Radiocarbon Dates from the East China Sea and Their Geological Implications

Abstract

Radiocarbon analysis plays an important role in studying the Quaternary geologic history of the East China Sea. More than 200¹⁴C dates have been published in various Chinese publications. The continental shelf of the East China Sea is one of the few large continental shelves in the world. Many low-lying flats and deltaic plains lie along the coast making it a favorable site for sea-level studies. Radiocarbon data from Neolithic sites, chenier ramparts, peaty deposits, and submarine sediments converge to suggest that oscillations of sea level have occurred: they also suggest that the lowest glacial sea levels probably occurred between 22,000 and 19,000 yr B.P. Calculation of the volume of the Yangtze River Delta, together with¹⁴C dates, indicates that more than 89% of the solid particles carried by the river were deposited in the delta. Due to the sedimentary load, the crust beneath the delta has subsided isostatically and tilted seaward. Marine shells provide many acceptable¹⁴C dates, but because they are easily transported, most samples from the continental shelf cannot be directly related to the history of sea-level changes.