Provenance weathering and erosion records in southern Okinawa Trough sediments since 28 ka: Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic evidences

• We report elemental and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic composition of ODP Hole 1202B sediments.
• Large variation in isotopic ratios at 11–9 ka suggests sediment provenance change.
• The oceanic circulation variability determined the sediment provenance change.
• Monsoon rainfall controlled provenance weathering and erosion patterns in Holocene.

Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the detrital sediments from ODP Hole 1202B and Taiwan rivers were measured in this study, aiming to reveal changes in sediment provenance in the southern Okinawa Trough (SOT) since 28 ka, and to examine the weathering and sediment transport processes in response to monsoon climate variability. Large variations in Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic ratios at 11–9 ka suggest changes in detrital sediment provenance in the SOT from a dominance of the paleo-Changjiang (Yangtze River) and/or continental shelf sediment during the late deglaciation and to west Taiwan rivers since 9.5 ka. Volcanic rocks and eastern Taiwan sediments have not significantly contributed to the SOT. The large shift in sediment provenance during the early Holocene marks a major change in oceanic circulation, mainly caused by the intrusion of the Kuroshio Current into the trough. Clay mineral and geochemical proxies suggest that the Taiwan-derived sediments accumulated during the early-mid “Holocene climate optimum” (ca. 9.5–4 ka) might be tightly related to the reworking of older altered sediments from terraces and floodplains, rather than having experienced more intense silicate weathering than in the late Holocene (~ 4–0 ka). Overall, silicate weathering in Taiwan was greatly inhibited by accelerating sediment production and transfer from land to ocean caused by monsoon intensification in Holocene. Our study illustrates that the radiogenic isotopic and geochemical compositions of fine-grained detrital sediments are sensitive tools for fingerprinting sediment sources and for reconstructing changes in oceanic currents and monsoon climate in river-dominated East Asian continental margin.