Past sea surface temperature of the East Sea inferred from alkenone

We measured the alkenone concentration of bulk sediments from a piston core collected from the Ulleung Basin in the East Sea in order to reconstruct past sea surface temperatures (SST). Sediment ages are well constrained by AMS $^{14}C$ dates of the planktonic foraminifera Globigerina bulloides. Coretop alkenone SST calibration with modern surface temperatures and sediment trap dat (Hong et al., 1996) indicate that the SST estimated from alkenones most likely represent the temperatures of late fall. Downcore variations in the alkenone saturation index indicate that between 19 and 15 kyr BP the surface waters were about $3^{\circ}C$ warmer than today. Between 15 and 11 kyr BP, the temperatures were about $3^{\circ}C$ lower than today. A rapid SST increase of about $3^{\circ}C$ occurred at approximately 10 kyr BP. After considering the factors which might influence the SST reconstruction from the $U^{k values, we conclude that the alkenone temperature estimates are reliable. The reason for glacial warming in the East Sea is not clear, although there is a possibility that it could be caused by shift in the season of maximum alkenone production from summer during the last glaciation to late fall during the Holocene. Cooling between 15 and 11 kyr BP may be due to inflow of cold water into the East Sea such as via the Oyashio Current or ice-melt water. Warming at the early Holocene could be due to inflow of the Tsushima Current into the East Sea through the Korea Strait.