Abstract
To maintain a stable freshwater supply for sustainable economic activity in coastal areas in light of anticipated global climate change, it is important to understand the controlling factors and variability of past hydrologic behavior. In this study, we tested the grain size variability recorded in coastal sediments from Yeosu, on the southern coast of Korea, as an indicator of freshwater input change. We found a ca. 7 m sedimentary sequence (Stage 2) between lower fluvial to coastal marsh (Stage 1) and upper coastal marsh (Stage 3) deposits, which we infer was deposited in the inner bay at a water depth between ca. 10 and 2 m, over the time periods between 1.2 and 7.7 cal kyr BP. The variability in grain sizes corresponded to the low-resolution local freshwater input index in the Beolgyo area, providing a more detailed precipitation fluctuation record. The long-term variations in grain size was similar to that of the Asian summer monsoon fluctuation during the middle to late Holocene. Significant fluctuation at multicentennial time scales superimposed on the long-term variation clearly indicated intensified freshwater input periods (e.g., at 2.5, 3.0, 5.2, 6.3, and 7.7 cal kyr BP). These hydrologic changes in the study area appear to be linked to past El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activity, such that intensified freshwater input occurred during stronger ENSO activity. Among these climatic shifts, severe rainfall events characterized by sand layers (e.g., at 7.7 and 2.5 cal kyr BP) can be used as isochronous sedimentary layers on the southern coast of Korea.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ashley, G.M., 1978, Interpretation of polymodal sediments. The Journal of Geology, 86, 411–421.
Benito, G., Macklin, M.G., Zielhofer, C., Jones, A.F., and Machado, M.J., 2015, Holocene flooding and climate change in the Mediterranean. Catena, 130, 13–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2014.11.014
Bird, M.I., Field, L.K., Teh, T.S., Chang, C.H., Shirlaw, N., and Lambeck, K., 2007, An inflection in the rate of early mid-Holocene eustatic sea level rise: a new sea level curve from Singapore. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 71, 523–536.
Brew, D.S., Horton, B.P., Evans, G., Innes, J.B., and Shennan, I., 2015, Holocene sea-level history and coastal evolution of the north-western Fenland, eastern England. Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 126, 72–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pgeola.2014.12.001
Donnelly, J.P. and Woodruff, J.D., 2007, Intense hurricane activity over the past 5,000 years controlled by El Nino and the West African monsoon. Nature, 447, 465–468.
Dykoski, C.A., Edwards, R.L., Cheng, H., Yuan, D., Cai, Y., Zhang, M., Lin, Y., Qing, J., An, Z., and Revenaugh, J., 2005, A high-resolution, absolute-dated Holocene and deglacial Asian monsoon record from Dongge Cave, China. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 233, 71–86.
Gao, S. and Collins, M., 1992, Net sediment transport patterns inferred from grain-size trends, based upon definition of “transport vectors.” Sedimentary Geology, 81, 47–60.
Hori, K., Tanabe, S., Saito, Y., Haruyama, S., Nguyen, V., and Kitamura, A., 2004, Delta initiation and Holocene sea level change: example from the Song Hong (Red River) delta, Vietnam. Sedimentary Geology, 164, 237–249.
IPCC, 2014, Climate Change 2014, Synthesis Report. In: Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R.K., and Meyer, L.A. (eds.), Contribution of Working Group I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, 151 p.
Lambeck, K., Rouby, H., Purcell, A., Sun, Y., and Sambridge, M., 2014, Sea level and global ice volumes from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111, 15296–15303. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1411762111
Lane, P., Donnelly, J.P., Woodruff, J.D., and Hawkes, A.D., 2011, A decadally-resolved paleohurricane record archived in the late Holocene sediments of a Florida sinkhole. Marine Geology, 287, 14–30.
Lee, E., Yi, S., Lim, J., Kim, Y., Jo, K.N., and Kim, G.Y., 2020, Multi-proxy records of Holocene hydroclimatic and environmental changes on the southern coast of South Korea. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 545, 109642.
Lee, H., Lee, J.-Y., and Shin, S.W., 2021, Middle Holocene coastal environmental and climate change on the southern coast of Korea. Applied Sciences, 11, 230.
Li, G., Li, P., Liu, Y., Qiao, L., Ma, Y., Xu, J., and Yang, Z., 2014, Sedimentary system response to the global sea level change in the East China Seas since the last glacial maximum. Earth-Science Reviews, 139, 390–405.
Lim, J. and Fujiki, T., 2011, Vegetation and climate variability in East Asia driven by low latitude oceanic forcing during the middle to late Holocene. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30, 2487–2497.
Lim, J., Lee, J.-Y., Hong, S.-S., Kim, J.-Y., Yi, S., and Nahm, W.-H., 2017, Holocene changes in flooding frequency in South Korea and their lincal kyr BP ge to centennial-to-millennial-scale El Nino-Southern Oscillation activity. Quaternary Research, 87, 37–48.
Lim, J., Lee, J.-Y., Kim, J.C., Hong, S.-S., and Yang, D.-Y., 2014, Relationship between environmental change on Geoje Island, southern coast of Korea, and regional monsoon and temperature changes during the late Holocene. Quaternary International, 344, 11–16.
Lim, J., Lee, J.-Y., Kim, J.-C., Hong, S.-S., and Yang, D.-Y., 2015, Holocene environmental change at the southern coast of Korea based on organic carbon isotope (δ13C) and C/S ratios. Quaternary International, 384, 160–168.
McCloskey, T.A. and Liu, K.-B., 2013, A 7000 year record of paleohurricane activity from a coastal wetland in Belize. Holocene, 23, 278–291.
Middleton, G.V., 1976, Hydraulic interpretation of sand size distribution. Journal of Geology, 84, 405–426.
Moy, C.M., Seltzer, G.O., Rodbell, D.T., and Anderson, D.M., 2002, Variability of El Niño/Southern Oscillation activity at millennial timescales during the Holocene epoch. Nature, 420, 162–165.
Nishida, N. and Ikehara, K., 2013, Holocene evolution of depositional processes off southwest Japan: response to the Tsushima Warm Current and sea level rise. Sedimentary Geology, 290, 138–148.
Ruiz-Pérez, J. and Carmona, P., 2019, Turia river delta and coastal barrier-lagoon of Valencia (Mediterranean coast of Spain): geomorphological processes and global climate fluctuations since Iberian-Roman times. Quaternary Science Reviews, 219, 84–101.
Sharma, S., Shukla, A.D., Bartarya, S.K., Marh, B.S., and Juyal, N., 2017, The Holocene floods and their affinity to climatic variability in the western Himalaya, India. Geomorphology, 290, 317–334.
Tanigawa, K., Hyodo, M., and Sato, H., 2013, Holocene relative sea level change and rate of sea level rise from coastal deposits in the Toyooka Basin, western Japan. The Holocene, 23, 1039–1051.
Toomey, M.R., Donnelly, J.P., and Woodruff, J.D., 2013, Reconstructing mid-late Holocene cyclone variability in the central Pacific using sedimentary records from Tahaa, French Polynesia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 77, 181–189.
Tu, L., Zhou, X., Cheng, W., Liu, X., and Yang, W., 2016, Holocene East Asian winter monsoon changes reconstructed by sensitive grain size of sediments from Chinese coastal seas: a review. Quaternary International, 440, 82–90.
Üner, S., 2018, Evolution of Çolpan barrier and lagoon complex (Lake Van-Turkey): sedimentological and hydrological approach. Quaternary International, 486, 73–82.
Vacchi, M., Marriner, N., Morhange, C., Spada, G., Fontana, A., and Rovere, A., 2016, Multiproxy assessment of Holocene relative sea level changes in the western Mediterranean: sea level variability and improvements in the definition of the isostatic signal. Earth-Science Reviews, 155, 172–197.
Woodruff, J.D., Donnelly, J.P., Mohrig, D., and Geyer, W.R., 2008, Reconstructing relative flooding intensities responsible for hurricane-induced deposits from Laguna Playa Grande, Vieques, Puerto Rico. Geology, 36, 391–394.
Woodruff, J.D., Donnelly, J.P., and Okusu, A., 2009, Exploring typhoon variability over the mid-to-late Holocene: evidence of extreme coastal flooding from Kamikoshiki, Japan. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28, 1774–1785.
Xiao, J., Chang, Z., Si, B., Qin, X., Itoh, S., and Lomtatidze, Z., 2009, Partitioning of the grain-size components of Dali Lake core sediments: evidence for lake-level changes during the Holocene. Journal of Plaeolimnology, 42, 249–260.
Yi, L., Yu, H., Ortiz, J.D., Xu, X., Qiang, X., Huang, H., Shi, X., and Deng, C., 2012, A reconstruction of late Pleistocene relative sea level in the south Bohai Sea, China, based on sediment grain-size analysis. Sedimentary Geology, 281, 88–100.
Yu, F., Zong, Y., Lloyd, J.M., Huang, G., Leng, M.J., Kendrick, C., Lamb, A.L., and Yim, W.W.-S., 2010, Bulk organic δ13C and C/N as indicators for sediment sources in the Pearl River delta and estuary, southern China. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 87, 618–630.
Zhang, Z., Xing, W., Lv, X., and Wang, G., 2014, The grain-size depositional process in wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain and its links with the East Asian monsoon variations during the Holocene. Quaternary International, 349, 245–251.
Zong, Y., Lloyd, J.M., Leng, M.J., Yim, W.W.-S., and Huang, G., 2006, Reconstruction of Holocene monsoon history from the Pearl River Estuary, southern China, using diatoms and carbon isotope ratios. The Holocene, 16, 251–263.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant (GP2020-003) and grant (GP2020-014) from Basic Research Project of the Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) funded by the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lee, H., Lee, JY. & Lim, J. Holocene hydrologic fluctuations on the southern coast of Korea and their link to ENSO activity. Geosci J 26, 129–140 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-021-0020-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12303-021-0020-8