East Asian monsoon during the past 10,000 years recorded by grain size of Yangtze River delta

Paleoenvironmental research is critical for understanding delta evolution processes and managing delta sustainability, particularly for delta experiencing significant recent fluvial sediment discharge. Based on other previously reported optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) data, Holocene environmental changes of the Yangtze River delta in response to climate fluctuations and human activities were reviewed on the basis of grain-size analyses of core YZ07. The results of grain-size and end-member analysis (EMA) provide a detailed history of East Asian monsoon variability and environmental changes since ∼10,000 cal year B.P. The lower median values (Md) and sand content reflect relatively cool and dry climate conditions between 10,000 and 9,570 cal year B.P. During the early Holocene (9,570–7,630 cal year B.P.), the highest Md values and sand contents and the lowest end member 2 (EM2) contents suggest the Holocene transgression. The increased Md values and sand contents indicate that the climate conditions were warm and wet during the mid-Holocene thermal optimum. From 4,690 to 4,150 cal year B.P., the climate was cool and dry, corresponding to the cool event, as indicated by the finer grain size. Subsequently, between 4,150 and 2,850 cal year B.P., the grain size derived from the Md value and sand content increased, which reflect a wet and warm episode. The climate, which shifted from warm and wet to cool and dry between 2,850 and 1,020 cal year B.P., may have caused a reduction in the sand contents and Md values. After 1,020 cal year B.P., the lowest values of Md and Standard deviation (Sd) and the highest contents of EM2 and clay suggest that the Yangtze River delta has been severely affected by anthropogenic activity. The variability of the East Asian monsoon intensity in the Yangtze River delta strongly correlates with other East Asian monsoon paleoclimate records in China. These results are important for investigations into the interactions between regional systems and global change in monsoonal climatic regions and can provide an example of the evolution of a large scale geomorphic feature resulting from river-sea interaction.