Radiocarbon ages, clay mineral assemblage data, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) core scanning data of sediment cores GeoB16601-6 and GeoB16602-4

In contrast, core GeoB16601-6 received less Pearl River supplied clayeymaterial during the same period.When the sea levelwas below-90mduring the last glacial lowstand, the detrital fine-grained materials supplied by the Pearl River were mostly transported by coastal currents to the southwest, resulting in a higher contribution of Pearl River discharged material at site GeoB16602-4 than at site GeoB16601-6. We suggest that sea-level induced modifications of the land-ocean distribution together with changes in the palaeo-physiographic conditions, such as the proximity of the palaeo-rivers to the individual core sites might be responsible for the different sediment depositional patterns in the study area.

Thus, the overriding control of sea-level induced changes on the sediment depositional environment might mask climate-related changes in sediment depositional pattern in the northern SCS.