Sediment budget of the Yellow River delta during 1959–2012, estimated from morphological changes and accumulation rates

Abstract The Yellow River (Huanghe) is a major sediment source of sediment to the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, resulting in the formation of a large and dynamic delta complex. However, the river sediment discharge reaching the delta has decreased dramatically since the middle 1960s. This study examines the sediment accumulation and morphological changes of the delta complex during 1959–2012 using a repeated bathymetry dataset, high-resolution seismic profiles, and sediment cores obtained in 2012 and 2013. Sediment accumulation rates were determined using the downcore concentrations of 137Cs and 210Pb. The average accumulation rates calculated for the delta complex range from 6.9–24 cm y−1 on the delta front slope, 1–2 cm y−1 at the toe of the slope, and