Identification of natural and anthropogenic events in the past is important for studying their patterns and mechanisms; and sensitive proxies in marine sediments are more reliable for identifying these events than those in terrestrial sediments, which are usually disturbed by human activities. Since the main source materials for the sediments in the Northern Yellow Sea Mud are transported by the Yellow River, sedimentary characteristics can be used to reconstruct the historical events that occurred in the Yellow River Valley. In the present study, by analyzing sorting coefficient of grain size in a 250-year sediment core from the Northern Yellow Sea Mud, we identified several major historical events: the Haiyuan Earthquake in AD 1920 and several times of relocation of the Yellow River estuary. The proxy has the potential of detecting and reconstructing historical events; in combination with historical archives, they also provide an accurate dating method.
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