Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Spatial and temporal variations of sedimented organic matter in Xiaohai Lagoon, Hainan Island

  • Published:
Acta Oceanologica Sinica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The characteristics of grain-size, total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) contents, TOC/TN ratios, stable carbon isotope (δ 13C) and 210Pb dating were measured in six sediment cores from the Xiaohai Lagoon. The results show distinct spatial and temporal variations in sedimentation patterns. The sediments are dominated by clayey silt, sandy silt and by silty sand in the southern, middle lagoon and the northern lagoon, respectively. TOC and TN contents decline from south to north. Sedimentation rates, determined by 210Pb dating, tend to decrease from south to middle. However, the determination of sedimentation rate in the north is difficult. These spatial variations are related to the variations in sediment sources and hydrodynamic conditions in the Xiaohai Lagoon. The variations of organic matter signatures can be divided into two stages in the cores from the southern and middle lagoon. Before 1988, the organic matter signatures are relatively stable. The contribution of terrestrial organic carbon sources varies between 60% and 85%. After 1988, the organic matter signatures demonstrate significant variations. TOC and TN contents increase rapidly, TOC/TN ratios decrease, δ 13C values shift to higher and the contribution of terrestrial organic carbon sources decreases to 40%–50%. The contributions of phytoplankton organic matter have increased in the sediment since 1988. Increasing aquaculture activities have had a significant impact on organic matter signatures since 1988. The sedimentation rates have increased rapidly in the southern and middle lagoon since 1988 due to the anthropogenic activities which include aquaculture, mining and deforestation. These activities have caused eutrophication and increased siltation in the southern and middle lagoon.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguiniga S, Sanchez A, Silverberg N. 2010. Temporal variations of C, N, δ 13C, and δ 15N in organic matter collected by a sediment trap at Cuenca Alfonso, Bahia de La Paz, SW Gulf of California. Continental Shelf Research, 30: 1692–1700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alt-Epping U, Mil-Homens M, Hebbeln D, et al. 2007. Provenance of organic matter and nutrient conditions on a river and upwelling influenced shelf: a case study from the Portuguese Margin. Marine Geology, 243: 169–179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrews J A, Greenaway A M, Dennis P F. 1998. Combined carbon isotope and C/N ratios as indicators of source and fate of organic matter in a poorly flushed, tropical estuary: Hunts Bay, Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 46: 743–756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Appleby P G, Oldfield F. 1978. The calculation of Lead-210 dates assuming a constant rate of supply of unsupported 210Pb to the sediment. Catena, 5: 1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ariztegui D, Anselmetti F S, Robbiani J M, et al. 2010. Natural and human-induced environmental change in southern Albania for the last 300 years—Constraints from the Lake Butrint sedimentary record. Global and Planetary Change, 71: 183–192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bozelli R L, Caliman A, Guariento R D, et al. 2009. Interactive effects of environmental variability and human impacts on the long-term dynamics of an Amazonian floodplain lake and a South Atlantic coastal lagoon. Limnologica, 39: 306–313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burdloff D, Araujo M F, Jouanneau J M, et al. 2008. Sources of organic carbon in the Portuguese continental shelf sediments during the Holocene period. Applied Geochemistry, 23: 2857–2870

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Compiling Committee of Records of China Bays. 1999. Records of China Bays 11th Fascicule—The bays in Hainan province (in Chinese). Beijing: China Ocean Press, 89–108

    Google Scholar 

  • Feng Xuwen, Jing Xianglong, Yu Xiaoguo, et al. 2008. Sedimentary records of eutrophication in the Changjiang Estuary upwelling area over last 100 a. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 127: 49–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao Jianhua, Wang Yaping, Pan Shaoming, et al. 2008a. Distribution of organic carbon in sediments and its influences on adjacent sea area in the turbidity maximum of the Changjiang Estuary in China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 27: 83–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Gao Jianhua, Wang Yaping, Pan Shaoming, et al. 2008b. Spatial distributions of organic carbon and nitrogen and their isotopic compositions in sediments of the Changjiang Estuary and its adjacent sea area. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 18: 46–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ge Chendong, Slaymaker O, Pedersen T F. 2003. Change in the sedimentary environment of Wanquan River Estuary, Hainan Island, China. Chinese Science Bulletin, 48: 2357–2361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gong Wenping, Shen Jian, Jia Jianjun. 2009. Feedback between tidal hydrodynamics and morphological changes induced by natural process and human interventions in a wave-dominated tidal inlet: Xiaohai, Hainan, China. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 28: 93–113

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham M C, Eaves M A, Farmer J G, et al. 2001. A study of carbon and nitrogen stable isotope and elemental ratios as potential indicators of source and fate of organic matter in sediments of the Forth Estuary, Scotland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 52: 375–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hainan Statistical Bureau. 1990. Hainan Statistical Yearbook (in Chinese). Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Hainan Statistical Bureau. 2004. Hainan Statistical Yearbook (in Chinese). Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu Jianfang, Sun Xuesong, Peng Ping’an, et al. 2009. Spatial and temporal variation of organic carbon in the northern South China Sea revealed by sedimentary records. Quaternary International, 206: 46–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hu Hui, Hu Fangxi, Wang Siming, et al. 1997. The basic hydrologic characteristics of the Xiaohai Lagoon in Hainan Island. Tropic Oceanology (in Chinese), 16(4): 54–61

    Google Scholar 

  • Jia Guodong, Peng Ping’an, Fu Jiamo. 2002. Sedimentary records of accelerated eutrophication for the last 100 years at the Pearl River estuary. Quaternary Sciences (in Chinese), 22(2): 158–165

    Google Scholar 

  • Jose A, Castillo A, Vazquez G. 2008. Phytoplankton variation and its relation to nutrients and allochthonous organic matter in a coastal lagoon on the Gulf of Mexico. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 78: 705–714

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaushal S, Binford M W. 1999. Relationship between C:N ratios of lake sediments, organic matter sources, and historical deforestation in Lake pleasant, Massachusetts, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology, 22: 439–442

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keil R G, Tsamakis E C, Fuh C B, et al. 1994. Mineralogical and texture controls on the organic composition of coastal marine sediments: Hydro-dynamic separation using SPLITT-fractionation. Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta, 58: 879–893

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lamb A L, Wilson G P, Leng M J. 2006. A review of coastal palaeoclimate and relative sea-level reconstructions using δ 13C and C/N ratios in organic material. Earth-Science Reviews, 75: 29–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Xuegang, Yuan Huamao, Li Ning, et al. 2008. Organic carbon source and burial during the past one hundred years in Jiaozhou Bay, North China. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 20: 551–557

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Min, Hou Lijun, Xu Shiyuan, et al. 2006. Organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in the intertidal sediments from the Yangtze Estuary, China. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 52: 1625–1633

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magni P, De Falco G, Como S. 2008. Distribution and ecological relevance of fine sediments in organic-enriched lagoons: The case study of the Cabras lagoon (Sardinia, Italy). Marine Pollution Bulletin, 56: 549–564

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer L M. 1994. Surface area control of organic carbon accumulation in the continental shelf sediments. Geochemicaet Cosmochimica Acta, 58(4): 1271–1284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McManus J. 1988. Grain size determination and interpretation. In: Tucker M, ed. Techniques in Sedimentology. Oxford: Blackwell, 63–85

    Google Scholar 

  • Meagan E G, Adina P, Jorge A, et al. 2004. Tracing organic matter sources and carbon burial in mangrove sediments over the past 160 years. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 61: 211–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meksumpuna S, Meksumpunb C, Hoshikac A, et al. 2005. Stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios of sediment in the gulf of Thailand: Evidence for understanding of marine environment. Continental Shelf Research, 25: 1905–1915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyers P A. 1994. Preservation of elemental and isotopic source identification of sedimentary organic matter. Chemical Geology, 114: 289–302

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyers P A. 1997. Organic geochemical proxies of palaeooceanographic, palaeolimnological and palaeoclimatic processes. Organic Geochemistry, 27: 213–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyers P A, Lalliers-Verges E. 1999. Lacustrine sedimentary organic matter records of Late Quaternary Paleoclimates. Journal of Paleolimnology, 21: 345–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller A. 2002. Geochemical expressions of late- and postglacial land-sea interactions in the southern Baltic Sea. Boreal Environment Research, 7: 13–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Muller A, Mathesius U. 1999. The palaeoenvironments of coastal lagoons in the southern Baltic Sea: I. The application of sedimentary Corg/N ratios as source indicators of organic matter. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 145: 1–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller A, Voss M. 1999. The palaeoenvironments of coastal lagoons in the southern Baltic Sea: II. δ 13C and δ 15N ratios of organic matter—sources and sediments. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 145: 17–32

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nixon S. 1988. Physical energy inputs and the comparative ecology of lake and marine ecosystems. Limnol Oceanogr, 33: 1005–1025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogrinc N, Fontolan G, Faganeli J, et al. 2005. Carbon and nitrogen isotope compositions of organic matter in coastal marine sediments (the Gulf of Trieste, N Adriatic Sea): indicators of sources and preservation. Marine Chemistry, 95: 163–181

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen R B, Lee R. 2004. Human impacts on organic matter sedimentation in a proximal shelf setting, Hong Kong. Continental Shelf Research, 24: 583–602

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian Junlong, Wang Sumin, Xue Bin, et al. 1997. A method of quantitatively calculating amount of allochthonous organic carbon in lake sediments. Chinese Science Bulletin (in Chinese), 42(15): 1821–1823

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramaswamy V, Gaye B, Shirodkar P V, et al. 2008. Distribution and sources of organic carbon, nitrogen and their isotopic signatures in sediments from the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) continental shelf, northern Andaman Sea. Marine Chemistry, 111: 137–150

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sara G, Scilipoti D, Mazzola A, et al. 2004. Effects of fish farming waste to sedimentary and particulate organic matter in a southern Mediterranean area (Gulf of Castellammare, Sicily): a multiple stable isotope study (δ 13C and δ 15N). Aquaculture, 234: 199–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarazin G, Michard G, Al Gharib I, et al. 1992. Sedimentation rate and early diagenesis of particulate organic nitrogen and carbon in Aydat lake (Puy de Dome, France). Chemical Geology, 98: 307–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Silliman H E, Meyers P A, Bourbonniere R A. 1996. Record of postglacial organic matter delivery and burial in sediments of Lake Ontario. Organic Geochemistry, 24: 463–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Committee of Wanning County Annals. 1994. Wanning County Annals (in Chinese). Haikou: South Sea Press, 145–147

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton S F, McManus J. 1994. Application of organic carbon and nitrogen stable isotope and C/N ratios as source indicators of organic matter provenance in estuarine systems: Evidence from the Tay Estuary, Scotland. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 38: 219–233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Voss M, Larsen B, Leivuori M, et al. 2000. Stable isotope signals of eutrophication in Baltic Sea sediments. Journal of Marine Systems, 25: 287–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson G P, Lamb A L, Leng M J, et al. 2005. δ 13C and C/N as potential coastal palaeoenvironmental indicators in the Mersey Estuary, UK. Quaternary Science Reviews, 24: 2015–2029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamuro M. 2000. Chemical tracers of sediment organic matter origins in two coastal lagoons. Journal of Marine Systems, 26: 127–134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamuro M, Kanai Y. 2005. A 200-year record of natural and anthropogenic changes in water quality from coastal lagoon sediments of Lake Shinji, Japan. Chemical Geology, 218: 51–61

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Shouye, Tang Min, Yim Wyss W-S, et al. 2010. Burial of organic carbon in Holocene sediments of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) and Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuaries. Marine Chemistry, doi: 10.1016/j marchem. 2010.07.001

  • Yokoyama H, Abo K, Ishihi Y, et al. 2006. Quantifying aquaculture-derived organic matter in the sediment in and around a coastal fish farm using stable carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios. Aquaculture, 254: 411–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu Fengling, Zong Yongqiang, Jeremy M L. 2010. Bulk organic δ 13C and C/N as indicators for sediment sources in the Pearl River delta and estuary, southern China. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 87: 618–630

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Ling, Yin Kedong, Wang Lu, et al. 2009. The sources and accumulation rate of sedimentary organic matter in the Pearl River Estuary and adjacent coastal area, Southern China. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 85: 190–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Qiaomin, Chen Xinshu, Wang Wenjie, et al. 1995. Sand-barrier Lagoon tidal inlet geographic evolution in the southern of China coast. Acta Oceanologica Sinica (in Chinese), 17(2): 69–77

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Zhihua, Liu Congqiang, Li Jun, et al. 2007. Record of Ecosystem Evolvement Processes Provided by δ 13Corg and δ 15N Values in Chaohu Lake Sediments (in Chinese). Environmental Science, 28(6): 1338–1343

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Junli, Wu Ying, Zhang Jing, et al. 2006. Carbon and nitrogen composition and stable isotope as potential indicators of source and fate of organic matter in the salt marsh of the Changjiang Estuary, China. Chemosphere, 65: 310–317

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Xingjian Liu & Chendong Ge

  2. School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

    Xingjian Liu & Chendong Ge

Authors
  1. Xingjian Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chendong Ge
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chendong Ge.

Additional information

Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) under contract No. 40376014; a Project Funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Liu, X., Ge, C. Spatial and temporal variations of sedimented organic matter in Xiaohai Lagoon, Hainan Island. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 31, 74–86 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-012-0208-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-012-0208-x

Key words

Search

Navigation