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The History of Water Salinity in the Pearl River Estuary, China, During the Late Quaternary

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The History of Water Salinity in the Pearl River Estuary, China, During the Late Quaternary EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS Earth Surf. Process. Landforms (2010) Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/esp.2030 The history of water salinity in the Pearl River estuary, China, during the Late Quaternary Yongqiang Zong,1* Fengling Yu,2,4 Guangqing Huang,3 Jeremy M. Lloyd2 and Wyss W.-S. Yim1 1 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR China 2 Department of Geography, University of Durham, Durham, UK 3 Guangzhou Institute of Geography, Guangzhou, P.R. China 4 Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Received 25 June 2009; Revised 2 March 2010; Accepted 9 March 2010 *Correspondence to: Y. Zong, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT: This research reconstructed the Late Quaternary salinity history of the Pearl River estuary, China, from diatom records of four sedimentary cores. The reconstruction was produced through the application of a diatom–salinity transfer function developed based on 77 modern surface sediment samples collected across the estuary from shallow marine environment to deltaic distributaries. The statistical analysis indicates that the majority of sediment samples from the cores has good modern analogues, thus the reconstructions are reliable. The reconstructed salinity history shows the older estuarine sequence formed during the last interglacial was deposited under similar salinity conditions to the younger estuarine sequence, which was formed during the present interglacial. Further analysis into the younger estuarine sequence reveals the interplays between sea level, monsoon-driven freshwater discharge, and deltaic shoreline movement, key factors that have infl uenced water salinity in the estuary. In particular, a core from the delta plain shows the effects of sea-level change and deltaic progradation, while cores from the mouth region of the estuary reveal changes of monsoon-driven freshwater discharge. This study demonstrates the advantages of quantitative salinity reconstructions to improve the quality of reconstruction and allow direct comparison with other quantitative records and the instrumentally observed values of salinity. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. KEYWORDS: salinity; diatoms; deltaic shoreline; sea-level change; freshwater discharge Introduction qualitative approaches in, for example, the North Sea coast (Vos and de Wolf, 1993; Long et al., 1998; Zong, 1998) and the Salinity variability in a given location within an estuary on cen- Pacifi c coast (Shennan et al., 1999; Ta et al., 2001; Zong, 1992). tennial to millennial timescales during the Late Quaternary is a However, the development of quantitative methods such as result of changes in several external forcing mechanisms such as transfer functions has greatly improved reconstructions of pal- sea-level change, freshwater discharge and shoreline migration. aeo-salinity and coastal history. The fi rst such attempt using The variability in salinity reconstructed from estuarine sedimen- diatom-based transfer functions was achieved in the Thames tary sequences can help identify interactions between these estuary, which helped reconstruct the water salinity related to external forcing mechanisms and the evolutionary history of an an archaeological site (Juggins, 1992). Subsequently, such estuary (Woodroffe et al., 2006; Zong et al., 2009a). Thus, recon- methods were applied to sea-level reconstructions in a number struction of palaeo-salinity in a river mouth region is an important of estuarine and coastal environments (Zong and Horton, 1999; step towards understanding the sedimentological and hydrologi- Zong et al., 2003; Hamilton et al., 2005; Horton et al., 2007). cal processes operating within an estuary. Furthermore, estuarine The diatom–salinity relationship in the Pearl River estuary has sediments are good archives for climate variability (Zong et al., been tested statistically, and the quality of a diatom-based salin- 2006) and human activities (Chen et al., 2007; Zong et al., 2010) ity transfer function, examined (Zong et al., in press). This paper within a drainage basin. Long-term change of salinity in an presents an application of the transfer function to reconstruct estuary is, thus, important information for understanding the palaeo-salinity from sedimentary sequences which cover history of water cycles and anthropogenic impacts upon the periods of sea-level change in the last glacial cycle and a period environment. This paper aims, therefore, to reconstruct the Late of stable sea level since the mid Holocene. Quaternary salinity history of the Pearl River estuary and assess the effects of millennial scale sea-level change and freshwater discharge on salinity in the river mouth area, evaluating the The Study Area research methods and paving the way towards reconstruction of longer-term changes in salinity on the continental shelf. The Pearl River estuary, located on the south coast of China, Reconstruction of salinity changes within an estuary using drains into the South China Sea (Figure 1A) from its drainage microfossil diatom proxies have mostly been attempted by basin between 26°N and 22°N, a transitional area between Y.Q. ZONG ET AL. 113º00' E 113º30' E 114º00' E A North River Guangzhou East River West River JT81 Shenzhen 22º30' N 23º00' N BVC UV1 Hong Kong V37 Macau 0km 30 -10 m South China Sea -5 m -20 m 105º E 110º E 115º E B Modern samples Sediment cores C H I N A 25º N Bedrock North River East River Water depth West River -5 m -10 m V I E T N A M Pearl River delta and estuary -20 m 0km 200 South China Sea 20º N Figure 1. (A) The Pearl River estuary and locations of the modern surface sediment samples and cores. (B) The Pearl River drainage basin and the south coast of China. the tropical and the temperate zones (Figure 1B). Three main Table I. Present-day environmental characteristics of the Pearl River rivers drain into the drowned coastal basin and have created estuary two deltaic complexes that are separated by the estuary. Tidal range within the estuary is low, ranging between 1·3 m at the Summer salinity Winter salinity Water depth mouth and 1·9 m at the head of the estuary. Water depth Environment (‰) (‰) (m) varies from ca 4 m within the deltaic distributaries and ca Distributaries 2·1 ± 2·3 7·5 ± 5·5 3·9 ± 2·3 10 m at the mouth area (Figure 1A). Water salinity at the head Delta front 12·7 ± 4·3 21·2 ± 3·6 7·9 ± 5·0 of the estuary and within the lower reaches of the distributaries Pro-delta 25·0 ± 6·0 30·0 ± 3·7 11·1 ± 6·4 is generally low and variable between seasons (Table I). In the Marine 33·8 ± 0·1 33·1 ± 0·2 27·0 ± 3·2 middle part of the estuary, or the delta front environment, water salinity changes greatly between seasons, while in the mouth area, or the pro-delta environment, water salinity appears high all year round. In general, annual variability of (M1) was deposited during the present interglacial (Zong et water salinity is dependent on the amount of freshwater dis- al., 2009a). These two estuarine sequences are well preserved charged (Zong et al., 2006). across the estuary and separated by the younger terrestrial Two terrestrial and two estuarine sediment sequences, sequence (T1), comprising either fl uvial sand/gravel or weath- dating from the Late Quaternary, were deposited in the Pearl ered clay (Zong et al., 2009b). Within the M1 sequence, Zong River estuary. The older terrestrial sequence (T2) lies on et al. (2009b) identifi ed a sub-unit (M1a) which was depos- bedrock and comprises sands and gravels, overlain by the ited during the period of postglacial sea-level rise, preceding older estuarine sequence (M2) which was formed during the the M1 unit, which formed during the period of stable sea last interglacial (Yim, 1994). The younger estuarine sequence level over the last 8000 years (Yim, 1994). These sequences Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Earth Surf. Process. Landforms (2010) WATER SALINITY IN THE PEARL RIVER ESTUARY DURING THE LATE QUATERNARY Table II. Lithology of the four sediment cores Core BVC (Alt. −7·6 m, N22°20′09″, E114°01′46″) Depth (m) Description Unit* 0·0 – 0·9 Disturbed sediments M1 0·9 – 2·4 Soft, light brownish grey, silt and clay 2·4 – 8·1 Soft to fi rm, greenish grey to grey, silt and clay 8·1 – 12·3 Firm, grey to brownish grey, silt and clay with small clumps of weathered clay increasing towards the lower boundary M1a 12·3 – 19·9 Firm, grey to brownish grey, silt and clay with plentiful plant fragments M2 19·9 – 21·7 Firm, brown, organic rich sand with clay T2 21·7 – 22·4 Firm, brown to grey, clayey sand with gravel 22·4 – Residual soil of bedrock (granite) Core V37 (Alt. −1·5 m, N22°15′02″, E113°51′29″) 0·0 – 2·0 Very soft to soft, dark greenish grey, slightly sandy clayey silt M1 (M1a) 2·0 – 10·1 Soft, dark greenish grey clayey silt 10·1 – 10·6 Firm, dark grey, clayey silt with gravel and light brown clay pockets T1 10·6 – 13·4 Firm, light yellowish brown and spotted red silt and clay 13·4 – 16·0 Firm, light grey, silt, sand and gravel with large plant fragments 16·0 – 18·0 Stiff, yellowish brown, mottled light greenish grey, silty clay 18·0 – End of coring Core UV1 (Alt. −9·0 m, N22°17′10″, E113°51′49″) 0·0 – 10·2 Soft, dark greenish grey, silt and clay M1 10·2 – 10·6 Firm, bluish grey, silt and clay with small gravel and coarse sand T1 10·6 – 23·2 Soft to fi rm, bluish grey, silty clay with occasional shell fragments M2 23·2 – 24·3 Firm, bluish grey, mottled yellow, silty clay T2(?) 24·3 – 35·3 Soft to fi rm, bluish to greenish grey, silty clay ? 35·3 – 35·5 Soft, greenish grey, sandy, silty clay 35·5 – End of coring Core JT81 (Alt.
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