The sedimentary facies and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe in the modern Huanghe River Delta of China

GAO Wei; LIU Shihao; LIU Jie; XU Yuanqin; LI Ping

doi:10.1007/s13131-018-1332-z

Article Contents

Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2018 > 37(11): 40-52

GAO Wei, LIU Shihao, LIU Jie, XU Yuanqin, LI Ping. The sedimentary facies and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe in the modern Huanghe River Delta of China[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2018, 37(11): 40-52. doi: 10.1007/s13131-018-1332-z

Citation:

GAO Wei, LIU Shihao, LIU Jie, XU Yuanqin, LI Ping. The sedimentary facies and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe in the modern Huanghe River Delta of China[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2018, 37(11): 40-52. doi: 10.1007/s13131-018-1332-z

Citation:

PDF( 1141 KB)

The sedimentary facies and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe in the modern Huanghe River Delta of China

doi: 10.1007/s13131-018-1332-z

1.
Key Laboratory of Marine Sedimentology and Environmental Geology, The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China;Laboratory for Marine Geology, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266061, China
2.
Research Center for Islands and Coastal Zone, The First Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration, Qingdao 266061, China

Received Date: 2018-05-24

Abstract

Abstract

The Huanghe River captures the Diaokou River in 1964 and forms a deltaic lobe in the subsequent 12 a. The progradational process of the Diaokou lobe is in associated with complicated evolution of riverine sheet flooding, merging, and swinging. On the basis of 11 borehole cores and 210 km high resolution seismic reflection data set, the sedimentary sequence and dynamic environment of the Diaokou lobe (one subdelta lobe of the modern Huanghe River Delta) are studied. The stratigraphy of the lobe is characterized by an upward-coarsening ternary structure and forms a progradational deltaic clinoform. Totally six seismic surfaces are identifiable in seismic profiles, bounded six seismic units (SUs). These SUs correspond to six depositional units (DUs) in the borehole cores, and among them, SUs 4-6 (DUs D to F) consist of the modern Diaokou lobe. Lithological and seismic evidences indicate that the delta plain part of the Diaokou lobe is comprised primarily by fluvial lag sediments together with sediments from sidebanks, overbanks, fluvial flood plains and levees, while the delta front part is a combination of river mouth bar sands (majority) and distal bar and deltaic margin sediments (minority). As a result of the high sedimentation rate and weak hydrodynamic regime in the Huanghe River Delta, the sediments in the delta front are dominated by fine-grained materials. The grain size analysis indicates the Huanghe River hyperpycnal-concentrated flow shows the suspension, transportation and sedimentation characteristics of gravity flow, and the sediment transportation is primarily dominated by graded suspension, while uniform suspension and hydrostatic suspension are also observed in places. The strength of the hydrodynamic regime weakens gradually offshore from riverbed, river mouth bar, sidebank, distal bar subfacies to delta lateral margin and flooding plain subfacies.
- modern Huanghe River Delta,
- sedimentary facies,
- sediment dynamics,
- grain size

FullText(HTML)

References(50)

References

Allison M A, Khan S R, Goodbred Jr S L, et al. 2003. Stratigraphic evolution of the late Holocene Ganges-Brahmaputra lower delta plain. Sedimentary Geology, 155(3-4):317-342

Bianchi T S, Allison M A. 2009. Large-river delta-front estuaries as natural "recorders" of global environmental change. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 106(20):8085-8092, doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812878106

Blair T C, McPherson J G. 2008. Quaternary sedimentology of the Rose Creek fan delta, Walker Lake, Nevada, USA, and implications to fan-delta facies models. Sedimentology, 55(3):579-615, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3091.2007.00913.x

Cheng Guodong, Xue Chunting. 1997. Sedimentary Environment and Sediments of the Modern Huanghe River Delta (in Chinese). Beijing:China Geological Publishing House, 49-65

Coleman J M, Wright L D. 1975. Modern river deltas:variability of processes and sand bodies. In:Broussard M L, ed. Deltas:Models for Exploration. Houston:Houston Geological Society, 99-150

Dalrymple R W, Mackay D A, Ichaso A A, et al. 2012. Processes, morphodynamics, and facies of tide-dominated estuaries. In:Davis Jr R A, Dalrymple R W, eds. Principles of Tidal Sedimentology. New York:Springer, 79-107

Endo N, Masuda F, Yokokawa M. 1996. Grain-size distributions of sediment carried by single transportation modes in an experimental microdelta system. Sedimentary Geology, 102(3-4):297-304

Fan Dejiang, Chen Zhangrong, Luan Guangzhong. 2001. Riverway sedimentation over the Yellow River Delta:Ⅱ. The sedimentation mechanism of the Jianlin sediment bar. Journal of Ocean University of Qingdao (in Chinese), 31(2):237-242

Fan Hui, Huang Haijun, Zeng T Q, et al. 2006. River mouth bar formation, riverbed aggradation and channel migration in the modern Huanghe (Yellow) River delta, China. Geomorphology, 74(1-4):124-136

Flood R P, Orford J D, McKinley J M, et al. 2015. Effective grain size distribution analysis for interpretation of tidal-deltaic facies:West Bengal Sundarbans. Sedimentary Geology, 318:58-74, doi: 10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.12.007

Folk R L, Ward W C. 1957. Brazos river bar:a study in the significance of grain size parameters. Journal of Sedimentary Research, 27(1):3-26, doi: 10.1306/74D70646-2B21-11D7-8648000102C1865D

Gao Wei, Li Guangxue, Cao Lihua et al. 2014a. Formation mechanism of seafloor instability in the modern Yellow River Delta. In:Proceedings of the Twenty-fourth International Ocean and Polar Engineering Conference. Busan:ISOPE, 289-293

Gao Wei, Li Guangxue, Wang Xiangdong, et al. 2014b. Sedimentary characteristics of the hyperpycnal flow in the modern Yellow River Delta. Indian Journal of Geo-marine Sciences, 43(8):1438-1448

Heller P L, Dickinson W R. 1985. Submarine ramp facies model for delta-fed, sand-rich turbidite systems. AAPG Bulletin, 69(6):960-976

Lee Caldwell R. 2013. The effect of grain size on River Delta process and morphology[dissertation]. Boston:Boston College University Libraries.

Li Guangxue, Wei Helong, Han Yeshen, et al. 1998a. Sedimentation in the Yellow River delta, part I:flow and suspended sediment structure in the upper distributary and the estuary. Marine Geology, 149(1-4):93-111

Li Guangxue, Wei Helong, Yue Shuhong, et al. 1998b. Sedimentation in the Yellow River delta, part Ⅱ:suspended sediment dispersal and deposition on the subaqueous delta. Marine Geology, 149(1-4):113-131

Li Guangxue, Zhuang Kelin, Wei Helong. 2000. Sedimentation in the Yellow River delta. Part Ⅲ. Seabed erosion and diapirism in the abandoned subaqueous delta lobe. Marine Geology, 168(1-4):129-144

Liu Shihao, Feng Aiping, Du Jun, et al. 2014. Evolution of the buried channel systems under the modern Yellow River Delta since the last glacial maximum. Quaternary International, 349:327-338, doi: 10.1016/j.quaint.2014.06.061

Liu Shihao, Feng Aiping, Li Peiying, et al. 2015. High-resolution grain size distribution and evolution of the sediment-dynamic environment in the modern Yellow River Delta since the Latest Pleistocene. Quaternary Sciences (in Chinese), 35(2):291-306

Liu Shihao, Li Peiying, Feng Aiping, et al. 2016. Seismic and core investigation on the modern Yellow River Delta reveals the development of the uppermost fluvial deposits and the subsequent transgression system since the postglacial period. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 128:158-180, doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2016.07.009

Liu Jingpu, Milliman J D, Gao Shu, et al. 2004. Holocene development of the Yellow River's subaqueous delta, North Yellow Sea. Marine Geology, 209(1-4):45-67

Liu Jian, Saito Y, Wang Hong, et al. 2009. Stratigraphic development during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene offshore of the Yellow River Delta, Bohai Sea. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 36(4-5):318-331

Liu Shengfa, Zhuang Zhenye, Lü Haiqing, et al. 2006. The strata and environmental evolution in the late quaternary in the Chengdao area and modern Yellow River Delta coast. Transactions of Oceanology and Limnology (in Chinese), (4):32-37

Ma Yanyan, Li Guangxue. 2010. Evolution history and trend of the modern Huanghe River Delta. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 29(2):40-52, doi: 10.1007/s13131-010-0020-4

Maren D S V, Winterwerp J C, Vroom J. 2015. Fine sediment transport into the hyper-turbid lower Ems River:the role of channel deepening and sediment-induced drag reduction. Ocean Dynamics, 65(4):589-605, doi: 10.1007/s10236-015-0821-2

Meade R H, Moody J A. 2010. Causes for the decline of suspended-sediment discharge in the Mississippi River system, 1940-2007. Hydrological Processes, 24(1):35-49

Necker F, Härtel C, Kleiser L, et al. 2005. Mixing and dissipation in particle-driven gravity currents. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 545:339-372, doi: 10.1017/S0022112005006932

Nittrouer J A, Shaw J, Lamb M P, et al. 2012. Spatial and temporal trends for water-flow velocity and bed-material sediment transport in the lower Mississippi River. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 124(3-4):Xuebao (in Chinese), 31(1):117-124

Yamaguchi M, Sugai T, Fujiwara O, et al. 2005. Depositional pⅲocess and landform of the Kiso River Delta, reconstructed from grain size distributions, and accumulation rate of sediment cores. The Quaternary Research, 44(1):37-44, doi: 10.4116/jaqua.44.37

Yang Zuosheng, Ji Youjun, Bi Naishuang, et al. 2011. Sediment transport off the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta and in the adjacent Bohai Sea in winter and seasonal comparison. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 93(3):173-181, doi: 10.1016/j.ecss.2010.06.005

Yuan Jing, Du Yumin, Li Yunnan. 2003. Probability cumulative grain size curves in terrigenous depositional environments of the Paleogene in Huimin Sag. Petroleum Exploration and Development (in Chinese), 30(3):103-106

Zhou Yongqing. 1987. Characteristic of the channel shifting and its mechanism of formation in the Yellow River Delta. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (in Chinese), 7:41-46

Zhou Liangyong, Liu Jian, Saito Y, et al. 2016. Modern sediment characteristics and accumulation rates from the delta front to prodelta of the Yellow River (Huanghe). Geo-Marine Letters, 36(4):247-258, doi: 10.1007/s00367-016-0442-x

Zhu Xiaomin. 2008. Sedimentary Petrology (in Chinese). 4th ed. Beijing:China Petroleum Industry Press, 64-79P J, Masson D G, et al. 2014. The spatial and temporal distribution of grain-size breaks in turbidites. Sedimentology, 61(4):1120-1156, doi: 10.1111/sed.12091

Tye R S, Coleman J M. 1989. Depositional processes and stratigraphy of fluvially dominated lacustrine deltas:Mississippi Delta Plain. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 59(6):973-996

Visher G S. 1964. Fluvial processes as interpreted from ancient and recent fluvial deposits. AAPG Bulletin, 48(2):550

Visher G S. 1969. Grain size distributions and depositional processes. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, 39(3):1074-1106

Wang Houjie, Bi Naishuang, Wang Yan, et al. 2010. Tide-modulated hyperpycnal flows off the Huanghe (Yellow River) mouth, China. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 35(11):1315-1329, doi: 10.1002/esp.2032

Wang Houjie, Yang Zuosheng, Li Yunhai, et al. 2007. Dispersal pattern of suspended sediment in the shear frontal zone off the Huanghe (Yellow River) mouth. Continental Shelf Research, 27(6):854-871, doi: 10.1016/j.csr.2006.12.002

Wang Aihua, Ye Zhizheng. 1990. Framework, developing processes and sedimentary model of the modern Huanghe River delta. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (in Chinese), 10(1):1-12

Wells J T, Coleman J M. 1987. Wetland loss and the subdelta life cycle. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 25(1):111-125, doi: 10.1016/0272-7714(87)90029-1

Wright L D, Wiseman W J, Bornhold B D, et al. 1988. Marine dispersal and deposition of Yellow River silts by gravity-driven underflow. Nature, 332(6165):629-632, doi: 10.1038/332629a0

Wright L D, Yang Z S, Bornhold B D, et al. 1986a. Hyperpycnal plumes and plume fronts over the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta front. Geo-Marine Letters, 6(2):97-105, doi: 10.1007/BF02281645

Wright L D. 1985. River deltas. In:Davis R A, ed. Coastal Sedimentary Environments. New York:Springer, 25-36

Wright L D, Yang Z S, Bornhold B D, et al. 1986b. Short period internal waves over the Huanghe (Yellow River) delta front. Geo-Marine Letters, 6(2):115-120, doi: 10.1007/BF02281647

Wu Xiao, Bi Naishuang, Kanai Y, et al. 2015. Sedimentary records off the modern Huanghe (Yellow River) delta and their response to deltaic river channel shifts over the last 200 years. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 108:68-80, doi: 10.1016/j.jseaes.2015.04.028

Xu Taoyu, Shi Xuefa, Wang Guoqing, et al. 2013. Sedimentary facies of the subaqueous Changjiang River delta since the late Pleistocene. Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, 31(5):1107-1119, doi: 10.1007/s00343-013-2281-1

Xue Chunting. 1994. Comparison of two classifications of clastic sediments. Marine Geology & Quaternary Geology (in Chinese), 14(2):109-113

Xue Chunting, Ye Siyuan, Gao Maosheng, et al. 2009. Determination of depositional age in the Huanghe Delta in China. Haiyang

Relative Articles

Supplements(0)

Cited By

Proportional views