Cite this paper:
LIN Jia, ZHU Qing, HONG Yuehui, YUAN Lirong, LIU Jinzhong, XU Xiaoming, WANG Jianghai. Synchronous response of sedimentary organic carbon accumulation on the inner shelf of the East China Sea to the water impoundment of Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams[J]. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 2018, 36(1): 153-164

Synchronous response of sedimentary organic carbon accumulation on the inner shelf of the East China Sea to the water impoundment of Three Gorges and Gezhouba Dams

LIN Jia1, ZHU Qing1, 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:
Coastal seas, located between continents and the open ocean, are an important active carbon pool. The sedimentary total organic carbon (TOC) in these areas is a mixture of terrestrial and marine sources, and can be a powerful proxy for tracing natural processes and human activities. In this study, one fine-grained sediment core (DH5-1) from the inner shelf of the East China Sea was systematically analyzed for TOC and black carbon (BC) contents and TOC stable carbon isotope ratios (δ13C). By combining these data with 210Pb dating, an improved carbon correction model and a two end-member mixing model, we reconstructed century-scale high-resolution sequences of corrected TOC, terrestrial TOC and marine TOC contents and identified two carbon depletion events in the DH5-1 record. The two events, shown as two minima in the TOC profiles, correspond temporally to 1985-1987 AD and 2003-2006 AD, which exactly matches the water impoundment of the Gezhouba Dam and Three Gorges Dam, respectively. In addition, the variations in TOC contents and δ13C values before, during or after the minima demonstrate a relationship between the depletion events and water impoundment of the dams on the Changjiang River. The TOC reductions may represent synchronous responses of sedimentary TOC and resultant ecological effects on the inner shelf of the East China Sea to the water impoundment of the dams. These new TOC records reflect the interaction between natural and anthropogenic processes and, accordingly, provide a deep insight and important references for assessing marine ecological effects resulting from water impoundment of largescale dams.
Key words:    sedimentary organic carbon|carbon correction|East China Sea|Three Gorges Dam|Gezhouba Dam   
Received: 2016-08-11   Revised: 2016-09-14
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Articles by LIN Jia
Articles by ZHU Qing
Articles by HONG Yuehui
Articles by YUAN Lirong
Articles by LIU Jinzhong
Articles by XU Xiaoming
Articles by WANG Jianghai
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