HOLOCENE STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL EVOLUTION OF THE NORTHERN YELLOW RIVER DELTA

A 31-meter-sediment core, obtained from the northern Yellow River Delta in 2007, was analyzed for sedimentary characteristics and benthic foraminiferal assemblages in order to document the environmental history of the region. Nine trench profiles were dug for better understanding the upper 1.5~2.0 m of the deposits. There are four layers of deposits in the area, namely, the modern Yellow River delta deposit, the shallow sea deposit, the tidal-flat deposit and the fluvial deposit. Based on the fact, the paleoenvironmental evolution of the region was discussed. Precise chronological framework of the modern Yellow River delta (MYRD) was built upon the detailed records of paleo-geography and sedimentary geology left by the shifting of Yellow River course, while the time framework before the MYRD was deduced by comparing the core with the others nearby from available literatures.