Paleolimnological evidence for lacustrine environmental evolution and paleo-typhoon records during the late Holocene in eastern Taiwan

Abstract

The late Holocene lacustrine environmental evolution and paleo-typhoon records are poorly understood around lowland Liyu Lake and mountain Tunlumei Pond in eastern Taiwan. In this study, we use records of diatom populations, magnetic susceptibility, total organic carbon, carbon-to-nitrogen ratio, and delta C-13 from two lacustrine sediment cores in eastern Taiwan to reconstruct the paleoenvironment and the paleo-typhoon records during the late Holocene. Significant changes in lithology and in multi-proxy data in the record from lowland Liyu Lake (LYL) show that LYL became hydrologically isolated by 2850 cal BP, possibly as a result of landslide-induced alluvial fan formation. Synchronous increases of the diatom-inferred lake level proxy for LYL and regional precipitation proxies reflect a strengthened East Asia summer monsoon since 1600 cal BP. Eutrophication of the water in LYL is also inferred, and this is interpreted to be related to agricultural activities, which provides evidence for changes in land use during the past 200 years. The occurrence of diatom valves in sediment of the mountain Tunlumei Pond (TLM) indicates that the pond area has been stable since 760 cal BP, which reflects an increase in the local precipitation. The decrease of diatom-inferred pH indicates an increase in the input of acid runoff from the watershed during typhoon-triggered heavy rainfall. Both lacustrine records suggest that the typhoon intensity increased during the early Little Ice Age. The sediment records in northeastern Taiwan also suggest an increase in typhoon activity during the late Little Ice Age. The asymmetric pattern of typhoon intensity during the last 1000 years is interpreted to reflect the control exerted by anomalies in both global temperature and the El Nino-Southern Oscillation intensity on typhoon tracks over several centuries.