Desertization of the continental shelf of China in the later stage of Late Pleistocene

In the later stage of Late Pleistocene, global climate entered into the climax period of Würm when temperature decreased remarkably and glaciers developed. Information from the East China Sea also confirm that the sea level fell by at least 130 m at that time (Emery, 1968). The Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea at the climax period were totally exposed, while the East China Sea and South China Sea shelf regions were exposed partly. The exposed shelf area exceeded 1 million km² and became a salty desert where land plants could not survive. Such were the conditions which led to the desertization of the shelf region. Eolation was the major exogenetic force not only on land but also on the shelf region in the ice age. At the climax period of Würm, the northern part of China developed thick layers of loess deposits. The shelf region at that time had similar climatic conditions and sediments. Because the shelf region was not protected by vegetation in the ice age, intensive wind storms remoulded the primarily deposited strata to produce new sedimentary differentiation and new series of land sediments. Shallow-layer profiler records indicated the existence of many land sediment types, including dunes, dune-chains, desert bodies, thick layers of repose angle sediments and desertization derivatives. New data available show the shelf region adjoining China can be divided into six regions of desertization and its derivatives. Contribution No. 1846, from the Institute of Oceanology, Acadernia Sinica. Project sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.