Coastal dunefields along the east coast of Korea have long been thought to have originated from beach ridges that prograded during the Holocene, but there has been little chronological evidence based on absolute dating. In this paper, we use optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) surveys to reconstruct the coastal progradation of Anin dunefield in the Gangneung area on the east coast of Korea. GPR profiles and sedimentological analyses of four beach-foredune ridges reveal that the ridges are composed mainly of beach deposits showing seaward-dipping and horizontal laminae, capped by eolian sands with landward-dipping laminae. The beach deposits are, in places, underlain by fluvial sands with gravels. Coupled with data from OSL dating, we interpret these results to mean that the fluvial sands and rounded cobbles were deposited in the study area, during the last glacial period. Between the mid-Holocene (~6.5 kyr) and c. 3.5–3.0 kyr, the transgression rate of the sea decreased and coastal progradation occurred. Between c. 3.5 and 3.0 kyr, foreshore sediments, including granules and pebbles, accumulated over the older beach deposits, indicating erosional events. Progradation resumed at ~3.0 kyr and continues to the present. During the past 3 kyr, there has been an average rate of progradation of ~0.14 m/yr. The beach-foredune ridges in the Gangneung area represent the evolution of coastal progradation on the east coast of Korea during the Holocene.
AbrantesFAlt-EppingULebreiroS. (2008) Sedimentological record of tsunamis on shallow-shelf areas: The case of the 1969 ad and 1755 ad tsunamis on the Portuguese Shelf off Lisbon. Marine Geology249: 283–293.
2.
AustinWENBardEHuntJB. (1995) The 14C age of the Icelandic Vedde Ash: Implications for Younger Dryas marine reservoir age corrections. Radiocarbon37: 53–62.
3.
BardE (1988) Correction of accelerator mass spectrometry 14C ages measured in planktonic foraminifera: Paleoceanographic implications. Paleoceanography3: 635–645.
4.
BlottSJPyeK (2001) GRADISTAT: A grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms26: 1237–1248.
5.
BothaGABristowCSPoratN. (2003) Evidence for dune reactivation from GPR profiles on the Maputaland coastal plain, South Africa. In: BristowCSJolHM (eds) Ground Penetrating Radar in Sediments. London: Geological Society, Special Publications211, pp. 29–46.
6.
Bøtter-JensenLBulurEDullerGAT. (2000) Advances in luminescence instrument systems. Radiation Measurements32: 523–528.
BristowCSPucilloK (2006) Quantifying rates of coastal progradation from sediment volume using GPR and OSL: The Holocene fill of Guichen Bay, south-east South Australia. Sedimentology53: 769–788.
9.
BrookeBLeeRCoxM. (2008) Rates of shoreline progradation during the last 1700 years at Beachmere, Southeastern Queensland, Australia, based on optically stimulated luminescence dating of beach ridges. Journal of Coastal Research24: 640–648.
10.
BuynevichIVFitzGeraldDMvan HeterenS (2004) Sedimentary records of intense storms in Holocene barrier sequences, Maine, USA. Marine Geology210: 135–148.
11.
ChappellJOmuraAEsatT. (1996) Reconciliation of late Quaternary sea levels derived from coral terraces at Huon Peninsula with deep sea oxygen isotope records. Earth and Planetary Science Letters141: 227–236.
12.
ChoiJHMurrayASCheongCS. (2003) The resolution of stratigraphic inconsistency in the luminescence ages of marine terrace sediments from Korea. Quaternary Science Reviews22: 1201–1206.
13.
ChoiKHYoonKSChoiJH. (2007) Anthropogenic geomorphological changes during the last century in the Kangneung area along the east coast of Korea. Journal of Coastal Research50: 1015–1022.
14.
ChoughSKwonSTReeJH. (2000) Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Korean Peninsula: A review and new view. Earth-Science Reviews52: 175–235.
15.
ClemmensenLBBjørnsenMMurrayA. (2007) Formation of aeolian dunes on Anholt, Denmark since ad 1560: A record of deforestation and increased storminess. Sedimentary Geology199: 171–187.
16.
DavidCDearingJRobertsN (1998) Land-use history and sediment flux in a lowland lake catchment: Groby Pool, Leicestershire, UK. The Holocene8: 383–394.
17.
DicksonBGBeierP (2007) Quantifying the influence of topographic position on cougar (Puma concolor) movement in southern California, USA. Journal of Zoology271: 270–277.
18.
DoughertyAJFitzGeraldDMBuynevichIV (2004) Evidence for storm-dominated early progradation of Castle Neck barrier, Massachusetts, USA. Marine Geology210: 123–134.
19.
EngelsSRobertsMC (2005) The architecture of prograding sandy-gravel beach ridges formed during the last Holocene highstand: Southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Sedimentary Research75: 1052–1064.
20.
Gangneung City (2012) The Statistical Year Book of Gangneung City 51. Gangneung: Ilmoonsa, p.395
21.
GhilardiMKuneschSStyllasM. (2008) Reconstruction of Mid-Holocene sedimentary environments in the central part of the Thessaloniki Plain (Greece), based on microfaunal identification, magnetic susceptibility and grain-size analyses. Geomorphology97: 617–630.
22.
GoyJLZazoCDabrioCJ (2003) A beach-ridge progradation complex reflecting periodical sea-level and climate variability during the Holocene (Gulf of Almería, Western Mediterranean). Geomorphology50: 251–268.
23.
HansenDVRattrayMJr (1966) New dimensions in estuary classification. Limnology and Oceanography11: 319–326.
24.
HespPA (1984) Foredune formation in Southeast Australia. In: ThomBG (ed) Coastal Geomorphology in Australia. Sydney: Academic Press, pp. 69–97.
25.
HespPA (1999) The beach backshore and beyond. In: ShortAD (ed.) Handbook of Beach and Shoreface Morphodynamics. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 145–170.
26.
HespPADillenburgSRBarbozaEG. (2005) Beach ridges, foredunes or transgressive dunefields? Definitions and an examination of the Torres to Tramandaí barrier system, Southern Brazil. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências77: 493–508.
27.
HowarthDRowlandsJ (1987) Quantitative assessment of rock texture and correlation with drillability and strength properties. Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering20: 57–85.
28.
ImH-J (1989) On excavation of the Osanni Neolithic site in Kangwon-Province. Korean Antiquity34: 125–129.
29.
JoWR (1980) Sea level changes during the Holocene along the eastern coast of Korea. Geographical Review of Japan53: 317–328.
30.
KimC-KRhieJ-C (1971) Excavation report on the tomb of Three Kingdoms period at Hasi-Dong, MyongJu-Gun. Korean Journal of Art History110: 16–23.
31.
KimJWJangHWChoiJ. (2008) Landform characteristics of coastal terraces and optically stimulated luminescence dating on the terrace deposits in Gangneung area, South Korea. In: KGA Summer Conference, Kwangju, 2008.
32.
KMA (2012) Annual Climatological Report 2011. Seoul: KMA, 315 pp.
33.
LambeckKChappellJ (2001) Sea level change through the last glacial cycle. Science292: 679–686.
34.
LiuJPMillimanJDGaoS. (2004) Holocene development of the Yellow River’s subaqueous delta, North Yellow Sea. Marine Geology209: 45–67.
35.
McManusJ (1988) Grain size determination and interpretation. In: TuckerME (ed.) Techniques in Sedimentology. Oxford: Blackwell, pp. 63–85.
36.
MadsenATMurrayASAndersenTJ (2007) Optical dating of dune ridges on Rømø, a barrier island in the Wadden Sea, Denmark. Journal of Coastal Research23: 1259–1269.
37.
MoriwakiHChikamoriMOkunoM. (2006) Holocene changes in sea level and coastal environments on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, South Pacific Ocean. The Holocene16: 839–848.
38.
MurrayASWintleAG (2000) Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements32: 57–73.
39.
MurrayASWintleAG (2003) The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: Potential for improvements in reliability. Radiation Measurements37: 377–381.
40.
NealA (2004) Ground-penetrating radar and its use in sedimentology: Principles, problems and progress. Earth-Science Reviews66: 261–330.
41.
NealARobertsCL (2000) Applications of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to sedimentological, geomorphological and geoarchaeological studies in coastal environments. In: PyeK. (ed) Coastal and estuarine environments: sedimentology, geomorphology and geoarchaeology. Geological Society Special Publication, 175. London: Geological Society, pp. 139–171
42.
NielsenAMurrayASPejrupM. (2006) Optically stimulated luminescence dating of a Holocene beach ridge plain in Northern Jutland, Denmark. Quaternary Geochronology1: 305–312.
43.
OhGH (1996) The geomorphic development and its paleoenvironment of the middle part of the coastal plain Gangweondo, Korea. Korean Journal of Quaternary Research10: 53–68.
44.
OlleyJMMurrayARobertsRG (1996) The effects of disequilibria in the uranium and thorium decay chains on burial dose rates in fluvial sediments. Quaternary Science Reviews15: 751–760.
45.
OlleyJMPietschTRobertsRG (2004) Optical dating of Holocene sediments from a variety of geomorphic settings using single grains of quartz. Geomorphology60: 337–358.
46.
OtvosEG (2000) Beach ridges – Definitions and significance. Geomorphology32: 83–108.
47.
PinxianWXiangjunS (1994) Last glacial maximum in China: Comparison between land and sea. Catena23: 341–353.
48.
PrescottJRHuttonJT (1994) Cosmic ray contribution to dose rates for luminescence and ESR dating: large depths and long-term time variation. Radiation Measurements23: 497–500.
RanasinghePOrtizJSiriwardanaC (2009) A non-invasive multiproxy approach to recognize Holocene paleocoastal environmental signals in Sri Lanka. In: American Geophysical Union, Spring Meeting 2009, abstract #PP71B-07.
51.
RazjigaevaNGGrebennikovaTAGanzeyLA. (2004) The role of global and local factors in determining the middle to late Holocene environmental history of the South Kurile and Komandar Islands, northwestern Pacific. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology209: 313–333.
52.
ReimannTNaumannMTsukamotoS. (2010) Luminescence dating of coastal sediments from the Baltic Sea coastal barrier-spit Darss-Zingst, NE Germany. Geomorphology122: 264–273.
RinkWJLópezGI (2010) OSL-based lateral progradation and aeolian sediment accumulation rates for the Apalachicola Barrier Island Complex, North Gulf of Mexico, Florida. Geomorphology123: 330–342.
55.
RobertsHMPlaterAJ (2007) Reconstruction of Holocene foreland progradation using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating: An example from Dungeness, UK. The Holocene17: 495–505.
56.
RoyPSCowellPJFerlandMA. (1994) Wave dominated coasts. In: CarterRWGWoodroffeCD (eds) Coastal Evolution: Late Quaternary Shoreline Morphodynamics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 121–186.
57.
SimJ-Y (2008) Upper bound and lower bound of the Iron Age in Yeongdong Region, Gangwon. Journal of North-East Asian Cultures16: 37–55.
58.
SoaresAMMMartinsJMM (2009) Radiocarbon dating of marine shell samples. The marine radiocarbon reservoir effect of coastal waters off Atlantic Iberia during Late Neolithic and Chalcolithic Periods. Journal of Archaeological Science36: 2875–2881.
59.
StaporJFrankWMathewsTD. (1991) Barrier-island progradation and Holocene sea-level history in southwest Florida. Journal of Coastal Research7: 815–838.
60.
SwiftDJP (1976) Coastal sedimentation. In: StanleyDJSwiftDJP (eds) Marine Sediment Transport and Environmental Management. New York: Wiley, pp. 255–310.
61.
TamuraTMasudaF (2004) Inner shelf to shoreface depositional sequence in the Sendai coastal prism, Pacific coast of northeastern Japan: Spatial and temporal growth patterns in relation to Holocene relative sea-level change. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences23: 567–576.
62.
TaylorMStoneGW (1996) Beach-ridges: A review. Journal of Coastal Research12: 612–621.
63.
ThomBPolachHBowmanG (1978) Holocene Age Structure of Coastal Sand Barriers in NSW, Australia (Geography Department Report). Canberra: Royal Military College, Duntroon, 86 pp.
64.
WagnerBBennikeOKlugM. (2007) First indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland. Journal of Quaternary Science22: 321–325.
65.
WaltonWH (1948) Feret’s statistical diameter as a measure of particle size. Nature162: 329–330.
66.
YasuharaMSetoK (2006) Holocene relative sea-level change in Hiroshima Bay, Japan: A semi-quantitative reconstruction based on ostracodes. Paleontological Research10: 99–116.
67.
YimSK (1979) On the structure of ancient seaside inhabitants at Myongju District. Journal of Korean Historical Studies26: 17–33.
68.
YumJGTakemuraKTokuokaT. (2003) Holocene environmental changes of the Hwajinpo Lagoon on the eastern coast of Korea. Journal of Paleolimnology29: 155–166.
69.
YumJGYuKMTakemuraK. (2004) Holocene evolution of the outer lake of Hwajinpo Lagoon on the eastern coast of Korea: Environmental changes with Holocene sea-level fluctuation of the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Radiocarbon46: 797–808.
70.
YunGI (1999) An abstract of an excavation of ‘Goseong Munamli’ neolith traces, 1998–99. Journal of Korean Cultural History11–13: 81–99.
71.
ZimmermanDW (1971) Thermoluminescent dating using fine grains from pottery. Archaeometry13: 29–52.
72.
ZongY (2004) Mid-Holocene sea-level highstand along the Southeast Coast of China. Quaternary International117: 55–67.
