Interpretation and implications of high-resolution hydroclimatic records of the past 7,000 years based on Gaho paleolake sediments in South Korea

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the past hydroclimate and its controlling factors over East Asia by reconstructing hydroclimate variability during the middle-to-late Holocene using rainfall-driven sedimentary features in the Gaho paleolake, Hapcheon County on the southern Korean Peninsula. Based on radiocarbon dates, median grain sizes, and elemental ratios of strontium (Sr), titanium (Ti), and zirconium (Zr) measured by high-resolution X-ray fluorescence core scanning, we tested potential indicators of past heavy rainfall. During the past 7000 years, temporal changes in median grain size and elemental ratios (Sr/Ti and Zr/Ti) were found to be similar to those in the Asian monsoonal precipitation index and sea surface temperature (SST) in the western North Pacific region, suggesting that periods with increased elemental ratios may have been influenced by intensified regional rainfall events and higher SSTs. During the past 2000 years, time series of Sr/Ti and Zr/Ti ratios in the paleolake sediments appeared to covary with a megadrought period (AD 1593–1698; 357-252 cal BP), flooding events in the 1500s, and the collapse of ancient nations in Korea and other parts of East Asia. This similarity between sedimentary records and historical events suggests considerable potential for the dating of elemental ratios in lake sediments as high-resolution analogs of past hydrological events to support historical records.