Delta progradation and chenier formation in the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta, China

Abstract

To clarify Holocene development of the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta and the relationship between delta progradation and chenier formation, detailed sediment analyses and high-resolution radiocarbon dating were done on borehole samples taken from two sites on the present Huanghe; H9601 (Latitude 37°40.5′N and Longitude 118°28.7′E with an altitude of +5.5 m) and H9602 (Lat. 37°47.8′N and Long. 118°54.3′E, +4.8 m). Downcore changes of sediment facies and accumulation rate show that delta progradation occurred at least twice during ca 2.6–1.2 C-14 yrBP and 1855–present at the two borehole sites. These phases of progradation correlate with Superlobes 6 and 7 and Superlobe 10 respectively, of ten superlobes composing the Holocene Huanghe Delta shown by C. Xue (Historical changes in the Yellow River delta, China, Marine Geology 113, 321–329, 1993). The boundary of these sediments at H9602 is sharp and erosional, and correlates with cheniers located between borehole sites on the delta plain. The diastem period between these phases of progradation almost coincides with the periods when the river mouth of the Huanghe was located in the northwestern part of the Bohai Sea during 1048–1128 AD (Superlobe 8), and the Jiangsu region facing the Yellow Sea during 1128–1855 (Superlobe 9). This suggests that chenier formation and delta progradation are linked, and controlled by sediment supply and river course shifts of the lower reaches of the Huanghe.