Seismic and core investigation on the modern Yellow River Delta reveals the development of the uppermost fluvial deposits and the subsequent transgression system since the postglacial period

Liu, Shihao; Li, Peiying; Feng, Aiping; Du, Jun; Gao, Wei; Xu, Yaoyang; Yu, Xiaoxiao; Ping, Li; Nan, Xueliang

doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2016.07.009

Cited by 18 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…In stratigraphic analysis, this unconformity, or ravinement, usually separates overlying ‘modern’ marine sands from underlying Holocene estuarine sediments (typically best preserved in palaeo‐channels, e.g. Nordfjord et al ., ; Liu et al ., , ) or Pleistocene or older sediments (Swift & Thorne, ; Goff, ; Goff et al ., ,b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorted bedforms off Western Long Island, New York, USA: Asymmetrical morphology and twelve‐year migration record

et al. 2018

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Sorted bedforms are widely present in sediment‐starved littoral and inner shelf settings; they are indicators for hydrodynamic conditions and a primary contributor for the subsurface structure. This study investigated the morphology and migration of sorted bedforms on the inner shelf of Long Beach Barrier Island, New York, USA, by repeat geophysical and geological surveys in 2001, 2005 and 2013 (following superstorm Sandy) involving swath bathymetry, backscatter, chirp seismic reflection data and grab sampling. Swath data revealed that the western sector, comprising the western 75% of the survey region, is dominated by NNE–SSW‐oriented, 0·5 to 1·0 km wide sorted bedforms with highly asymmetrical cross‐sections, with steeper slopes and coarser sands on the eastern (stoss) flanks. Many secondary bedforms were also observed (north–south to north‐east/south‐west oriented lineation structures) at the western edges of coarse sand zones. The eastern sector displays an unusual sorted bedform pattern that is dominated by coarse‐grained substrate, with isolated patches of fine‐grained sands oriented north‐east/south‐west which are 0·15 to 1·0 km in length and ca 30 to 200 m in width, similar in scale and orientation to the secondary bedforms in the western sector. Comparison analysis of the swath data sets indicates that the primary transverse sorted bedform morphology within the western sector was largely stable over this time frame, although the swales were deepened following the storms. The coarse/fine sand boundaries did migrate, however, moving ca 1 to 5 m eastward between 2001 and 2005, and ca 5 to 20 m westward between 2005 and 2013; the higher migration rates (up to 2·5 m year−1) in the latter time period may be attributable to large storm forcing (for example, hurricanes Irene and Sandy). Significant north‐westward migration of the secondary bedforms and coarse sand patches in the western sector, as well as fine sand patches in the eastern sector were also observed; these features are far more mobile than the primary sorted bedforms, possibly because they are fine sand drifts that do not erode into the coarse substrate. Seismic reflection data revealed a transgressive ravinement beneath sorted bedforms, merging with the sea floor at the bottom of swales. The authors hypothesize that long‐term topographic migration of transverse sorted bedforms contributes to the formation and evolution of the ravinement.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sorted bedforms off Western Long Island, New York, USA: Asymmetrical morphology and twelve‐year migration record

et al. 2018

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“…Seismic data were processed using Madagascar 2.0 software, including auto gain control and heave filtering, and interpreted using Landmark's DecisionSpace™ software to delineate seismic units and horizons. Depth was estimated from two‐way travel time using an average acoustic velocity of 1,650 m/s following previous studies off MHD (Liu et al., 2014, 2016). Interpolated bathymetric maps were projected onto the seismic profiles, and each of the associated bathymetric profiles roughly overlaps a major seismic horizon interior of MHD (Figure 7).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The base of MHD is marked by a strong, sub-horizontal unconformity formed under a preferential erosional regime as the result of the Huanghe rechanneling to discharge into the south Yellow Sea from 1128 to 1855 CE (e.g., Liu et al, 2016Liu et al, , 2019. This horizon separates the overlying MHD (a series of seaward-dipping internal reflections) from the underlying stratified facies (Figure 9, 10a and 10b).…”

Section: Seismic Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of Gravity‐Driven Sedimentation on Reshaping the Huanghe (Yellow River) Delta Front

et al. 2022

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Many of the world's mega‐river deltas are currently degrading due to a shortage of sediment supply feeding their construction. Here, using bathymetric and seismic data, the geomorphological/sedimentary evolution on and near a recently abandoned (1976 CE) Huanghe delta lobe is investigated. The delta front (DF) exhibits a lobe switching‐controlled pattern of progradation followed by mass wasting on the upper front, and redeposition at the seaward toe of the front; the latter process appears to be associated with sediment failure and contributes to delta degradation. During degradation, mass wasting‐driven deepening of the upper DF was initially up to ∼0.86 m/yr from 1978 to 1985 CE, slowed to ∼0.12 m/yr from 1985 to 2000 CE, and has been negligible since. In either prograding or degrading, gravity‐driven sedimentation results in a downlapping seismic unit superimposed on the bottomset of an earlier converging clinoform, with numerous buried/exposed submarine channels at its seaward terminus. These units exhibit a shore‐parallel elongated and continuous geometry, suggesting lateral spreading, which we attribute to alongshore hydrodynamic (especially tidal) remolding. Our findings underscore the significance of sediment gravity flows in the evolution of a degrading delta front, particularly as a principal mechanism of downslope mass transport that gentled (halving the gradient) and reshaped the DF over time. Gravity‐driven accumulations sourced from upper DF collapse can account for ∼1/3 of the previous DF and laterally extend over an unexpectedly large area (∼60‐km long) through hydrodynamic redistribution. Both processes should be considered for modeling other subaqueous deltas.

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“…The winter coastal current system, crucial for long-term sediment transport and prodelta evolution, is dominant because the Yellow Sea Warm Current is less intrusive in the summer; as a result, the circulation system predominantly transport river-borne sediments in winter, while storing them in summer (Su and Yuan, 2005;Xue et al, 2018). A bifurcation of the current occurs off the Luanhe River delta in the northwestern Bohai Sea (Figure 1A) (Su and Yuan, 2005;Liu et al, 2016a;2016b).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The substantial sediment discharge originating from the Huanghe has played a crucial role in shaping the Huanghe delta both onshore (Xue, 1993;Saito et al, 2000;He et al, 2019) and offshore (Liu et al, 2009;Liu et al, 2016bLiu et al, , 2019 in the western Bohai Sea. The Huanghe River has experienced frequent avulsion and lobe-switching events (Cheng and Xue, 1997;Wang et al, 2007), leading to the formation of a deltaic plain comprised of distinct deltaic lobe (referred to as superlobes).…”

Section: Paleo-shoreline Delta Evolution and Subsurface Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen and spore records constrained by millennial prodelta evolution: a case study of the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta

Hu,

Liu,

Liu

et al. 2024

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Pollen and spore records in prodeltaic sediments hold significant potential for reconstructing paleoecologic and paleoclimatic evolution. However, uncertainties in these reconstructions arise from millennial-scale prodelta evolution, which dominates stratigraphic development and consequently influences sedimentary processes and/or pollen provenance. Here we explore the intricate relationship between pollen/spore records and prodelta stratigraphic evolution, using established seismic stratigraphy and ten sediment cores (five new, five from literature) within both the proximal and distal (mud belt) parts of the Huanghe (Yellow River) prodelta. In the proximal region, dominant lobate stratigraphic development, accompanied by shifts in river mouth and depocenter, leads to variations in pollen assemblages and contents within individual cores and differences in vertical pollen distribution across core sites. Transport distance appears to be a key factor, with arboreal pollens, particularly saccate ones (e.g., Pinus), positively correlating with the distance from the river mouth in their percentages within a single delta lobe, while non-arboreal and non-saccate arboreal pollens show higher percentages within shorter transport distances, despite longer distances leading to decreased total pollen concentrations. Likely due to the total pollen concentration after extended long-distance transport, this pattern is not observable in the distal mud belt. Subsurface stratigraphy in this mud belt reveals a complex pollen provenance characterized by Artemisia-Ulmus-Chenopodiaceae-Pinus, with non-arboreal pollens in dominance. Therein, non-arboreal pollens are not consistent with deposition from long-distance transport, and Ulmus pollens are uncommon in the western Bohai Sea. Interestingly, surface sediments in the mud belt display a different assemblage, characterized by Pinus-Artemisia-Quercus, consistent with the nearby Luanhe River prodelta, suggesting recent pollen supply from nearby sources, possibly due to the recent abandonment of the mud belt. Additionally, an energetic longshore transport/erosional regime reduces pollen content at the mud-belt margins and create pollen sinks (with the highest concentration) in the mud patch (accumulation area) within the erosion-dominated region adjacent to the mud belt. Our findings confirm that stratigraphic evolution, alongside hydrodynamic conditions and pollen provenance, governs pollen assemblages in deltaic/prodeltaic sediments. They can provide insights for palynological and pollen-based paleoclimatic and paleoecologic studies in other deltas.

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Seismic and core investigation on the modern Yellow River Delta reveals the development of the uppermost fluvial deposits and the subsequent transgression system since the postglacial period

Cited by 18 publications

References 60 publications

Sorted bedforms off Western Long Island, New York, USA: Asymmetrical morphology and twelve‐year migration record

Sorted bedforms off Western Long Island, New York, USA: Asymmetrical morphology and twelve‐year migration record

The Impact of Gravity‐Driven Sedimentation on Reshaping the Huanghe (Yellow River) Delta Front

Pollen and spore records constrained by millennial prodelta evolution: a case study of the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta

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