Sediment discharge of the Huanghe River and its effect on sedimentation of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea

Abstract

The Huanghe (Yellow) River, with annual sediment discharge about 11×10⁸tons, contributes about 17% of the fluvial sediment discharge of world’s 21 major rivers to the ocean because its middle reaches flow across the great Loess Plateau of China. Sediment discharge of the Huanghe River has a widespread and profound effect on sedimentation of the sea. The remarkable shift of its outlet in 1128–1855 A.D. to the South Yellow Sea formed a large subaqueous delta and provided the substrate for an extensive submarine ridge field. The shift of its outlet in the modern delta every 10 years is the main reason why with an extremely heavy sediment input and a micro-tidal environment, the Huanghe River has not succeeded in building a birdfoot delta like the Mississippi. The Huanghe River has consistently brought heavy sediment input to sea at least since 0.7 myr.B.P. Paleochannels, paleosols, cheniers and fossils on the sea bottom indicate that the Yellow Sea was exposed during the late Quaternary glacial low-sea level and the Huanghe River had crossed the continental shelf, discharging its sediment to the Okinawa Trough in about 25,000–15,000 yr.B.P.