Cite this paper:
ZHU Qing, LIN Jia, HONG Yuehui, YUAN Lirong, LIU Jinzhong, XU Xiaoming, WANG Jianghai. Centennial-scale records of total organic carbon in sediment cores from the South Yellow Sea, China[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2018, 36(1): 128-138

Centennial-scale records of total organic carbon in sediment cores from the South Yellow Sea, China

ZHU Qing1, LIN Jia1, HONG Yuehui1, YUAN Lirong1, LIU Jinzhong2, XU Xiaoming1, WANG Jianghai1
1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering/South China Sea Bioresource Exploitation and Utilization Collaborative Innovation Center, School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510006, China;
2 Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China
Abstract:
Global carbon cycling is a significant factor that controls climate change. The centennial-scale variations in total organic carbon (TOC) contents and its sources in marginal sea sediments may reflect the influence of human activities on global climate change. In this study, two fine-grained sediment cores from the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass of the South Yellow Sea were used to systematically determine TOC contents and stable carbon isotope ratios. These results were combined with previous data of black carbon and 210Pb dating from which we reconstructed the centennial-scale initial sequences of TOC, terrigenous TOC (TOCter) and marine autogenous TOC (TOCmar) after selecting suitable models to correct the measured TOC (TOCcor). These sequences showed that the TOCter decreased with time in the both cores while the TOC marincreased, particularly the rapid growth in core H43 since the late 1960s. According to the correlation between the Huanghe (Yellow) River discharge and the TOCcor, TOCter, or TOCmar, we found that the TOCter in the two cores mainly derived from the Huanghe River and was transported by it, and that higher Huanghe River discharge could strengthen the decomposition of TOCmar. The newly obtained initial TOC sequences provide important insights into the interaction between human activities and natural processes.
Key words:    organic carbon|Middelburg's model|Yellow Sea   
Received: 2016-08-11   Revised: 2016-09-22
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Articles by ZHU Qing
Articles by LIN Jia
Articles by HONG Yuehui
Articles by YUAN Lirong
Articles by LIU Jinzhong
Articles by XU Xiaoming
Articles by WANG Jianghai
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