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Sedimentary responses to the Pleistocene climatic variations recorded in the South China Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sébastien Boulay ,
Christophe Colin ,
Alain Trentesaux ,
Stéphane Clain ,
Zhifei Liu  and
Christine Lauer-Leredde
Sébastien Boulay*
Affiliation:
Intéractions et Dynamique des Environnements de Surface, UMR IDES-CNRS 8148, Bât. 504, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
Christophe Colin
Affiliation:
Intéractions et Dynamique des Environnements de Surface, UMR IDES-CNRS 8148, Bât. 504, Université Paris-Sud, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France
Alain Trentesaux
Affiliation:
Processus et Bilans des Domaines Sédimentaires, UMR PBDS-CNRS 8110, Université Lille I, 59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq, France
Stéphane Clain
Affiliation:
Mathématiques Appliquées, CNRS-UMR 6620, Université Clermont II, 63117 Aubière, France
Zhifei Liu
Affiliation:
Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, People’s Republic of China
Christine Lauer-Leredde
Affiliation:
Dynamique de la Lithosphère, Université Montpellier II, 34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: +33 1 69 15 48 82.E-mail address:boulay_sebastien@yahoo.fr (S. Boulay)
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Abstract

Grain-size analyses, coupled with end-member modelling, have been performed on the terrigenous fraction of two Leg 184 Ocean Drilling Program sites (1144 and 1146) from the South China Sea. The grain-size distributions over the last 1.8 Ma enable a new interpretation of their connections to sea-level variations and East Asian monsoon strength. Previous investigations in this area have associated grain-size variability with enhanced eolian input during glacial stages. End-member modelling downgrades the importance of this eolian contribution and indicates that the sediments can be described as a mixture of three end-members: fluvial mud inputs, shelf reworking and river mouth migration. Grain-size variations in the Pleistocene section of the cores indicate a multiple-stage evolution: (i) from 1.8 to 1.25 Ma, the downcore grain-size variations are low but show a correspondence between monsoon rainfall intensity and the fine grain-sized fluvial inputs; no link with sea-level variations is noticeable; (ii) from 1.25 to 0.9 Ma, there is an increase (decrease) in the intermediate (fine) end-member (∼ 100 kyr cycle) that is associated with the onset of a stronger summer monsoon and modest shelf reworking; (iii) from 0.9 to 0 Ma the grain-size record is dominated by global sea-level variations; each glacial stage is associated with extensive shelf reworking and conveyance of coarse particles to the basin.

Keywords

South China SeaGrain sizeEnd-members modellingEast Asian monsoonMid-Pleistocene Transition
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 68 , Issue 1 , July 2007 , pp. 162 - 172
Copyright
University of Washington

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