High-resolution OSL dating of a coastal sediment sequence from the South Yellow Sea

The coastal sediments of the South Yellow Sea (SYS) provide a record of regional land– sea interactions. This study investigated the applicability of optical dating, using coarse-grained quartz, to provide a chronology of these sediments. A 150-m-long drilling core (YZ07) was retrieved from the southwest coast of the SYS on the northern flank of the Yangtze River delta. Overall, 28 samples extracted from the upper 50 m of core YZ07 were investigated. Preheat plateau and dose recovery tests were conducted. The optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) signals were typical of quartz and they were dominated by fast components. The spread in measured equivalent doses (D_es) for each sample was generally consistent with the OSL signals being fully reset before deposition. The OSL ages generally increased with depth and indicated a 24-ka sedimentary record for the upper 50 m of the core. The age–depth relationship revealed two distinct sedimentary periods: (1) very slow sedimentation or even a depositional hiatus from the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the early Holocene (~24 to 8 ka); (2) very fast sedimentation at a rate of ~6 m/ka during the middle to late Holocene (since ~8 ka). It is speculated that sedimentation within the study area since the LGM might have been related to sea level change, delta initiation, and incised-valley fill processes.