Three-dimensional evolution of the Yangtze River mouth, China during the Holocene: impacts of sea level, climate and human activity

Wang, Zhanghua; Saito, Yoshiki; Zhan, Qing; Nian, Xiaomei; Pan, Dadong; Wang, Long; Chen, Ting; Xie, Jianlei; Xiao, Li; Jiang, Xiaotong

doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.08.012

Cited by 104 publications

(58 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…The Yangtze River has the world's largest watershed population (450 million) and ranks ninth in drainage area (1.8 million km 2 ), third in length (6300 km), fifth in water discharge (900 km 3 yr −1 ), and fourth in sediment discharge (500 Mt yr −1 before the decline since the 1970s) (Milliman and Farnsworth ; Yang et al ). The subaerial delta, which has been built up by sediment deposition from the Yangtze since the mid‐Holocene, is nearly 100,000 km 2 , supports 8% of China's population and provides 15% of China's gross domestic product (Wang et al ; Xu et al ). Sediments in the Yangtze subaqueous delta are composed mainly of silt and clay (Wang et al ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Common methods available for studying morphological evolution in delta and coastal marsh systems include (1) dating of sediment cores to calculate deposition rates (Törnqvist et al ; Wang et al ); (2) comparison of shorelines, isobaths, or vegetation boundaries on topographic maps (Fanos ; Yang et al ) or remote sensing images (Anthony ; Shaw et al ) from different time periods to illustrate and compute lateral progradation/retreat rates; (3) comparison of coastal profiles surveyed in different years to illustrate and calculate vertical accretion/erosion and lateral progradation/retreat rates (Yang et al ; van Maren ); (4) use of digital elevation model and geographic information system (GIS) technology to show spatial variations in accretion/erosion (Shaw et al ; Luo et al ); (5) creation of hydrodynamic‐morphodynamic models, in particular Delft3D, to simulate and predict morphological evolution in deltas and coastal wetlands (Caldwell and Edmonds ； Nardin et al ; Luan et al ); and (6) identification of temporal coarsening of surface sediment to infer delta erosion (Guillen and Jimenez ; Luo et al ; Yang et al 2018 a ). These methods are mutually complementary.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Role of delta‐front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea‐level rise and fluvial sediment decline

Yang

Luo

Temmerman

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

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Accelerating sea-level rise and decreasing riverine sediment supply are widely considered to lead to global losses of deltaic marshes and their valuable ecosystem services. However, little is known about the degree to which the related erosion of the seaward delta front can provide sediments to sustain salt marshes. Here, we present data from the mesomacrotidal Yangtze Delta demonstrating that marshes have continued to accrete vertically and laterally, despite rapid relative sea-level rise ($10 mm yr −1) and a > 70% decrease in the Yangtze River sediment supply. Marsh progradation has decelerated at a lower rate than fluvial sediment reduction, suggesting an additional source of sediment. We find that under favorable conditions (e.g., a mesomacrotidal range, strong tidal flow, flood dominance, sedimentary settling lag/scour lag effects, and increasing high-tide level), delta-front erosion can actually supply sediment to marshes, thereby maintaining marsh accretion rates in balance with relative sea-level rise. Comparison of global deltas illustrates that the ability of sediment remobilization to sustain marshes depends on coastal processes and varies by more than an order of magnitude among the world's major deltas. Salt marshes are among the world's most valuable ecosystems (Costanza et al. 1997). They sequester carbon, protect shorelines from storm impacts, transform nutrients, contribute to fisheries production, and maintain biodiversity (Barbier et al. 2011; Kirwan and Megonigal 2013; Temmerman et al. 2013; Möller et al. 2014). Unfortunately, many salt marshes have disappeared due to reclamation and waste disposal during the past century (Gedan et al. 2009; Ma et al. 2014). Deltaic marshes are one of the most dynamic landscapes on Earth's surface (Wagner et al. 2017) and are threatened by accelerating sea-level rise and decreases in fluvial sediment supply. Decreasing fluvial sediment supply reduces the ability of salt marshes to accumulate sediments and to build up their soil elevation in balance with the rising sea level (Kirwan et al. 2010; Weston 2014). Although the morphology and evolution of deltas are influenced by various factors (Paola et al. 2011), such as riverine water and sediment discharges (Besset et al. 2019), sediment properties (Caldwell and Edmonds 2014), flow patterns (Shaw et al. 2016), vegetation height and density (Nardin et al. 2016), marine hydrodynamics (waves, tides, and longshore currents) (Caldwell and Edmonds 2014; Besset et al. 2017), land subsidence and sea-level changes (Jerolmack 2009; Syvitski et al. 2009), changes in the fluvial sediment supply and relative sea level are usually the most important for the long-term morphological evolution of deltaic marshes. The rate of global mean sea-level rise increased from 1.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of delta‐front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea‐level rise and fluvial sediment decline

Yang

Luo

Temmerman

et al. 2020

Limnology & Oceanography

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“…The pre-dam (Three Gorges Dam) sediment yield of the Changjiang River was >300 × 10 6 tons per year, whereas, at present, it is~120 × 10 6 tons [4]. The reconstruction of the source and distribution patterns of the delta sediments can help to unravel the history of erosion processes, source area characteristics, and the factors controlling and determining the production (source), transport, dispersal and accumulation (sink), and reworking (number of burial-erosion cycles during sediment transport) at different temporal and spatial scales [5][6][7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Chemical Composition and Surface Texture of Transparent Heavy Minerals from Core LQ24 in the Changjiang Delta

et al. 2019

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The assessment of textural and compositional modifications of detrital sediments is required to reconstruct past source to sink dynamics. The Changjiang Delta is an ideal location to study the sedimentary environment from the Pliocene to Quaternary transition. In the present study, we aim to decipher the response of heavy minerals to mechanical wear and chemical weathering since the Pliocene. With the application of a scanning electron microscope and an electron probe, the geochemistry and surface texture of different heavy minerals (amphibole, epidote, and tourmaline groups) with grain-size fractions of 32–63 µm and 63–125 µm were studied. The result shows that the surface texture of unstable minerals (amphibole, epidote) changed under strong chemical weathering in the Pliocene sediments. By contrast, unstable minerals of the Pleistocene sediments are relatively fresh and similar to those of the modern Changjiang sediment. The stable mineral tourmaline does not exhibit morphology changes in different chemical weathering conditions. No effect of grain size on geochemical composition is noticed. The single minerals of very fine sand and coarse silt show similar geochemical and morphological features. The integration of mineralogy, geochemical data, and grain size parameters yield a more precise understanding of the physical and chemical response of heavy minerals to different weathering conditions. The outcome of the study is also helpful in deciphering sediment provenance changes and environmental changes in the Changjiang basin.

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“…The decrease in zircon elongation and improvement of its roundness in the Quaternary strata implied that the Yangtze Delta received sediments of different provenance that originated from the Middle-Upper Yangtze basin due to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Statistical analysis of detrital zircon morphology has proven useful for studying the source-to-sink of sediments.Minerals 2019, 9, 438 2 of 15 intuitively determine zircon parent rocks and are potential fingerprints to be applied in sediment provenance analysis [13][14][15][16][17].Serving as an important depocenter of the Eastern China, the Yangtze Delta has preserved valuable information on sediment sources related to landform and river evolution [5,18,19]. Using different methods of clay mineral analysis, geochemistry, magnetic properties, single mineral geochronology (zircon, monazite age spectra), previous studies have identified a significant change in sediment provenance at the Pliocene-Quaternary transition [20][21][22][23].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Serving as an important depocenter of the Eastern China, the Yangtze Delta has preserved valuable information on sediment sources related to landform and river evolution [5,18,19]. Using different methods of clay mineral analysis, geochemistry, magnetic properties, single mineral geochronology (zircon, monazite age spectra), previous studies have identified a significant change in sediment provenance at the Pliocene-Quaternary transition [20][21][22][23].…”

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confidence: 99%

Morphology of Detrital Zircon as a Fingerprint to Trace Sediment Provenance: Case Study of the Yangtze Delta

et al. 2019

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Deltaic areas and marginal seas are important archives that document information on regional tectonic movement, sea level rise, river evolution, and climate change. Here, sediment samples from boreholes of the Yangtze Delta and the modern Yangtze drainage were collected. A quantitative analysis of detrital zircon morphology was used to discuss the provenance evolution of the Yangtze Delta. This research demonstrated that a dramatic change in sediment provenance occurred in the transition from the Pliocene to Quaternary. Zircon grains in the Pliocene sediments featured euhedral crystals with large elongation (>3 accounted for 13.2%) and were closely matched to tributary samples in the Lower Yangtze (>3 accounted for 11.3%), suggesting sediment provenance from the proximal river basin. However, most detrital zircon grains of the Quaternary samples exhibited lower values of elongation and increased roundness (rounded grains were 9.4%), which was similar to those found in the modern Yangtze mainstream (rounded grains were 12.5%) and the middle tributaries (rounded grains were 7.0%). The decrease in zircon elongation and improvement of its roundness in the Quaternary strata implied that the Yangtze Delta received sediments of different provenance that originated from the Middle-Upper Yangtze basin due to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau. Statistical analysis of detrital zircon morphology has proven useful for studying the source-to-sink of sediments.Minerals 2019, 9, 438 2 of 15 intuitively determine zircon parent rocks and are potential fingerprints to be applied in sediment provenance analysis [13][14][15][16][17].Serving as an important depocenter of the Eastern China, the Yangtze Delta has preserved valuable information on sediment sources related to landform and river evolution [5,18,19]. Using different methods of clay mineral analysis, geochemistry, magnetic properties, single mineral geochronology (zircon, monazite age spectra), previous studies have identified a significant change in sediment provenance at the Pliocene-Quaternary transition [20][21][22][23]. However, sediment provenance evolution in the deltaic area is still controversial [22]. There is neither a consensus about the exact source of the Pliocene strata in the Yangtze Delta nor about the time when the Upper Yangtze sediments arrived at the delta. Different studies proposed that the Upper Yangtze sediment arrived either early in the Pliocene [21,24], in the Early-Middle Pleistocene [22,23,[25][26][27], or later in the late Pleistocene [28,29]. For these previous studies, only one borehole was used to represent the entire area of the Yangtze Delta, which may have resulted in different interpretations due to the limitations of the different methods. This is not only because of the vast area of Yangtze Delta but also because of its complex sedimentary strata.In order to extract the exact sediment provenance, several boreholes in different regions of the study area should be systematically analysed and compared to potential source sediments within ...

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Three-dimensional evolution of the Yangtze River mouth, China during the Holocene: impacts of sea level, climate and human activity

Cited by 104 publications

References 78 publications

Role of delta‐front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea‐level rise and fluvial sediment decline

Role of delta‐front erosion in sustaining salt marshes under sea‐level rise and fluvial sediment decline

The Chemical Composition and Surface Texture of Transparent Heavy Minerals from Core LQ24 in the Changjiang Delta

Morphology of Detrital Zircon as a Fingerprint to Trace Sediment Provenance: Case Study of the Yangtze Delta

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