Long-term environmental changes in the Geum Estuary (South Korea): Implications of river impoundments
2021
Kang, Sujin | Kim, Jung-Hyun | Joe, Young Jin | Jang, Kwangchul | Nam, Seung-Il | Shin, Kyung-Hoon
We investigated a sediment core collected from the Geum Estuary through sedimentological and geochemical analyses. Three lithological units were classified based on sedimentological characteristics. Unit 1 and Unit 3 were geochemically distinct, while Unit 2 was the transitional phase between them. The geochemical results suggest that the contribution of terrestrial organic carbon (OC) to the sedimentary OC pool in the coarse-grained Unit 1 was lesser than that of fine-grained Unit 3. The excess activity (²¹⁰Pbₑₓ) and the sedimentation rate indicate that Unit 1 corresponded to 1977 Common Era (CE). Since the first dam construction on the Geum River began in 1975 CE, the deposition of Unit 1 in the Geum Estuary is likely associated with river impoundments, which reduce the delivery of fine-grained sediment and terrestrial OC to the estuary. This study highlights the role of river impoundments in altering the sedimentary OC and thus the sedimentary environment in the estuary.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library
