Middle Holocene marine flooding and human response in the south Yangtze coastal plain, East China

Coastal flooding catastrophes have affected human societies on coastal plains around the world on several occasions in the past, and are threatening 21st century societies under global warming and sea-level rise. However, the role of coastal flooding in the interruption of the Neolithic Liangzhu culture in the lower Yangtze valley, East China coast has been long contested. In this study, we used a well-dated Neolithic site (the Yushan site) close to the present coastline to demonstrate a marine drowning event at the terminal stage of the Liangzhu culture and discuss its linkage to relative sea-level rise. We analysed sedimentology, chronology, organic elemental composition, diatoms and dinoflagellate cysts for several typical profiles at the Yushan site. The field and sedimentary data provided clear evidence of a palaeo-typhoon event that overwhelmed the Yushan site at ∼2560 BCE, which heralded a period of marine inundation and ecological deterioration at the site. We also infer an acceleration in sea-level rise at 2560–2440 BCE from the sedimentary records at Yushan, which explains the widespread signatures of coastal flooding across the south Yangtze coastal plain at that time. The timing of this mid-Holocene coastal flooding coincided with the sudden disappearance of the advanced and widespread Liangzhu culture along the lower Yangtze valley. We infer that extreme events and flooding accompanying accelerated sea-level rise were major causes of vulnerability for prehistoric coastal societies

Validation for the computational model of 18650 lithium-ion battery.

<p>Mechanical responses from tests and simulations in loading conditions: (a) radial compression and (b) bending.</p

Battery module and extraction of RUC.

<p>Diagram of battery module and RUC defined by <i>l</i>, <i>b</i>, and <i>θ</i> and typical RUCs with <i>θ</i> = <i>π</i> and 2<i>π</i>/3.</p

Mechanical behavior of 18650 lithium-ion battery.

<p>(a) The 18650 lithium-ion battery. Nominal stress–strain curve of a single LIB under (b) radial compression and (c) axial compression conditions.</p

Validation for cubic dense packing under different sizes.

<p>(a) Size of cubic dense packing defined by <i>b</i> and <i>l</i>. Comparisons of mechanical responses of the module under different sizes between the EBM model and DBM model where the packing density is constant. The sizes of the module are labeled in each graph.</p

Comparison of 3D and 2D models under constrained compression loading conditions.

<p>Comparison of 3D and 2D models under constrained compression loading conditions.</p

Optimizing location of variable message signs using GPS probe vehicle data - Fig 8

<p>A glance of GPS records from taxis carrying passengers during peak hours in the study area: (a) morning peak hours; (b) evening peak hours; (c) average number of taxis with passengers per peak hour on each link.</p

Mechanical behavior of the module for asymmetric packing modes.

<p>(a) Mechanical responses of the module with a DBM model for different packing modes when <i>b</i> = l = 10. (b) The relationship of theoretical plateau strain and packing mode. (c) Mechanical responses of the module for <i>θ</i> = 5π/6 with variables <i>b</i> and <i>l</i>. (d) The fitting function relationship with the ratio of packing density to that of corresponding RUC.</p

The general framework of the algorithm.

<p>The general framework of the algorithm.</p

Comparison of VMS location in different classification number of guidance utility <i>a</i> and information coverage <i>b</i>.

<p>Comparison of VMS location in different classification number of guidance utility <i>a</i> and information coverage <i>b</i>.</p