Sediment distribution and provenance since Late Pleistocene in Laizhou Bay, Bohai Sea, China

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ABSTRACT There are three transgression-regression events and evolutions of the sedimentary environment by sea level changes since the Pleistocene in the southern section of the Bohai Sea, China. It is obvious that a multi-source fluvial delta sedimentary system may be more dominant in a sedimentary environment. Based on previous research and survey or historical data, we carried out studies on the division of sedimentary units, sedimentary facies analysis and strata division and comparison, which aim to establish the sedimentary stratigraph of Laizhou Bay. We focus on the sedimentary procession of the Laizhou Bay since the early Late Pleistocene. It can be divided into two glacial periods and three interglacial periods, corresponding to two regression and three transgression events in Laizhou Bay since Late Pleistocene. In 124.6–72.0 ka BP, 60.0–24.4 ka BP and 10.2–4.0 ka BP, three times warm-wet periods occurred, respectively corresponding to the Cangzhou transgression, Xianxian transgression, and Huanghua transgression. In 72.0–60.0 ka BP and 24.4–10.2 ka BP, two dry and cold periods, it was the continental sedimentary environment, corresponding to Wurm early glacier and Wurm late glacier. The results show: (1) Sediments have the characteristics of phase and stage under the terrestrial input of the Yellow River and middle-small rivers in the southern section of the Bohai Sea. (2) PI moved towards coastal in Cangzhou transgression strata in early Late Pleistocene. PI moved northward from land in Xianxian transgression strata in the late Pleistocene. PI moved further north in the Huanghua transgression strata in Holocene. (3) During the regressive period, the land source input increased and the estuarine or lagoon sedimentation developed, which manifested as progradational superposition. (4) During the transgressive period, it mainly developed shallow coastal sediment and transitionally formed regressive deposition to the south in delta/tidal flat deposition. ©2019 China Geology Editorial Office.