Stratigraphy, chronology and implied uplift rate of coastal terraces in the southeastern part of Korea

Abstract

Terrace stratigraphy of the southeastern coastal areas of Korea has been studied with the help of terrace mapping and geochronology. Coastal terraces include 90–130 m upper High Terrace (uHT), 63–86 m High Terrace (HT), 36–55 m Middle Terrace (MT) and 8–25 m Low Terrace (LT) divisions, each of which has been subdivided. Amongst these, LT 2 formed during the late Pleistocene, based on Tephras Aso-4 (MIS 5c), Ata (MIS 5d or 5e) and OSL ages. The age of LT 1–3 ranges from MIS 5e to 5a, based on tephra ages from Aso-4 (ca. 90 ka) and Ata (100–125 ka). The uplift rate in the SE part of Korea ranges between 0.14 and 0.22 mm/a and it is quite small in comparison to the Japanese island arc, or many other tectonically active East and Southeastern Asian regions.