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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).
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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 

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