Sedimentary facies characteristics and age determination of giant piston cores from the Ulleung Basin and continental slope in the East Sea

Abstract

Three giant piston cores, ISA-16ESUB-2A, -2B, and &#8211 5 were obtained from the Ulleung Basin and continental slope in the East Sea during the R/V ISABU test cruise in 2016. The cores consist of four mud facies (bioturbated mud, crudely laminated mud, homogeneous mud, and laminated mud) and include four distinctive tephra layers (U-Oki, AT, Aso-4, and Aso-3 tephras). The ages of the cores were primarily constrained by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates, using planktonic foraminifera (G. bulloides) and organic matters, and the four well-known tephra layers. The sediment lightness (L*) values were correlated with those for core MD01-2407, whose age was constrained up to 640 kyr BP. As a result of the age determination, the ages of the bases of the cores were found to be 140 kyr, 170 kyr, and 75 kyr, respectively. The longest core of these cores records paleoceanographic variations from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to the present day. laminated mud, homogeneous mud, and laminated mud) and include four distinctive tephra layers (U-Oki, AT, Aso-4, and Aso-3 tephras). The ages of the cores were primarily constrained by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dates, using planktonic foraminifera (G. bulloides) and organic matters, and the four well-known tephra layers. The sediment lightness (L*) values were correlated with those for core MD01-2407, whose age was constrained up to 640 kyr BP. As a result of the age determination, the ages of the bases of the cores were found to be 140 kyr, 170 kyr, and 75 kyr, respectively. The longest core of these cores records paleoceanographic variations from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 6 to the present day.