Zhaokai Xu

Recent 2000-year geological records of mud in the inner shelf of the East China Sea and their climatic implications

AMS14C dating and grain-size analysis for Core DD2, located at the north of the Yangtze River-derived mud off the Zhejiang-Fujian coasts in the inner shelf of the East China Sea, provide us a high-resolution grain-size distribution curve varying with depth and time. Data in the upper mud layer of Core DD2 indicate that there are at least 9 abrupt grain-size increasing in recent 2000 years, with each corresponding very well with the low-temperature events in Chinese history, which might result from the periodical strengthening of the East Asian Winter Monsoon (EAWM), including the first-revealed maximum temperature lowering event at around 990 a BP. At the same time, the finer grain size section in Core DD2 agrees well with the Sui-Tang Warming Period (600–1000 a AD) defined previously by Zhu Kezhen, during which the climate had a warm, cold and warm fluctuation, with a dominated cooling period of 750–850 a AD. The Little Ice Age (LIA) can also be identified in the core. It starts around 1450 a AD and was followed by a subsequent cooling events at 1510, 1670 and 1840 a AD. Timing of these cold events revealed here still needs to be further verified owing to some current uncertainty of dating we used in this study.

Quantitative estimates of Asian dust input to the western Philippine Sea in the mid-late Quaternary and its potential significance for paleoenvironment

We present a new high-resolution multiproxy data set of Sr-Nd isotopes, rare earth element, soluble iron, and total organic carbon data from International Marine Global Change Study Core MD06-3047 located in the western Philippine Sea. We integrate our new data with published clay mineralogy, rare earth element chemistry, thermocline depth, and delta C-13 differences between benthic and planktonic foraminifera, in order to quantitatively constrain Asian dust input to the basin. We explore the relationship between Philippine Sea and high-latitude Pacific eolian fluxes, as well as its significance for marine productivity and atmospheric CO2 during the mid-late Quaternary. Three different indices indicate that Asian dust contributes between similar to 15% and similar to 50% to the detrital fraction of the sediments. Eolian dust flux in Core MD06-3047 is similar to that in the polar southern Pacific sediment. Coherent changes for most dust flux maximum/minimum indicate that dust generation in interhemispheric source areas might have a common response to climatic variation over the mid-late Quaternary. Furthermore, we note relatively good coherence between Asian dust input, soluble iron concentration, local marine productivity, and even global atmospheric CO2 concentration over the entire study interval. This suggests that dust-borne iron fertilization of marine phytoplankton might have been a periodic process operating at glacial/interglacial time scales over the past 700 ka. We suggest that strengthening of the biological pump in the Philippine Sea, and elsewhere in the tropical western Pacific during the mid-late Quaternary glacial periods may contribute to the lowering of atmospheric CO2 concentrations during ice ages.

Evidence for sea level and monsoonally driven variations in terrigenous input to the northern East China Sea during the last 24.3 ka

Geochemical and sedimentological analyses of core PC-1 recovered from the northern East China Sea (ECS) provide insights into variations in terrigenous input associated with sea level and climate changes over the past 24.3 ka. Based on high-resolution multiproxy records, our results suggest that the competing processes of sea level and monsoonally driven precipitation determined terrigenous input to the northern ECS. Dominance of terrigenous material, along with relatively light Globigerinoides ruber δ18O, indicates that the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) lowstand of sea level has occurred during the period 21.5–19.6 ka, not suggesting an early slow rise but supporting the conventional LGM age of 21 ka. This LGM lowstand was terminated by the rapid sea level rise of 19 ka meltwater pulse (MWP), which is well expressed by the nearly synchronous decreases in both terrigenous detritus and mean grain size from 19.6 to 18.9 ka. MWP-1A is clearly marked in our records by a sharp reduction in terrigenous input and pronounced maxima of G. ruber δ18O at 15.3–14.8 ka, given the considerable age uncertainties of deglacial marine radiocarbon samples. A slightly increasing input of terrigenous matter is noted after 13.4 ka, potentially pointing to a sea level fall following the Inter-Allerod Cooling Period, which was seldom reported previously. Although MWP-1B did not leave robust signatures in terrigenous input, it is explicitly captured by the heavy δ18O of G. ruber and decline in mean grain size at 11.5–10.9 ka. MWP-1c probably occurred in a broad millennial interval with multiple peaks, which are robustly marked by the abrupt variations in terrigenous input and marine organic matter at 9.7–9.3 and 9.1 ka, respectively. During the late Holocene, the effect of continuously weakening monsoon precipitation overwhelmed that of stable sea level resulting in a uniform increase in the proportion of marine-derived organic matter after 5.5 ka.

Paleoenvironmental Changes in the Northern Okinawa Trough since 25 ka BP: REE and Organic Carbon Evidence

Paleoenvironmental changes in the northern Okinawa trough covering the last 25 ka were synthetically reconstructed using REE and organic carbon indices of core CSH1. Variations of these parameters revealed three distinct intervals of major sediment provenance changes that can be related to sea-level fluctuation and Tsushima Warm Current evolution. Interval 1 (16–24.7 ka BP) is characterized by dominantly fluvial discharge from the Changjiang (Yangtze River) and Huanghe (Yellow River) as well as high primary productivity. In Interval 2 (7.3–16 ka BP), the Changjiang and Huanghe mouths regressed with sea-level rising. The newly formed Tsushima Warm Current could carry some sediment loads of Taiwan to the study core, especially during its late phase (7.3–8.2 ka BP). Modern oceanographic conditions were finally established since the beginning of Interval 3, leading to more terrigenous contribution from Taiwan, whereas low sea-surface productivity in the study area.

Geochemistry of rare earth elements in the mid-late Quaternary sediments of the western Philippine Sea and their paleoenvironmental significance

Based on a δ18O chronology, rare earth elements (REE) and other typical elements in sediments from core MD06-3047 in the western Philippine Sea were analyzed to constrain the provenances of the sediments and investigate quantitative changes in the Asian eolian input to the study area over the last 700 ka. Among the competing processes that might affect REE compositions, sediment provenance is the most important one. Provenance analysis suggests that the study sediments have two provenance end-members; local volcanic sources are dominant, and eolian dust from the Asian continent has a smaller contribution. During glacial periods, eolian input to the western Philippine Sea was enhanced. In contrast, material supply from local volcanics increased during interglacial periods. Changes in eolian input to the study area were probably related to the strength of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) as well as aridity in the Asian continent on an orbital time scale, and were partly influenced by local control factors on shorter time scales. Therefore, we propose that the present study expands the application of the REE-based method for quantitatively estimating the eolian component from the mid-latitude northern Pacific to the low-latitude western Pacific. Additionally, the study preliminarily confirms the influence of EAWM-transported eolian material on sedimentation in the western Philippine Sea since 700 ka.

Distinct control mechanism of fine‐grained sediments from Yellow River and Kyushu supply in the northern Okinawa Trough since the last glacial

High-resolution multi-proxy records, including clay minerals and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopes of the clay-sized silicate fraction of sediments from IODP Site U1429 in the northern Okinawa Trough, provide reliable evidence for distinct control mechanism on fine-grained sediments input from the Yellow River and the southern Japanese Islands to the northern Okinawa Trough since 34 ka BP. Provenance analysis indicates that the sediments were mainly derived from the Yellow River and the island of Kyushu. Since the last glacial, clay-sized sediments transported from the Yellow River to the study site were strongly influenced by sea-level fluctuation. During low sea-level stage (∼34‒14 ka BP), the paleo-Yellow River mouth was positioned closer to the northern Okinawa Trough, favoring large fluvial discharge or even direct input of detrital sediments, which resulted about four times more flux of clay-sized sediments supply to the study area as during the relatively high sea-level stage (∼14‒0 ka BP). The input of Kyushu-derived clay-sized sediments to the study site was mainly controlled by the Kuroshio Current and Tsushima Warm Current intensity, with increased input in phase with weakened Kuroshio Current/Tsushima Warm Current. Our study suggests that the Kuroshio Current was very likely flowed into the Okinawa Trough and thus influenced the fine-grained sediment transport in the area throughout the last glacial and deglacial. During ∼34‒11 ka BP, the Kyushu clay-sized sediment input was mainly controlled by the Kuroshio Current. Since ∼11 ka BP, the occurrence of Tsushima Warm Current became important in influencing the Kyushu fine-grained sediment input to the northern Okinawa Trough.

New evidence for Kuroshio inflow and deepwater circulation in the Okinawa Trough, East China Sea: Sedimentary mercury variations over the last 20 kyr

The evolution of the Kuroshio Current (KC) in the Okinawa Trough (OT) has long been of paleoceanographic interest and has been the focus of many investigations because of its large impacts on both the ocean environment and the climate in East Asia. Here, we present a new high-resolution mercury (Hg) record from the OT sediments that provides robust evidence for the glacial-interglacial variabilities of KC inflow. The Hg levels are anomalously high in the Holocene deposits, which feature a large and abrupt Hg increase at ~9.6 ka and a significant drop at 4.5–3.2 ka. Our observations show that most Hg was derived from seafloor hydrothermal plumes via active lateral transportation. Thus, the generally high Hg levels since ~9.6 ka are associated with enhanced basin-wide deep-water circulation triggered by the KC inflow. This driving mechanism for the deposition and widespread of Hg is also evidenced by an abrupt drop in Hg levels during the late Holocene neoglacial cold period (~5–3 ka) when the KC inflow was temporarily interrupted and deep-water circulation was consequently weak or even absent in the OT. The changes in sedimentary Hg appear to be synchronous with those in other geochemical proxies that suggest that bottom water conditions switched from anoxic to oxic due to increased upwelling from the bottom in tandem with the strengthening KC and reduced freshwater effect since ~9.6 ka. This study shows that the hydrothermal Hg is a sensitive and independent tool for the reconstruction of palaeo-dynamics of KC in the OT.

Comment on “Sr‐Nd isotope composition and clay mineral assemblages in Eolian dust from the central Philippine Sea over the last 600 kyr: Implications for the transport mechanism of Asian dust” by Seo et al.

Against Xu et al. (2016), who argued that East Asian Desert (EAD) dust that traveled on East Asian Winter Monsoon winds dominates over Central Asian Desert (CAD) dust in the Philippine Sea with presentation of additional data, we reconfirm Seo et al.s (2014) conclusion that CAD dust carried on the Prevailing Westerlies and Trade Winds dominates over EAD dust in overall dust budget of the central Philippine Sea. The relative contribution of dust from EADs and CADs using clay mineral composition should be evaluated with elimination of mineralogical contribution from the volcanic end-member which is enriched in kaolinite and overestimate the contribution of EAD dust.

First evidence of denitrification vis-à-vis monsoon in the Arabian Sea since Late Miocene

In the Arabian Sea, South Asian monsoon (SAM)-induced high surface water productivity coupled with poor ventilation of intermediate water results in strong denitrification within the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Despite the significance of denitrification in the Arabian Sea, we have no long-term record of its evolution spanning the past several million years. Here, we present the first record of denitrification evolution since Late Miocene (~10.2 Ma) in the Eastern Arabian Sea, where the SAM generates moderate surface water productivity, based on the samples retrieved during the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 355. We find that (i) the SAM was persistently weaker from ~10.2 to 3.1 Ma; it did not intensify at ~8 Ma in contrast to a few previous studies, (ii) on tectonic timescale, both the SAM and the East Asian Monsoon (EAM) varied synchronously, (iii) the first evidence of denitrification and productivity/SAM intensification was at ~3.2–2.8 Ma that coincided with Mid-Pliocene Warm Period (MPWP), and (iv) the modern strength of the OMZ where denitrification is a permanent feature was attained at ~1.0 Ma.

Yttrium and rare earth element partitioning in seawaters from the Bay of Bengal

The dissolved yttrium (Y) and rare earth element (REE) concentrations of seawater samples collected along a north-south hydrological transect within the Bay of Bengal (BoB) have been analyzed to estimate contributions of the Ganges and Brahmaputra (G-B) river inputs to the dissolved REE distribution of the Northern Indian Ocean. Surface water masses of the BoB are characterized by Y/Ho ratios (84) intermediate between the G-B river suspended sediment (41) and water mass from the South Indian Ocean (93). Covariation of MREE (middle REE, Sm) and LREE (light REE, La) concentrations suggests that the dissolved REEs in surface waters (upper 100 m depth) of the BoB (Sm/La = 0.21) appear to derive mainly from the freshwater discharge of the G-B river system. In contrast, values obtained in the intermediate and deep waters (Sm/La = 0.14) suggest a mixing of dissolved REEs deriving from the release of G-B river suspended particles (Sm/La = 0.16) and the contribution of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) (Sm/La = 0.12). Consequently, we propose that MREE/MREE* ratios in the BoB waters could be an accurate proxy to trace lithogenic inputs from the G-B river system. The dissolved and particle remineralization Nd fluxes from G-B river system are calculated to constitute about 9% and 4% of the global dissolved river discharge and “boundary inputs” flux. Our estimation indicates that the massive G-B river system inputs could greatly alter the dissolved REEs distribution in the BoB and contribute to the dissolved REEs budget in the ocean.