Anthropogenic influence on sedimentation during the last 100 years inferred from magnetic properties in the Changjiang Estuary, China

A 100-year sedimentary record in the Changjiang Estuary was examined to elucidate natural and anthropogenic influences on the morphodynamic evolution of the estuary. Two gravity cores were acquired and their magnetic properties, sediment size, chemical elements and Pb-210 geochronology were analyzed to infer the sedimentation. The results indicate that these sedimentological indexes, especially magnetic properties and trace elements, changed significantly during the last 100 years, with an abrupt change occurring at around 1960. This abrupt change is likely the result of a reduction in hydrodynamic energy caused by the narrowing of an upstream estuary reach due to reclamation. An increase of terrigenous input, due to soil erosion in the upper and middle reaches of the Changjiang, and increases in steel production may have also had a significant influence, as indicated by studies of other locations in the Changjiang drainage basin.