Abstract
Sediment carbon sequestration plays an essential role in mitigating atmospheric CO2 increases and the subsequently global greenhouse effect. To clarify the late Quaternary strata and carbon burial records in Yellow River delta (YRD), detailed analysis of benthic foraminifera, total carbon (TC), organic carbon (Corg), sedimentary characteristics and moisture contents of sediments, was performed on core ZK3, 30.3 m in length and obtained from YRD in 2007. Eight depositional units (designated U1-U8 in ascending order) were identified. A comprehensive analysis method of historical geography and sedimentary geology was used to determine the precise depositional ages of the modern Yellow River delta (MYRD), from which pre-MYRD ages were deduced. The results indicates that the maximum burial rates of TC, inorganic carbon (IC) and Corg occurred in the delta front (U5), and the minimum in the shallow sea (U3). Remarkable high sedimentation rates in the MYRD are responsible for burial efficiency of carbon, with an average rate of Corg burial reaching 2087±251 g (m2 yr)−1, and that of IC reaching 13741±808 g (m2 yr)−1, which are much higher than those of other regions with high contents of Corg. Therefore, YRD has a significant burial efficiency for carbon sequestration.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bak, Y. S., 2014. Mid-Holocene sea-level fluctuation inferred from diatom analysis from sediments on the west coast of Korea. Quaternary International, DOI: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.08.018.
Bornhold, B. D., Yang, Z. S., Keller, G. H., Prior, D. B., Wiseman, W. J., Wang Jr., Q., Wright, L. D., Xu, W. D., and Zhuang, Z. Y., 1986. Sedimentary framework of the modern Huanghe (Yellow River) delta. Geo-Marine Letters, 6 (2): 77–83.
Bridgham, S., Megonigal, J. P., Keller, J., Bliss, N., and Trettin, C., 2006. The carbon balance of North American wetlands. Wetlands, 26 (4): 889–916.
Cai, W. J., Guo, X. H., Chen, C. T. A., Dai, M. H., Zhang, L. J., Zhai, W. D., Lohrenz, S. E., Yin, K. D., Harrison, P. J., and Wang, Y. C., 2008. A comparative overview of weathering intensity and HCO3-flux in the world’s major rivers with emphasis on the Changjiang, Huanghe, Zhujiang (Pearl) and Mississippi Rivers. Continental Shelf Research, 28 (12): 1538–1549.
Cheng, G. D., and Xue, C. T., 1997. Sedimentary Geology on the Yellow River Delta. Geological Publishing House, Beijing, 48–55(in Chinese).
Cheng, G. D., Xue, C. T., and Zhou, Y. Q., 1987. Stratum of late stage of Late Pleistocene and Holocene epoch in the Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 7 (Suppl.): 63–73 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Chmura, G. L., Anisfeld, S. C., Cahoon, D. R., and Lynch, J. C., 2003. Global carbon sequestration in tidal, saline wetland soils. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 17 (4): 1111.
Craft, C., 2007. Freshwater input structures soil properties, vertical accretion, and nutrient accumulation of Georgia and U.S tidal marshes. Limnology and Oceanography, 52 (3): 1220–1230.
Davis, A. M., Aitchison, J. C., Flood, P. G., Morton, B. S., Baker, R. G. V., and Haworth, R. J., 2000. Late Holocene higher sea-level indicators from the South China coast. Marine Geology, 171 (1–4): 1–5.
Ding, Y. R., Ye, S. Y., and Zhao, Q. S., 2012. Nutrients and carbon sequestration in the newly created wetlands of Yellow River delta. Geological Review, 58 (1): 183–189 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Fan, D. J., Yang, Z. S., and Guo, Z. G., 2000. Review of 210pb dating in the continental shelf of china. Advance in Earth Science, 12 (2): 297–302 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Gattuso, J. P., Frankignoulle, M., Bourge, I., Romaine, S., and Buddemeier, R. W., 1998. Effect of calcium carbonate saturation of seawater on coral calcification. Global and Planetary Change, 18 (1–2): 37–46.
Hanebuth, T. J. J., Voris, H. K., Yokoyama, Y., Saito, Y., and Okuno, J., 2011. Formation and fate of sedimentary depocentres on Southeast Asia’s Sunda Shelf over the past sealevel cycle and biogeographic implications. Earth-Science Reviews, 104 (1–3): 92–110.
Holser, A. F., 1988. Offshore lands of the USA: The US exclusive economic zone, continental shelf and outer continental shelf. Marine Policy, 12 (1): 2–8.
Kakroodi, A. A., Leroy, S. A. G., Kroonenberg, S. B., Lahijani, H. A. K., Alimohammadian, H., Boomer, I., and Goorabi, A., 2015. Late Pleistocene and Holocene sea-level change and coastal paleoenvironment evolution along the Iranian Caspian shore. Marine Geology, 361: 111–125.
Lettens, S., van Orshoven, J. O. S., van Wesemael, B. A. S., Muys, B., and Perrin, D., 2005. Soil organic carbon changes in landscape units of Belgium between 1960 and 2000 with reference to 1990. Global Change Biology, 11 (12): 2128–2140.
Levitus, S., Antonov, J. I., Wang, J., Delworth, T. L., Dixon, K. W., and Broccoli, A. J., 2001. Anthropogenic warming of earth’s climate system. Science, 292 (5515): 267–270.
Li, G. G., Hu, B. Q., Bi, J. Q., Song, Z. L., Bu, R. Y., and Li, J. M., 2013. Stratigraphic evolution of the Huanghe delta (Bohai Sea) since the Late Quaternary and its paleoenvironmental implications: Evidence from core ZK1. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 31 (6): 1050–1058 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Li, G. X., and Xue, C. T., 1993. Sediment thickness, sedimentation rate and silt body shape of the Yellow River subaqueous delta lobe. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 13 (4): 35–44 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Li, G. X., Cheng, G. D., Wei, H. L., Pan, W. G., Ren, Y. C., Ding, D., Zhou, Y. Q., and Zhao, J. R., 1994. Shear zone of flow field in the modern Yellow River estuary. Chinese Science, 39 (10): 928–932 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Li, G. X., Zhuang, Z. Y., and Han, D. L., 1998. Stratigraphic sequence and characteristics of geological environment since the late period of last glacial age along southern shore of Bohai Sea. Journal of Ocean University of Qingdao, 28 (1): 161–166 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Liu, J., Saito, Y., Wang, H., Yang, Z., and Nakashima, R., 2007. Sedimentary evolution of the Holocene subaqueous clinoform off the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea. Marine Geology, 236 (3–4): 165–187.
Liu, J., Saito, Y., Wang, H., Zhou, L., and Yang, Z., 2009. Stratigraphic development during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene offshore of the Yellow River delta, Bohai Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 36 (4–5): 318–331.
Liu, S. F., Zhuang, Z. Y., Lv, H. Q., and Fan, D. J., 2006. The strata and environmental evolution in the Late Quaternary in the Chengdao area and modern Yellow River delta coast. Transactions of Oceanology and Limnology, 2006 (4): 32–37 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Liu, X. J., Wang, Y. H., Li, G. X., Sun, T., and Zhang, W. G., 2014. Stratigraphy evolution of the Diaokou Lobe area in the Huanghe delta since Holocene: Implication from grain size and magnetic properties. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 32 (3): 518–526 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Mackenzie, F. T., Andersson, A., Lerman, A., and Ver, L. M., 2005. Boundary Exchanges in the Global Coastal Margin: Implications for the Organic and Inorganic Carbon Cycles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 193–225.
Nair, V., Graetz, D., Reddy, K. R., and Olila, O., 2001. Soil development in phosphate-mined created wetlands of Florida, USA. Wetlands, 21 (2): 232–239.
Olson, K. R., 2013. Soil organic carbon sequestration, storage, retention and loss in U.S. croplands: Issues paper for protocol development. Geoderma, 195–196: 201–206.
Pang, J. Z., and Jiang, M. X., 2003. On the evolution of the Yellow River estuary (Part II). Transactions of Oceanology and Limnology, 2003 (4): 1–13 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Pang, J. Z., and Si, S. H., 1979. The estuary changes of Huanghe River I. Changes in modern time. Oceanologia et Limnologia Sinica, 10 (2): 136–141 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Prior, D. B., Yang, Z. S., Bornhold, B. D., Keller, G. H., Lin, Z. H., Wiseman, W. J., Jr. Wright, L. D., and Lin, T. C., 1986. The subaqueous delta of the modern Huanghe (Yellow River). Geo-Marine Letters, 6 (2): 67–75.
Qiao, S., Shi, X., Saito, Y., Li, X., Yu, Y., Bai, Y., Liu, Y., Wang, K., and Yang, G., 2011. Sedimentary records of natural and artificial Huanghe (Yellow River) channel shifts during the Holocene in the southern Bohai Sea. Continental Shelf Research, 31 (13): 1336–1342.
Ran, L., Lu, X. X., Sun, H., Han, J., Li, R., and Zhang, J., 2013. Spatial and seasonal variability of organic carbon transport in the Yellow River, China. Journal of Hydrology, 498: 76–88.
Rashid, T., Suzuki, S., Sato, H., Monsur, M. H., and Saha, S. K., 2013. Relative sea-level changes during the Holocene in Bangladesh. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 64: 136–150.
Riley, J. P., and Chester, R., 1971. Introduction to Marine Chemistry. Academic Press, New York, 465pp.
Rolett, B. V., Zheng, Z., and Yue, Y., 2011. Holocene sea-level change and the emergence of Neolithic seafaring in the Fuzhou Basin (Fujian, China). Quaternary Science Reviews, 30 (7–8): 788–797.
Saito, Y., Yang, Z., and Hori, K., 2001. The Huanghe (Yellow River) and Changjiang (Yangtze River) deltas: A review on their characteristics, evolution and sediment discharge during the Holocene. Geomorphology, 41 (2–3): 219–231.
Schlesinger, W. H., 1990. Evidence from chronosequence studies for a low carbon-storage potential of soils. Nature, 348 (6298): 232–234.
Schlesinger, W. H., and Bernhardt, E. S., 2013. The Global Cycles of Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Academic Press, Boston, 445–467.
Sommer, R., and Bossio, D., 2014. Dynamics and climate change mitigation potential of soil organic carbon sequestration. Journal of Environmental Management, 144: 83–87.
Su, Z. Y., Xiong, Y. M., Zhu, J. Y., Ye, Y. C., and Ye, M., 2006. Soil organic carbon content and distribution in a small landscape of Dongguan, South China. Pedosphere, 16 (1): 10–17.
Turner, R. E., Baustian, J. J., Swenson, E. M., and Spicer, J. S., 2006. Wetland sedimentation from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Science (NY), 314: 449–452.
Wang, F., Li, J., Chen, Y., Fang, J., Zong, Y., Shang, Z., and Wang, H., 2015. The record of mid-Holocene maximum landward marine transgression in the west coast of Bohai Bay, China. Marine Geology, 359: 89–95.
Wang, H. J., Yang, Z. S., Saito, Y., Liu, J. P., Sun, X. X., and Wang, Y., 2007. Stepwise decreases of the Huanghe (Yellow River) sediment load (1950–2005): Impacts of climate change and human activities. Global and Planetary Change, 57 (3–4): 331–354.
Wang, Z. H., and Huang, S. G., 1988. Using recent years’ sea chart and the ancient map to study Yellow River variance. Coastal Engineering, 7 (2): 47–58 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Wright, L. D., Wiseman, W. J., Bornhold, B. D., Prior, D. B., Suhayda, J. N., Keller, G. H., Yang, Z. S., and Fan, Y. B., 1988. Marine dispersal and deposition of Yellow River silts by gravity-driven underflows. Nature, 332 (6165): 629–632.
Xian, B. Z., and Jiang, Z. X., 2005. Environment evolution and eustatic change of Holocene in the Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 25 (3): 1–7 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xu, J. S., Meng, Y., Zhang, X. L., and Liu, D. W., 2006. Palaeogeographic environmental evolution in the Huanghe River estuary since Late Pleistocene. Quaternary Science, 26 (3): 327–333 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xu, N. Z., Zhang, T. L., Wang, X. X., and Liu, H. Y., 2011. Soil organic carbon storage changes in Yangtze Delta region, China. Environment Earth Science, 63: 1021–1028.
Xue, C. T., 1993. Historical changes in the Yellow River delta, China. Marine Geology, 113 (3–4): 321–330.
Xue, C. T., Li, S. Q., and Zhou, Y. Q., 2008. Sedimentary record of Yellow River delta superlobe in 11-1099. Acta Sedimentologica Sinica, 26 (5): 804–812 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Xue, C. T., Ye, S. Y., Gao, M. S., and Ding, X. G., 2009. Determination of depositional age in the Huanghe Delta in China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 31 (1): 117–124 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Yang, H. R., and Wang, J., 1990. Quaternary transgressions and coastline changes in Huanghe River (Yellow River) delta. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology, 10 (3): 1–14 (in Chinese).
Yao, Z. Q., Shi, X. F., Liu, Q. S., Liu, Y. G., Larrasoaña, J. C., Liu, J. X., Ge, S. L., Wang, K. S., Qiao, S. Q., Li, X. Y., Shi, F. D., Fang, X. S., Yu, Y. G., Yang, G., and Duan, Z. Q., 2014. Paleomagnetic and astronomical dating of sediment core BH08 from the Bohai Sea, China: Implications for glacialinterglacial sedimentation. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 393: 90–101.
Ye, S. Y., Laws, E. A., Yuknis, N., Ding, X. G., Yuan, H. M., Zhao, G. M., Wang, J., Yu, X. Y., Pei, S. F., and DeLaune, R. D., 2015. Carbon sequestration and soil accretion in coastal wetland communities of the Yellow River delta and Liaohe delta, China. Estuaries and Coasts, DOI: 10.1007/s12237-014-9927-x.
Yu, J., Wang, Y., Li, Y., Dong, H., Zhou, D., Han, G., Wu, H., Wang, G., Mao, P., and Gao, Y., 2012. Soil organic carbon storage changes in coastal wetlands of the modern Yellow River delta from 2000 to 2009. Biogeosciences, 9 (6): 2325–2331.
Yu, K. F., Zhao, J. X., Done, T., and Chen, T. G., 2009. Microatoll record for large century-scalsea-level fluctuations in the mid-Holocene. Quaternary Research, 71 (3): 354–360.
Zhang, F. J., Xue, B., Yao, S. C., and Gui, Z. F., 2013. Organic carbon burial rates in Chinese lake sediments during Holocene Megathermal. Quaternary Sciences, 33 (2): 401–402 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhang, W. Y., Jin, H. Y., Zhang, F. Y., Zhao, G. J., Yang, K. H., Li, H. L., Bai, Y. C., and Gao, W. L., 2009. Organic Carbon distribution in the Yangtze River estuary-Hangzhou Bay and its adjacent sea area. Advances in Earth Science, 24 (11): 1202–1209 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhao, G. M., Ye, Q., Xue, C. T., Ma, Y. Y., and Ye, S. Y., 2013. Surface sediments, sedimentary subenvironments and shoreline evolution of modern Yellow River delta. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 33 (5): 47–52 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhao, G. M., Ye, S. Y., Ding, X. G., Yuan, H. M., and Wang, J., 2014. Sedimentary environmental partitioning of holocene strata and assessment of carbon burial rate of various paleoenvironments in the Yellow River detla. Earth Science–Journal of China University of Geosciences, 39 (4): 451–461 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zhu, D., 1993. The Encyclopedia of Chinese River Systems. Qingdao Publication, Qingdao, 642pp (in Chinese).
Zhuang, Z. Y., Xu, W. D., Liu, D. S., Zhuang, L. H., Liu, B. Z., Cao, Y. Y., and Wang, Q., 1999. Division and environmental evolution of Late Quaternary marine beds of S3 hole in the Bohai Sea. Marine Geology and Quaternary Geology, 19 (2): 27–35 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Zou, Y. L., Tan, Q. X., and Shi, N. H., 1982. River System Change of Historical Period, Huanghe. Science Press, Beijing, 33–86 (in Chinese).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, G., Ye, S., Li, G. et al. Late Quaternary strata and carbon burial records in the Yellow River delta, China. J. Ocean Univ. China 14, 446–456 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-015-2773-z
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11802-015-2773-z