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Biomarker records from core GH02-1030 off Tokachi in the northwestern Pacific over the last 23,000 years: Environmental changes during the last deglaciation

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Abstract

We investigated marine and terrestrial environmental changes at the northern Japan margin in the northwestern Pacific during the last 23,000 years by analyzing biomarkers (alkenones, long-chain n-alkanes, long-chain n-fatty acids, and lignin-derived materials) in Core GH02-1030. The U K′37 -derived temperature in the last glacial maximum (LGM) centered at 21 ka was ∼10°C, which was 2°C lower than the core-top temperature (∼12°C). This small temperature drop does not agree with pollen evidence of a large air temperature drop (more than 4°C) in the Tokachi area. This disagreement might be attributed to a bias of U K′37 -derived temperature within 2.5°C by a seasonal shift in alkenone production. The U K′37 -derived temperature was significantly low during the last deglaciation. Because this cooling was significant in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition zone, the temperature drops are attributable to the southward displacement of the Kuroshio-Oyashio boundary. Abundant lignin-derived materials, long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-fatty acids indicate a higher contribution of terrigenous organic matter from 17 to 12 ka. This phenomenon might have resulted from an enhanced coastal erosion of terrestrial soils due to marine transgression and/or an efficient inflow of higher plant debris to river waters from 17 to 12 ka.

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  1. Masaki Inagaki

    Present address: Yamamoto Building Co., Ltd., 3-3-1-3 Toyooka, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, 078-8233, Japan

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Environmental Earth Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Masaki Inagaki & Masanobu Yamamoto

  2. Institute for Paleoenvironment of Northern Regions, Koyocho, Kitahiroshima, 061-1134, Japan

    Yaeko Igarashi

  3. Geological Survey of Japan, AIST, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8567, Japan

    Ken Ikehara

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  1. Masaki Inagaki
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Correspondence to Masanobu Yamamoto.

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Inagaki, M., Yamamoto, M., Igarashi, Y. et al. Biomarker records from core GH02-1030 off Tokachi in the northwestern Pacific over the last 23,000 years: Environmental changes during the last deglaciation. J Oceanogr 65, 847–858 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10872-009-0070-4

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