Long-chain alkyl diols as indicators of local riverine input, temperature, and upwelling in a shelf south of the Yangtze River Estuary in the East China Sea

Sedimentary processes on continental shelves are affected by complex interactions between a variety of riverine and oceanographic processes. In the shelf of the East China Sea (ECS) south of the Yangtze River estuary, we investigated source-to-sink processes relating to local riverine input as well as the effects of the Kuroshio intrusion by examining the distribution of long-chain alkyl diols in surface and core sediments. The results show that at present the main source of 1,14-diols is most likely diatoms belonging to the genus Proboscia. Most C32 1,15-diol is produced in situ in local rivers (rather than originating from the Yangtze River) and its distribution is mainly restricted to the front of local river mouths along the coast (water depth