The Yangtze River deposition in southern Yellow Sea during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 and its implications for sea-level changes

The depositional history of the lower Yangtze River and sea-level changes during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 was established using three long drill cores from the northern Yangtze deltaic plain and southern Yellow Sea by using sedimentary analysis and AMS 14C dates. Voluminous channel deposits of the lower Yangtze River in MIS 3 were found from the northern deltaic plain and offshore area, with a thickness of over 30 m. The thick channel deposits are characterized by massive medium-to-fine sand deposits with sporadic tidal influence. During MIS 3, the Yangtze River appears to have mainly migrated between the modern river mouth and middle Jiangsu coastal plain, and likely built a delta complex in the field of Yangtze Sand Shoal in northern East China Sea. A large sediment supply and rapid sea-level variations promoted rapid progradation of the delta onto the flat shelf. The highest sea levels during MIS 3 are estimated to have reached 25 ± 5 m below the present sea level.