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Sources and transportation of suspended matter and sediment in the southern Yellow Sea: Evidence from stable carbon isotopes

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The concentrations of total suspended matter (TSM) and the compositions of organic stable carbon isotopes of TSM and bottom sediments were analyzed to study the sources of TSM and sediments and the transportation processes. For this study, 284 TSM samples and 64 sediment ones taken from 67 stations along 7 transects and in 5 layers were collected in the southern Yellow Sea on the cruise in May, 1998. The main sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea was obtained by analyzing the distribution characteristics of TSM concentration and particulate organic carbon δ13C values. It was confirmed from the pattern that the bottom layer plays a more important role than the surface one in the transportation processes of terrigenous material to the central deep-water area of the southern Yellow Sea. The Yellow Sea circulation is an important control factor in determining the sediment transportation pattern in the southern Yellow Sea. The carbon isotope signals of sedimentary organic matter confirmed that the main material in sediments with high sedimentation rate in the Shandong subaqueous delta originated from the modern Yellow River. The terrigenous sediments in the deep-water area of the southern Yellow Sea are mainly from the abandoned Yellow River and the modern Yellow River, and a small portion of them are from the modern Yangtze material. The amount of terrigenous material from Korean Peninsula and its influence range are relatively limited. The conclusions derived from TSM and stable carbon isotopes were further confirmed by another independent material source tracer-PAHs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology, First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, 266061, Qingdao, China

    Deling Cai, Xuefa Shi & Yibing Han

  2. State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 710054, Xi’an, China

    Deling Cai, Weijian Zhou, Weiguo Liu & Yunning Cao

  3. Ocean University of Qingdao, 266003, Qingdao, China

    Shufang Zhang

Authors
  1. Deling Cai
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  2. Xuefa Shi
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  3. Weijian Zhou
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  4. Weiguo Liu
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  5. Shufang Zhang
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  6. Yunning Cao
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  7. Yibing Han
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Correspondence to Deling Cai.

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Cai, D., Shi, X., Zhou, W. et al. Sources and transportation of suspended matter and sediment in the southern Yellow Sea: Evidence from stable carbon isotopes. Chin.Sci.Bull. 48 (Suppl 1), 21–29 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02900936

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02900936

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