Morphology and genesis of cheniers on the Eastern China coast

Abstract

Review of morphological and stratigraphical peculiarities of Chenier plains in Eastern China based both on Chinese sources and author's own observation leads to the definition of cheniers as specific deltaic landforms. Variations in river sediment discharge at the specific coastal segments seem to be a primary factor in the formation of individual Chenier ridges. Such a variation can be caused by migration of river mouth, climatic change, or any other factor. Unique historical data on river migrations and sea-level changes in Eastern China during the last four thousand years support the formation of morphologically identical Chenier ridges under conditions of river migrations or small-scale relative sea-level rise episodes (e.g. 2.5 to 2 Kyrs BP).