title: Detrital phosphorus as a proxy of flooding events in the Changjiang River Basin.
abstract: In this study, sediment grain size (MGS), specific surface area (SSA), total organic carbon (TOC) contents, C/N molar ratios, stable carbon isotope, and P species in a sediment core, collected from the East China Sea (ECS) inner-shelf were measured to explore the applicability of detrital phosphorus (De-P) as a potential indicator of past flooding events in the Changjiang River Basin (CRB). In particular, we examined the linkages between the evolution of floods with regional climate changes and anthropogenic activities in the CRB. Peaks of De-P concentrations in sediments corresponded well with the worst flooding events of the CRB over the past two centuries (e.g., 1850s, 1860s, 1900s, 1920s, 1950s, 1980s, and 2000s). Moreover, De-P also corresponded well with the extreme hypoxic events in 1981 and 1998 in the Changjiang Estuary as indicated by Mo/Al ratios, indicating potential linkages between De-P as a flooding proxy to flood-induced hypoxia events in this region. In addition, a robust relationship was found among De-P, the floods in 1950s, 1980s, and 2000s of the CRB, the intensive El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the abnormally weak East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) and the warm phase of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), suggesting that De-P also provided insights to linkages between regional climate change and flooding events in this region.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; Qingdao Collaborative Innovation Center of Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266100, China; Institute of Marine Organic Geochemistry, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China. Electronic address: yaopeng@mail.ouc.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yao
authors.affiliation: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2120, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Bianchi
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Bochao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Marine Chemistry Theory and Technology, Ministry of Education, Qingdao 266100, China; Institute of Marine Organic Geochemistry, Ocean University of China, Qingdao 266100, China.
authors.forename: Zhigang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: Changjiang River Basin; Climate change; Detrital phosphorus; Environmental stressors; Floods; Hypoxia