A high-resolution history of vegetation and climate history on Sunda Shelf since the last glaciation

• Published in: Science China. Earth sciences Vol. 50; no. 1; pp. 75 - 80
• Main Authors: Wang, XiaoMei, Sun, XiangJun, Wang, PinXian, Stattegger, Karl
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Nature B.V 01.01.2007; Research Institute of Petroleum Exploration and Development, Beijing 100083, China%Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China; Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China%Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China%Institute of Geosciences, University of Kiel, Olshausenstrasse 40, Kiel, 24118, Germany; Key Laboratory of Marine Geology, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China
• Subjects: Marine; Rainforests; Sediments; ISEW, South China Sea, Sunda Shelf; last deglaciation; vegetation; Sunda Slope; pollen and spores; Holocene
• ISSN: 1006-9313; 1674-7313; 1862-2801; 1869-1897
• DOI: 10.1007/s11430-007-2067-4

This paper presents 16500-year-long high-resolution pollen and spore records from sediments of core 18287 on the continental slope of the southern South China Sea. In the period of 16.5-13.9 ka B.P., the low-mountain rainforest dominated the continental slope of the South China Sea. And in the period of 13.9-10.2 ka B.P., the lowland rainforest and ferns expanded greatly, while the low-mountain rainforest shrank, which indicated a warming at the last deglaciation. Also during this period, the pollen sedimentation rates reduced sufficiently. This might imply a rise of the sea level and therefore the submergence of the shelf, resulting in the broadening of the distance between the source area and the slope. After 10.2 ka B.P, decreasing of the fern indicates the early Holocene (10.2-7 ka B.P.) is a cold period, while the increasing of fern marks the rising temperature (7-3.6 ka B.P.).[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]