The South Yellow Sea is an important sink for sediments delivered by the Yellow and Yangtze rivers in East Asia. We conducted a high‐resolution geochemical analysis on the bulk sediments retrieved from a marine drill core (CSDP‐1) using the method of X‐ray fluorescence (XRF). Our results show large geochemical variations along the core. As demonstrated by linear correlations along with the Al‐Si link in a compositional principal component analysis (PCA), the variations in elemental ratios among Al, K, Zr, Ba and Si are primarily controlled by sediment sorting effects. A closer examination indicates a gradual shift of sediment provenance from the Yangtze to the Yellow River catchment in the core. With the help of a fuzzy c‐means cluster analysis on elemental ratios of Al/Si, Al/Ti, K/Si as well as the chemical index of alteration (CIA), the timing of a major provenance change in the core is narrowed down to 1.5‐1.7 Ma. This timing corresponds to a major seismic and sedimentary boundary (T2) in the Yellow Sea Basin and coincides with the onset of fluvial terrace deposition and incision in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River. As a result, we argue that the major provenance change derived from geochemical variations in the Yellow Sea sedimentary basin can be linked with the integration of the modern Yellow River. The provenance change is likely caused by a coupling between regional tectonic deformation and the Asian summer monsoon enhancement in the early Pleistocene.

中文翻译：

---

在南黄海的上新世-更新世沉积岩心（CSDP-1）中发现沉积物分选，物源和化学风化的综合作用

南黄海是东亚黄河和长江所输送的沉积物的重要汇。我们使用X射线荧光（XRF）方法对从海洋钻芯（CSDP-1）回收的大量沉积物进行了高分辨率地球化学分析。我们的结果表明，沿岩心的地球化学变化很大。正如在成分主成分分析（PCA）中通过线性相关以及Al-Si链接所证明的那样，Al，K，Zr，Ba和Si之间元素比的变化主要由沉积物分选效应控制。更仔细的检查表明，沉积物来源从核心逐渐转移到黄河流域。通过对Al / Si，Al / Ti，K / Si的元素比率以及化学变化指数（CIA）进行模糊c均值聚类分析，岩心中主要物源变化的时机缩小到1.5-1.7 Ma。该时间对应于黄海盆地的主要地震和沉积边界（T2），并且与黄河中上游河流阶地沉积和切开的发生相吻合。结果，我们认为，黄海沉积盆地地球化学变化产生的主要物源变化可能与现代黄河的整合有关。物源变化可能是由于区域构造变形与早更新世早期亚洲夏季风增强之间的耦合引起的。该时间对应于黄海盆地的主要地震和沉积边界（T2），并且与黄河中上游河流阶地沉积和切开的发生相吻合。结果，我们认为，黄海沉积盆地地球化学变化产生的主要物源变化可能与现代黄河的整合有关。物源变化可能是由于区域构造变形与早更新世早期亚洲夏季风增强之间的耦合引起的。该时间对应于黄海盆地的主要地震和沉积边界（T2），并且与黄河中上游河流阶地沉积和切开的发生相吻合。结果，我们认为，黄海沉积盆地地球化学变化产生的主要物源变化可能与现代黄河的整合有关。物源变化可能是由于区域构造变形与早更新世早期亚洲夏季风增强之间的耦合引起的。