Gd. Jia et al., Sedimentary records of black carbon in the sea area of the Nansha Islands since the last glaciation, CHIN SCI B, 45(17), 2000, pp. 1594-1598
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.