Asian summer monsoon. In Unit 2 (8.4–7.2 kyr BP), these river mouths gradually retreated to their present positions with global sea-level rise, leading to decreasing terrigenous sediment supply from mainland China to the study area. Since 7.2 kyr BP (Unit 3), sedimentation in the Ulleung Basin should still be mainly derived from mainland China. Meanwhile, increasing chlorite/kaolinite ratio but decreasing ε Nd value revealed that terrigenous matter from Taiwan might have been limitedly transported northward to the study area by the fully evolved Tsushima Warm Current. A prominent decline in chlorite/kaolinite ratio, together with contrast change on ε Nd value, centered at around 2.9 kyr BP (3.3–2.4 kyr BP) may have been caused by the Tsushima Warm Current suppression, possibly related to the Pulleniatina minimum event popularly found in the study area and nearby seas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sediment grain-size effect (GSE), a fundamental factor relevant to the interpretation of elemental concentrations and isotopic compositions, has been normalized using conservative elements such as aluminum (Al), cesium (Cs), and lithium (Li) (C ( Al , Cs , Li ) ), which serve as proxies for the natural metal-controlling variables of grain size, mineralogy, and organic matter. However, a secondary GSE reportedly remains even after compensation by the Al-normalization procedure, particularly for the concentrations of transition metals (C T.M ). This secondary effect also occurred in the C ( Li , Cs ) /C Al ratios of the Korean coastal sediments examined in this study. The primary and secondary GSEs on Cs and Li concentrations can be explained by the quartz-dilution effect and the Cs- and Li-incorporation effect of phyllosilicate minerals, respectively, based on a model involving three component end-members: a Cs- and Li-free sand-dominated sediment component consisting mostly of quartz and feldspar, a Cs- and Li-bearing silt-dominated component of mica, and a Cs- and Li-enriched clay-dominated component of illite. Although the primary and secondary GSEs on the concentrations of transition metals (particularly Cu and Ni) in coastal sediments might be normalized by dividing the metal concentrations by the square of the Al concentration (C T.M . /(C Al ) 2 ), the GSEs can also be normalized by dividing the concentrations by the exact Cs (or Li) concentration (C T.M . /C Cs ). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Coastal zoning aids environmental impact assessment. • Sediment textural and geochemical properties are key characters affecting zoning. • This (Ahn et al., 2001) study applies sediment characters to science-based marine spatial planning. • The South Korean coast can be scientifically divided into three zones. The three zones partly coincide with the previous arbitrarily categorized blocks. • A primary factor constraining the zoning in this case study is tidal range. To assess the environmental impacts of offshore wind farming and sea sand mining, coastal areas are zoned on the basis of their natural oceanographic characteristics. Textural and geochemical properties of South Korean coastal sediments, including mean grain size (Mz), CaCO 3 and organic-matter contents, and metal concentrations (Al, K, Ba, rare earth elements, Zr, etc.), were analyzed and categorized in this case study, practically applying common sediment properties for rational zoning of the South Korean coastal environment. Three characteristic zones are scientifically classified in the study area, although four groups of sediment sampling stations were statistically clustered based on their major sediment properties. Zone 1, in the northwestern part of the Korean west coast, is characterized as covered with coarse-grained sediments containing low concentrations of the measured elements under a macro-tidal regime (6.5–9 m), while Zone 3 is characterized by fine-grained sediments with high elemental concentrations under a micro-tidal regime (>3.5 m). Silty Zone 2 sediments appear to be a mixture of sandy Zone 1 and muddy Zone 3 sediments under a meso-tidal regime. The difference in tidal forces among the zones is proposed as a primary constraint of overall sediment textural and geochemical characteristics, while sediment provenance provides subsequent control. Sediment contamination with anthropogenic pollutants is unperceivable in this case study. However, the K and Li concentrations in coarse-grained feldspar and fine-grained illite, respectively, are likely not limited by the tidal flow regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late Quaternary paleoceanography and paleoenvironment of the South China Sea (SCS) have been well reconstructed over the last decade. In contrast, the provenance of the terrigenous sediments that have accumulated in the northwestern continental shelf mud area remains enigmatic. This study investigated the provenance of these sediments and the paleoenvironmental changes archived in Core X2 via the analysis of geochemical elements, grain size, and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C ages. Based on the upper continental crust (UCC)-normalized REE patterns and REE fractionation parameters, southwestern and western Taiwanese rivers and the Pearl River were identified as the main sources of the fine-grained sediment deposited in the northwestern shelf mud area off Hainan Island. This finding further confirms the long-distance transport (> 1000 km) of fine-grained sediment from Taiwanese rivers to the northern SCS shelf and slope. Obvious changes in the grain size and Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) record occurred at approximately 4.0 cal kyr BP and were likely caused by increased Hainan Island inputs due to sea level changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzed grain size and elemental concentrations (Al, Mg, Fe, and rare earth elements (REEs)) in 91 surface sediments to elucidate sediment provenance in the Yellow Sea. Elemental concentrations were normalized by Al concentration ( C element / C Al ) to minimize the sediment grain-size effect (GSE). However, noticeable linear relationships between Al concentration (or mean grain size) and the ratio (e.g., Mg/Al or Fe/Al) appeared unexpectedly in pair diagrams. The spatial distribution patterns of Fe/Al and Mg/Al ratios were also similar to the pattern of mean grain size. This implies that the GSE was not removed completely, even after the normalization process. Thus, great care must be taken when applying the ratios of C element / C Al as a proxy of sediment provenance. To improve provenance discrimination of the sediments in the Yellow Sea, the difference between the REE distribution patterns of Chinese and Korean river sediments, expressed as δ ( δ = REE ∗ (La) − REE ∗ (Lu)), was calculated, and the spatial distribution patterns of the δ values were mapped. The δ values gradually increased from the western to the eastern part of the Yellow Sea, except for low δ values in the southeastern part of the Yellow Sea. This result indicates that the majority of Chinese and Korean river sediments are accumulating near to their respective coasts, except for a deposit along the southwestern coast of Korea in which a considerable amount of sediment from Chinese rivers has been accumulating. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]