Taiwan Strait: An ocean‐current‐dominated shallow‐water setting with a river‐fed detached muddy contourite deposit

• DOI: 10.1111/sed.13238
• Publication Date: 2024-10-17T10:05:22Z
• Authors: Xin Shan; Robert W. Dalrymple; Xuefa Shi; Shuqing Qiao; Chenguang Liu; Zhengquan Yao; Lina Jin; Qingfeng Hua; Han Feng; Shan Liu; Shihao Liu; Char‐Shine Liu; Paul Liu
• Keywords: Contourite; Antarctic Bottom Water

ABSTRACT Contourites (contour‐current deposits) are commonly associated with deep‐water environments, but this study documents a shallow‐water, muddy contourite drift in the centre of Taiwan Strait. The body (water depths 30 to 70 m, 220 km long, 50 wide, 0 m thick), its long axis approximately colinear Strait Current, is flanked on both sides by moats. Compositional data show that composed sediment carried northward Current from Choshui River draining Taiwan. coast‐normal Changyun Ridge directly offshore splits into two branches occupy Oblique cross‐drift flow west east contributes growth. dispersal system shows down‐current fining sands ( ca 100 25 45 wide) fine‐grained elongate drift; these together represent asymmetrical subaqueous portion delta. Cores <8 kyr old, sedimentation rates up 7.8 m/ka. It coarsens upward during initial phase growth, perhaps due an increase current strength, smaller‐scale textural bedding attributed fluctuating strengths or variations wave energy depending location. Seismic southern end migrating westward, elongation Ridge, whereas middle and distal eastward because flow. Erosion eastern branch detached coeval coastal mud belt. influence tidal currents small destructive interference waves entering ends, creating weak rotary over drift. Wave within larger arriving East China Sea thought be responsible for coarsening more exposed northern end. serves as starting point developing facies model ocean‐current‐dominated straits seaways.