Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T20:05:35.980Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bouldery slope landforms on Mt. Biseul, Korea, and implications for paleoclimate and slope evolution

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2017

Hyun-Hee Rhee ,
Yeong-Bae Seong ,
Young-Gweon Jeon  and
Byung-Yong Yu
Hyun-Hee Rhee
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Korea University, Seoul 02792, Korea AMS Laboratory, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02841, Korea
Yeong-Bae Seong*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Korea University, Seoul 02792, Korea
Young-Gweon Jeon
Affiliation:
Department of Geography Education, Catholic University of Daegu, Gyeongsan 38430, Korea
Byung-Yong Yu
Affiliation:
AMS Laboratory, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Seoul 02841, Korea
*
*Corresponding author at: Department of Geography, Korea University, Seoul 02792, Korea. E-mail address: ybseong@korea.ac.kr (Y. B. Seong).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Identification of bouldery landforms in mountains and correctly understanding their formative processes play an important role in reconstructing the geomorphic history of a region. We propose that blocks were liberated by frost cracking and wedging of cliff walls during the last glacial period. However, we further suggest and test four hypotheses comprising different scenarios for preconditioning by chemical weathering and subsequent block transport using terrain analysis, characterization of boulders, and 10Be exposure dating. Frost shattering from the backing cliff produced the boulders since the beginning of the last glacial period (~80 ka), and gelifluction transported them downslope throughout the last glacial period. Their activity then entered a dormant phase at the beginning of the Holocene. Distribution patterns of exposure ages of tors and block streams are similar to those of previous studies, implying that bouldery landscapes in the southern Korean Peninsula were likely to be formed by similar processes under periglacial conditions. The timing of active periods in transport of block streams corresponds well with the cold periods identified in regional and global climate proxy records. Interestingly, the activity of block streams in the study area reached a maximum during Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 to 2 when the growth rate of nearby speleothems was lowest.

Keywords

Block streamsPeriglacial10Be exposure datingRockwall retreatPaleoclimate
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 88 , Issue 2 , September 2017 , pp. 293 - 312
Copyright
Copyright © University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press, 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aldiss, D.T., Edwards, E.J., 1999. The Geology of the Falkland Islands. British Geological Survey, Keyworth, UK.Google Scholar
Andersson, J.G., 1906. Solifluction, a component of subaërial denudation. Journal of Geology 14, 91–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Andersson, J.G., 1907. Contributions to the Geology of the Falkland Islands. Lithographisches Institut des generalstabs, Stockholm.Google Scholar
André, M.F., 1997. Holocene rockwall retreat in Svalbard: a triple-rate evolution. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 22, 423–440.Google Scholar
Ayliffe, L.K., Marianelli, P.C., Moriarty, K.C., Wells, R.T., McCulloch, M.T., Mortimer, G.E., Hellstrom, J.C., 1998. 500 ka precipitation record from southeastern Australia: evidence for interglacial relative aridity. Geology 26, 147–150.2.3.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J.O., Lifton, N.A., Dunai, T.J., 2008. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements. Quaternary Geochronology 3, 174–195.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ballantyne, C.K., 2010. A general model of autochthonous blockfield evolution. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 21, 289–300.Google Scholar
Barrows, T.T., Stone, J.O., Fifield, L.K., 2004. Exposure ages for Pleistocene periglacial deposits in Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews 23, 697–708.Google Scholar
Berger, A., 1978. Long-term variations of caloric insolation resulting from the Earth’s orbital elements. Quaternary Research 9, 139–167.Google Scholar
Boelhouwers, J., 1999. Relict periglacial slope deposits in the Hex River Mountains, South Africa: observations and palaeoenvironmental implications. Geomorphology 30, 245–258.Google Scholar
Boelhouwers, J., Holness, S., Meiklejohn, I., Sumner, P., 2002. Observations on a blockstream in the vicinity of Sani Pass, Lesotho Highlands, southern Africa. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 13, 251–257.Google Scholar
Caine, N., 1983. The Mountains of Northeastern Tasmania: A Study of Alpine Geomorphology. Balkema, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.Google Scholar
Caine, N., Jennings, J.N., 1968. Some blockstreams of the Toolong Range, Kosciusko State Park. New South Wales. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 101, 93–103.Google Scholar
Chmeleff, J., von Blanckenburg, F., Kossert, K., Jakob, D., 2010. Determination of the 10Be half-life by multicollector ICP-MS and liquid scintillation counting. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 268, 192–199.Google Scholar
Clapperton, C.M., 1975. Further observations on the stone runs of the Falkland Islands. Biuletyn Peryglacjalny 24, 1–217.Google Scholar
Clark, R., 1972. Periglacial landforms and landscapes in the Falkland Islands. Biuletyn Peryglacjalny 21, 33–50.Google Scholar
Clark, R., 1994. Tors, rock platforms and debris slopes at Stiperstones, Shropshire, England. Field Studies 8, 451–472.Google Scholar
Cremeens, D.L., Darmody, R.G., George, S.E., 2005. Upper slope landforms and age of bedrock exposures in the St. Francois Mountains, Missouri: a comparison to relict periglacial features in the Appalachian Plateau of West Virginia. Geomorphology 70, 71–84.Google Scholar
Curry, A.M., Morris, C.J., 2004. Lateglacial and Holocene talus slope development and rockwall retreat on Mynydd Du, UK. Geomorphology 58, 85–106.Google Scholar
Dixon, J.C., Thorn, C.E., 2005. Chemical weathering and landscape development in mid-latitude alpine environments. Geomorphology 67, 127–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dobinski, W., 2011. Permafrost. Earth-Science Reviews 108, 158–169.Google Scholar
Ersek, V., Hostetler, S.W., Cheng, H., Clark, P.U., Anslow, F.S., Mix, A.C., Edwards, R.L., 2009. Environmental influences on speleothem growth in southwestern Oregon during the last 380 000 years. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 279, 316–325.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Francou, B., 1988. L'éboulisation en haute montagne (Alpes, Andes). Contribution à l'étude du système corniche-éboulis en milieu périglaciaire. PhD dissertation, Université de Paris.Google Scholar
Gardner, J.S., 1982. Alpine mass wasting in contemporary time: some examples from the Canadian Rocky Mountains. In: Thorn, CE (Ed.), Space and Time in Geomorphology. Allen & Unwin, London, pp. 171–192.Google Scholar
Giorgi, F., Marinucci, M.R., Bates, G.T., 1993a. Development of a second-generation regional climate model (RegCM2). Part I: Boundary-layer and radiative transfer processes. Monthly Weather Review 121, 2794–2813.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Giorgi, F., Marinucci, M.R., Bates, G.T., De Canio, G., 1993b. Development of a second-generation regional climate model (RegCM2). Part II: Convective processes and assimilation of lateral boundary conditions. Monthly Weather Review 121, 2814–2832.Google Scholar
Goodfellow, B.W., Skelton, A., Martel, S.J., Stroeven, A.P., 2014. Controls of tor formation, Cairngorm Mountains, Scotland. Journal of Geophysical Research 119, 225–246.Google Scholar
Gorbunov, A.P., Marchenko, S.S., Seversky, E.V., 2004. The thermal environment of blocky materials in the mountains of Central Asia. Permafrost and Periglacial. Process 15, 95–98.Google Scholar
Gunnell, Y., Jarman, D., Braucher, R., Calvet, M., Delmas, M., Leanni, L, Bourles, D., Arnold, M., Aumatire, G., Keddaouche, K., 2013. The granite tors of Dartmoor, Southwest England: rapid and recent emergence revealed by Late Pleistocene cosmogenic exposure ages. Quaternary Science Reviews 61, 62–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guodong, C., Yuanming, L., Zhizhong, S., Fan, J., 2007. The ‘thermal semi‐conductor’ effect of crushed rocks. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 18, 151–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, K., Thorn, C., 2011. The historical legacy of spatial scales in freeze–thaw weathering: misrepresentation and resulting misdirection. Geomorphology 130, 83–90.Google Scholar
Hall, K., Thorn, C.E., Matsuoka, N., Prick, A., 2002. Weathering in cold regions: some thoughts and perspectives. Progress in Physical Geography 26, 577–603.Google Scholar
Hancock, G., Kirwan, M., 2007. Summit erosion rates deduced from 10Be: implications for relief production in the central Appalachians. Geology 35, 89–92.Google Scholar
Harris, S.A., 1994. Climatic zonality of periglacial landforms in mountain areas. Arctic 47, 184–192.Google Scholar
Harris, S.A., Cheng, G., Zhao, X., Yongqin, D., 1998. Nature and dynamics of an active block stream, Kunlun Pass, Qinghai Province, People’s Republic of China. Geografiska Annaler: Series A. Physical Geography 80, 123–133.Google Scholar
Heisinger, B., Lal, D., Jull, A.J.T., Kubik, P., Ivy-Ochs, S., Knie, K., Nolte, E., 2002a. Production of selected cosmogenic radionuclides by muons: 2. Capture of negative muons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 200, 357–369.Google Scholar
Heisinger, B., Lal, D., Jull, A.J.T., Kubik, P., Ivy-Ochs, S., Neumaier, S., Knie, K., Lazalev, V., Nolte, E., 2002b. Production of selected cosmogenic radionuclides by muons: 1. Fast muons. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 200, 345–355.Google Scholar
Hinchliffe, S., Ballantyne, C.K., 1999. Talus accumulation and rockwall retreat, Trotternish, Isle of Skye, Scotland. Scottish Geographical Magazine 115, 53–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jeon, Y.G., 2000. A study on block streams developed on granitic rocks in Korea. [In Korean.] Journal of Korean Geographical Society 6, 71–82.Google Scholar
Jo, K.N., Woo, K.S., Yi, S., Yang, D.Y., Lim, H.S., Wang, Y., Hai, C., Edwards, R.L., 2014. Mid-latitude interhemispheric hydrologic seesaw over the past 550,000 years. Nature 508, 378–382.Google Scholar
Johnson, P.G., 1984. Paraglacial conditions of instability and mass movement—a discussion. Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie 28, 235–250.Google Scholar
Ju, L., Wang, H., Jiang, D., 2007. Simulation of the Last Glacial Maximum climate over East Asia with a regional climate model nested in a general circulation model. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 248, 376–390.Google Scholar
Kee, K., 2002. Periglacial millieu in Mt. Sowhangbyung area. [In Korean with English abstract.]. Journal of the Geomorphological Association of Korea 9, 45–59.Google Scholar
Kim, D.E., Seong, Y.B., Byun, J., Weber, J., Min, K., 2016. Geomorphic disequilibrium in the Eastern Korean Peninsula: possible evidence for reactivation of a rift-flank margin. Geomorphology 254, 130–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kim, J.Y., Lee, D.Y., Choi, G.G., 1998. A research on Pleistocene stratigraphy. [In Korean.] Korean. Journal of Quaternary Research 12, 77–87.Google Scholar
Kim, J.Y., Yang, D.Y., Nahm, W.H., Yi, S.H., Kim, J.C., Hong, S.S., Yun, H.S., et al 2008a. Last glacial and Holocene fluvial wetland sedimentary stratigraphy: comparison between Soro-ri and Jangheung-ri archeological sites, Korea. Quaternary International 176, 135–142.Google Scholar
Kim, S.J., Crowley, T.J., Erickson, D.J., Govindasamy, B., Duffy, P.B., Lee, B.Y., 2008b. High-resolution climate simulation of the last glacial maximum. Climate Dynamics 31, 1–16.Google Scholar
Kim, Y.R., Kee, K.D., Yang, J.H., 2015. Chemical weathering characteristics of granitic grus developed in basin, southern Korean Peninsula. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of the Korean Geomorphological Association 22, 27–40.Google Scholar
Kohl, C.P., Nishiizumi, K., 1992. Chemical isolation of quartz for measurement of in-situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 56, 3583–3587.Google Scholar
Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM). 1971. Geology of Gyeong San. [In Korean.] KIGAM, Daejeon, South Korea. https://mgeo.kigam.re.kr/map/map.jsp?mode=geology_50k.Google Scholar
Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). 2015. Regional Past Climate Records of Korea. KMA, Seoul. [In Korean.] http://www.kma.go.kr/weather/climate/past_table.jsp.Google Scholar
Korschinek, G., Bergmaier, A., Faestermann, T., Gerstmann, U.C., Knie, K., Rugel, G., Wallner, A., et al 2010. A new value for the half-life of 10Be by heavy-ion elastic recoil detection and liquid scintillation counting. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 268, 187–191.Google Scholar
Lal, D., 1991. Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ nuclide production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104, 424–439.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S.E., Seong, Y.B., Kang, H.C., Choi, K.H., 2012. Some evidence for glacial landforms on the Baekdusan and its implications to Quaternary volcanic eruptions. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of Korean Geographical Society 47, 159–178.Google Scholar
Lim, H.S., Lee, Y.I., Yi, S., Kim, C.B., Chung, C.H., Lee, H.J., Choi, J.H., 2007. Vertebrate burrows in late Pleistocene paleosols at Korean Palaeolithic sites and their significance as a stratigraphic marker. Quaternary Research 68, 213–219.Google Scholar
Luckman, B.H., Fiske, C.J., 1995. Estimating long-term rockfall accretion rates by lichenometry. Steepland Geomorphology 3, 221–254.Google Scholar
Marion, J., Filion, L., Hétu, B., 1995. The Holocene development of a debris slope in subarctic Québec, Canada. Holocene 5, 409–419.Google Scholar
Matsuoka, N., 2001. Microgelivation versus macrogelivation: towards bridging the gap between laboratory and field frost weathering. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 12, 299–313.Google Scholar
Muñoz, J., Palacios, D., de Marcos, J., 1995. The influence of the geomorphologic heritage on present slope dynamics. The Gredos Cirque, Spain. Pirineos 145–146, 35–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Geographic Information Institute (NGII). 1987. Aerial Photograph of Gyeongsang, Suwon, Kyeonggi, Korea. 1987. http://map.ngii.go.kr/ms/map/NlipMap.do.Google Scholar
National Geographic Information Institute (NGII). 2015. Aerial Photograph of Gyeongnam, Suwon, Kyeonggi, Korea. 1987. http://map.ngii.go.kr/ms/map/NlipMap.do.Google Scholar
Nesbitt, H.W., Young, G.M., 1982. Early Proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature 199, 715–717.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Imamura, M., Caffee, M.W., Southon, J.R., Finkel, R.C., McAninch, J., 2007. Absolute calibration of 10Be AMS standards. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 258, 403–413.Google Scholar
Oguchi, T., Tanaka, Y., 1998. Occurrence of extrazonal periglacial landforms in the lowlands of western Japan and Korea. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 18, 253–267.Google Scholar
Oh, J.J., Park, S.P., Seong, Y.B., 2012a. Spatial pattern and surface exposure ages of cryoplanation surface at Mt. Moodeung. [In Korean with English abstract.]. Journal of Korean Geomorphological Association 19, 83–97.Google Scholar
Oh, J.J., Park, S.P., Seong, Y.B., 2012b. Type and characteristics of debris landform in Mt. Mudeung. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of Korean Geographical Society 47, 159–178.Google Scholar
Oh, K., 1989. Genetic process of Bt-band. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of the Geomorphological Association of Korea 3, 35–45.Google Scholar
Oh, K., 2006. Cryogenic structures in superficial formation and associated periglacial morpho-climatic milieu in Korean Peninsula. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of the Geomorphological Association of Korea 13, 1–17.Google Scholar
Olyphant, G.A., 1983. Computer simulation of rock-glacier development under viscous and pseudoplastic flow. Geological Society of America Bulletin 94, 499–505.Google Scholar
Potter, N., Moss, J.H., 1968. Origin of the Blue Rocks block field and adjacent deposits, Berks County, Pennsylvania. Geological Society of America Bulletin 79, 255–262.Google Scholar
Rhee, H.H., Seong, Y.B., Yu, B.Y., 2015. A note on hypothesis of glacial origin of the Gwanmo Cirques using morphological and probability analysis. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of the Korean Geomorphological Association 22, 1–11.Google Scholar
Sass, O., Wollny, K., 2001. Investigations regarding Alpine talus slopes using ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) in the Bavarian Alps, Germany. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 26, 1071–1086.Google Scholar
Seong, Y.B., Kim, J.W., 2003. Application of in-situ produced cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al for estimating erosion rate and exposure age of tor and block stream detritus: case study from Mt. Maneo, South Korea. [In Korean with English abstract.] Journal of the Korean Geographical Society 38, 389–399.Google Scholar
Shakesby, R.A., Matthews, J.A., 1993. Loch Lomond stadial glacier at Fan Hir, Mynydd Du (Brecon Beacons), South Wales: critical evidence and palaeoclimatic implications. Geological Journal 28, 69–79.Google Scholar
Sharp, R.P., 1942. Soil structures in the St. Elias Range, Yukon Territory. Journal of Geomorphology 5, 274–301.Google Scholar
Smith, H.T.U., 1949. Periglacial features in the Driftless Area of southern Wisconsin. Journal of Geology 57, 196–215.Google Scholar
Smith, H.T.U., 1953. The Hickory Run boulder field, Carbon County, Pennsylvania. American Journal of Science 251, 625–642.Google Scholar
Sӧderman, G., 1980. Slope processes in cold environments of northern Finland. Fennia 158, 83–152.Google Scholar
Stone, J.O., 2000. Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 105, 23753–23759.Google Scholar
Vaks, A., Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Matthews, A., Frumkin, A., Dayan, U., Halicz, L., Almogi-Labin, A., Schilman, B., 2006. Paleoclimate and location of the border between Mediterranean climate region and the Saharo–Arabian Desert as revealed by speleothems from the northern Negev Desert, Israel. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 249, 384–399.Google Scholar
Wakasa, S., Matsuzaki, H., Horiuchi, K., Tanaka, Y., Matsukura, Y., 2004. Exposure ages deduced from cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al produced in situ: application to granite domes and tors in Korea. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 223, 628–632.Google Scholar
Walder, J.S., Hallet, B., 1986. The physical basis of frost weathering: toward a more fundamental and unified perspective. Arctic and Alpine Research 18, 27–32.Google Scholar
Whalley, W.B., Rea, B.R., Rainey, M.M., 2004. Weathering, blockfields, and fracture systems and the implications for long-term landscape formation: some evidence from Lyngen and Øksfordjøkelen areas in north Norway. Polar Geography 28, 93–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
White, S.E., 1976. Rock glaciers and block fields, review and new data. Quaternary Research 6, 77–97.Google Scholar
White, S.E., 1981. Alpine mass movement forms (noncatastrophic): classification, description, and significance. Arctic and Alpine Research 13, 127–137.Google Scholar
Wilson, P., 2013. Block/rock streams. In: Elias S.A. (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Quaternary Science Vol. 3 Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 514–522.Google Scholar
Wilson, P., Bentley, M.J., Schnabel, C., Clark, R., Xu, S., 2008. Stone run (block stream) formation in the Falkland Islands over several cold stages, deduced from cosmogenic isotope (10Be and 26Al) surface exposure dating. Journal of Quaternary Science 23, 461–473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Xiao, J.L., An, Z.S., Liu, T.S., Inouchi, Y., Kumai, H., Yoshikawa, S., Kondo, Y., 1999. East Asian monsoon variation from the Loess Plateau of central China and Lake Biwa of Japan. Quaternary Science Reviews 18, 147–157.Google Scholar
Yi, S., Kim, S.J., 2010. Vegetation changes in western central region of Korean Peninsula during the last glacial (ca. 21.1–26.1 cal kyr BP). Geosciences Journal 14, 1–10.Google Scholar