###### Abstract  
The Huanghe River (Yellow River) is the most sediment laden river system in the world, and many efforts have been conducted to understand modern deltaic evolution in response to anthropological impacts. However, the natural background and its linkage to climatic changes are less documented in previous studies. In this work, we studied the sediments of core YDZ-3 and marine surface samples by grain-size analysis to retrieve Holocene dynamics of the Huanghe River delta in detail. The main findings are as follows: The mean value of sediment grain size of the studied core is 5.5 \(\pm\) 0.9 \(\Phi\), and silt and sand contents are 5.2 \(\pm\) 2.3% and 8.2 \(\pm\) 5.3%, respectively, while the variance of clay particles is relatively large with an average value of 86.4 \(\pm\) 8.5%. All grain-size data can be mathematically partitioned by a Weibull-based function formula, and three subgroups were identified with modal sizes of 61.1 \(\pm\) 28.9 \(\upmu\)m, 30.0 \(\pm\) 23.9 \(\upmu\)m, and 2.8 \(\pm\) 1.6 \(\upmu\)m, respectively. There are eight intervals with abrupt changes in modal size of core YDZ-3, which can be correlated to paleo-superlobe migration of the Huanghe River in the Holocene. Based on these observations, the presence of seven superlobe in the history are confirmed for the first time and their ages are well constrained in this study, including Paleo-Superlobes Lijn (6400-5280 yr BP), Huanghua (4480-4190 yr BP), Jugezhuang (3880-3660 yr BP), Shajinzi (3070-2870 yr BP), Nigu (2780-2360 yr BP), Qikou (2140-2000 yr BP), and Kenli (1940-1780 and 1700-1650 yr BP). By tuning geomorphological events to a sedimentary proxy derived from core YDZ-3 and comparing to various paleoenvironmental changes, we proposed that winter climate dominated Holocene shifts of the Huanghe River delta on millennial timescales, while summer monsoons controlled deltaic evolution on centennial timescales. Huanghe River (Yellow River); paleo-superlobes; deltaic evolution; Asian monsoon; the Holocene; sediment grain size; centennial timescales +
Footnote †: journal: _Applied Sciences_  
background of the Huanghe River is critical to social and scientific issues, such as future policy, water-resource management, and coastal engineering [5; 6; 7; 8]. During the early-Holocene transgression, sedimentary environments along the coastal areas of the Bohai Sea changed from rivers and lakes to tidal flats and estuaries [9; 10], and the paleo-environment shifted to a deltaic one at \(\sim\)6000 \({}^{14}\)C yr BP [8; 10]. Subsequently, 10 paleo-superlobes (PSLs) of the Huanghe River were developed, nine of them on the western coast of the Bohai Sea, and the other on the western coast of the Huanghai Sea (Yellow Sea) during 1128-1855 AD [10; 11]. The Yangtze River delta was affected by the Yellow River when it shifted to the Huanghai Sea [12], and the present Yellow River delta, referred to PSL-10, formed after an artificial river-course shift in 1855 AD, from the Huanghai Sea back to the Bohai Sea (Figure 1). Holocene and recent changes of the Huanghe River are characterized by large sediment loads and frequent shifts of terminal channel [1; 11]. It was reported that the Huanghe River runoff and sediment loads were dominated by the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM), and over the past 500 years, either runoff or sediment loads have been unprecedented due to human activities [6]. Based on shellly ridges of the west coast of the Bohai Sea, it is inferred that there were ten periods for the PSL development since the middle Holocene [15]. By radiocarbon dating of shell fossils, organic carbon without calibration, or historical documents about the Huanghe River rechanneling, PSL-1, -6, -7 have been confirmed by regional sequence stratigraphy [10; 11; 13]; however, other PSLs are not well constrained. Typically, deltas usually contain several superlobes, which develop at river mouths in response to regional sea level changes, such as transgressive and regressive phases [16] and sediment accumulation rate [17].