Holocene sea level change and paleoenvironmental evolution off the Shandong Peninsula: Evidence of benthic foraminifera assemblages from core LHSD-1 in a subaqueous clinoform

The benthic foraminiferal assemblage in a drilled sediment core (LHSD-1) was investigated to reveal the offshore paleoenvironmental changes during Holocene transgression near the Shandong Peninsula. Our results reveal that, at the early Holocene (11.3 to 11.6 kyr BP), the studied area was an intertidal flat environment, indicated by the dominance of Ammonia aomoriensis, which prefers habitats of intertidal flat with shallow water. From 10.1 to 11.3 kyr BP, Buccella frigida became dominant, which likely reflected the strengthening of the Yellow Sea Coastal Current. Two rapid sea level rise events were recognized: the early one generally corresponded to MWP-1C, which occurred from 10.2 to 9.5 kyr BP and was characterized by a dramatic increase in the relative abun-dance of Rotalinoides compressiuscula; the later one generally corresponded to MWP-1D, which occurred from 7.4 to 6.8 kyr BP and was characterized by an increase in the relative abundance of Ammonia ketienziensis. The current marine environment was established at approximately 4.6 kyr BP. The Holocene marine transgression exerted major control over the paleoenvironmental changes near the shore of Shandong Peninsula, although the high sedimentary rate had a balancing effect on the rising sea levels.

Automated summary

The benthic foraminiferal assemblage in a drilled sediment core (LHSD-1) was studied to understand the offshore paleoenvironmental changes near the Shandong Peninsula during Holocene transgression. The results indicate that the early Holocene was characterized by an intertidal flat environment with Ammonia aomoriensis as the dominant species. Buccella frigida became dominant from 10.1 to 11.3 kyr BP, likely reflecting the strengthening of the Yellow Sea Coastal Current. Two rapid sea level rise events were detected, corresponding to MWP-1C and MWP-1D. The establishment of the current marine environment occurred around 4.6 kyr BP. The Holocene marine transgression had a significant impact on the paleoenvironmental changes near the Shandong Peninsula, although the high sedimentary rate balanced the rising sea levels.