Holocene environmental changes on the east coast of Korea

We present a record of Holocene environmental change on the east coast of Korea, inferred using pollen, carbon-isotopic composition (δ13C), total organic carbon, total sulfur, carbon/nitrogen ratios, particle size analysis and major element geochemistry in a sediment core from Soonpogae Lagoon. A multi-proxy paleoenvironmental approach had not previously been applied in Korea and allowed us to reconstruct climate and vegetation change, sea-level rise, lagoon development, and human impact on the east coast of Korea over the last 8,000 years. Evidence from Soonpogae Lagoon supports the following three conclusions: (1) As a drying trend prevailed on the east coast of Korea after ~5,900 cal yr BP, chemical weathering weakened and herbaceous plants became more important than during the previous humid phase (Holocene Climate Optimum), (2) Sea-level rise on the east coast slowed dramatically about 6,800 cal yr BP, resulting in low rates of sedimentation in Soonpogae Lagoon, and (3) Soonpogae Lagoon was almost completely isolated from the sea by sand barriers when human impact intensified ~2,100 BP.