Late-Holocene climate variability of coastal East Asia reconstructed from the Yongneup fen in central Korea

Abstract

<p>This study presents a reconstruction of climate change in central Korea during the last 3,000 years, using a core from a montane peatland of Yongneup. Multiple proxies of pollen, macrocharcoal, and geochemistry were analysed to provide three findings as follows: First, abrupt climate events at ca. 2.8 and 2.3 ka BP possibly accompanied dry summer as well as cold and arid winter seasons on the Korean peninsula. The first macrocharcoal analysis on the peninsula indicates increased wildfire activities during these dry periods. Next, a weakening of summer monsoon during El Niño-like phases was clearly found during the late Holocene. This confirms previous findings of a dominant oceanic influence on hydroclimate variability on the Korean peninsula. Finally, changes in temperature were likely synchronous with a global trend, indicated by the total organic content (TOC) and arboreal pollen percentages. Due to its location at a high-altitude, the environment of Yongneup has possibly sensitively responded to fluctuations in temperature. Altogether, these findings suggest that temperature and precipitation changes on the Korean peninsula have been separately influenced by insolation and oceanic circulations, respectively.</p>