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

To clarify Holocene development of the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta and the relationship between delta progradation and chenier formation, detailed se diment analyses and high-resolution radiocarbon dating were done on borehol e samples taken from two sites on the present Huanghe; H9601 (Latitude 37 d egrees 40.5'N and Longitude 118 degrees 28.7'E with an altitude of + 5.5 m) and H9602 (Lat. 37 degrees 47.8'N and Long. 118 degrees 54.3'E, + 4.8 m). Downcore changes of sediment facies and accumulation rate show that delta p rogradation occurred at least twice during ca 2.6-1.2 C-14 yrBP and 1855-pr esent at the two borehole sites. These phases of progradation correlate wit h Superlobes 6 and 7 and Superlobe 10 respectively, of ten superlobes compo sing 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 ch eniers located between borehole sites on the delta plain. The diastem perio d between these phases of progradation almost coincides with the periods wh en the river mouth of the Huanghe was located in the northwestern part of t he Bohai Sea during 1048-1128 AD (Superlobe 8), and the jiangsu region faci ng the Yellow Sea during 1128-1855 (Superlobe 9). This suggests that chenie r formation and delta progradation are linked, and controlled by sediment s upply and river course shifts of the lower reaches of the Huanghe. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.