Ecological effects of offshore transport in the shelf sea and its response to climate warming

Although shelf seas contribute substantially to marine primary production (MPP), its variation in MPP under climate warming is poorly known because it is additionally influenced by the horizontal supply of terrigenous materials relative to the open oceans. The offshore transport in the North Yellow Sea (NYS) and its ecological effects were studied to explore the role of offshore transport in controlling the MPP of shelf seas and its variation under climate warming. Results of analyses of millennial sedimentary records in the NYS show that the offshore transport of terrigenous materials is essential for the MPP of the outer shelf, and this process is likely to be regulated by a horizontal temperature gradient. With the warming of the Kuroshio Current during 2002–2021, the flux of offshore transport of coastal materials increased, thereby increasing the MPP of the outer shelf. However, this conclusion is not supported by remote sensing data, which might be induced by the overlook on the vertical heterogeneity of internal properties in shelf sea waters from remote sensing.