Sedimentary facies of the subaqueous Changjiang River delta since the late Pleistocene

Abstract

The sedimentary facies of the subaqueous Changjiang (Yangtze) River delta since the late Pleistocene was studied based on lithology and foraminifera analysis for two boreholes, CJK07 and CJK11, along with C-14 dating. Four sedimentary facies were identified, namely fluvial, tidal flat, offshore, and prodelta facies. The fluvial sedimentary facies is comprised of fluvial channel lag deposits, fluvial point bar deposits, and floodplain deposits, showing a fining-upward sequence in general with no benthic foraminifera. A layer of stiff clay overlies the fluvial deposits in core CJK07, indicating a long-term exposure environment during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). During the postglacial sea-level rise around 13-7.5 cal ka BP, the tidal flat facies was deposited in core CJK11, characterized by abundant silt-clay couplets. Euryhaline species dominate the subtidal flat foraminiferal assemblages, while almost no foraminifera was found in the intertidal flat. The offshore environment was the major sedimentary environment when the sea level reached its highest level around 7.5 cal ka BP, with a maximum accumulation rate of 10 mm/a found in core CJK11. Prodelta sediments have been deposited in core CJK11 since similar to 3 cal ka BP, after the formation of the Changjiang River delta. The difference in sedimentary facies between core CJK07 and CJK11 is due to their location: core CJK07 was in an interfluve while core CJK11 was in an incised valley during the LGM. Furthermore, AMS 14 C dating of core CJK07 shows poor chronological order, indicating that the sediments were reworked by strong tidal currents and that sediment deposited since similar to 7.7 cal ka BP in core CJK07 was eroded away by modern hydrodynamic forces caused by the southward shift of the Changjiang River delta depocenter.