• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.166-174
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• 1987

Distribution, bathymetry and textural parameters of the bottom sediment deposited between Geoje and Namhae Islands were studied to understand the depositional environment of the area. The study area is divided into three different provinces. Except for the Gwangyang Bay and Changseon Channel, mud dominates in the western part whereas sandy mud and muddy sand prevail in the southeastern part including the eastern area of the Yogji Island. The relict sediment is located in the eastern part of the area. Generally, the Holocene sediment, located in the northern part of the area, is considered to be transported and deposited by a pelagic suspension mode. Influence of strong tidal currents results in some depressions in the vicinity of Changseon Island and the eastern part of the Yogji Island, The Tsushima Warm Current is supposed to affect the southern part of the area. The two parallels sand ridges lying in the southeastern part of the area are covered with very thin Holocene mud. This seems to be caused by the winnowing effect of the current. The similarity between the two directions of the current and the ridges encourages this idea. The boundary between the Holocene and relict sediment, however, lies further south the ridges.

• Journal of the Mineralogical Society of Korea
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.159-168
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• 2014

Holocene plaeoenvironmental changes were interpreted by grain size and mineral analyses of a piston core (HB 13-2), obtained along the western slope of the Hupo Basin, Korea. The core sediments are characterized by two discrete, sedimentary facies: upper unit (0-0.4 mbsf) dominated by bioturbation structures with weak lamination, and lower unit (0.4-3.3 mbsf) characterized by intensified bioturbation toward bottom. Analysis of sensitive grain size and sortable silt demonstrated that the inflow of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) into the Hupo Basin strengthen from the period of sediment deposition over 0.82 mbsf. The minerals of the core sediments are composed mainly of quartz, microcline, orthoclase, albite and clay minerals including chlorite, kaolinite and illite. No noticeable changes of the mineral percentage was observed according to the grain size and depth of the samples. The integral breadth (${\Delta}^{\circ}2{\theta}$) of clay minerals from 1.4 mbsf to top layer shows an increasing trend, which clearly means climate warming from the period of sediment deposition above 1.4 mbsf. This interval correlates with the Holocene climate optimum at Mid Holocene.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.242-258
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• 2012

The Yellow Sea has sensitively responded to high-amplitude sea-level fluctuations during the late Quaternary. The repeated inundation and exposure have produced distinct transgression-regression successions with extensive exposure surfaces in Kyeonggi Bay. The late Quaternary strata consist of four seismic stratigraphic units, considered as depositional sequences (DS-1, DS-2, DS-3, and DS-4). DS-1 was interpreted as ridge-forming sediments of tidal-flat and estuarine channel-fill facies, formed during the Holocene highstand. DS-2 consists of shallow-marine facies in offshore area, which was formed during the regression of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS)-3 period. DS-3 comprises the lower transgressive facies and the upper highstand tidal-flat facies in proximal ridges and forced regression facies in distal ridges and offshore area. The lowermost DS-4 rests on acoustic basement rocks, considered as the shallow-marine and shelf deposits formed before the MIS-6 lowstand. This study suggests six depositional stages. During the first stage-A, MIS-6 lowstand, the Yellow Sea shelf was subaerially exposed with intensive fluvial incision and weathering. The subsequent rapid and high amplitude rise of sea level in stage-B until the MIS-5e highstand produced transgressive deposits in the lowermost part of the MIS-5 sequence, and the successive regression during the MIS-5d to -5a and the MIS-4 lowstand formed the upperpart of the MIS-5 sequence in stage-C. During the stage-D, from the MIS-4 lowstand to MIS-3c highstand period, the transgressive MIS-3 sequence formed in a subtidal environment characterized by repetitive fluvial incision and channel-fill deposition in exposed area. The subsequent sea-level fall culminating the last glacial maximum (Stage-E) made shallow-marine regressive deposits of MIS-3 sequence in offshore distal area, whereas it formed fluvial channel-fills and floodplain deposits in the proximal area. After the last glacial maximum, the overall Yellow Sea shelf was inundated by the Holocene transgression and highstand (Stage-F), forming the Holocene transgressive shelf sands and tidal ridges.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.138-150
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• 1997

The late Quaternary stratigraphy of the tidal deposits in the Hampyung Bay, southwestern coast of Korea comprises 1) Unit III (nonmarine fluvial coarse-grained sediments), 2) Unit II (late Pleistocene tidal deposits), and 3) Unit I (late Holocene fine-grained tidal deposits) in ascending order. The basements of the Hampyung Bay is composed of granitic rocks and basic dyke rocks. These three units are of unconformally bounded sedimentary sequences. The sequence boundary between Unit I and Unit II, in particular, seems to be significant suggesting erosional surface and exposed to the air under the cold climate during the LGM. The uppermost stratigraphic sequence (Unit I) is a common tidal deposit formed under the transgression to highstand sea-level during the middle to late Holocene.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.303-312
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• 2011

Analysis of high-resolution seismic profiles from the southeastern continental shelf of Korea reveals that the Holocene transgressive deposits consist of five sedimentary units characterized by retrograding or backstepping depositional arrangements. Unit I, forming a linear sediment body along the shelf margin, is an ancient beach/shoreface deposit formed during the early stage of transgression. During the transgression, the paleo-channels were backfilled with fluvial or coastal-plain sediments, forming Unit II as an incised-channel fill deposit. The near-surface sediment was reworked and eroded by shoreface erosion, forming a thin lag of sands (Unit III) on the midshelf. During the middle stage of the transgression, the shoreline may have stabilized at around 70 - 80 m below the present sea level for some period of time to allow the formation of sand ridge systems (Unit IV). Unit V in the inner shelf was deposited in an estuarine environment during the middle to late stage of transgression. Such transgressive stratigraphic architecture is controlled by a function of lateral changes in the balance among rates of relative sea-level rise, sediment input and marine processes at any given time.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.57-68
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• 1997

Climatic change of the late-Quaternary period has been record-ed in the loess deposits of the central Great plains and the record of such change is extractable using a number of approaches and parameters. The stratigraphy of loess deposits which have been investigated on Fort Riley exhibits the same sequence of loess units and intercalated buried soils as is found elsewhere in the re-gion but adds detail unique to the reservation Upland late-Qua-ternary composite stratigraphy preserved on the reservation con-sists of the basal Sangamon soil of the Last interglacial(c. 120-110ka), Gilman Canyon Formation(c. >40 -20ka), Peoria loess(c. 20 -10ka) Brady soil(c. 11 -10ka) Bignell loess(c. 9-\ulcornerka). and mod-ern surface soil. Application of magnetic analyses has provided proxy data sets that represent a time series of climatically regulated pedogenesis/weathering and botanical composition. magetic data have yielded an impression of the variation in climate from Sangamon time to the late Holocene through a reconstruction of the history of pedogenesis/weathering. Sangamon soil formation dominated the reservation durin the Last interglacial as indicated by magnetic parameters. During Gil-man Canyon time loess influx was usually sufficiently slow as to permit pedogenesis which appears to have been at a maximum twice during that time. Warm season grasses were important dur-ing soil formation but diminished in importance during the peri-ods of more rapid loess fall which were cooler and perhaps wet-ter. Peoria loess fall a function of the deterioration of climate during the last Glacial Maximum thinly blanketed the reservation with thickest accumulations occurring to the north-west(Bala Cemetery site)proximal to the source region. Long-term surface stability did not apparently occur within Peoria time but short-term stability may be indicaed by the presence of thin weathering zones(incipient soils) in the Peoria loess. Re-gional landscape stability prevailed during the environmental shift at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition resulting in forma-tion of the well expressed Brady soil. One or more weak soils developed in the Bignell loess as it ac-cumulated. A notable feature of the Bignell loess is the appear-ance of the Altithermal dry period: the loess experienced little weathering and was dominated by warm season grasses until the latter of the Holocene.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 1992

The reconstruction of the vegetational and environmental history of the Korean peninsula by the use of various fossil floral data from the Carboniferous period to the Pre-Holocene is reviewed. Though the oldest plant fossil in Korea (Neuropteris) dates back to the Carboniferous period, the first appearance of many of the present-day floristic genera indeed dates back to the Oligocene (c. 40 to 20 million years B.P.), and includes many thermophilous genera. The presence of thermophilous genera in the Oligocene at up to four degrees north of their present distributional limits implies that the climate of the Oligocene was warmer than that of today. The occurrence of similar thermophilous floristic element at up to six degrees north of their present range during the Middle Miocene suggests a maximum northward expansion of warmth-loving evergreen broadleaved vegetation for, recent Korean vegetation history. The continued occurrence of numerous present-day genera since the Oligocene period indicates a long-term stability of Korean vegetation, along with minor fluctuations within it. The admixture of evergreen coniferous plants and deciduous breadleaved plants, however, indicates a probable temperate climate for much of the Middle Pleistocene. There are couple of evidences which are indicative of an early-stage anthropogenic disturbance of natural vegetation during the Middle Pleistocene of Korea. The presence of cold-episodes during the Upper Pleistocene caused a general expansion of deciduous plants and cryophilous evergreen coniferous, plants. It is likely that the maximum southward expansion of cryophilous arctic-alpine and alpine floras in Korea occured during the penultimate glacial period. The disappearance of some cryophilous genera from 10,000 years B.P. marks the continued climatic amelioration since then, along with minor climatic fluctuations during the Holocene period.

• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.33 no.6
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• pp.510-518
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• 2012

The Holocene climate change has been studied based on humus analysis of sediments that came from the Nam River basin in the Jinju, Gyeongnam. Humus and soil organic carbon analyses were performed to interpret the climate change and OSL dating and radiocarbon dating were conducted to determine the age of the sediments. The age determinations revealed that the sediments were formed approximately from $10,000{\pm}100$ yr. BP to $4,370{\pm}50$ yr. BP (2,970 BC) The deposits were classified into five layers based on sediments color and texture, and the climate change of each layer has been interpreted. The general climate was found out to be warm. The study result illustrated that section I was the lowest layer and section V the highest among the five surveyed sections. One the other hand, relatively cold events were detected in the sections ranging from I and II to III in terms of temperature. In term of humidity, sections II and III are estimated to have been relatively dry. Sections IV and V were relatively warm and dry, and the section IV tends to be warmest of the entire sedimentary. In addition, there is a tendency that the total soil organic carbon shows relatively high values under the cooler and humid climatic condition.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.27-37
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• 2003

The Neolithic relics containing sedimentary deposits have been found in the Moonamni coastal zone of the East Sea, Korea. The purpose of this research is to establish the late Quaternary stratigraphy of the coastal dune deposit and to elucidate its depositional environment of the Neolithic-site sediments on the basis of analytical properties of grain size population and mineralogy of the sediments. As a result, the vertical sections of the sediments from three trenches are characterized by three major stratigraphic depositional units of Unit 3, Unit 2 and Unit 1 in ascending order. Unit 3 and 2 can be further divided into tow sub-units. Unit 3 is composed of massive sands in the lower part and muddy sand in the upper part. It is considered that the Unit 3 is a typical dune deposit showing well-sorted sands. Unit 2 is characterized by the cross-bedding, and include archaeological remains such as pottery shards. This unit can be further divided into two sub-units of muddy sand in the lower part and sand in the upper part. Unit 1 occupies the top section and consists of modem dune sediment. The Neolithic cultural remains would be accumulated in the coastal dune area in relation to dynamic condition of beach system under the high stand of Holocene sea-level at about 7,800∼6,500 yr B.P. or so.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.18 no.1 s.22
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• pp.31-39
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• 2004

The stable-unstable curve graph (S-U curve) and the ignition los curve graph (IL curve) for pollen composition and inorganic material content in three areas (namely, Kawadoi Basin, Moniwa-Takada moor, and Nenoshiroishi moor) were prepared to reconstruct the recurrence history of slope failure during the Holocene in Northeastern Japan. Through the S-U curve, a period with a high slope failure frequency of 5,600~4,670yrB.P. was identified in Kawadoi Basin, two of 6,390~5,070yrB.P. and 4,750~3,800yrB.P. in Moniwa-Takada moor, and three of 6,630~6,070yrB.P., 5,890~5,360yrB.P., and 5,000~4,650yrB.P. in Nenoshiroishi moor. Through the IL curve, a period with a high slope failure frequency of 5,600~5,140yrB.P. was identified in Kawadoi Basin, and two of 6,390~6,170yrB.P. and 4,750~2,840yrB.P. in Moniwa-Takada moor. Most of above-mentioned periods were included in the period of slope instability in precedent studies. However, the periods with high slope failure frequency in this study were rather different from those in precedent studies. The times and numbers associated with these periods in each study area also showed discrepancies. Accordingly, to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, more case studies must be performed to improve the reconstruction level of slope failure frequency, which could be explained through the analysis of pollen composition and inorganic material content.