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[Display omitted] • High-frequency oscillation of SSH-induced pressure gradient forces can trigger offshore transport. • Offshore transport of coastal waters has a significant relationship with PB occurrences. • The influence of atypical wind patterns on long-term ecosystem impacts should not be ignored. The East China Shelf Sea (ECSS) is subject to high-frequency storms during winter and spring, with these storm processes serving as a significant driving factor for initiating the outward diffusion of materials from the inner shelf. Inner shelf waters tend to be rich in nutrients, thus their horizontal diffusion is crucial to the marine primary productivity of the outer shelf. However, our understanding of the processes that govern the offshore water mass transport under winter storm oscillations and the mechanisms driving their impact on phytoplankton is currently limited. In this study, we used satellite and reanalysis data from 2003 to 2020 to investigate the modulation mechanism of winter offshore currents (WOC) on phytoplankton bloom (PB) stimulated by storms in Northern Taiwan (NTW). The results revealed that at synoptic scales, winter storms result in higher sea surface height (SSH) and potential energy on the inner side of the front. However, during periods of weakened storms (for example, during north wind relaxation or a shift to southerly winds), a strong WOC is produced in the top 30–50 m of the ocean due to continuous SSH adjustments caused by changed pressure gradients and induced by topography. PB occurs in the offshore waters of the front, driven by a continuous nutrient supply and an increase in photosynthetically available radiation (PAR). On an interannual scale, offshore transport is controlled by the storm's duration and the extent of its weakening. As the climate warms and winter winds in NTW have consistently weakened over the past 20 years, lower turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) and a shallower mixed layer depth (MLD) will promote phytoplankton growth. The results suggest that water level fluctuations caused by high-frequency changes in winter storms are strongly linked to the offshore sediment transport from near-shore waters, impacting the material transport and the health of the ecosystem on the continental shelf. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coastal regions, typhoons are one of the most frequent natural disasters, and instrumental data indicate that they can greatly boost marine primary productivity. Typhoons' long-term ecological repercussions, however, are still little understood. To investigate the ecological effects of typhoons since the mid-Holocene, we focused on the sediment cores in the East China Sea, with key parameters of organic C N and Bio-Si to reveal the paleo-productivity variation. Over a millennium, the occurrence of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has had a substantial impact on primary productivity in the southern East China Sea. The primary productivity in the southern East China Sea was risen by humid climate conditions in ∼3.0–2.0 ka and frequent typhoons in 1.5–0 ka. With a millennial period, ENSO frequency has been significantly influencing primary productivity in the southern East China Sea since the mid-Holocene. During 1.5–0 ka, frequent ENSO events have led to more frequent typhoons, which caused terrestrial materials input and water vertically mix in the southern East China Sea, ultimately increasing primary productivity. Particularly on a centennial time scale, ENSO phases determined how much primary productivity was increased, and this magnitude was bigger during the La Niña-like periods than it was during the El Niño-like periods since La Niña is when typhoons occur more frequently. During the Little Ice Age, the cold climate hindered the reproduction of phytoplankton, but increased human activities in Taiwan resulted in more soil erosion and the supply of terrestrial-derived nutrients into the sea, then amplified the typhoon-induced increase in primary productivity. As a result, this stage showed the highest primary productivity since the mid-Holocene. This study reveals that frequent typhoons promote marine primary productivity on centennial-millennial timescales and emphasizes that human activities amplify the ecological effect of typhoons in recent centuries. [Display omitted] • Frequent typhoons caused by ENSO led to higher primary productivity in the southern East China Sea during 1.5–0 ka. • The La Niña periods exhibited higher primary productivity than the El Niño periods in the southern East China Sea. • The anthropogenic activity amplified the typhoon-induced rise in primary productivity during the Little Ice Age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Changjiang (i.e., Yangtze River) distal mud is a typical region for studying source-to-sink systems in the world. The coupling between climate change and the sedimentary system evolution of the Changjiang distal mud since the Holocene is widely debated. In this study, based on a 14C chronological framework, we investigated the sedimentary system evolution of the Changjiang distal mud since 8 ka. The provenance identification and climate conditions indicated that the climate oscillation largely determined the sediment source-to-sink processes. The sedimentary system was controlled by monsoon system oscillation from 8 to 3 ka. Specifically, during 8–5.4 ka, the prevailing Indian and east Asian summer monsoons increased the sediment flux to the Changjiang distal mud, and the proportion of the Changjiang sediments increased across the entire Changjiang distal mud. Notably, the southern regions were significantly influenced by western Taiwan rivers. Additionally, the prevailing east Asian winter monsoon enhanced the Zhejiang-Fujian coastal current, resulting in the deposition rates increased in south while declined in north. During 5.4–3.0 ka, the summer monsoon systems attenuated, causing decreased sediment discharges from the Changjiang and Taiwan, and the deposition rates declined across the entire Changjiang distal mud. In the southern regions, the intensified Taiwan warm current increased the proportion of Taiwan sediments. Since 3 ka, the monsoon system has become stable, and anthropogenic activities in south China have increased remarkably. The anthropogenic activities resulted in increased Changjiang sediments and rose deposition rates across the entire Changjiang distal mud. During 1.2–0 ka, the frequent floods in the Changjiang basins and typhoons in Taiwan, caused by increased El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) frequency, resulted in provenance fluctuation at the Changjiang distal mud. In addition, the attenuated east Asian winter monsoon caused a northward depocenter shift, which was reflected in spatially different deposition rates, i.e., retained high values in the north but declined in the south. Our findings emphasized the dominant roles of different climatic factors in different stages, and enhance our understanding of the east Asia land-ocean interactions and the relationships among the Earth's spheres since the mid-Holocene. • Sedimentary system of Changjiang distal mud displayed spatiotemporal difference. • The monsoons controlled sedimentary system of Changjiang distal mud before 3 ka. • Human activity has led to increased sediment supply from Yangtze River since 3 ka. • The frequent ENSO resulted in fluctuant provenance in the Changjiang distal mud. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The terrigenous sediment source-to-sink processes in continental margins are determined by complex interactions among climate, sediment discharge, sea level and oceanic circulations on various temporal and spatial scales. The northeastern South China Sea (NSCS) margin is a natural laboratory to catch a glimpse of these processes due to large amounts of terrigenous sediment inputs and continuous sedimentations during the late Quaternary. Based on a 35 m-long sedimentary sequence (core MD12-3429) retrieved from the NSCS upper continental slope, we distinguished sediment sources based on geochemical compositions, and then linked sedimentary responses to sea level change and Kuroshio intrusion over the past 244 kyrs via various sedimentary records including mass accumulation rates (MAR), foraminifera data, grain-size end-member modeling (EMM) and spectral analysis. Geochemical proxies including major element ratios and fractionation parameters of rare earth elements suggest that the detrital sediment in the core was derived primarily from the Taiwan. The MAR of terrigenous sediment yields an average 9.6 g/cm2/kyr, and high MAR values are both observed in glacial and interglacial intervals. The results of EMM reveal three end-members with dominant modal grain sizes of 6.6 μm (EM1), 26.3 μm (EM2) and 49 μm (EM3), respectively. The temporal variations of the finest end-member (EM1) and the coarsest end-member (EM3) demonstrate clearly glacial-interglacial cyclicity, and the spectral analysis indicates the dominance of 100-kyr eccentricity, which suggests that sea level changes are the first-order control for the NSCS continental margin sedimentation. In addition, the temporal variations in hydrodynamic sensitive component (EM2) and its MAR display gradually increasing trends with weakening East Asian monsoon. Combing with modern observation and modeling results, we suggest that enhanced Kuroshio intrusion might account for the transport of Taiwan-derived sediment during the late Quaternary. As indicated by a 31 kyr periodicity in EM2, we infer that the development of El Niño-like condition strengthened the intrusion of oligotrophic Kuroshio from the Luzon Strait, resulting in the obvious increase of Taiwan terrigenous MAR but decreases of the primary productivity in the northeastern South China Sea. This study provides deep insight into the complex terrigenous sediment source-to-sink processes in a fast-changing marginal sea environment during the late Quaternary. • Sea-level change was the primary control for terrigenous sediment source-to-sink processes in the NSCS since MIS7. • Strengthened intrusion of Kuroshio dominated Taiwan sediments transport. • Kuroshio intrusion and ENSO forcing were coupled on glacial-interglacial scale. • Grain size end-member modeling provides insights into sedimentary response to changes of sea level and oceanic circulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]