Human-driven long-term disconnect of nutrient inputs to the Yellow River basin and river export to the Bohai Sea

•DON and DOP account for an important share of TDN and TDP in the Yellow River (YR).•Nutrient retention in soils, groundwater, reservoirs in YR mediated nutrient export.•Large water consumption containing nutrients in the YR mediated nutrient export.•Water-Sediment Regulation Scheme shifted seasonal patterns of nutrient transport.•YR’s nutrient export fluxes alone cannot explain changes in the Bohai Sea’s red tides.