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Spatiotemporal variations of deep-sea sediment components and their fluxes since the last glaciation in the northern South China Sea

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Abstract

Sediment components and their fluxes of Cores MD12-3428 (water depth: 903 m), MD12-3433 (water depth: 2125 m), and MD12-3434 (water depth: 2995 m), obtained along a transect on the continental slope of the northern South China Sea, have been conducted to reveal the spatiotemporal variations and the controlling factors of the sediment components and of their fluxes. Results show that deep-sea sediments in the northern South China Sea are composed mainly of terrigenous (59–89%) and carbonate (6–38%) particles, with minor components of opal (1.6–9.4%) and organic matter (0.7–1.9%). Fluxes of terrigenous and carbonate particles reach up to 2.4–21.8 and 0.4–6.5 g cm–2 kyr–1, respectively, values that are one to two orders of magnitude higher than the fluxes of opal and organic matter. Temporal variations of the percentages and fluxes of deep-sea sediment components have displayed clear glacial-interglacial cyclicity since the last glaciation. Terrigenous, opal, and organic matter percentages and their fluxes increas clearly during marine isotope stage 2, while carbonate percentages and fluxes show an opposite variation pattern or are characterized by an unremarkable increase. This implies that deep-sea carbonate in the South China Sea is affected by the dilution of terrigenous inputs during the sea-level lowstand. With increasing water depth along the transect, the terrigenous percentage increases but with largely decreased fluxes. Both the percentage and flux of carbonate decrease, while the percentages and fluxes of opal and organic matter display much more complicated variational features. The spatiotemporal variations of deep-sea sediment components and of their fluxes since the last glaciation in the northern South China Sea are strongly controlled by sea-level fluctuations. Simultaneously, terrigenous supply associated with monsoonal rainfall, marine primary productivity, and the dilution effect between terrigenous and biogenic particles, also play interconnected roles in the sediment accumulation processes.

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Acknowledgements

Sediment samples used in this study were collected during the China-France cooperation cruise “MD190-CIRCEA” (Circulation in East Asian Seas). We would like to thank Wen Ke, Yang Lu, and Huang MengXue for their help with the laboratory analysis of opal and organic matter. The two anonymous reviewers are thankful for their constructive suggestions that greatly improve the paper. The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 91528304, 41530964, 91428310 & 41525020).

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    ShaoHua Zhao, ZhiFei Liu, Quan Chen, XingXing Wang, JiangNan Shi, HaiYan Jin, JingJing Liu & ZhiMin Jian

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  1. ShaoHua Zhao
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Zhao, S., Liu, Z., Chen, Q. et al. Spatiotemporal variations of deep-sea sediment components and their fluxes since the last glaciation in the northern South China Sea. Sci. China Earth Sci. 60, 1368–1381 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-016-9058-6

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