A 700-year record （1.0-1.5 a resolution） of the East Asian winter monsoon （EAWM）, based on grain-size analysis and AMSI4C dating of Core EC2005 from the inner-shelf mud wedge of the East China Sea （ECS）, was compared with the Dongge stalagmite 8180 record during the mid-Holocene. The upper muddy section of Core EC2005 has been formed mainly by suspended sediments derived from the Changjiang （Yangtze） River mouth since 7.3 ka BP. High precipitation and a strengthened EAWM might have played key roles in the high sedimentation rate （1 324-1 986 crn/ka） between 5.9-5.2 ka BP. The EAWM strengthened when the Asian summer monsoon weakened, especially around 5 500 a BE which corresponded to a worldwide cold event. The EAWM during the mid-Holocene shows statistically significant solar periodicities at 62 and 11 a. The 5 500 a BP cold event might be resulted from orbital forcing and changes in solar activity.
From systemic research of microstructure, geochemistry, uranium-series and 10Be isotope dating on a new-type deepwater ferromanganese crust from the East Philippine Sea, the paleoenvironment evolu-tion of the target area since the terminal Late Miocene was recovered. The vertical section changes of microstructure and chemical composition are consistent in the studied crust, which indicate three major accretion periods and corresponding paleoenvironment evolution of the crust. The bottom crust zone was formed in the terminal Late Miocene (5.6 Ma) with loose microstructure, high detritus content and high growth rate. Reductions of mineral element content, accretion rate and positive Ce-anomaly degree at 4.6 Ma indicate temporal warming, which went against the crust accretion and finally formed an accretion gap in the terminal Middle Pliocene (2.8―2.7 Ma). The more active Antarctic bottom sea-waters in the Late Pliocene (2.7 Ma) facilitated the fast transfer to the top pure crust zone. Hereafter, with the further apart of volcanic source and the keeping increase of eolian material (1.0 Ma), although surrounding conditions were still favorable, mineral element content still shows an obvious reducing trend. It thereby offers new carrier and data for the unclear paleoceanographic research of the target area since the terminal Late Miocene.
XU ZhaoKaiLI AnChunJIANG FuQingLI TieGangMENG QingYongJIN Ning
Based upon analyses of grain-size, rare earth element (REE) compositions, elemental occurrence phases of REE, and U-series isotopic dating, the sediment characteristics and material sources of the study area were examined for the recently formed deep-sea clays in the eastern Philippine Sea. The analytical results are summarized as follows. (1) Low accumulation rate, poor sorting and roundness, and high contents of grains coarser than fine silt indicate relatively low sediment input, with localized material source without long distance transport. (2) The REE Contents are relatively high. Shale-normalized patterns of REE indicate weak enrichment in heavy REE (HREE), Ce-passive anomaly, and Eu-positive anomaly. (3) Elemental occurrence phases of REE between the sediments with and without crust are similar. REE mainly concentrate in residual phase and then in ferromanganese oxide phase. The light REE (LREE) enrichment, Ce-positive anomaly, and Eu-positive anomaly occur in re- sidual phase. Ferromanganese oxide phase shows the characteristics of relatively high HREE content and Ce-passive anomaly. (4) There are differences in each above mentioned aspect between the sedi- ments with and without ferromanganese crust. (5) Synthesizing the above characteristics and source discriminant analysis, the study sediments are deduced to mainly result from the alteration of local and nearby volcanic materials. Continental materials transported by wind and/or river (ocean) flows also have minor contributions.
