The Kuroshio Intrusion transports large amounts of heat and water vapor into the South China Sea (SCS) through the Luzon Strait and plays a key role in modulating surrounding climate change. However, a detailed history of the Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS before the Holocene is limited. Here, clay mineral assemblages and Sr-Nd isotopic values (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and εNd) of Core CS11 are used as indicators of the relative abundance of Taiwan and Luzon fluvial sediment contributions in the SCS deep basin, which represent the relative variation of the Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS over the past 40 ka. Combined with linear sediment rate (LSR) and results of previous studies, we demonstrate that the variation of Kuroshio currents between the SCS and the open Pacific generally displays opposing trends over the past 40 ka, similar as in the modern configuration. El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has acted as the key factor driving variations of the Kuroshio currents, with El Niño-like state favoring the Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS during MIS 2, in particular during the LGM when Kuroshio transport in the open Pacific weakened. The long-term rising trend of Kuroshio intrusion into the SCS was interrupted by a decline in the early Holocene, when a La Niña-like condition prevailed, and then intensified during the middle to late Holocene due to the influence of increased El Niño frequency.
 

南海，黑潮，粘土矿物，Sr-Nd同位素，ENSO