Sedimentary records of black carbon in the sea area of the Nansha Islands since the last glaciation

Core 17962 taken from the sea area of the Nansha islands recorded a sedimen tary history of more than 30 000 years. The black carbon data from the core , which can inform us of the history of vegetation fires, show that during the last glaciation, especially during the last glacial maximum at about 18 kaBP, the fluctuation of the concentration and accumulation rate of the bl ack carbon was relatively great, whereas it was small during the Holocene. The isotope composition of the black carbon indicates that the precursors o f black carbon were mainly grasses from the last glaciation to the Holocene . The sub-alpine and alpine vegetation zones covered mainly with grass and bush on the lands around the southern South China Sea were probably the sou rces of black carbon. The altitudinal vegetation changes from the last glac iation to the Holocene gave rise to the changes of the sedimentary characte ristics of black carbon.