sedimentary system response to the global sea level change in the east china seas since the last glacial maximum abstract the east china seas ecs is one of the world s largest continental shelf seas based on the combination of global sea level change and sequence stratigraphy we systematically investigated the evolution of sedimentary system in the ecs since the last glacial maximum lgm we have defined the transgressive boundary layer and constructed several sedimentary models of the ecs on the sequence stratigraphy and evolution of tidal sand ridges since the lgm and sediment source to sink during the high sea level the result shows that the ecs represent a typical case for large scale continental shelf response to the global sea level change three sedimentary system tracts had been formed in the ecs since the lgm first is the lowstand system tract corresponding to the late of last glaciation and lgm 23 15 4 cal kyr b p the progressive wedge occurred along the okinawa trough slope and the paleo coastal zone pcz along the continental shelf edge second is the transgressive system tract corresponding to the last deglaciation 15 4 7 cal kyr b p a large scale transgressive boundary layer and tidal sand ridges were formed in this stage third is the highstand system tract corresponding to the high sea level since 7 cal kyr b p the eddy mud coastal current mud present tidal sand ridge delta tidal flat and beach have been accumulating since then the global sea level change after lgm can be divided into seven phases of which four rapidly rising phases rrp i ii iii iv and three slowly rising phases srp i ii iii are distinguished the tidal sand ridges were formed in the srp and transgressive boundary layer in the rrp the tidal sand ridges can be divided into three types including radicalized channel and emanative the modern circulation current system of the ecs had been built in the end of the last deglaciation the effect of sediment source to sink in the ecs is closely correlative to the current system driven by the interaction of the east asian monsoon and kuroshio the major sediment source is from the river discharge of the huanghe and changjiang river and coastal resuspension the muddy sediment in the eddy and coastal current which cover the tidal sand ridges and transgressive boundary layer is a major sediment sink in the modern ecs

sedimentary structure and origin of a mud cored pseudo tidal sand ridge eastern yellow sea korea abstract using high resolution seismic profiles sidescan sonar images and piston cores we have examined an elongate ridge located off the tae an peninsula of korea in the eastern yellow sea this ridge 50 km long 30 m high and up to 12 km wide is one of many similar longitudinal ones which are approximately parallel to the direction ne sw of strong tidal currents bathymetric profiles across the ridge are all asymmetric the eastern ridge flank is narrow and dips steeply towards the adjoining rocky valley below the eastern ridge flank less steeply sloping subbottom reflectors are truncated by a seafloor parallel erosion surface on which is draped a 45 cm thick unit of muddy sand a piston core taken here indicates that the subbottom reflectors are due to interlayered coarse sediments the more gently sloping western ridge flank contains sand waves ca 100 m wavelength ene wsw trend on which megaripples 10 15 m wavelength wnw ese trend are superimposed indicating recent bottom current activity in particular the reflectors beneath the westernmost ridge show westward progradation over an acoustically transparent unit of thin sand sheets however subbottom profiles collected over the ridge crest do not show conspicuous reflectors only a few discontinuous faint reflectors are observed the lack of conspicuous reflectors below the ridge crest area may reflect more thorough bottom current generated sediment homogenization as well as poor penetration of acoustic energy due to the current scoured rippled seafloor we interpret the ridge as an early holocene tidal mud tongue blanketed by recently reworked relict palimpsest sands the pseudo tidal sand ridge has prograded westward the fine mud tongue sediments might have been derived mostly from the korean peninsula via the han river at a time when sea level was lower than present

regional seismic stratigraphy and controls on the quaternary evolution of the cape hatteras region of the atlantic passive margin usa abstract seismic and core data combined with amino acid racemization and strontium isotope age data enable the definition of the quaternary stratigraphic framework and recognition of geologic controls on the development of the modern coastal system of north carolina u s a seven regionally continuous high amplitude reflections are defined which bound six seismic stratigraphic units consisting of multiple regionally discontinuous depositional sequences and parasequence sets and enable an understanding of the evolution of this margin data reveal the progressive eastward progradation and aggradation of the quaternary shelf the early pleistocene inner shelf occurs at a depth of ca 20 40 m beneath the western part of the modern estuarine system pamlico sound a mid to outer shelf lowstand terrace also early pleistocene with shelf sand ridge deposits comprising parasequence sets within a transgressive systems tract occurs at a deeper level ca 45 70 m beneath the modern barrier island system the outer banks and northern pamlico sound seismic and foraminiferal paleoenvironmental data from cores indicate the occurrence of lowstand strandplain shoreline deposits on the early to middle pleistocene shelf middle to late pleistocene deposits occur above a prominent unconformity and marine flooding surface that truncates underlying units and contain numerous filled fluvial valleys that are incised into the early and middle pleistocene deposits the stratigraphic framework suggests margin progradation and aggradation modified by an increase in the magnitude of sea level fluctuations during the middle to late pleistocene expressed as falling stage lowstand transgressive and highstand systems tracts thick stratigraphic sequences occur within the middle pleistocene section suggesting the occurrence of high capacity fluvial point sources debouching into the area from the west and north furthermore the antecedent topography plays a significant role in the evolution of the geomorphology and stratigraphy of this marginal system

active moribund and buried tidal sand ridges in the east china sea and the southern yellow sea shallow seismic profiles and borehole data revealed active moribund and buried tidal sand ridges in the east china sea and the southern yellow sea the ridges consist of relatively clean well sorted sands with fairly uniform sequences the microfossil assemblage exhibits a high diversity including both euryhaline and stenohaline species the ridges are huge elongated sand bodies several kilometres wide 10 60 km long and up to 20 m thick and occur in groups with a spacing of several to 10 km normally they are parallel with each other extending in the direction of the tidal currents the field of tidal sand ridges on the east china sea shelf covers an area of 57 000 km2 tidal sand ridges in the east china sea and the southern yellow sea were formed in estuarine and shallow shelf environments where strong tidal currents reworked transported and redeposited large amounts of relict sands from older deltaic and fluvial sediments the development of tidal sand ridges in estuary mouth areas is accompanied by a net sand transport from the shelf into the estuary the evolution of tidal sand ridges is closely related to transgressions active tidal sand ridges are formed during sea level rises they show distinct morphology and active migrations in a lateral as well as in a landward direction they are generally in equilibrium with present day tidal processes and their distribution patterns are related to the flow field of the tidal currents as the sea level rises further these tidal sand ridges become moribund sand bodies with less distinct morphologies their upper surfaces are covered by a thin calcareous rich layer with very high contents of foraminifera tests reflecting a submarine hiatus condition on the shelf during the highstand period during the subsequent steady fall in sea level tidal sand ridges are often buried by fine grained shelf and prodelta sediments they have therefore a good chance of being preserved in stratigraphic records the sequential buildup during a sea level rise tr tract and a subsequent sea level fall hs and ls tract would consist of estuarine channel and tidal flat facies tidal sand ridge facies shelf mud facies delta facies and fluvial facies in an ascending order tidally dominated estuary conditions may also occur when a major distributary is abandoned such as at the northern branch of the modern changjiang river mouth where the accumulation of sand from an abandoned delta lobe and the development of tidal sand ridges have been observed the observed features have important implications for the subsurface recognition of fossil tidal sand ridges for the reconstruction of the regional palaeogeography and transgressional history and for the prediction of potential reservoir sandstones

rapid flooding of the sunda shelf a late glacial sea level record the increase in sea level from the last glacial maximum has been derived from a siliciclastic system on the tectonically stable sunda shelf in southeast asia the time from 21 to 14 thousand calendar years before the present has been poorly covered in other records the record generally confirms sea level reconstructions from coral reefs the rise of sea level during meltwater pulse 1a was as much as 16 meters within 300 years 14 6 to 14 3 thousand years ago

sedimentary record of environmental evolution off the yangtze river estuary east china sea during the last 13 000 years with special reference to the influence of the yellow river on the yangtze river delta during the last 600 years abstract a 35 60 m long core ecs 0702 recovered from a water depth of 22 m in the muddy area off the yangtze river estuary was analyzed for sedimentary characteristics clay and detrital mineral components and element geochemistry as well as by ams 14 c dating to document sediment provenance changes and environmental evolution during the postglacial period in the study area on the basis of the lithology the benthic foraminiferal and ostracod assemblages and the ams 14 c ages we divided the core into four depositional units du1 du4 in descending order representing the postglacial sedimentary sequence during the last 13 000 years du 4 was deposited in a littoral to tidal flat environment during 13 000 11 500 cal yr bp du 3 in a nearshore subtidal environment upwards to the nearshore shelf with tidal influence in response to the postglacial sea level rise during 11 500 7400 cal yr bp du 2 in a tide affected nearshore shallow sea environment during 7400 540 cal yr bp on the delta front of the yangtze river when the delta was actively prograding and du 1 in a nearshore shallow sea environment during the last 540 years on the delta front under modern marine conditions in du 1 the depositional rate was much higher than in the underlying units and the sediment composition reflects more influence from the yellow river this unit can therefore be logically linked to the period when the yellow river last discharged into the south yellow sea from ad 1128 to 1855 according to historical records this period can be divided into an early stage ad 1128 1494 when the shoreline near the yellow river mouth was advancing slowly eastward and a late stage 1495 1855 when the shoreline was advancing rapidly the initiation of du 1 deposition corresponds to the latter part of the early stage suggesting that since that time a relatively large amount of sediment from the old yellow river mouth area has been transported to the offshore area of the yangtze river mouth our study has identified a high resolution sedimentary signature associated with the last course shift of the yellow river in the yangtze river delta front thus highlighting the intricate relationship between sediment sources and sinks in coastal areas a significant contribution of the old yellow river sediments to the yangtze subaqueous delta during the last 600 years must be considered when the evolutional history of the yangtze delta is examined and especially when the influence of the three gorge dam construction on the future changes of the yangtze estuary and ecological environments in the east china sea is estimated

provenance of turbidites in the ulleung tsushima back arc basin east sea sea of japan in the inactive ulleung back arc basin accumulation of turbidites was predominant over hemipelagic deposition since about pliocene time most of the late pleistocene turbidite layers deposited in the time interval between major volcanic eruptions at about 9 300 21 000 and 50 000 yrs b p contain heavy minerals that were derived mainly from the stable craton of the east korean peninsula during major eruptions however turbidites composed dominantly of unstable minerals originated mainly from the volcanic arc of northwestern honshu a few turbidite layers contain mineral assemblages common to both margins turbidites in the ulleung interplain gap were derived from the adjacent islands and banks modified journal abstract

response of western pacific marginal seas to glacial cycles paleoceanographic and sedimentological features abstract this paper reviews the recent progress in late quaternary studies in five northwestern pacific marginal seas especially the south china sea as an example a series of marginal seas separate asia from the pacific ocean and significantly modify the material and energy flux linkage between land and sea during glacial cycles the sea level induced environmental signal was amplified in the marginal seas giving rise to drastic changes in areas and configurations of these seas and to reorganization of sea water circulation in basins since most of the western pacific marginal seas are influenced by monsoon circulation and some of these are located within the western pacific warm pool the glacial geographic changes have produced a profound impact on regional and global climate for example the decrease of sea area and sea surface temperature sst in the marginal seas was one of the factors responsible for the enhanced aridity of inland china during the glaciation glacial intensification of the winter monsoon and increased seasonality of sst in marginal seas might explain at least partly the apparent discrepancy between the tropical paleotemperature estimations based on terrestrial and open ocean records in this region as the western pacific marginal seas trap terrigenous material supplied by east asia the deep water sedimentation rates there can be one to two orders of magnitude higher than in the open ocean down slope sediment transport is more active when the sea level changes particularly during the deglaciation at least four types of carbonate cycles have been recognized in the western pacific marginal seas and each of those contains environmental signals from the surface and deep sea water as well as from the drainage basin

partitioning of transgressive deposits in the southeastern yellow sea a sequence stratigraphic interpretation abstract the last glacio eustatic sea level fluctuation in the southeastern part of the yellow sea formed a number of unconformity bounded sedimentary sequences these sequences comprise 1 regressive to transgressive incision fills unit c 2 transgressive sand ridges and swales unit b and 3 transgressive to highstand muds lower mud unit a2 upper mud unit a1 the sequence boundary between unit c and the lower unit comprises erosional surface which can be traced for the entire study area the even and sharp boundary between the incision fills unit c and the sand ridges unit b represents a transgressive surface of erosion the depositional boundary between the lower mud unit a2 and the upper mud unit a1 suggests a change in oceanographic conditions the boundary is confined landward and correlated offshore with the top of units b and c that is exposed on the seafloor these transgressive deposits show partitioning controlled by currents tides and sediment supply as well as physiography of the seafloor

holocene development of the yellow river s subaqueous delta north yellow sea high resolution seismic profiles from the north yellow sea reveal a 20 40 m thick subaqueous clinoform delta that wraps around the eastern end of the shandong peninsula extending into the south yellow sea this complex sigmoidal oblique clinoform containing an estimated 400 km 3 of sediment overlies prominent relict transgressive surfaces the nearshore topset of the clinoform 50 m contain less than 1 m of holocene sediment with low sedimentation rates 1 mm year in contrast to other clinoforms the shandong clinoform appears to be a compound subaqueous deltaic system with what we interpret to be proximal and distal phases of clinoform development the underlying proximal sequence formed proximally between f11 and 9 2 ka in response to a temporary pause in the rapid postglacial sea level rise after the meltwater pulse 1b mwp 1b and increased discharge from the yellow river to the north yellow sea due to intensification of the summer monsoon a flooding surface appears to separate the proximal and distal phases corresponding to the next rapid sea level rise 9 5 9 2 ka bp mwp 1c since 9 2 ka bp an overlying distal sedimentary sequence has accumulated reflecting the backstepping and shifting river mouth westward to the gulf of bohai some inputs from coastal erosion and nearby small streams may be locally important along shore transport cross shelf advection and upwelling in the north yellow sea have reworked post lgm sediment and have helped maintain the morphology of the clinoform in the shandong mud wedge d 2004 elsevier b v all rights reserved

depositional sequences on a late pleistocene holocene tropical siliciclastic shelf sunda shelf southeast asia this study describes and reviews the stratigraphic architecture of the world s largest but least known tropical siliciclastic shelf using the sequence stratigraphic concept the sunda shelf provides conditions particularly suited for reconstructing its depositional history due to a low gradient and extreme width the presence of huge paleo valley systems and abundant filled channels tectonic stability during the quaternary and high sediment input due to a large catchment area we investigated the subsurface along the most prominent paleo valley by shallow seismic surveying and 36 gravity cores controlled by 80 radiocarbon dates the deposits during sea level fall prior to the last glacial maximum lowstand and the subsequent deglacial rise correspond to four systems tracts a wide partly detached prograding deltaic clinoforms indicate forced regression related to a regressive systems tract b sparse shoreline deposits and widespread soil formation refer to a lowstand systems tract c rapidly backstepping coastline related deposits form a confined transgressive systems tract without stacking patterns and are mainly restricted to the paleo valley system d a thin marine mud cover extends as a condensed section over the whole shelf area the base of a highstand systems tract the stratigraphic architecture on the central sunda shelf strata over the past 50 000 years is the result of the interplay of three major factors 1 rapid sea level changes 2 locally pronounced physiography and 3 changes in sediment supply that determined the distribution and accumulation pattern c 2003 elsevier ltd all rights reserved

late quaternary marine isotope stages 6 1 seismic sequence stratigraphic evolution of the otago continental shelf new zealand abstract a proposed chronostratigraphic model for the late quaternary evolution of the otago continental shelf new zealand includes fluvially incised sequence boundaries eroded during marine isotope stages 2 4 and 6 bounding three sequences subdivided into lowstand transgressive and highstand regressive systems tracts datable material is limited to the uppermost 1 m of the sequence and consequently the model is based on correlation of new high resolution seismic reflection data geopulse to a compilation of independent global sea level curves a second chronostratigraphic model that lacks a stage 4 sequence boundary and distinct stage 3 highstand forced regressive deposit is discounted because its subsidence corrected paleoshoreline depths do not match lowstands in the eustatic curves or temporally constrained sequences at other far field locations in the preferred chronostratigraphic model sea level lowstands during stages 2 4 and 6 reached maximum depths of 126 131 m 101 111 m and 116 135 m respectively producing sequence boundaries landward pinching deltaic wedges on the outer otago shelf and submarine canyon incision lowstand paleoshoreline depths have been corrected for subsidence from thermal cooling sediment compaction and loading but may be erroneously deep owing to erosion of paleoshoreline indicators clastic shallow marine wedges and back barrier valley fill deposits accumulated during the stage 6 5 4 3 and 2 1 marine transgressions contrary to the traditional sequence stratigraphic model deltaic and strandline units deposited during highstand through falling sea level stages 5 4 3 2 1 volumetrically dominate otago late quaternary sequences discrete units and minor marine erosion surfaces within the transgressive and regressive systems tract deposits are interpreted as strong evidence for seventh 20 ka or higher order sea level fluctuations influencing sedimentation on the otago shelf

paleoenvironmental changes associated with the holocene marine transgression yellow sea hwanghae benthic foraminiferal and stable isotopic data from two radiocarbon dated cores from the yellow sea record paleoenvironmental changes largely associated with the holocene marine transgression the holocene marine transgression began significantly earlier 12 9 ka in the central part of the yellow sea as recorded in 278 cm long core cc 02 water depth 77 5 m compared with 7 9 ka in a tidal flat on west coast of korea as recorded in 350 cm long vibra core dh4 1 water depth 1 8 m the benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the lower part of cc 02 and the entire marine sequence of dh4 1 are dominated by assemblages characteristic of shallow 50 m waters ammonia ketienziensis ishizaki astrononion italicum cushman and edwards and hanzawaia nipponica asano after 7 5 ka in the central yellow sea much higher 18o 1 6 to 1 8 and 13c 0 1 to 0 7 values of a ketienziensis reflect a change to more open ocean higher salinity environments with deeper waters dominated by the hwanghae cold water as in the present day

the coastal archives of the last 15 ka in the atlantic mediterranean spanish linkage area sea level and climate changes sea level and climate changes archived in various coastal environments during the last part of the last glacial and present interglacial periods are investigated by interpolating available geomorphology sedimentology palaeontology and geochronology data the coastal response to these changes depended on the environment and geographic location changes of sea level during the rising transgressive phase are well recorded in the sedimentary filling of the estuaries whereas during the phase of highstand they are best recorded in beach barrier environments the postglacial rise of sea level took place in two phases a rapid rise until 6500 cal bp and a second phase of near stability with minor oscillations of metric magnitude regarding climate changes there is no record of changing temperatures in the coastal zones of southern spain although there is in precipitation and wind intensity velocity after 7 5 cal ka bp the general climatic trend towards aridity was punctuated by several short lived centennial episodes of increased aridity that occurred with a millennial cycle often coincident with bond cool events and in some cases with decreases of sea surface temperatures the absence of human intervention in vegetation composition until 2000 bp suggests that most environmental coastal shifts were climatically driven

quaternary seismic stratigraphy and paleoenvironments on the continental shelf of the east china sea abstract paleoenvironments and stratigraphy have been interpreted from 4380 km of seismic profiling collected during a geological and geophysical cruise on the continental shelf of the east china sea ecs undertaken in 1996 the geophysical data are correlated with a borehole situated on the outer shelf obtained by shanghai marine geology bureau indicating that six seismic units have been preserved since oxygen isotope stage 6 including four regressive transgressive cycles seismic units u2 u3 u4 u5 u6 and u7 are interpreted to correspond respectively to oxygen isotope stages 1 3 5 and 6 implying that sediment partitioning and sequence architecture in the ecs have been controlled by glacio eustasy and global climate changes alternating continental and marine strata corresponding to glaciation and interglaciation are well preserved on the outer shelf of the ecs most of the cold environment strata which formed on the outer shelf during oxygen isotope stages 2 and 4 are too thin to be recognized on sig 600j because of resolution but corresponding erosion surfaces exist seismic unit u7 is widespread over the shelf extending to the continental edge and showing little variation in thickness as the regression was pronounced and lasted a long time thus u7 can be used as a marker layer for correlation of quaternary strata on the shelf of the ecs post glacial transgression is obvious in the ecs marine strata with varied thickness were developed in the shallow sea of the inner shelf thinning toward the outer shelf the continental shelf of the ecs has been influenced by pacific tide wave systems for a long time forming tidal sand ridge sequences developed during transgressions corresponding to oxygen isotope stages 7 or 9 5 3 and 1

pleistocene forced regressions and tidal sand ridges in the east china sea abstract tidal sand ridges are common features on modern shelves but only few examples of such preserved sand bodies are described in pleistocene deposits in the stratigraphic record some sand bodies encased in shales previously interpreted as sand ridges have been reinterpreted as shoreface deposits more than 5000 km of high resolution seismic data from the east china sea correlated to geotechnical boreholes and shallow cores demonstrate the potential of sand ridge preservation and allow reconstruction of the depositional history of pleistocene fourth order 100 kyr depositional sequences a high subsidence rate of about 300 m myr allows the preservation of three elementary sedimentary facies constitutive of a motif which was repeated during glacio eustatic cycles they consist of 1 regressive marine prodeltaic prograding wedges 2 estuarine and continental deltaic facies and 3 transgressive sand ridges similar in shape and orientation to modern sand ridges major discontinuities traceable over the entire outer continental shelf along distances of hundreds of kilometers are transgressive and regressive surfaces of marine erosion whereas sequence boundaries formed by fluvial erosion are difficult to identify on this low gradient shelf because of the asymmetry of the pleistocene glacio eustatic cycles most of the preserved sedimentary record with the exception of sand ridges corresponds to forced regressive deposits deposits that formed during a seaward shift of the shoreline due to relative sea level lowering

holocene regression and the tidal radial sand ridge system formation in the jiangsu coastal zone east china abstract a radial tidal sand ridge system rtsrs spans more than 20 000 km 2 in the southwest yellow sea is fan shaped and stretches from qianggang toward the sea the marine rtsrs is located in a convergent divergent tidal current field cdtcf numerous drilling holes reveal an area of 3000 km 2 containing tidal sand strata in the jiangsu coastal plain on land adjacent to the marine rtsrs which stretches eastward from chengdong and is also a fan shaped with a central angle of 130 the tidal sand unit lies on a transgressive coastal barrier lagoon unit with an erosional surface between them and the latter unit is in turn lying on late pleistocene stiff mud the tidal sand unit is overlain by the littoral tidal flat unit and together they constitute the holocene regressive succession paleo current study reveals that a paleo current pattern similar to the modern marine cdtcf was present in the holocene sub aerial tidal sand strata therefore the sub aerial tidal sand bodies are deduced to be an ancient rtsrs that was formed during the holocene regression and gradually exposed and changed into land as the changjiang and huanghe deltas prograded both sub aerial and marine rtsrs should be formed in the same tidal depositional environment but in different development stages thus the radial tidal sand ridges in southwestern yellow sea should have formed not during the holocene transgression as most previous studies have inferred but in the process of holocene regression mineralogical analyses demonstrate that the sediment source of the sub aerial rtsrs initially came from the changjiang and later predominantly from the huanghe sea floor erosion by tidal currents may also provide sandy material to form the rtsrs drilling cores and ground penetrating profiles show that the paleo valleys in the study area are much smaller than the present distributaries of the changjiang river thus the presumption of direct sand supply by a large river to form the rtsrs through its apical area is cannot be supported after the sea level reached the present high stand the jiangsu coastline has been prograding seaward as the changjiang delta expanded and this progradation was accelerated when the huanghe debouched in the study area the nearshore part of rtsrs has been gradually changing into land while the entire rtsrs extends seawards in the process of the development the rtsrs apex changed from chengdong to qianggang at present the coastline is still moving seaward while the outer part of the rtsrs suffers from some erosion owing to reduction of sediment supply from both the changjiang delta and the abandoned huanghe delta

provenance structure and formation of the mud wedge along inner continental shelf of the east china sea a synthesis of the yangtze dispersal system surficial grain size and down core clay mineralogical data show that sediment along the inner most part of the continental shelf in east china sea is mainly derived from the yangtze river changjiang spanning from the yangtze mouth 33 degrees n similar to 1000 km southward to the southwestern corner of the taiwan strait 24 degrees n high resolution chirp seismic profiles reveal an elongated mud wedge extending along the inner shelf with a northern depocenter on the modern yangtze delta and a southern depocenter at 27 5 degrees n four distinct acoustic units are delineated within the mud wedge from bottom up unit i late pleistocene mainly valley fills unit ii formed by transgressions thin strata unit iii 11 2 kyr bp downlapping strata and unit iv 2 0 kyr bp flat and opaque strata incised valleys up to 15 m deep are filled by flat lying or inclined strata in unit i the thin 3 m and acoustically transparent unit ii is only seen between 30 and 26 degrees n in water depths between 40 and 90 m separated by acoustically opaque strata or unconformities units iii and iv are widely distributed during the past 11 kyr yangtze sediment accumulation has been unsteady showing two high and one low accumulation rate periods the high accumulation period at 5 8 kyr bp may be related to maximum east asian summer monsoon precipitation in the yangtze basin the other high accumulation period 0 2 kyr bp probably reflects intensive human activities in the river s watershed the low accumulation rate period at 2 5 kyr bp which is seen in both northern and southern yangtze depocenters is probably related to low river discharge and or intensified taiwan warm current and china coastal current c 2011 elsevier b v all rights reserved

transgressive sand ridges on the mid shelf of the southern sea of korea korea strait formation and development in high energy environments abstract the mid shelf of the southern sea of korea korea strait is covered by a series of shore parallel sand ridges up to 63 km long 3 9 km wide and 22 m thick the ridges are a moribund type but show well organized dipping strata indicating appreciable progradation the submerged paleo channel system the paleo seomjin river associated with the sand ridge field suggests that the ridges primarily originated from river mouth sandy shoals which subsequently developed into shore parallel linear sand bodies in high energy environments the combined effect of coastal tidal and longshore and offshore ocean currents was possibly responsible for shore parallel sediment transport and growth of the ridges 14c dates core lithology and sea level data suggest that the sand ridges mainly formed and developed during the middle period of the postglacial transgression they are postulated to have developed sequentially from offshore to onshore in response to sea level rise during that time very slow sea level rise and high sediment supply through the paleo channel system probably provided favorable conditions for forming the sand ridges the ridges became inactive during the late transgression period as a result of a substantial reduction of wave and current strength and remained on the mid shelf

late quaternary transgressive and highstand systems tracts in the northern east china sea mid shelf abstract analysis of very high resolution 3 5 khz seismic profiles and sediment data from the northern east china sea mid shelf region reveals that the sedimentary sequence above the acoustic basement consists of five late quaternary sedimentary units comprising transgressive and highstand systems tracts formed after the last glacial maximum the transgressive systems tract includes four units 1 incised valley fill unit i 2 transgressive estuarine deltaic complex unit ii 3 transgressive sand sheet unit iii and 4 tidal sand ridge unit iv the lower two units units i and ii representing a paralic environment consist of sediment preserved from shoreface erosion the upper units units iii and iv corresponding to a marine environment consist of sediments produced through shoreface erosion during the holocene transgression a ravinement surface separates the lower and the upper units the highstand systems tract is composed of a distal mud patch unit v derived from the huanghe and changjiang rivers in china dispersal and deposition of this modern mud are largely controlled by the regional circulation pattern and sediment supply

reply to the comment by scott paterson on relationships between melt induced rheological transitions and finite strain observations from host rock pendants of the tuolumne intrusive suite sierra nevada california by markus albertz

origin of step like and lobate seafloor features along the continental shelf off rio de janeiro state santos basin brazil a combined analysis of seismic and morphological features identified in a set of high resolution seismic reflection and bathymetric data shows a systematic relationship between major modern seafloor morphological traces and the basinward migration of late pleistocene coastlines along the continental shelf of the santos basin rio de janeiro state se brazil observed fairly continuous and sinuous mid outer shelf escarpments are related to the sea level variations and shelf exposure during the last glacial cycle a bathymetric step at 110 m is an erosional remnant of offlapping detached forced regressive wedges that spread over 50 km in the shelf dip direction probably developed during periods of falling sea level between mis 3 and 2 a second major escarpment at 130 m was interpreted as the shoreline during the lgm at the time of most extensive subaerial exposure of the continental shelf however a distal escarpment at 150 m is expressed as a straight contour feature along the two main shelf edge embayments that characterize the shelf break this escarpment is coupled with a basal seaward inclined and highly eroded ramp and was interpreted as the erosional action of bottom currents during the last transgression due to the displacement of the southward flowing brazil current towards the present day outer shelf previously published articles have regarded the morphological features observed on the modern shelf as indicators of stillstands during the post lgm transgression we conclude that on the contrary most of these features are actually from earlier parts of the late pleistocene and were formed in a regressive scenario under oscillating and relative slow sea level fall

environmental processes of the ice age land oceans glaciers epilog knowledge of the state of the earth at the last glacial maximum lgm an interval around 21 000 years ago is an important benchmark for understanding the sensitivity of global environmental systems to change much progress in understanding climates of the lgm has occurred in the 20 years since the end of the climap project of the 1970s climate long range investigation mapping and prediction here we review this progress based on presentations and discussion at a rst open science meeting of the epilog project environmental processes of the ice age land oceans glaciers held in delmenhorst germany may 1999 we outline key controversies and document protocols for epilog contributions so that a new synthesis of the lgm earth can emerge as an open project of the world s community of scientists 2001 elsevier science ltd all rights reserved

high resolution acoustic characteristics of epicontinental sea deposits central eastern yellow sea abstract large amounts 45390 line km of closely spaced 2 2 4 4 km high resolution subbottom profiles chirp 2 7 khz made it possible to identify detailed echo types and their distribution in an epicontinental shelf environment on the basis of seafloor morphology surface bedforms and subbottom acoustic characters 10 echo types were identified in the uppermost sedimentary sequence of the central eastern yellow sea flat seafloor with sharp bottom echoes echo types 1 1 1 2 and 1 3a transgressive sediment sheets or relict sands is widespread in the offshore area and underlain to the west by an acoustically transparent wedge echo type 1 3b highstand muds mounded seafloor with either smooth surface or superposed bedforms echo types 2 1 2 2 and 2 3 tidal ridges and flat seafloor with regularly spaced wavy bedforms echo type 1 4 large scale dunes are dominant in the eastern nearshore area large scale mounds with continuous inclined internal reflectors echo type 2 4 giant mud bank occur in the southeastern nearshore area various scale eroded seafloor echo types 3 1 and 3 2 channels and flat seafloor with regularly spaced wavy bedforms echo type 1 4 large scale dunes are present in the northern part of the sea the distribution pattern of echo types in the central eastern yellow sea reflects depositional processes and sediment dispersal systems during the holocene transgression and highstand period 1 development of tidal ridges and large scale dunes in response to strong tidal currents and waves in the eastern nearshore area 2 construction of transgressive to highstand mud bank huksan mud belt by deposition of muds derived from the keum river in the southeastern nearshore area 3 active erosion due to intensified currents in the northern part and 4 highstand mud deposition derived from the huanghe river on the transgressive sediment sheets in the offshore area

transgressive and highstand systems tracts and post glacial transgression the east china sea abstract the late pleistocene holocene depositional sequence on the shelf in the east china sea ecs is interpreted on the basis of the analyses of four sediment cores and high resolution seismic reflection sub bottom profiler records along a ne sw across shelf transect sedimentary strata deposited above a lowermost planar erosional surface that was formed during sea level fall of the last glacial are divided into two units along a ne sw across shelf transect changjiang okinawa the lower unit is characterized by seaward dipping tangential clinoforms with a thickness of 30 40 m at mid shelf depths and less than 30 m beneath the outer shelf prograding clinoforms are more obvious in mid shelf environments the upper unit is characterized by an upper transparent layer that is formed into ridge and swale topography the boundary between the upper and lower units is sharp and erosional surficial sediments taken by cores from the central ecs shelf are also divided into two facies a sandy facies consisting of sand or sandy gravel with moderately abundant molluscan shell fragments and a muddy facies comprising mud intercalated with thin sand layers the sandy facies is widely distributed on the middle to outer shelf seafloor and has a measured thickness of 30 cm up to several metres radiocarbon ages of molluscan shells in this sediment are less than approximately 10 ka bp except for ages from basal shell lag deposits which are 10 40 ka bp the muddy facies underlies the sandy facies and has radiocarbon ages of 2 7 2 9 ka bp previous work and 20 38 ka bp this study and tl ages of 27 50 ka bp previous work the boundary between these lithologic units is an erosional sharp contact the sandy and muddy facies are correlated with the upper and lower seismic units respectively the lower unit is characterized by prograding clinoforms and is interpreted to represent deltaic or nearshore tidal ridge sediments of the paleo changjiang river that were deposited during the last glacial lowstand of sea level as a lowstand systems tract the underlying erosional surface is interpreted to be a sequence boundary formed as a regressive marine erosional surface during the fall of sea level the erosional boundary between the lower and upper units is interpreted as a transgressive surface of erosion formed during the subsequent rise of sea level the upper unit has a modern sand ridge topography and is interpreted to represent offshore shelf sand ridges of the transgressive to highstand systems tract

calibration of the c 14 timescale over the past 30 000 years using mass spectrometric u th ages from barbados corals uranium thorium ages obtained by mass spectrometry from corals raised off the island of barbados confirm the high precision of this technique over at least the past 30 000 years comparison of the u th ages with 14c ages obtained on the holocene samples shows that the u th ages are accurate because they accord with the dendrochronological calibration before 9 000 yr bp the 14c ages are systematically younger than the u th ages with a maximum difference of 3 500 yr at 20 000 yrbp the u th technique thus provides a way of calibrating the radiocarbon timescale beyond the range of dendrochronological calibration

high resolution seismic study as a tool for sequence stratigraphic evidence of high frequency sea level changes latest pleistocene holocene example from the korea strait abstract sequence stratigraphic analysis of high resolution seismic reflection profiles and sediment data reveals that the latest pleistocene holocene deposits in the korea strait shelf off the southeastern korean peninsula form a high frequency sequence consisting of a set of lowstand transgressive and highstand systems tracts that corresponds to a fifth order 20 kyr sea level cycle eight depositional systems each with different seismic facies constitute the systems tracts the lowstand systems tract consisting of sandy mud forms a deltaic wedge that pinches out updip near or at the relict shelf edge the transgressive systems tract consisting mainly of sands includes six depositional systems 1 inner shelf transgressive layer 2 transgressive estuarine deltaic complex 3 transgressive sand ridge 4 mid shelf transgressive layer 5 incised channel fill and 6 beach shoreface complex although the transgressive systems tract is widely distributed it is much thinner than the lowstand and highstand systems tracts the highstand systems tract is composed of a prodelta shelf complex consisting almost exclusively of holocene muds the distribution and geometry of the systems tracts in the latest pleistocene holocene sequence in the korea strait shelf is different from that of vail s model in that 1 the lowstand systems tract consists only of the lowstand deltaic wedge which forms an elongated sediment body along the paleoshelf edge and 2 the highstand systems tract is completely confined to the inner shelf and forms a nearshore belt parallel to the coastline high frequency 20 kyr high amplitude magnitude of about 130 m sea level change together with strong currents flowing northeastward along the southeastern coast of the korean peninsula and varying sediment supply have resulted in this rather unusual stratigraphic architecture

evolution of late quaternary mud deposits and recent sediment budget in the southeastern yellow sea abstract analysis of high resolution seismic reflection profiles and sediment samples has revealed the evolution and sediment budget of the southeastern yellow sea mud belt seysm along the southwestern korean peninsula the seysm up to 50 m thick over 250 km long and 20 55 km wide can be divided into three stratigraphic units a1 a2 and b from oldest to youngest unit a1 overlying the acoustic basement comprises the northern part of the seysm unit a2 comprises the southern part of the seysm much of unit a2 is exposed at the seafloor unit b completely covers unit a1 and pinches out southward 14c data suggest that evolution of each unit is closely related to the postglacial sea level changes unit a1 consists of estuarine deltaic or shallow water muds deposited during the early to middle stage of postglacial sea level rise ca 14 000 7000 yr b p unit a2 corresponds to relict muds deposited during the last deceleration stage of sea level rise ca 7000 3 500 yr b p unit b consists of shelf muds deposited during the recent sea level highstand ca very low background activities of 210pb of the surface sediment of unit a2 suggest that the present day sediment accumulation is negligible in the southern seysm on the other hand 210pb excess activity profiles in unit b yield an average sediment accumulation rate of 3 9 mm yr indicating active sediment accumulation in the northern seysm the annual sink 3 0 10 7 tons yr of fine grained sediment in unit b is about an order of magnitude greater than can be explained by the sediment input from the korean rivers alone we propose that reworking of unit a2 has provided large volumes of muds to unit b resulting in excessive sediment accumulation in the northern seysm much of unit a2 in turn is likely to have originated from erosion of unit a1 in the north this rather unique erosional depositional regime of the seysm is probably owing to the tidal and regional currents characteristic in the southeastern yellow sea

oxygen 18 16 variability in greenland snow and ice with 10 3 to 105 year time resolution the 3 km long greenland ice sheet project 2 gisp2 ice core presents a 100 000 year detailed oxygen isotope profile covering almost a full glacial interglacial cycle measuranents of isotopic fluctuations in snow frost and atmospheric water vapor samples collected during summer field seasons up to 20 0 are compatible with the large and abrupt 80 160 changes observed in accumulated tim snow pit 15 80 profiles from the gisp2 summit area however show rapid smoothing of the 180 160 signal near the surface beyond about 2 m depth the smoothedi5180 signal is fairly well preserved and can be interpreted in terms of average local weather conditions and climate the longer climate fluctuations also have regional and often global significance in the older part of the record corresponding to marine isotope stages mis 5a to 5d the effect of orbital climate forcing via the 19 and 23 kyr precession cycles and the 41 kyr obliquity cycle is obvious from the end ofmis 5a at about 75 000 years b p till the end of the glacial at the younger dryas preboreal transition at 11 650 years b p the o180 160 record shows frequent rapid switches between intermediate interstadial and low stadial values fourier spectra of the oscillations that are superimposed on the orbitally induced changes contain a strong periodicity at 1 5 kyr a broad peak at 4 0 kyr and additional shorter periods detailed comparison of the gisp2 180 160 record with the vostok antarctica 15d record pacific ocean foraminiferal 180 160 grande pile france tree pollen and insolation indicates that a counterpart to many of the rapid 180 160 fluctuations of gisp2 can be found in the other records and that the gisp2 isotopic changes clearly are the local expression of climate changes of worldwide extent correlation of events on the independent gisp2 and specmap time scales for the interval 10 000 50 000 years b p shows excellent chronometric agreement except possibly for the event labeled 3 1 the glacial to interglacial transition evidently started simultaneously in the arctic and the antarctic but its development and its expression in greenland isotopes was later suppressed by the influence of meltwater especially from the barents sea ice sheet on deep water formation and ocean circulation meltwaters from different ice sheets bordering the north atlantic also influenced ocean circulation during the bolling allerod interstadial complex and the younger dryas and led to a distinct development of european climate and greenland 180 160 values the holocene interval with long term stable mean isotopic values contains several fluauations with periods from years to millennia dominant is a 6 3 year oscillation with amplitude up to 3 to 4 0 periodicities of 11 and 210 years also found in the solar modulated records of the cosmogenic isotopes 1obe and 14c suggest solar processes as the cause of these cycles depression of180 160 values cooling by volcanic eruptions is observed in stacked gisp215 80 records but the effect is small and not likely to trigger major climate changes

development of depositional systems in the southeastern yellow sea during the postglacial transgression this study focuses on the development of depositional systems in the southeastern yellow sea during the postglacial transgression based on the analysis of closely spaced high resolution seismic profiles chirp and piston cores transgressive deposits comprise the paralic component of estuarine channel fills seaward prograding wedge and along shore prograding mound and the marine component of sand veneer mud blanket and offshore ridge these transgressive deposits were developed through three distinctive stages in terms of possible sea level position during the early stage tidal sand ridges and sand veneer formed south of jeju island resulting from shoreface erosion associated with a relatively slow transgression the following transgression in the middle stage inundated subaerially formed interfluves along the central part of the sea and affected development of estuarine environments with increasing tidal regime in the eastern part of the sea combined with the strong tidal reworking insufficient sand supply enhanced the formation of erosional ridges short period increase in fluvial discharge affected the deposition of coastal wedge in the western part fine grained sediments from either fluvial discharge or tidal reworking were dispersed seaward to form mud blanket the late stage was characterized by the deposition of veneered sands off the jiangsu coast which was due to relatively slow rise in sea level further offshore along shore prograding mound was constructed by huanghe derived sediment influx and subsequently eroded and redeposited by wave and tide activities thus detached from the proximal source the depositional processes and variability of the transgressive deposits in the southeastern yellow sea were largely controlled by changes in rate of sea level rise during the transgression most likely related to the global flooding events triggered by melt water pulses the changes in shoreline configuration and oceanographic regime have also influenced the distribution and morphology of the transgressive deposits a short period increase in riverine discharge caused the temporal sediment progradation off the jiangsu coast

stratigraphic architecture and spatio temporal variability of high frequency milankovitch depositional cycles on modern continental margins an overview abstract this study is a review of quaternary milankovitch cycles as recorded on modern continental shelves worldwide on the background of the many existing examples we focus on selected case studies from mediterranean adriatic and tyrrhenian seas and atlantic gulfs of mexico and cadiz margins that represent general and peculiar characters of middle upper pleistocene sequences forming under the control of composite 100 and 20 ka milankovitch cycles the most pervasive stratigraphic pattern displayed by shelf deposits is referred to the 100 ka sea level cycle and consists of fairly uniform depositional sequences mostly composed by regressive deposits forming during the falling limb of the sea level curve these are generally classified as falling stage systems tract fsst and display a regressive facies architecture reflecting the dominant control of sea level on many margins fsst units may show slight though significant differences with respect to highstand systems tract hst and lowstand systems tract lst regressive units more closely reflecting environmental changes and the local variability of depositional systems in contrast with the theoretical and overall scale independent model developed to predict composite stratigraphic cycles and sequences the middle upper pleistocene stratigraphic record from numerous shelf settings shows a subdued signature of the higher frequency 20 ka milankovitch cyclicity however when detectable the 20 ka architectural pattern is characterized by a relatively greater spatial and temporal variability compared to 100 ka sequences this fact likely reflects the increasing importance of factors controlling the depositional environment e g seafloor morphology oceanographic regime sediment input and dispersal etc with respect to sea level change during the shorter intervals encompassed by 20 ka cycles on this basis two end member cases have been distinguished depending on the generation or not of high frequency sequence boundaries a prerequisite to qualify the higher frequency motifs as depositional sequences these two end members are comprehensive of the highly variable patterns displayed by middle upper pleistocene shelf sequences which in turn reflect the interplay between the geological setting the dominant sea level control and the effective response of sedimentary systems the variable stratigraphic patterns of milankovitch cycles represent conceptual and practical constraints as to the classification of high frequency quaternary sequences under the general schemes of the standard sequence stratigraphy model

tidal deposition systems of china s continental shelf with special reference to the eastern bohai sea abstract the continental shelf of china has undergone a large scale marine transgression tidal currents have become the main active agent and have had a profound influence on the deposition and geomorphology of the shelf the continental shelf of china has five modern tidal deposition systems 1 the eastern part of the yellow sea 2 the eastern part of the bohai sea 3 off the mouth of yangtze river 4 to the west of taiwan and 5 the strait of qiongzhou when the tidal current speed is above 150 cm s erosion dominates and reciprocating currents form deep scour furrows when the tidal current speed is 50 to 150 cm s deposition is dominant and tidal currents form tidal shoals i e tidal sand ridges and tidal sand sheets whose margins are near an absolute ellipticity value for the m2 tidal component of 0 4 when the absolute m2 value is less than 0 4 a reciprocating current is strong enough to form tidal sand ridges when the absolute value is above 0 4 a rotating current increases so as to form a tidal sand sheet tidal deposition material came mainly from tidal erosion and locally redeposition of late pleistocene sediments and from the neighbouring sea bottom the tidal deposition system in the eastern bohai sea is a typical example it consists of the laotieshan channel scour furrow the liaodong shoal sand ridges and the bozhong shoal sand sheet the maximum tidal current speed in the laotieshan channel where strong erosion occurs is up to 250 cm s in the liaodong shoal the maximum tidal current speed is 64 115 cm s and the absolute ellipticity value of the m2 tidal component is less than 0 4 in the bozhong shoal the maximum tidal speed is 58 79 cm s and the absolute ellipticity value of the m2 tidal component is above 0 4 the small scale bedforms surveyed in detail in the area show that the sand ridges and sand sheet are still under the action of tidal current processes at the present time based on the interpretation of tidal currents bedforms and sediment thickness it is inferred that the general direction of sediment transport within the study area is nnw from the laotieshan channel to the liaodong and bozhong shoals the small scale bedforms in the detailed survey area indicate a local net sediment transport from south to north

transgressive deposits along the actively deforming eel river margin northern california abstract new high resolution chirp seismic data acquired along the eel river margin northern california reveal that stratal architecture and sediment thickness of the holocene transgressive deposits are in large part controlled by tectonic deformation and sediment supply a thick 20 m transgressive deposit is observed across the eel margin a forearc basin that is undergoing active folding perpendicular to the coastline at rates of mm yr the transgressive deposits on the eel margin exhibit marked variations in thickness alongshore being thickest in the eel river syncline and thinnest over the eureka anticline the divergent character of the infill in the syncline suggests that deposition is syntectonic fault displacement and structural relief observed along the transgressive surface are consistent with deformation rates measured onshore the transgressive surface is offset 0 5 m across the eureka anticline suggesting deformation has been active since 10 ka two distinct acoustic units have been identified within the transgressive systems tract a basal deposit that infills relief on the transgressive surface and an upper onlapping unit the basal deposit infills lows along the outer shelf with a maximum thickness of 10 m and appears to be controlled by the early sea level rise 21 7 ka of the last deglaciation it is separated from the overlying acoustically well laminated unit by a pronounced surface of onlap moving shoreward along the inner shelf

el nino like pattern in ice age tropical pacific sea surface temperature sea surface temperatures ssts in the cold tongue of the eastern equatorial pacific exert powerful controls on global atmospheric circulation patterns we examined climate variability in this region from the last glacial maximum lgm to the present using a sst record reconstructed from magnesium calcium ratios in foraminifera from sea floor sediments near the galapagos islands cold tongue sst varied coherently with precession induced changes in seasonality during the past 30 000 years observed lgm cooling of just 1 2 c implies a relaxation of tropical temperature gradients weakened hadley and walker circulation southward shift of the intertropical convergence zone and a persistent el nino like pattern in the tropical pacific this is contrasted with mid holocene cooling suggestive of a la nina like pattern with enhanced sst gradients and strengthened trade winds our results support a potent role for altered tropical pacific sst gradients in global climate variations

a 300 000 yr coral reef record of sea level changes mururoa atoll tuamotu archipelago french polynesia abstract the accurate dating of fossil coral reefs is of prime importance in determining the timing of deglaciation events and thus understanding the mechanisms driving glacial interglacial cycles so far the most useful coral reef records of past sea level changes are those related to the last deglaciation and the last interglacial period u th ages for older isotopic stages are more limited due to the scarcity of datable material reflecting diagenetic alteration most data are from emergent parts of reefs and reef terraces in active subduction zones where relative sea level records may be biased by variations in rates of tectonic uplift new constraints on sea level changes over the past 300 000 yr are based on high precision u series age measurements of successive reef units on mururoa these have been cored in four continuous 300 m long drill holes with seaward inclinations of 30 to 45 on the northeastern rim of the atoll past sea level positions have been calculated from the radiometric ages of corals by correcting the present depth of subsurface horizons both for thermal subsidence and for depositional palaeodepth the location of this atoll at a considerable distance from former ice sheets far field minimises the influence of glacio isostatic rebound prominent units formed during four periods of relative sea level highstands including the holocene and stages 5 125 ka 7 212 ka and 9 332 ka these are primarily composed of coralgal frameworks that grew in very shallow water three periods of relative low stand correspond to stages 2 17 23 ka 4 60 ka and 8 270 ka during which small reefs developed in association with large bioclastic accumulations good agreement with the timing of sea level changes based on oxygen isotope measurements in deep sea cores is noted for most of the dated reef units we report here the first accurate coral record of the last glacial maximum in the pacific 135 143 m below the present sea surface suggesting that sea level may have been lower than expected during this period

a high resolution absolute dated late pleistocene monsoon record from hulu cave china oxygen isotope records of five stalagmites from hulu cave near nanjing bear a remarkable resemblance to oxygen isotope records from greenland ice cores suggesting that east asian monsoon intensity changed in concert with greenland temperature between 11 000 and 75 000 years before the present yr b p between 11 000 and 30 000 yr b p the timing of changes in the monsoon as established with 230th dates generally agrees with the timing of temperature changes from the greenland ice sheet project two gisp2 core which supports gisp2 s chronology in this interval our record links north atlantic climate with the meridional transport of heat and moisture from the warmest part of the ocean where the summer east asian monsoon originates

benthic foraminifer record of environmental changes in the yellow sea hwanghae during the last 15 000 years latest quaternary benthic foraminifer census counts in four cores from the yellow sea hwanghae were analyzed to decipher paleoenvironmental changes in this area since the last glacial maximum principal component analyses of samples from two cores in the central yellow sea indicate that the faunal variation in these cores re ects a sequence of distinct assemblages divided by sharp boundaries the shifts between individual biofacies correspond to changes in geochemical and lithological composition of the sediments and stable isotope ratios of foraminiferal shells and most can be correlated between cores the major faunal transition at a clear increase in bottom water salinity occurred between 8 47 and 6 63 ka and may indicate the establishment of modern type circulation in the yellow sea the inferred threshold size of the yellow sea basin for the establishment of such circulation seems to be rather close to its present day extent faunal shifts at 10 6 and 4 67 ka probably re ect changes in the intensity of river runo associated sediment and organic carbon delivery and bottom water oxygenation changes in benthic foraminifer faunas between 12 9 and 11 75 ka may signal the younger dryas climatic oscillation in the yellow sea the lateglacial marine transgression reached the central part of the yellow sea around 15 09 ka possibly an uplift of the central and eastern yellow sea area during the late holocene can explain the discrepancy between the timing of the transgression in the yellow sea and the global sea level curve 2000 published by elsevier science ltd all rights reserved

seismic stratigraphy and quaternary sedimentary history of the northeast aegean sea abstract seismic profiles show that the upper quaternary recent stratigraphic architecture of the ne aegean sea is characterized by several vertically stacked depositional sequences which are developed within three ne sw trending basins the depositional sequences are separated from one another by prominent shelf crossing unconformities formed during periods of falling and low sea level and reworked further during the subsequent sea level rise by shoreface erosion each depositional sequence consists of a lower mainly parallel stratified subunit and an upper oblique to sigmoid oblique prograded subunit the lower subunit represents hemipelagic and prodeltaic deposition of the transgressive and early highstand systems tracts the upper subunit represents deltas of the forced regressive systems tract the chronology of the depositional sequences is constrained by radiocarbon and u th dates on cores an average sedimentation rate of 30 cm ka is calculated for basinal muds of the region correlations with global sea level curves based on oxygen isotope stratigraphy reveal that the seaward prograded delta sequences developed on a rapidly subsiding shelf during successive glacio eustatic sea level falls associated with late quaternary glaciations a set of paleogeographical maps shows changing basin configuration since 330 ka volumes of the depositional sequences compare well with the volumes of sediment estimated to have been eroded from the incised valleys of the tuzla karamenderes and dumbek rivers draining the biga peninsula

timing of the last glacial maximum from observed sea level minima during the last glacial maximum ice sheets covered large areas in northern latitudes and global temperatures were significantly lower than today but few direct estimates exist of the volume of the ice sheets or the timing and rates of change during their advance and retreat here we analyze four distinct sediment facies in the shallow tectonically stable bonaparte gulf australia each of which is characteristic of a distinct range in sea level to estimate the maximum volume of land based ice during the last glaciation and the timing of the initial melting phase we use faunal assemblages and preservation status of the sediments to distinguish open marine shallow marine marginal marine and brackish conditions and estimate the timing and the mass of the ice sheets using radiocarbon dating and glacio hydroisostatic modelling our results indicate that from at least 22 000 to 19 000 calendar years before present land based ice volume was at its maximum exceeding today s grounded ice sheets by 52 5 x 10 exp 6 cu km a rapid decrease in ice volume by about 10 percent within a few hundred years terminated the last glacial maximum at 19 000 250 years

sea level changes forced ice breakouts in the last glacial cycle new results from coral terraces abstract sea level cycles recorded by coral terraces at huon peninsula hp in papua new guinea match rapid climate changes that occurred between 30 000 and 65 000 years ago seen in greenland ice cores and marine sediments each cycle of 6000 7000 years ended with a sea level rise of 10 15 m lasting 1000 2000 years following a longer period of falling sea level precise dating shows that each rise corresponds to a heinrich episode of ice rafted detritus in north atlantic signalling massive ice outbreak from north america sea level may be the trigger that forced near synchronous breakouts of ice from north america and eastern greenland the hp sea level changes also correspond to similar cycles in benthic oxygen isotopes reported from the north atlantic which are too large to be explained entirely in terms of ice volumes jointly the sea level and isotope records suggest that the north atlantic deep ocean cooled as sea level fell and warmed as sea level rose in each 6000 year cycle

geologic framework of the northern north carolina usa inner continental shelf and its influence on coastal evolution abstract the inner continental shelf off the northern outer banks of north carolina was mapped using sidescan sonar interferometric swath bathymetry and high resolution chirp and boomer subbottom profiling systems we use this information to describe the shallow stratigraphy reinterpret formation mechanisms of some shoal features evaluate local relative sea levels during the late pleistocene and provide new constraints via recent bedform evolution on regional sediment transport patterns the study area is approximately 290 km long by 11 km wide extending from false cape virginia to cape lookout north carolina in water depths ranging from 6 to 34 m late pleistocene sedimentary units comprise the shallow geologic framework of this region and determine both the morphology of the inner shelf and the distribution of sediment sources and sinks we identify pleistocene sedimentary units beneath diamond shoals that may have provided a geologic template for the location of modern cape hatteras and earlier paleo capes during the late pleistocene these units indicate shallow marine deposition 15 25 m below present sea level the uppermost pleistocene unit may have been deposited as recently as marine isotope stage 3 although some apparent ages for this timing may be suspect paleofluvial valleys incised during the last glacial maximum traverse the inner shelf throughout the study area and dissect the late pleistocene units sediments deposited in the valleys record the holocene transgression and provide insight into the evolutionary history of the barrier estuary system in this region the relationship between these valleys and adjacent shoal complexes suggests that the paleo roanoke river did not form the albemarle shelf valley complex as previously proposed a major fluvial system is absent and thus makes the formation of this feature enigmatic major shoal features in the study area show mobility at decadal to centennial timescales including nearly a kilometer of shoal migration over the past 134 yr sorted bedforms occupy 1000 km 2 of seafloor in raleigh bay and indicate regional sediment transport patterns between capes hatteras and lookout that help explain long term sediment accumulation and morphologic development portions of the inner continental shelf with relatively high sediment abundance are characterized by shoals and shoreface attached ridges and where sediment is less abundant the seafloor is dominated by sorted bedforms these relationships are also observed in other passive margin settings suggesting a continuum of shelf morphology that may have broad application for interpreting inner shelf sedimentation patterns

the role of glacio eustasy in sequence formation mid atlantic continental margin usa abstract previous studies of the mid atlantic continental margin had shown the lack of correlation between pleistocene glacio eustatic oscillations and sequence boundaries this study documents late pleistocene to holocene paleoenvironments within a seismic stratigraphic sequence in order to characterize sequence formation and the development of unconformities in response to glacio eustatic oscillations the data high resolution chirp subbottom profiling and 28 vibracores were collected in water depths of 38 m to 145 m as part of the r v endeavor cruise 370 survey to the mid atlantic continental margin sediment sources sedimentary and seismic facies associated with the last major glaciation and oxygen isotope stages ois 5 to ois 1 were examined and a chronology was constructed from mollusk assemblages of intertidal origin that allowed tracking the paleoshoreline from 19 to 6 ka bp the maximum extent of the last glacial maximum lgm paleoshoreline at 17 ka bp was documented near the 120 m modern isobath the shoreline was marked by sediment mounds up to 5 m high and troughs 15 m deep and 1 km wide interpreted as shoreface and tidal inlet or lagoons formed from 17 to 15 ka bp five kilometers seaward from the lgm shoreline and the head of the hudson canyon is a wedge shaped feature interpreted as a lowstand delta sediments older than the last glacial possibly ois 3 or ois 5 onlap a basal unconformity we correlate this unconformity to a previously identified sequence boundary approximately 20 m to 30 m of sediment accumulated on the outer shelf ne of the hudson canyon during the last glacial and little deposition has occurred since 11 ka bp the modern outershelf is covered by 1 m of mollusk rich glauconitic sand deposited from latest pleistocene to early holocene 15 to 11 ka bp these results showed a close correspondence between depositional environments and glacio eustasy but sequence development and sequence boundary formation appeared to be influenced by the incomplete filling of accommodation space due to poor preservation during ois 2 and low accumulation during the holocene

denudation of the continental shelf between britain and france at the glacial interglacial timescale the erosional morphology preserved at the sea bed in the eastern english channel dominantly records denudation of the continental shelf by fluvial processes over multiple glacial interglacial sea level cycles rather than by catastrophic flooding through the straits of dover during the mid quaternary here through the integration of multibeam bathymetry and shallow sub bottom 2d seismic reflection profiles calibrated with vibrocore records the first stratigraphic model of erosion and deposition on the eastern english channel continental shelf is presented published optical stimulated luminescence osl and 14c ages were used to chronometrically constrain the stratigraphy and allow correlation of the continental shelf record with major climatic sea level periods five major erosion surfaces overlain by discrete sediment packages have been identified the continental shelf in the eastern english channel preserves a record of processes operating from marine isotope stage mis 6 to mis 1 planar and channelised erosion surfaces were formed by fluvial incision during lowstands or relative sea level fall the depth and lateral extent of incision was partly conditioned by underlying geology rock type and tectonic structure climatic conditions and changes in water and sediment discharge coupled to ice sheet dynamics and the drainage configuration of major rivers in northwest europe evidence for major erosion during or prior to mis 6 is preserved fluvial sediments of mis 2 age were identified within the northern palaeovalley providing insights into the scale of erosion by normal fluvial regimes seismic and sedimentary facies indicate that deposition predominantly occurred during transgression when accommodation was created in palaeovalleys to allow discrete sediment bodies to form sediment reworking over multiple sea level cycles saalian eemian early weichselian by fluvial coastal and marine processes created a multi lateral multi storey succession of palaeovalley fills that are preserved as a strath terrace the data presented here reveal a composite erosional and depositional record that has undergone a high degree of reworking over multiple sea level cycles leading to the preferential preservation of sediments associated with the most recent glacial interglacial period

mid holocene sea level highstand along the southeast coast of china various sea level curves have been proposed for the coast of china in the past two decades these sea level curves indicate a complex history of holocene sea level and so the debate on whether or not a higher mid holocene sea level highstand exists in the coast of china has continued this paper aims to re examine the holocene sea level history for the low latitude part of the china coast between 18 n and 32 n by re assessing all the sea level data available from the east to south coasts and separating them according to geological settings in order to examine the influences of global and local factors the reconstructed sea level histories from different coastal sectors of the china coast reveal a certain degree of variability in the timing and height of mid holocene sea level highstand within large river deltas the mid holocene sea level highstand occurred earlier by almost 1000 years than that from other coastal sites the highstand from large river deltas appears also lower in altitude a few metres below the present day sea level due probably to the local factors of subsidence and sediment consolidation in geologically stable coastal sites the highstand is recorded at the same altitude as the present day sea level a 1 2 m higher highstand is found from sites where tectonic uplift is observed

high resolution sequence stratigraphy and continental environmental evolution an example from east central argentina abstract the aims of this contribution is to establish a high resolution sequence stratigraphic scheme for the continental deposits that constitute the punta san andres alloformation plio pleistocene in east central argentina to analyze the basin fill evolution and to identify and assess the role that extrinsic factors such as climate and sea level oscillations played during evolution of the unit for the high resolution sequence stratigraphical study of the punta san andres alloformation high and low accommodation system tracts were defined mainly on the basis of the architectural elements present in the succession also taking into account the relative degree of channel and floodplain deposits discontinuities and the nature of depositional systems generated during variations in accommodation helped identify two fourth order high accommodation system tracts and two fourth order low accommodation system tracts at a third order scale the punta san andres alloformation may be interpreted as the progradation of continental depositional systems characterized by a braided system in the proximal areas and a low sinuosity single channel system in the distal areas defined by a high rate of sediment supply and discharge peaks which periodically flooded the plains and generated high aggradation rates during the late pliocene and lower pleistocene

3d architecture of quaternary sediment along the nw atlantic moroccan rharb continental shelf a stratal pattern under the dual control of tectonics and climatic variations abstract this study focuses on the evolution of the atlantic nw moroccan rharb continental shelf during the neogene and quaternary this region is part of a foreland basin bounded by the rif mountain belt and thus provides an interesting geological setting to study the interactions between eustasy and tectonics and the driving mechanisms controlling stratigraphic patterns the results are supported by an interpretation of new data including high resolution seismic lines coupled with an interpretation of industrial seismic lines and detailed logs of industrial wells completed by micropaleontologic analysis of cuttings the stratigraphy reveals a succession of three mega sequences related to the transition from an underfilled to an overfilled stage reflecting the long term evolution of the foreland system moreover evidence of cyclical sea level changes are visible in the upper megasequence composed of three depositional sequences assumed to be fourth order sequences generated in response to the most recent 100 ka glacio eustatic cycles this study also shows the peripheral deformation of the rharb shelf responsible for changes in the geometry of the deposits and thicknesses of the sedimentary fill during the pliocene and pleistocene the most important change was triggered by the uplift of the lallah zahra ridge corresponding to a major quaternary kinematic boundary and the broad uplift of the southern shelf interpreted as a flexural uplift of the forebulge domain the deformation controlled sediment dispersal pattern consists of a progressive growth of the shelf accompanied with a progressive shift of depocenters from the north east to the south west and a general progradation to the north west along the southern border this progressive filling has led to the confinement of the rharb paleo valley across the continental shelf the complete filling of the palaeo valley was followed by the development of a more than 70 m thick prodeltaic lobe at the front of the oued sebou river mouth during the holocene

neotectonic movement earthquakes and stress state in the eastern united states abstract a regional pattern of crustal movement across the eastern united states is suggested by relations found by investigations into the cause of earthquakes the pattern consists of zones of fractures and vertical movement most of the seismic source areas appear to be related to northwest trending fracture zones that commonly have apparent righ lateral strike slip offset where they cross broad northeast trending belts of vertical movement the fracture zones also appear to control the positions of local northwest trending basins embayments on the atlantic and gulf coastal plains these embayments seem to be relatively subsiding at present and have earthquakes associated with them intervening arches have very few earthquakes some earthquakes are also spatially related to north trending extensional fault zones that commonly lie north of northwest trending fracture zones a slight northward tilt of the entire region and possible lingering effects of glacial rebound in the northeast show no relation with seismicity both the broad belts of vertical movement and embayments are apparently those initiated by the late cretaceous as the north atlantic basin widened and the northwest trending fracture zones can be directly or indirectly related to the offshore transform fracture zones the interplate movements in the eastern united states are thus directly related to those in the north atlantic basin the fracture pattern is also similar to that of the western united states but the movements less these tectonic movements in the eastern united states can be accounted for by a maximum horizontal compressive stress oriented approximately north northwest south southeast to north south and an extension oriented approximately east west