Contrasting Sensitivity of Weathering Proxies to Quaternary Climate and Sea-Level Fluctuations on the Southern Slope of the South China Sea

Zhong，Yi1,2,3,4; Wilson，David J.5; Liu，Jiabo1,3,4; Wan，Shiming6; Bao，Rui7; Liu，Jianxing8; Zhang，Yanan1; Wang，Xuesong2; Liu，Yuanhao1; Liu，Xiaoyu1; Zhao，Ying1; Li，Shiying9; Liu，Qingsong1,3,4

2021-12-28

English

China Postdoctoral Science Foundation[2020M682770];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41806063];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41874078];National Natural Science Foundation of China[41976065];National Eye Research Centre[NE/T011440/1];Natural Environment Research Council[NE/T011440/1];

Tropical marginal seas host important sedimentary archives that may be exploited to reveal past changes in continental erosion, chemical weathering, and ocean dynamics. However, these records can be challenging to interpret due to the complex interactions between climate and particulate transport across ocean margins. For the southern South China Sea over the last 90 Kyr, we observe a contrasting temporal relationship between the deposition of clay minerals and magnetic minerals, which were associated with two different hydrodynamic modes. Fine-grained clay minerals can be carried in suspension by ocean currents, leading to a rapid response to regional climate-driven inputs. In contrast, changes in magnetic mineralogy were linked to glacial-interglacial sea level variability, from which we infer a control by bedload transport and resuspension. Overall, this study indicates that the transfer pathways and mechanisms imparted by varying hydrodynamic conditions exert a substantial influence on the distribution of terrigenous material in continental margin sediments.

10.1029/2021GL096433

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS

48

24

0094-8276

SCI ; EI

First ; Corresponding

2-s2.0-85121668625

Scopus

WOS:000735897000070

20215211396538

Hydrodynamics ; Ocean currents ; Sea level ; Weathering

Oceanography, General:471.1 ; Seawater, Tides and Waves:471.4 ; Minerals:482.2

1944-8007

NI Journal Papers

GEOSCIENCES

1.Centre for Marine Magnetism (CM2),Department of Ocean Science and Engineering,Southern University of Science and Technology,Shenzhen,China
2.Key Laboratory of Ocean and Marginal Sea Geology,South China Sea Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Guangzhou,China
3.Laboratory for Marine Geology,Qingdao National Oceanography Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology,Qingdao,China
4.Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou),Guangzhou,China
5.Institute of Earth and Planetary Sciences,University College London and Birkbeck,University of London,London,United Kingdom
6.Key Laboratory of Marine Geology and Environment,Institute of Oceanology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Qingdao,China
7.Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology,Ministry of Education/Institute for Advanced Ocean Studies,Ocean University of China,Qingdao,China
8.Key Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology,First Institute of Oceanography,Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR),Qingdao,China
9.Guangdong Marine Geological Survey,Guangzhou,China

Zhong，Yi,Wilson，David J.,Liu，Jiabo,et al. Contrasting Sensitivity of Weathering Proxies to Quaternary Climate and Sea-Level Fluctuations on the Southern Slope of the South China Sea. 2021-12-28.