Articles | Volume 23, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5055-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-5055-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Jul 2026
Research article |
| 22 Jul 2026
| 22 Jul 2026
Shifts in riverine POC sources reduce terrestrial OC burial in the Changjiang subaqueous delta
Jiyuan Jin
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Ya Ping Wang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Hui Sheng
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Ocean Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Bixuan Tang
Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing 210029, China
Wei Feng
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
School of Marine Science and Engineering, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210046, China
Lanyue Liu
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Marine Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
Rui Liu
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, School of Marine Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200241, China
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Short summary
Dam construction has altered riverine organic carbon (OC) composition, but its impact on deltaic OC burial remains unclear. Analysis of a four-decadal dataset of suspended and surface sediments in the Changjiang subaqueous delta reveals a temporal increase in freshwater algal OC and a decrease in petrogenic OC input to the East China Sea. This shift toward more labile OC reduced OC preservation efficiency from 15.1% to 10.7%, resulting in an approximately 50% loss of net OC preservation.
Dam construction has altered riverine organic carbon (OC) composition, but its impact on deltaic...
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