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Late Pleistocene vegetation change in Korea and its possible link to East Asian monsoon and Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Jaesoo Lim ,
Ju-Yong Kim ,
Seon-Ju Kim ,
Jin-Young Lee  and
Sei-Sun Hong
Jaesoo Lim
Affiliation:
Quaternary Geology Research Department, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea
Ju-Yong Kim*
Affiliation:
Quaternary Geology Research Department, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea
Seon-Ju Kim
Affiliation:
Jungbu Institute for Archeology, Republic of Korea
Jin-Young Lee
Affiliation:
Quaternary Geology Research Department, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea
Sei-Sun Hong
Affiliation:
Quaternary Geology Research Department, Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea
*
*Corresponding author. Fax: + 82 42 868 3414. E-mail address:kjy@kigam.re.kr (J.-Y. Kim).
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Abstract

Late Pleistocene carbon isotope (δ13C) records from a paleolithic sedimentary sequence collected from Baeki, Hongcheon, central Korea, show long-term changes with superimposed short-term isotopic excursions. The δ13C value of the sedimentary organic matter, a proxy for past vegetation change, varied from − 26‰ to − 23‰ for the period between 30 and 90 ka, with a long-term variation similar to insolation changes. High-amplitude (− 1‰ to approximately − 1.5‰) fluctuations superimposed on the long-term changes in the δ13C values decreased during stronger summer monsoon intervals but increased during the weakened summer monsoon. This millennial-scale pattern is generally similar to Greenland Dansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycles. The possible connection between the Hongcheon area, Korea and high latitudes may be explained by atmospheric circulation changing in response to the D–O oscillations in the Northern Hemisphere.

Keywords

Carbon isotope (δ13C) recordsC4 plant abundanceEast Asian monsoonDansgaard–Oeschger (D–O) cycleVegetation change
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 55 - 60
Copyright
University of Washington

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