RADIOCARBON AGE OF TEPHRA-BURIED TREES ON THE PAEKTUSAN VOLCANO, NORTH KOREA

Abstract

Correlation of the stratigraphy and chemical composition of gray tephra of Paektusan, in bottom sediments of the Sea of Japan, and on Honshu shows that very powerful explosive phases of eruptions occurred between the end of the 10th and the 11th centuries. Comparing available C14 dates for buried trees with ″ ″ and some data on the history and the archeology of China, Korea and Japan, they compiled a chronologic series of 16 natural events associated with the volcanic activity of Paektusan in historic time: 580, 870, 890, 915, 940, 990, 1000, 1120, 1150, 1170, 1310, 1413, 1597, 1668, 1702 and 1898. The principal feature of the Paektusan eruptions was the powerful explosive activity. In the scale and ecological consequence of its explosive activity, Paektusan volcano can be placed in the series of giant volcanoes that are now regarded as classical, including Santorini, Vesuvius, Tambora and Krakatoa. It is a major high-energy spot on the Asian margin that is continuing to affect the natural environment of the region.