This study is led by Associate Researcher Zhang Jin (first author) and Researcher Wan Shiming (corresponding author) from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with Tongji University, University College London, and other institutions. They identified a marked difference between glacial and interglacial periods, with silicate weathering carbon consumption rates being significantly higher during glacial periods, and proposed that the mid-latitude shelf region was an underestimated active silicate weathering carbon sink during glacial periods.
Indicators such as the Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA), K/Al, and smectite/(illite + chlorite) all indicate that the weathering intensity of glacial shelf sediments was higher than that of interglacial sediments, with silicate weathering carbon consumption rates approximately 1.5 times those of interglacial periods. During glacial periods, the exposure and long-term retention of unconsolidated shelf sediments under low sea-level conditions led to significantly enhanced silicate weathering and carbon consumption, and this weathering denudation was decoupled from climate. Compared with existing work in low-latitude sea areas, the enhanced weathering of the mid-latitude shelf during glacial periods had previously been overlooked. Quantitative estimates indicate that the increased silicate weathering of exposed shelf sediments during glacial periods (including those in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, and low-latitude marine areas) may account for approximately 9.3% of the total reduction in atmospheric CO₂ during glacial times, representing a significant mechanism influencing carbon cycling and climate change on glacial-interglacial timescales.
This study is the first to quantitatively reconstruct the Late Quaternary history of silicate weathering carbon consumption in the Yellow River basin-continental shelf system, which is of great scientific significance for understanding the mechanisms of glacial-interglacial Earth climate evolution.
See the article:
Zhang J, Wan S, Yang Y, Yang S, Clift P D, Guo Y, Zhao D, Tang Y, Yu Z, Song Z, Cheng Z, Yang Z, Feng X, Huang J, Lu J, Li A. 2026. Sedimentary records of silicate weathering on the continental shelf of the South Yellow Sea during glacial periods. Science China Earth Sciences, 69(9): 3548–3565, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-025-1997-0
Science China Earth Sciences