Formation Mechanism of Seafloor Instability in the Modern Yellow River Delta

According to the analysis on the 11 drilling holes and more than 600km stratigraphy profiles data in the Diaokou lobe of modern Yellow River delta, it is found that the modern Yellow River Delta deposits mainly consist of the coarse silt and other fine grains, the fast accumulation speed and the frequent watercourse change result in the overlap of the sand on the river mouth bar and the weak sediment layer on the side edge, causing the uneven internal structure of the delta. The strata that is squeezed and disturbed is prone to deformation, easily resulting in such instabilities as slide, clastic flow, collapse, seabed diapirs and so on. Therefore, the Yellow River Delta region becomes one of the regions with the most complex marine engineering conditions in the world.