The Huguang maar lake—a high-resolution record of ...

Abstract 

Quaternary International 122 (2004) 85–107 

The Huguang maar lake—a high-resolution record of 

palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes over the last 

78,000 years from South China 

Jens Mingram a, *, Georg Schettler a , Norbert Nowaczyk a , Xiangjun Luo b,c , 

Houyuan Lu b , Jiaqi Liu b ,J.org F.W. Negendank a 

a GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ), Section 3.3, Telegrafenberg, Potsdam D-14473, Germany 

b Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 9825, Beijing 100029, PR China 

c VTT, 102-1687 West Broadway, Vancouver, Canada V6J 1X2 

A series of seven piston cores from the Huguang maar lake situated near the South China Sea coastline provides insight into 

regional palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes in southern China over the last 78,000 years. The data set comprises a 

high-resolution record of magnetic susceptibility, dry density and water content, total organic carbon and inorganic carbon, total 

nitrogen, biogenicsilica (BSiO2), and palynological results. The time scale was developed by AMS 14 C dating of 17 terrestrial plant 

macro-fossils. During the Last Glacial the Huguang record is characterised by an alternation of more temperate and humid periods 

(from 78 to 58 and 48 to 40.5 ka BP) and periods with predominance of grassland vegetation and possibly lowered lake level (from 58 

to 48 and ca 40.5 to 15 ka BP). The Huguang data have been compared to regional marine and terrestrial records in order to discuss 

variability of the South-East Asian monsoon system. For most of the Last Glacial period the Huguang proxies do not exhibit 

marked millennial-scale variability as known from some long SE Asian and many North Atlantic records. This picture changes at 

about 15 cal ka BP when the Huguang and Greenland records appear to correlate well. A short climatic reversal which is assumed to 

reflect a Younger Dryas-type event is well recorded in the Huguang record. During the Holocene the Huguang multi-proxy data 

show a much higher variability than during the Last Glacial stage probably reflecting, at least for the early mid-Holocene, 

fluctuations in monsoon activity. However, the last 4000 years of the sediment record are clearly influenced by enhanced human 

activity and thus difficult to interpret in terms of palaeoclimate change. 

r 2004 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 

1. Introduction 

Investigations of Chinese loess sequences (summarised 

in Liu and Ding, 1998), Tibetan ice cores 

(Thompson et al., 1997), and speleothems (Wang et al., 

2001) provided high-resolution information on palaeoclimatic 

changes for the Last Glacial cycle in South-East 

Asia. Recent detailed sedimentological, geochemical, 

and palynological investigations of marine cores from 

the South China Sea (Sun and Li, 1999; Wang et al., 

1999a) allow comparison of marine and terrestrial 

records in the region. However, on a regional scale 

there are only a few lake records reaching far back into 

the Last Glacial (Tsukada, 1967; Hodell et al., 1999; 

Penny, 2001), and the even longer record from the 

*Corresponding author. Fax: +49-331-288-1302. 

E-mail address: ojemi@gfz-potsdam.de (J. Mingram). 

ARTICLE IN PRESS 

1040-6182/$ - see front matter r 2004 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved. 

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2004.02.001 

Tianyang maar lake has some major sedimentary gaps 

(Zheng and Lei, 1999). This paper presents data from a 

continuous lacustrine record reaching back to 78,000 

years BP obtained from a small volcanic lake on the 

Leizhou Peninsula, 4 km from the modern South China 

coastline. 

2. Location and setting 

The Huguang maar lake (21 9 0 N, 110 17 0 E, Fig. 1) is 

situated in a zone with seasonal climate, dominated by 

the East Asian summer monsoon, but also within reach 

of northern cold waves during winter which originate 

from the Siberian anti-cyclone (Domr.os and Peng, 

1988). It is influenced by both the Asian SW and SE 

summer monsoon and receives precipitation from the

86 

pre-summer position of the monsoon rainbelt in South 

China (Zhang and Crowley, 1989) as well as from 

tropical typhoons that come mostly from ESE and have 

their maximum in August/September (Yoshino, 1984). 

Spring time dust plumes from the Chinese mainland 

occasionally reach the South China Sea coast (Cao et al., 

2003). For the last 45 years the mean annual temperature 

for Zhanjiang (15 km from the Huguang maar lake) 

has been 23.1 C; the mean annual precipitation is 

1440 mm. The Huguang maar site now belongs to a zone 

of tropical grassland which is assumed to be the result of 

human impact (Sun et al., 1999). The natural vegetation 

is that of a tropical semi-evergreen seasonal rain forest 

(Zheng and Lei, 1999). 

The Huguang maar lake belongs to the Lei Qiong 

Volcanic Field near the eastern coastline of the Leizhou 

Peninsula (Fig. 1). The Lei Qiong Volcanic Field 

comprises 66 volcanic cones and 39 craters (some of 

them are below present sea level) of different origin. It 

has been active since 34 Ma (Huang et al., 1993). The 

main volcanic activity was from 1.8 to 0.4 Ma (Ho et al., 

2000). The bi-lobate Huguang maar (Fig. 2) is 

surrounded by a high tephra wall (highest elevation is 

87.6 m a.s.l.) with a steep inner and ca 10 outer slope 

and is underlain by a basalt sheet and Quaternary 

marine sands, silts, and clays of the Zhanjiang shallow 

marine Formation. An 80 m deep drill hole outside the 


J. Mingram et al. / Quaternary International 122 (2004) 85–107 

Fig. 1. Main SE Asian meteorological features (after Porter and An, 1995; Xiao et al., 1997b; Aragu!as-Aragu!as et al., 1998), marine 100 m—isobath 

line, position of the Huguang maar lake and some other regional, long palaeoenvironmental records (B+K=Lake Biwa and Kurota Lowland; 

GL=Guliya ice cap; HL=Hulu cave; JT=Jih Tan lacustrine section; QH=lake Qilu Hu; TY=Tianyang lake; YB=Yuanbao section of the 

Western Loess Plateau; 17940, 17950, 17961=marine cores from the South China Sea; see text for references). 

crater rim yielded 2 m of soil, 15 m of pyroclastics, 5 m 

basalt and 60 m of silty clay belonging to the Zhanjiang 

Formation. For the basalt K/Ar ages between 0.4 and 

0.127 Ma are reported (Fong, 1992). The elevation 

above sea level is 23 m and the maximum water depth 

of the lake is 20 m; it was artificially lowered by 3 m in 

1963. The lake surface area is 2.25 km 2 , and the 

catchment area (3.2 km 2 ) comprises only the inner 

slopes of the crater rim. The lake has no surface inflow 

or outflow. Hydrochemical data of Lake Huguang 

(Table 1) demonstrate its low salinity which implies a 

high ratio of direct precipitation onto the lake surface 

and the inflow of mineralised ground water. Primary 

production of the lake is likely limited through the 

availability of soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP). 

Sulphate may partially originate from anthropogenic 

pollution. At present substantial chemical precipitation 

of autochthonous calcite is unlikely from the obtained 

low Ca concentration. The DIC and dissolved Ca 

inventory of the lake cannot originate from the 

chemical dissolution of CaCO3. Instead, Lake Huguang 

reflects silicate weathering in its catchment, and is 

characterised through the hydrochemical fingerprints 

of the related weathering solutions that get drained into 

the lake. The hydrochemistry of the lake may be 

influenced to a minor extent by influx of sea spray 

aerosols.

3. Materials and methods 

In March 1997 seven cores were recovered from three 

coring sites in the western Huguang lake basin (Fig. 2) 

with the Usinger piston corer. From each of the two 

main localities three overlapping cores have been raised 

(A, B, C at 13 m water depth and D, E, F at 20 m water 

depth), and the longest core (HUG-F) reached 57.8 m 

below the lake bottom. All cores were stored at 4 C 

during the field campaign and transport. In the 

laboratory, the cores were extruded and split parallel 

to their vertical axis. Measurement of the volume 

specific magnetic susceptibility (k) was performed with 


Fig. 2. The Huguang maar lake: (a) geographical position, (b) isobath map and coring sites, (c) coring sites with sediment profiles, lithozones and 

maximum core depths, (d) an example for inter-core correlation with high-resolution magnetic susceptibility data. 

Table 1 

Surface water composition of Lake Huguang (October 10, 2001) 

Cations a 

Anions b 

Na + 

(mg/l) 

K + 

(mg/l) 

Ca 2+ 

(mg/l) 

Mg 2+ 

(mg/l) 

Fe 2+ 

(mg/l) 

Mn 2+ 

(mg/l) 

Sr 2+ 

(mg/l) 

Ba 2+ 

(mg/l) 

5.8 2.3 6.1 6.1 0.006 0.001 0.047 0.004 1.12 

F 

(mg/l) 

Cl 

(mg/l) 

J. Mingram et al. / Quaternary International 122 (2004) 85–107 87 

NO3 

(mg/l) 

SO4 2 

(mg/l) 

DIC 

(mg/l) 

Nutrients Si 

(mg/l) 

SRP 

(mg/l) 

0.15 7.7 0.7 9.6 8.3 0.5 o0.01 1.13 

Total cations 

(mequ/l) 

Total Anions 

(mequ/l) 

a Membrane filtered sample aliquots (0.45 mm) stabilised by adding of nitric acid (Merck, Suprapur), measurements by ICP-AES. 

b DIC (total dissolved inorganic carbon) measured by IR-spectrometry, Si by ICP-AES, other components determined by isocratic ion-exchange 

chromatography, DIC is completely considered as HCO3 for the calculation of the anion sum. 

a Bartington Instruments s surface scanning sensor 

MS2E/1, fitted to an automaticlogger system. Downcore 

resolution of magnetic susceptibility data used for 

this study is 2.5 mm. 

Water content and dry density (weight of dry material 

per volume of fresh sediment) were estimated from 

continuous 1 cm samples from two composite sections. 

Volumetricsamples were freeze-dried at 0.25 mbar for 2 

days. The water content is calculated as the weight of 

water to the total wet weight (H(akansson and Jansson, 

1983). The dry density (weight of dry material to 

original wet volume) was estimated using the volume 

of contiguous 1 cm thick core slices.

88 

All geochemical data were obtained from core HUG- 

C at 10 cm resolution. Total carbon (TC) and total 

nitrogen (TN) were analysed after burning sample 

aliquots in an oxygen gas flow at 1350 C, using infrared 

and heat conductivity detection, respectively (device: 

LECO, CNS 2000). Inorganiccarbon (IC) was determined 

coulometrically (Str.ohlein procedure) after the 

release of CO 2 by hot phosphoricacid (1:1). Total 

organic carbon (TOC) was calculated as the difference 

between TC and IC. Biogenicsilica (BSiO2) was 

selectively dissolved by leaching with 2 M Na2CO3 

solution for 5 h at 90 C and determined by flow 

injection spectrometry (FIAS) using a methodology 

which follows an application of the ‘‘Mo-blue’’ method 

proposed by Schweizer et al. (1993). Before leaching 

with soda solution, the organicmatter was destroyed by 

wet oxidation using H2O2 (30%), IC and inorganicbound 

P were removed by treatment with hot HCl 

(10%) for 5 min. The analytical reliability is in the order 

of 71 percent by weight (wt%) SiO2. However, there is 

a small amount of silicate-bound Si which is also 

released by leaching with soda solution. This portion 

depends on the mineralogical composition of the 

individual sediment samples. For the Huguang maar 

lake sediments the leaching of silicate-bound Si mainly 

depends on the content of pumice tuff particles and was 

found to vary between 0.5 and 1 wt% SiO2. 

The amount of allochthonous siliciclastic material 

was estimated by subtracting biogenic silica, carbonate 

(as siderite) and organicmaterial from the overall dry 

mass. The amount of organicmaterial was determined 

using estimated TOC values and the elemental composition 

of dry substances (after H(akansson and Jansson, 

1983) for algae (lithozones 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6) and humus 

(lithozones 4 and 7). Mean total sediment accumulation 

rates (SARs) were estimated based on sedimentation 

rate interpolations between AMS- 14 C dates. Pollen 

analyses were performed at 1 m intervals by sampling 

1 cm sediment slices of the B/C cores composite section. 

Pollen samples were treated with HCl (10%), KOH 

(15%), and HF (48%), followed by acetolysis using a 

mixture of H2SO4 (96%) and acetic acid anhydride (1:9). 

An average of 836 pollen grains was counted in each 

sample. The pollen sum for percentage calculations 

excludes aquatic pollen and fern spores. Percentages of 

aquatics and spores are calculated from the total pollen 

and spores sum, Pediastrum is given in total numbers 

of counted remains. To trace large-scale vegetational 

changes the biomisation of modern surface pollen 

samples from China after Yu et al. (1998) has been 

applied. 

A representative set of 10 cm long petrographic thin 

sections of each lithozone were prepared according to 

the freeze-drying method described by Merkt (1971). 

Different microscopic techniques were used for thin 

section investigations, including visible light microscopy 



(bright field and polarisation), fluorescence microscopy 

(using a Carl Zeiss ‘‘Jenalumar’’ microscope and mostly 

blue light excitation), and SEM-techniques (using a Carl 

Zeiss DSM 962). 

3.1. Lithology and correlations 

The lake sediments from Huguang maar are macroscopically 

homogeneous, greenish-black, highly organic 

gyttja with occasional indistinct, dm-scale layering due 

to slight colour differences caused by different carbonate 

contents as shown by thin section investigation. In the 

lower part of the profile two sections of mm- to cm-thick 

brownish layers with numerous reworked woody, barklike 

remains are intercalated (Fig. 3). 

From core sequences B+C and D+F composite 

profiles (Fig. 2) have been constructed through correlation 

of 2.5 mm resolution magnetic susceptibility curves. 

Both composite profiles in turn have been correlated 

using both the magnetic susceptibility record and the 

continuous 1 cm water content data (Fig. 3). The 

two main records D/F and B/C are correlatable down 

to 39.52 and 23.67 m, respectively. Between 41.47 m and 

the basal pumice breccia in core F there are several small 

tephra layers with thicknesses ranging from sub-mm 

single grain layers up to 1.8 cm. These tephra layers have 

not been found in the other cores, so this part should be 

older than the B/C section. However, the ages obtained 

by extrapolation of sedimentation rates are older for the 

bottom of the B/C section than for the D/F section, so 

the correlation of the lowermost part between the 

different drill sites is still somewhat questionable. The 

coarse-grained basal breccia from core F probably 

represents a slump originating from the steep southern 

crater rim. 

Based on the detailed multi-proxy data set eight 

lithozones have been distinguished (LZ 1–8, Table 2). 

4. Chronology 

The chronostratigraphy of the mostly unlaminated 

sediment record is based on 23 AMS- 14 C dates by the 

‘‘Leibniz-Labor f.ur Altersbestimmung und Isotopenforschung’’ 

in Kiel, Germany (Table 3). Samples for 14 C 

dating were picked out from different cores. The precise 

correlation between the individual cores by means of 

magnetic susceptibility and water content data allowed 

establishment of a common time scale back to 58 ka BP 

for both the B/C and D/F composite profiles (Fig. 4). 

Discrepancies appear only for the part below the oldest 

reliable 14 C-ages where linear extrapolation yielded ages 

for the base of the B/C and D/F profiles of 78.5 and 

67.5 ka BP, respectively. 

All 14 C dates yielding ages until 24.2 cal ka BP were 

calibrated according to CALIB 4.0 (Stuiver et al.,



Fig. 3. Lithology and intra-lake correlation of the two composite sections D/F and B/C.

90 

Table 2 

Lithozones of the Huguang maar sediment record 

1998a). For the radiocarbon age of 12,620 years which is 

at a broad 14 C-plateau between 15.3 and 14.4 cal ka BP 

we chose the calibrated age of 14,580 years as the most 

reliable one after comparing calculated sedimentation 

rates with all possible ages. Ages older than 24.2 cal ka 

BP were converted using the magnetic calibration of 

the radiocarbon time scale (with varying oceanic 

circulation) from Laj et al. (1996). Since radiocarbon 

age calibration beyond 24 ka is still in discussion, 

alternative data might be used (e.g. Voelker et al., 

1998). The effect for the Huguang chronology would be 

a shift towards ca 2000 years older calibrated ages at ca 

40 ka BP. 

Calibration of radiocarbon ages was chosen to enable 

comparison with other regional long records, namely 

marine records from the South China Sea (Wang et al., 

1999a) and the long ice-core record from Guliya, Tibet 

(Thompson et al., 1997). Marine records of the South 

China Sea from Wang et al. (1999a) with ages 

>11.6 cal ka BP were tuned to the GISP2 record (which 

was layer-counted to about 55,000 years BP with an 

counting error of 2% back to 39.852 years BP, Meese 

et al., 1994, 1997), and the ice-core record from Guliya 

was fitted via its methane curve to the GISP2 methane 

record for the past 110 ka (Thompson et al., 1997). 

5. Sediment data and their palaeoenvironmental 

significance 

5.1. Physical data 

5.1.1. Dry density and water content 

Dry density generally is a proxy for the amount of 

minerogenicparticles, as the density of organicsubstances 

is lower than those of mineral grains. Dry 


Zone Max. depth in section Description (with terminology after Troels-Smith, 1955; Aaby and Berglund, 1986) 

B/C D/F G 


1 4.41 5.23 3.73 Homogeneous algal gyttja with high sedimentation rate, high-frequency changes of dry 

density, water content, and magnetic susceptibility with high amplitudes [Ld3 Lso1 Lc+] 

2 8.95 10.70 8.30 Homogeneous algal gyttja with lower sedimentation rate, large carbonate peaks on a 

generally low IC level [Ld3 Lso1 Lc+] 

3 18.51 29.17 11.94 Homogeneous algal gyttja with high values of dry density, low values of magnetic 

susceptibility and moderate changes of IC on a generally high level [Ld3 Lso1 Lc+] 

4 20.53 32.43 Homogeneous algal gyttja with intercalations of numerous brownish layers with 

reworked bark-like plant remains (woody peat) and high TOC/N ratio [Ld3 Tl1 Lso+] 

5 23.33 39.52 Homogeneous algal gyttja, resembles lithozone 3, but with higher amounts of biogenic 

silica and higher values of magnetic susceptibility [Ld3 Lso1 Lc+] 

6 28.00 41.65 Algal gyttja similar to that of lithozone 4, but with numerous carbonate peaks and some 

varve-like laminae with layered enrichments of diatoms [Ld2 Tl1 Lso1 Lc+] 

7 29.25 45.46 Algal gyttja with very high amounts of biogenic silica, some scattered bark-like plant 

remains and (in section F) partly laminated [Ld2 Lso2 Tl+] 

8 57.83 19.56 Coarse lithoclastic breccia [Gmaj4] 

density curves might be used to identify periods of 

increased soil erosion due to reduced vegetation cover in 

the drainage area often related to colder and/or drier 

climate (e.g. Brauer et al., 2000). For the Huguang 

record both water content and dry density data are 

regarded as valuable indicators for the overall relation 

between organic(mainly algae, plus terrestrial higher 

plant remains especially in LZ 4 and 6) and minerogenic 

(mainly allochthonous siliciclastic detritus, precipitated 

carbonate) components. 

Dry density and water contents of the Huguang 

profiles show a significant negative correlation (profile 

B/C: r ¼ 0:83 for n ¼ 2600; profile D/F: r ¼ 0:68 for 

n ¼ 3500). For core correlation and environmental 

interpretation water content data were preferentially 

used because measurements are more precise due to 

inherent errors of volumetricsampling which was 

necessary for dry density determination. 

5.1.2. Magnetic susceptibility 

Magnetic susceptibility of lake sediments is controlled 

by the concentration and the grain size distribution of 

ferromagneticminerals. It provides a valuable tool for 

precise correlation of sediment records (Thompson et al., 

1975; Verosub and Roberts, 1995; Nowaczyk, 2001). 

Palaeoenvironmental interpretations are rather complex 

because the grain size distribution of ferromagnetic 

minerals is controlled by a variety of factors. These are, 

e.g., changes in the source rocks due to morphological 

changes in the catchment (e.g. erosion), pedogenic 

processes (Maher, 1998; Lu, 2000), and in situ dissolution 

and authigenesis of magneticcarriers (Berner, 1980; 

Snowball, 1993; Williamson et al., 1998). 

The Huguang magnetic susceptibility record shows 

large variations in amplitude and frequency, with 

extremely low values in lithozones with large amounts

Table 3 

AMS- 14 C ages measured in Huguang cores 

Lab-Nr. Material Total sediment depth in d 13 C(%) Age (residue) 

( 14 C years BP) 

A B C D E F G 

a b b a a b 

Error range 

(one s) 

Age 

(cal. years BP) 

KIA 8085 Bulk 0.50 

20.6570.10 455+25/ 25 523–500 515 

KIA 8086 Bulk 1.20 0.99 1.18 1.32 1.45 

a b 

19.1670.16 550 +20/ 20 618–611; 552–534 545 

KIA 8087 Bulk 1.80 1.66 1.83 2.00 2.11 2.06 1.62 21.4470.12 1225 +25/ 25 1.225–1.212; 1.177–1.167; 1.161–1.121; 1.111–1.085 1175 

KIA 8090 Leaf 3.05 2.90 3.07 3.38 3.51 3.37 2.72 26.6870.10 2.295 +25/ 25 2.348–2.325; 2.322–2.314; 2.218–2.213 2.338 

KIA 5589 Leaf 4.50 4.34 4.60 5.15 5.28 5.20 3.65 36.5170.27 3.520 +60/ 60 3.865–3.717; 3.711–3.701 3.830 

KIA 8091 Leaf 6.33 6.20 6.38 7.07 Gap 6.96 5.6 32.5170.13 7.535 +35/ 35 8.389–8.333; 8.227–8.223 8.366 

KIA 8832 Leaf 6.88 6.71 6.94 7.36 7.29 7.20 5.8 35.3370.12 (7.670 +100/ 100) 8.587–8.574; 8.543–8.377 (8415) 

KIA 8833 Leaf 7.06 6.89 7.11 7.75 7.64 7.55 5.93 38.5870.09 (7.880 +230/ 220) 9.000–8.477; 8.472–8.455 (8636) 

KIA 8092 Leaf 8.27 8.07 8.30 9.32 9.17 9.13 7.12 31.1770.08 11.055 +55/ 55 13.146–12.983 13.019 

KIA 8093 Leaf 9.02 8.80 9.02 10.56 10.45 10.33 8.19 30.9370.07 12.620 +70/ 60 15.490–15.192; 14.789–14.340 14.580 

KIA 8834 Leaf 10.31 10.10 10.23 13.18 13.04 12.84 

b 

31.4270.16 14.750 +100/ 90 17.927–17.377 17.652 

KIA 5590 Leaf 11.66 11.37 11.60 15.73 15.49 15.10 

b 

28.9770.36 17.790 +100/ 100 21.439–20.811 21.150 

KIA 8094 Leaf 14.42 14.05 14.28 19.70 19.24 18.70 

b 

29.7170.28 23.740 +140/ 140 Out of range of 14 C calibration 27.140 c 

KIA 5591 Leaf 16.03 15.66 15.81 22.80 22.63 21.90 

b 


KIA 8095 Leaf 18.04 17.60 17.82 

a 

27.97 27.17 

b 


KIA 5592 Leaf 19.5 19.03 19.26 

a 

30.76 29.91 

b 


KIA 8096 Leaf 20.04 19.60 19.83 

a 

32.29 31.33 

b 


KIA 8088 Leaf 22.86 22.34 22.71 

a 

39.29 37.60 

a 

30.0670.08 56.030 +5530/ 3240 Out of range of 14 C calibration (56.030) 

KIA 8089 Seed 22.86 22.34 22.71 

a 

39.29 37.60 

a 

23.6170.08 55.000 +3420/ 2390 Out of range of 14 C calibration 55.000 

KIA 5593 Leaf 25.13 31.6270.20 > 48.300 Out of range of 14 C method 

KIA 5594 Seed 25.35 27.7070.16 > 51.680 Out of range of 14 C method 



Note: Conversion into calendar ages between 0 and 24,200 cal BP with CALIB 4.0 (Stuiver and Reimer, 1993; Stuiver et al., 1998a), calibrated ages were used as given by the Kiel Laboratory and, in 

case of ambiguity, after considering most plausible sedimentation rates. Older 14 C ages back to 45 ka were calibrated using the model of Laj et al. (1996, see text for discussion). 2s cal age ranges 

were calculated using CALIB version 4.4 (Stuiver et al., 1998a, b; executable program at http://radiocarbon.pa.qub.ac.uk/calib/calib.html). 

Bold=AMS- 14 C sample picked out from this core, correlated to other cores with high-resolution magnetic susceptibility or water content logs. All samples were separated from 1 cm sediment slices, 

except for sample KIA 8096 (10 cm sediment slice). 

Italic, in brackets=data not used for the age model (KIA 8085: no correlation possible due to lack of high-resolution physical data; KIA 8832, 8833: too less material, may result in too young ages, 

P.M. Grootes (pers. comm.); KIA 8088: same sample depth as KIA 8089, but less material and larger error range; KIA 5593–5596: out of range of the radiocarbon dating method.) 

a No core. 

b No correlation possible. 

c Calibrated after Laj et al. (1996). 


ARTICLE IN PRESS

92 

of plant macro-remains, high values in lithozones 

with higher autochthonous productivity and low values 

during the upper part of the Last Glacial stage (Fig. 5). 

For the present study the magnetic susceptibility curve 

mainly was applied for high-resolution core correlation. 

Detailed rock-magneticand palaeomagneticinvestigations 

are subjects of complementary studies (Yancheva, 

2003). 

5.2. Geochemical and mineralogical data 

5.2.1. Total organic carbon and total nitrogen 

TOC generally sums up organiccomponents from 

different sources. These are (1) the allochthonous input 

(mainly terrestrial plant residues supplied by surface 

runoff and wind) and the autochthonous production 

(bacteria, macro-phytes, phytoplankton, and zooplankton). 

Thus further information about the sources of 

organicmatter, e.g., through the ratio of TOC and TN is 

required. This is possible for organicrich sediments like 

the ones from Lake Huguang because the amount of 

inorganic nitrogen is considered to be negligible in such 

environments (Meyers, 1997). 

TOC/TN ratios between 4 and 10 are usually 

described as indicative for non-vascular aquatic plants 

due to their elevated protein content, whilst vascular 

plants have TOC/TN ratios of 20 and more (Meyers and 



Fig. 4. Age–depth plot for composite sections B/C and D/F (see Section 4 for discussion). Individual dates are shown with error bars. Maximum ages 

of sections B/C and D/F were estimated by linear extrapolation (dotted line) of sedimentation rates between the last two dated points in both 

sections. 

Ishiwatari, 1993). But this general picture seems to be 

valid only under conditions without limitations of the 

available nitrogen. With increasing N deficiency higher 

TOC/TN ratios have been reported (Talbot and Lærdal, 

2000). Another exception which calls for caution is 

that TOC/TN ratios up to 36 are reported for the green 

algae Botryococcus (Huang et al., 1999), which has 

been microscopically identified in the Huguang sediments. 

However, there are no changes in the TOC/TN 

ratio which could be related to varying amounts of 

Botryococcus. 

TOC/TN ratios at Huguang vary between 9 and 20 

(except for peat layers) and show a long-term trend of 

slightly increasing values downcore. Exceptional high 

values reaching up to about 70 in single peaks occurring 

in lithozones 6 and 4 reflect the deposition of reworked 

woody peat layers. More details on the chemistry of 

organicmatter (e.g. Hydrogen Index, d 13 C of TOC, 

biomarkers) are given in Fuhrmann et al. (2003). 

5.2.2. Biogenic silica 

Many plant and animal species can contribute to the 

biogenic silica contents of sediments. For lake sediments 

the most common source of BSiO2 are diatoms (Wetzel, 

1975). This is confirmed for Lake Huguang by thin 

section analyses which, besides abundant diatom frustules, 

revealed also the occurrence of small amounts of



Fig. 5. Huguang maar lithozones, physical and chemical sediment data vs. depth.

94 

siliceous cysts. Other siliceous organic remains such as 

sponge spicules or phytoliths have not been observed in 

significant amounts in thin sections. Except for the 

uppermost part of LZ 1 where corroded diatoms were 

found, thin section and SEM observations did not 

indicate dissolution of diatoms. Diatom assemblages are 

dominated by Aulacoseira throughout large parts of the 

Huguang record. Aulacoseira is reported as the dominant 

diatom species in waters with high silica concentrations 

(Kilham, 1971), and particularly in young 

volcanic areas the easily weathered tuffs supply large 

amounts of dissolved silica as known from East African 

lakes (Jones and Bowser, 1978). 

The total concentration of BSiO2 in the Huguang 

sediments varies between 5 wt% for LZ 1–4, to about 

10 wt% for LZ 5 and 20 wt% for LZ 7. Throughout 

lithozones 1, 2, and 3 the content of BSiO2 is positively 

correlated with TOC and also the TOC/TN ratio. 

During periods with high input of woody material 

(mainly LZ 4 and 6) BSiO2 and TOC are anti-correlated. 

Nevertheless, LZ 6 is the only lithozone where pure 

diatomaceous laminae occur (intercalated within carbonaceous 

and woody peat layers). 

5.2.3. Inorganic carbon 

The only carbonate mineral detectable in the Huguang 

sediments by means of X-ray diffraction and 

SEM-EDS analyses is siderite. IC fluctuates close to zero 

and peaks up to 2% which corresponds to 19.3 wt% of 

siderite. Primary siderite from iron-meromictic lakes, 

especially from tropical or subtropical climates, has 

been frequently reported from the Eocene (e.g. Lake 

Tubutulik, Dickinson, 1988; Eckfeld and Messel maar 

lakes, Bahrig, 1989; Mingram, 1998) and the Holocene 

(Lake Kivu, Degens and Stoffers, 1976; Lake Nyos, 

Bernard and Symonds, 1989). All these lakes, as well as 

the Huguang maar, are surrounded by maficvolcanic 

rocks and deeply weathered red soils with a high Fe/Ca 

ratio, which is, among other factors such as high pCO2 ; 

reducing conditions and low dissolved sulphur (Bernard 

and Symonds, 1989), essential for siderite formation 

(Kelts and Hs.u, 1978). 

Thin section observations revealed that there are no 

detrital carbonates in the Huguang maar sediments. The 

uppermost 1.5 m of sediments show very small anhedral 

siderite crystals of 5–10 mm partly forming patches up to 

25 mm in diameter. Downcore, throughout all lithozones, 

idiomorphic, rhombohedral crystals or twin 

crystals ranging in size from 10 to 100 mm with 

occasional step-like surfaces typical for precipitated 

carbonates (Otsuki and Wetzel, 1974; Kelts and Hs.u, 

1978) and dissolution features prevail (Fig. 6). They 

closely resemble siderite aggregates from Lake Nyos 

sediments as shown by Bernard and Symonds (1989). 

For the Huguang lithozones, except LZ 4 and 6 (the 

lithozones with enrichments of woody peat) IC is 



negatively correlated with TOC (Fig. 5), and with the 

exception of LZ 6 there is almost no siderite in 

sediments containing more than 10 wt% of TOC. This 

indicates dissolution processes and confirms observations 

from Minnesota lakes (US, Dean, 1999) where 

carbonate is absent when TOC values rise over 12%. 

Changing lake levels might have an additional 

influence on the precipitation of carbonates as they 

alter the relative mixing depth of the water column and 

thus the relation between epilimnion and hypolimnion 

in stratified lakes. In thermally stratified lakes, Fe 2+ is 

accumulated in the water of relatively low pH below the 

thermocline. Under such conditions precipitation of 

FeCO3 in the water column depends on the diffusive and 

advective exchange between the deep and surface water. 

Siderite precipitation within the water column can 

therefore be strongly influenced through fluctuations 

of the thermocline as it has been proposed for 

manganosiderites from Lake Kivu (East Africa, Degens 

and Stoffers, 1976). 

5.3. Pollen data 

The natural vegetation of the Huguang maar area is 

tropical semi-evergreen seasonal rain forest (Zheng and 

Lei, 1999). There are only small relicts of the original 

flora left due to intense agriculture in the region. The 

recent vegetation is dominated by open forests and 

subtropical grasslands, and by the heliophytic fern 

Dicranopteris linearis and Pinus massoniana (Sun et al., 

1999; Zheng and Lei, 1999) which is in accordance with 

the uppermost pollen sample from 64 cm sediment 

depth. Reconstructions of Pleistocene and Holocene 

terrestrial and marine pollen records of this region were 

based on comparison with present vegetation along 

altitudinal gradients from the nearby Hainan island, 

Indochina, and Indonesia (Sun and Li, 1999; Zheng and 

Lei, 1999). 

Major environmental and climatic changes at the 

Huguang maar site are documented by the occurrence 

and abundance of moisture-sensitive taxa. Increased 

amounts of pollen from cold- and drought-tolerant nonarboreal 

(e.g. Artemisia and Gramineae), and certain 

arboreal taxa (e.g. Ilex) are indicative for reduced 

summer monsoon intensity. Conversely, increased 

amounts of tropical arboreal pollen are indicative for 

higher temperatures and/or precipitation. Indicators for 

higher precipitation from the Huguang maar pollen 

spectra are Dacrydium and Altingia, which occur in 

modern tropical lower montane forests of Hainan island 

(>800 m, Zheng and Lei, 1999) and Indonesia (1400– 

1800 m, van der Kaars and Dam, 1995). On Hainan 

island, annual precipitation in montane forest areas 

reaches 2500 mm (for comparison: Zhanjiang station 

near the Huguang maar lake, mean annual precipitation 

is 1500 mm, mean annual temperature is 23.3 C), but

the mean annual temperature between 14 C and 19 C 

there is about 4 C lower than recently at the Huguang 

maar site (Zheng and Lei, 1999). 

Varying amounts of pollen from higher aquaticplants 

(Typha and Myriophyllum,) and of the green algae 

Pediastrum may reflect changes in the trophic state of 

the lake. Higher amounts of them are often used as 

indicators for lowered lake levels and/or increased 

eutrophication (Mai, 1995; Huber, 1996; Goslar et al., 

1999). 

The rather low-resolution preliminary pollen sampling 

only allows a broad zonation. Nevertheless, the 

main shifts in pollen associations correspond well with 

the Huguang lithozones (Fig. 7). 



Fig. 6. Algal gyttja with siderite from Huguang maar lake. (a) SEM picture and EDX-spectrum of a siderite crystal (ca 70 35 mm) with step-like 

growth surfaces, and diatoms (Aulacoseira sp.) from LZ 2. (b) Thin section (partly polarised light) from LZ 3 with several siderite crystals. 

6. Discussion 

6.1. Palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic 

implications 

Since a complex pattern of interacting palaeoclimatic 

and palaeoenvironmental factors (SW-Monsoon, SE- 

Monsoon and its typhoons, cold surges and dust from 

the Winter Monsoon, sea level changes, etc.) have likely 

influenced the Huguang maar it is difficult to establish 

sediment proxies explaining individual climatic parameters. 

Nevertheless, the applied multi-proxy approach 

allows presenting a consistent picture of the palaeoenvironmental 

development in the Huguang maar lake

Fig. 7. Pollen percentage diagram of section HUG B/C vs. age. AP and NAP were calculated from the total pollen sum, excluding aquatic pollen and fern spores. Pteridophytes were calculated from 

the sum of pollen and spores. Pediastrum is shown as absolute numbers of counted remains in pollen samples. 

96 


ARTICLE IN PRESS

area. The lake underwent seven major stages well 

expressed in the following lithozones. 

6.1.1. Lithozone 7 (ca 78.5–73.5 ka BP) 

The flux of allochthonous minerogenic material into 

the lake was, compared to the Huguang average, low in 

this lithozone (Figs. 5 and 8). It was a period of high 

autochthonous productivity (23 wt% BSiO2) and favourable 

preservation conditions for organic matter 

(14 wt% TOC). The constant and relatively high level of 

TOC/TN (Figs. 5 and 8) implies a large influx of 

terrestrial plant debris which is confirmed by the high 

abundance of woody plant remains. The pollen record 

(Fig. 7) with high values of the tropical pollen and 

moisture-sensitive taxa such as Dacrydium and Altingia 

implies humid and temperate conditions. Rhizorphora 

pollen (Mangroves), only occurring in LZ 6 and 7, 

confirms warm and humid conditions. The low amount 

of siderite might be explained by dissolution processes 



due to a high lake level and large amounts of metabolisable 

organicmatter. 

6.1.2. Lithozone 6 (ca 73.5–58 ka BP) 

LZ 6 is characterised by large fluctuations of all 

physical and chemical parameters (Fig. 5), but they are 

not related to major palaeoclimatic fluctuations as they 

originate from the specific deposition pattern of intercalated 

layers of reworked woody peat. The pollen 

record, with slightly decreasing percentages of moisturesensitive 

taxa, shows a weak trend towards less humid 

conditions. Temperate and Fagaceous forest elements 

reach their maximum observed values. The allochthonous 

minerogenicflux remains at a relatively low level, 

and the lake’s productivity is high. Marked IC-peaks 

result from individual laminae with large (50–100 mm) 

siderite crystals which are partly rounded probably due 

to dissolution. Although a diageneticorigin of siderite 

crystals cannot be totally excluded, these layers are, as 

Fig. 8. SAR, flux rates of selected parameters and percentage of allochthonous siliciclastic detritus in section HUG-C. Shaded lithozones with higher 

allochthonous flux rates (LZ 1, 3, and 5). Some abrupt changes in the flux records (e.g. at about 4 and 37 ka BP) are due to apparent changes of 

sedimentation rates at dating points and should be much smoother in reality.

98 

the layers of woody peat fragments, interpreted as 

reworked littoral sediments. Such reworking processes 

might indicate slight lake-level lowering which, because 

of the special morphological conditions in the northwestern 

part of the catchment, resulted in the formation 

of a large swampy littoral zone. Substantial release of 

nutrients (mainly SRP and nitrate) due to the aerobic 

mineralisation of organicdeposits in extended shallow 

parts of the lake basin may explain the intense diatom 

blooms (mainly Asterionella) in this sediment section. 

6.1.3. Lithozone 5 (58–48 ka BP) 

LZ 5 represents a highly productive period with low 

input of terrestrial plant remains, but increased amounts 

of detrital siliciclastic matter (see Figs. 5 and 8). Higher 

percentages of non-arboreal pollen (NAP) and reduced 

amounts of tropical elements imply a remarkable change 

towards less humid and cooler conditions (Fig. 7). The 

increased detrital flux as well as NAP values suggests 

higher erosion rates. From this, a change to drier 

conditions and a fall in lake-level might be suggested. In 

consequence, the shallow water area in the north-eastern 

part of the lake would have dried up. Such a scenario is 

confirmed by the absence of woody peat fragments in 

this lithozone. It is further assumed that the higher 

amount of siderite is a result of reduced dissolution 

rates. 

6.1.4. Lithozone 4 (48–40.5 ka BP) 

This period shows features comparable to LZ 6 for 

nearly all data sets except the less pronounced highfrequency 

changes that are caused by thinner layers of 

woody peat. A re-appearance of some tropical vegetation 

elements such as Hamamelidaceae and Elaeocarpus 

and a decrease in Gramineae pollen percentages is an 

indication for wetter and warmer conditions than during 

LZ 5. In consequence of more humid conditions a lakelevel 

rise might be expected. Indeed, the increase in 

woody peat matter points to an enlarged shallow water 

zone which has formed again as during LZ 6 in the 

north-eastern part of the lake. The very low siderite 

contents might be explained by enhanced dissolution 

processes related to high TOC concentrations. 

6.1.5. Lithozone 3 (40.5–15 cal ka BP) 

LZ 3 is a long and stable period characterised by 

enhanced siliciclastic flux rates (Fig. 8). The vegetation 

underwent a major shift at the LZ 4/LZ 3 transition. 

High NAP values (mainly Gramineae and Artemisia) 

reaching 50–60% of the total pollen sum in combination 

with an increase in Pinus and the drought-tolerant Ilex 

as well as higher aquaticplants and Pediastrum are 

characteristic. Tropical and moisture-sensitive elements 

decrease sharply and are partly replaced by temperate 

broad-leaved elements (Carpinus, Ulmus, and Fagus). 

These changes clearly indicate a drier and cooler climate 



than during the preceding zones. Nevertheless, from the 

relatively high amounts of Fagus which is indicative for 

the absence of summer dryness (Mai, 1995) and a mean 

temperature of the coldest month of 2–6 C in southern 

China (Jian et al., 1975; Kong et al., 1992—cited in Yu 

et al., 1998) it can be assumed that the summer monsoon 

still must have been active, even if probably less intense. 

The abundant Pediastrum (Fig. 7) might reflect 

eutrophication of the lake (Huber, 1996; Goslar et al., 

1999) induced by higher nutrient fluxes through 

increased erosion rates. High siderite contents again 

are related to lower rates of siderite dissolution due to 

low TOC contents. 

6.1.6. Lithozone 2 (15–4 cal ka BP) 

At the transition from LZ 3 to 2 increasing TOC 

contents are accompanied by generally decreased dry 

density and detrital siliciclastic fluxes. IC values exhibit 

a clear change from fluctuations at a high base level in 

LZ 3 towards a picture with single IC peaks at a nearly 

zero base level in LZ 2. At the same time arboreal to 

non-arboreal pollen ratios (AP/NAP) and the amount 

of tropical seasonal forest elements rise (Figs. 7 and 10), 

whereas the amounts of aquatics and Pediastrum 

decrease. In combination these proxies indicate lower 

erosion rates, a higher lake level and an increasingly 

denser forested catchment. These environmental 

changes are likely triggered by a warmer and moister 

climate. 

In the lower part of LZ 2 (Fig. 5, 770–820 cm in 

section C) a short but remarkable reversal of most 

proxies occurs. Lower TOC values, increased allochthonous 

minerogenicamounts and higher siderite contents 

indicate a short phase of climatic deterioration. 

After this reversal, in the second part of LZ 2, 

temperate forest elements decrease and tropical forest 

elements such as Ficus, Elaeocarpus, and Aporosa 

increase. Although the NAP pollen contents are still at 

a high level, Artemisia values fall substantially (Fig. 7). 

A second phase of climatic deterioration is indicated by 

two siderite peaks and lower TOC contents between 7 

and 5 cal ka BP. 

A noticeable change from low to high values of 

magnetic susceptibility occurs at about 7 cal ka BP, but it 

is unclear if this change is related to a higher primary 

supply of magnetic carriers or to changing diagenetic 

conditions. 

6.1.7. Lithozone 1 (4 cal ka BP–recent) 

The uppermost lithozone is characterised by upwards 

decreasing amounts of organic constituents (BSiO2, 

TOC). Water content and dry density data exhibit 

higher variability (Figs. 3 and 9), and increased soil 

erosion is reflected by an enhanced siliciclastic influx 

(Fig. 8). In the pollen spectrum, fern spores, Palmae 

and Pinus increase, all of which are indicative for

Fig. 9. Comparison of lake sediment data from Huguang maar lake, a sea surface salinity record from the northern South China Sea (SCS Salinity; Wang et al., 1999a) and ice-core d 18 O data from 

the Guliya ice cap (Thompson et al., 1997) and Greenland (Grootes and Stuiver, 1997; numbers refer to Dansgaard–Oeschger interstadials, GS-1=Greenland Stadial 1 after Bj.orck et al., 1998). MIS 

boundaries are after Martinson et al. (1987). 


ARTICLE IN PRESS

100 

anthropogenicdeforestation and spreading of secondary 

forest elements. Together, these observations imply 

that deposition, in particular, in the upper part of 

this lithozone is increasingly controlled by human 

activities. 

6.2. Correlation with East Asian terrestrial and marine 

records 

On a regional scale a multiplicity of palaeomonsoon 

records from terrestrial (lake and bog sediments, loess, 

ice cores, speleothems) and marine archives extending 

back into the Last Glacial exist. The Huguang maar lake 

record has the advantage, as in general typical for lakes 

(Farrera et al., 1999), of providing a continuous 

sequence with suitable material for 14 C age determination. 

Moreover, it provides a variety of different 

physical, chemical, and biological proxies which describe 

regional palaeoenvironmental changes. Since 

these proxies cannot be interpreted in terms of specific 

climatic parameters (as temperature or precipitation) it 

is somewhat difficult to correlate them to other 

important terrestrial archives like loess, speleothems or 

ice cores, were this interpretation has often been done. 

Especially for the Chinese loess region the significance of 

commonly used monsoon proxies as, e.g. grain size for 

winter monsoon strength and magneticsusceptibility for 

summer monsoon intensity as well as the question of 

continuous or discontinuous loess sedimentation are still 

under discussion (Jahn et al., 2001; Singhvi et al., 2001), 

which complicates their comparison with other archives. 

However, despite difficulties caused by uncertainties 

of time scales and interpretation of proxies, the 

importance of regional correlation should be seen in a 

possible differentiation of local and regional palaeoenvironmental 

and palaeoclimatic changes. 

6.2.1. The Last Glacial stage 

In general, the Huguang record does not exhibit 

dramatic millennial-scale oscillations as known from the 

Greenland ice cores (Fig. 9). Instead there are rather 

long periods with apparently stable palaeoenvironments, 

with time switches which often coincide with 

regional climatic changes and transitions between 

marine isotope stages (MIS). 

6.2.1.1. Period from 78 to 73 ka BP (LZ 7). This period 

corresponds to the uppermost part of MIS 5a. The 

humid and warm conditions inferred from the Huguang 

sediments at this time mirror the known picture from 

other regional long terrestrial (Thompson et al., 1997; 

Xiao et al., 1997a, b; Chen et al., 1999) and marine 

(Heusser and Morley, 1997; Pelejero et al., 1999; Wang 

et al., 1999a) records which indicate increased summer 

monsoon intensity and reduced winter monsoon 

strength for the whole MIS 5a. 



6.2.1.2. Period from 73 to 58 ka BP (LZ 6). The onset 

of this period is set at the LZ 7/LZ 6 boundary which 

correlates with the transition between MIS 5a and MIS 

4 (74 ka after Martinson et al., 1987). 

At the onset of MIS 4, a marked climatic change is 

seen in records from the Chinese Loess Plateau (Porter 

and An, 1995; Chen et al., 1997) as well as in the Guliya 

ice-core d 18 O data (Thompson et al., 1997) and in 

records of biogenic silica and aeolian quartz flux from 

Lake Biwa, Japan, (Xiao et al., 1997a, b, 1999). At the 

Huguang site this transition was less pronounced, and 

the entire period between 58 and 73 ka BP (corresponding 

to MIS 4) appears still warm and humid in the 

Huguang sediments (Fig. 7). The same has been 

reported from Lake Tianyang, situated 70 km to the 

South of the Huguang maar (Zheng and Lei, 1999). A 

tropical climate with high runoff from the continent to 

the Sunda shelf has also been inferred from increased 

clay percentages of Core 17961 from the southern South 

China Sea (Wang et al., 1999a), suggesting a similar 

climatic development of the northern and southern part 

of the South China Sea at this time. 

6.2.1.3. Period from 58 to 48 ka BP (LZ 5). The 

beginning of this period at the boundary between 

lithozones 6 and 5 corresponds to the transition between 

MIS 4 and MIS 3 (59 ka after Martinson et al., 1987). 

From the Huguang data it is inferred that this period 

was colder and drier than before. This is in agreement to 

grain size data from the Western Loess Plateau 

indicating an intensification of the winter monsoon 

after palaeosol 8 at 57 ka (Chen et al., 1997). Higher 

aeolian dust fluxes in the north-western Pacific (Hovan 

et al., 1991) and Lake Biwa (Xiao et al., 1997b) further 

support these interpretations (Fig. 10). 

Pollen investigations from a lake record in Taiwan 

(Tsukada, 1967) have suggested that the period between 

60 and 50 ka BP to be the coldest during the whole Last 

Glacial. 

In contrast, the oxygen isotope record from the 

Guliya ice core is believed to reflect higher temperatures 

for this time (isotopically heavier ice, Thompson et al., 

1997). Also oxygen isotope data from the Hulu Cave 

stalagmites document a change towards a higher 

summer to winter monsoon ratio at about 60 ka (Wang 

et al., 2001). Interestingly, the observed shifts in proxy 

data occurred in all records, within dating uncertainties, 

at about the same time. It is not yet understood if these 

contradicting proxy signals are due to regional variability 

or problems in proxy data interpretation. 

6.2.1.4. Period from 48 to 40.5 ka BP (LZ 4). This time 

interval (LZ 4) is interpreted as more humid and warmer 

from the Huguang data. Similar findings have been 

made in many other South-East Asian sites: for Lake 

Biwa increased fluvial quartz flux rates (Xiao et al.,

1999) and low aeolian activity are reported (Fig. 10), 

aeolian transport in the Northwest Pacific was reduced 

(Hovan et al., 1991), soil formation started on the Loess 

Plateau (lower boundary of the soil complex L1SS1 at 

about 50 ka; Guo et al., 1996). A temperate climate 

between 50 and 41 ka in SW China has been reconstructed 

from sediments of Lake Qilu Hu (Hodell et al., 

1999) and lakes in Taiwan indicate that more humid 

and warm conditions prevailed between 48 and 40 ka 

(Tsukada, 1967). 

6.2.1.5. Period from 40.5 to 15 cal ka BP (LZ 3). This 

period began with a marked shift to cooler and drier 

conditions with a spread of open grasslands at Lake 

Huguang. At about the same time climatic deterioration 

has been reported from Lake Qilu Hu in SW China 

(Hodell et al., 1999), lakes on Taiwan (Tsukada, 1967) 

and the Kurota Lowland and lake Mikata at Honshu 

(Takahara and Kitagawa, 2000; Nakagawa et al., 2002). 

At the Tianyang lake site (70 km south of Huguang) 

the change to open grassland vegetation occurred about 

11 ka later at 29 ka BP (Zheng and Lei, 1999) whereas 



Fig. 10. Comparison of Huguang maar pollen data with eolian vs. fluvial quartz flux (EQF/FQF) from Lake Biwa (Xiao et al., 1999) and eolian dust 

flux from the north-western Pacific (Hovan et al., 1991). Tropical seasonal forest and tropical rain forest are as defined by Yu et al. (1998). 

for an intramontane basin of West-Java a drier and 

cooler climate has been reported between 47 and 20 ka 

(van der Kaars and Dam, 1995). It is unclear if 

chronological problems or regional variations are 

responsible for these discrepancies in timing. 

The presented proxies from the Huguang record 

indicate a relative environmental stability for the period 

between ca 40 and 15 ka. Such an environmental 

stability during the Last Glacial has also been found 

in pollen records from lakes in central Taiwan (Tsukada, 

1967) and north-east Thailand (Penny, 2001). In 

contrast, other regional records, e.g. a pollen record 

from the northern slope of the South China Sea (Sun 

and Li, 1999) and the d 18 O data from the Hulu Cave 

speleothem (which are interpreted to reflect the summer/ 

winter precipitation ratio; Wang et al., 2001) show 

millennial-scale fluctuations during the Last Glacial. In 

case of the marine pollen record this might be influenced 

by different transport mechanisms of pollen taxa and 

further complicated by sea level changes which strongly 

affected the currents of the South China Sea (Sun and 

Li, 1999; Sun et al., 1999; Wang et al., 1999a; Sun et al.,

102 

2000). Thus higher values of tropical and subtropical 

pollen taxa during the Last Glacial than during the 

Holocene in the northern South China Sea (core 17940) 

have been addressed to ‘‘taphonomicrather than 

ecological changes’’ (Sun and Li, 1999). The Huguang 

pollen record of LZ 3 is assumed to represent the zonal 

vegetation, but it should be stressed that its resolution 

(ca 1 sample/3000 years between 15 and 40.5 ka) is much 

too low to resolve fine details. 

The palaeoclimatic interpretation of the Hulu Cave 

oxygen isotope record (Wang et al., 2001) implies 

substantial palaeohydrological variability on a millennial 

scale during the Last Glacial. The detailed (ca 1 

sample/14 years) Huguang water content data does 

show a small-scale variability during this period, 

however, with much lower amplitudes than during the 

Holocene. The question remains whether the smallamplitude 

variability seen in the Huguang water content 

data of this period could be related to the palaeomonsoon 

variability as it has been deduced from the Hulu 

Cave d 18 O record (Wang et al., 2001). Obviously, there 

is no clear correlation between the two records except 

for the Late Glacial (Fig. 11). The reason for this lack in 

correlation could be either dating uncertainties in both 

records (for the 40–15 ka period Huguang 14 C data have 

estimated error ranges up to ca 2000 years, Table 2; for 



the Hulu Cave stalagmite MSD 230 Th ages error ranges 

between 763 and 7900 years are given for the same 

period, Wang et al., 2001) or proxy data interpretation. 

The Huguang lake system should have reacted more 

sensitively to effective moisture (precipitation–evapotranspiration) 

rather than singly to precipitation or 

temperature. During periods with lower temperature as 

the Last Glacial, the effect of lower precipitation should 

be at least partly compensated by decreased evaporation 

(Qin and Yu, 1998), whereas under more temperate 

conditions precipitation changes could have a larger 

impact on the moisture balance. However, the Hulu 

Cave d 18 O record depends on the regional pattern of 

stable isotope composition of precipitation which is 

largely influenced by the relative strength and position 

of the interplaying weather systems of the East Asian 

Monsoon, e.g. the polar frontal zones, the Intertropical 

Convergence Zone, the N-Pacific high and the Siberian 

high (Yoshino, 1978; Aragu!as-Aragu!as et al., 1998). 

Hence, shifts in the palaeomonsoon could have influenced 

climatic parameters in a regionally different way 

and differing proxy signals might be expected. 

6.2.2. The lateglacial period (Termination I) 

Whereas both the transition between MIS 3 and MIS 

2 (24 ka after Martinson et al., 1987) and the Last 

Fig. 11. High-resolution water content data from Huguang composite sections D/F and B/C and their comparison with stable oxygen isotope data of 

Hulu Cave stalagmites PD and MSD (Wang et al., 2001). YD=Younger Dryas-like event.

Glacial Maximum (LGM) do not find a significant 

reflection in the Huguang data there is a clear signal at 

about 15 cal ka BP. Increase of TOC, enhanced water 

contents, reduced dry density and an increase in pollen 

of tropical seasonal forest elements at about 15 cal ka BP 

indicate lowered siliciclastic influx at the Huguang maar 

and a general climatic amelioration. These changes 

suggest a summer monsoon strengthening at about 

15 cal ka BP which coincides with a major sea-level rise 

as reported between 14.6 and 14.3 cal ka from the Sunda 

shelf (Hanebuth et al., 2000). 

The reversal of many proxies in the Huguang records 

between about 13 and 11.5 ka indicating a short cold 

and dry period correlate well with a negative fluctuation 

of the Guliya ice-core d 18 O record (interpreted as 

decreased temperature, Thompson et al., 1997) and the 

d 18 O record of Hulu Cave stalagmites (Fig. 11; 

interpreted as lower summer monsoon intensity, Wang 

et al., 2001). At the same time a short climate oscillation 

has been also found in pollen data from the desert–loess 

transition belt of central China (Zhou et al., 1996) and in 

d 18 O and sea surface salinity data from the South China 

Sea (Wang et al., 1999a). The coincidence of all these 

events with the negative excursion in stable oxygen 

isotopes in the Greenland ice cores (Fig. 9) give cause 

for the assumption of a Younger Dryas-like event in 

South-East Asia. This supports close climatic links 

between the North Atlanticregion and the East Asian 

monsoon system during the last glacial–interglacial 

transition as suggested by several authors from different 

proxy data (Kudrass et al., 1991; Porter and An, 1995; 

Guo et al., 1996; Zhou et al., 1999). 

6.2.3. The Holocene 

The Holocene sediments of the Huguang record are 

characterised by a high variability of proxies. During the 

early Holocene (ca 11.5–7 cal ka BP) a high lake level 

(wet climate) and a high lake productivity is indicated 

(Fig. 9) accompanied by a strong increase in tropical 

pollen taxa (Figs. 7 and 10). This coincides with an East 

Asian summer monsoon maximum recorded in d 18 O 

and clay contents records from the South China Sea 

(Wang et al., 1999a, b) the Guliya ice cap d 18 O-record 

(Thompson et al., 1997), and pollen- and lake-level data 

from the Chinese mainland (Fang, 1991; Jarvis, 1993) 

and Taiwan (Huang et al., 1997). 

Two distinct siderite peaks in the Huguang record 

between 5 and 7 cal ka BP might indicate short periods 

with lower precipitation (lower monsoon activity) and 

correlate with two positive spikes in the palaeosalinity 

record from the northern South China Sea (Fig. 8, 

Wang et al., 1999a). A longer lasting shift towards 

cooler and/or drier conditions at about 7 cal ka BP is 

inferred from lighter oxygen isotope values of the 

Guliya ice cap (Thompson et al., 1997). There might 

be a link of these changes of the SE Asian monsoon 



system to El Nin˜o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) activities 

for which between 5 and 7 cal ka BP a shift towards 

higher variability has been observed from circum-Pacific 

sediment records (Rodbell et al., 1999; Shulmeister, 

1999) and modelling (Liu et al., 2000). 

Proxy data variability of the last ca 4 ka at Huguang 

might be influenced by distinctly higher sedimentation 

rates. The reason for these proxy variations could be a 

slightly drier climate with a higher interannual variability. 

Links between SE China and ENSO variability 

has been proven through historical and instrumental 

climate data (Wollesen et al., 1999; Diaz et al., 2001). 

Increasing aridity has been inferred for SW China, 

where Jarvis (1993) observed the greatest abundance of 

sclerophyllous plants of the last 11,000 years between 

4 ka and 1 ka BP, and Sun et al. (1986) concluded from 

their pollen data the establishment of the strongly 

seasonal rainfall at 4 ka BP. 

However, climate interpretation of the Huguang 

proxy data for the last 4 ka is not straightforward 

because enhanced amounts of NAP, fern spores and 

Pinus, a typical element of the secondary vegetation in 

South China coastlands (Sun et al., 1999), suggest the 

onset of increased human activity at about 4 cal ka BP 

(Fig. 7). These findings are in agreement with many 

other reports of early human activity. In central Taiwan 

settlers from mainland China intensified their agricultural 

activities around 4000 14 C years BP (Tsukada, 

1967), and in the Hanjiang delta the onset of human 

impact was found at about 2–3000 14 C years BP (Zheng, 

1990; Zheng and Li, 2000). The origin of these socioeconomic 

activities might be the spreading of the 

Yangtse river culture with rice cultivation and domestic 

animal keeping over coastal South China to Vietnam 

and northern Thailand starting around 3000 years BC 

(Bellwood and Barnes, 1993). 

7. Conclusions 

The Huguang multi-proxy data indicate more stable 

environment and climate conditions during the Last 

Glacial period and especially between ca 40 and 

15 cal ka BP compared to a larger Holocene variability. 

These observations are in contrast to the picture known 

from the North Atlantic records and Greenland ice 

cores with a rather stable Holocene and strong 

millennial-scale fluctuations during glacial times but 

agree with other SE Asian palaeoclimatic records 

recovered from loess (Chen et al., 1997; Fang et al., 

1999) and lakes (Tsukada, 1967; Penny, 2001). On the 

other hand, the Hulu Cave record (Wang et al., 2001) 

and marine cores from the South China Sea (Sun and Li, 

1999; Wang et al., 1999a) show distinct millennial-scale 

fluctuations during the Last Glacial closely resembling 

the Greenland ice-core data. These differences might be

104 

addressed to different sensitivities or interpretation 

difficulties of proxies from various palaeoclimatic 

archives. Nevertheless, it is still considered that the SE 

Asian Monsoon System during the high Glacial was 

more decoupled from the North Atlantic than during 

the Late Glacial. A clear change in the link of both 

climate regimes occurred at 15 cal ka BP when the 

Huguang proxies exhibit good correlation with Greenland 

ice-core and sea-level data. 

The different Holocene variabilities might be due to 

the fact that for SE Asia mainly changes in precipitation 

are recorded whereas isotopes in Greenland ice cores are 

regarded as temperature proxy. Moreover, on a global 

scale there is growing evidence for a higher climatic 

variability during the Holocene (e.g. Gasse and Van 

Campo, 1994; Bond et al., 1997; Rodbell et al., 1999; 

Arz et al., 2001) than previously thought. The assumption 

that links between North Atlanticand SE Asian 

climate regimes have changed in time, probably in 

connection with glacial–interglacial shifts, necessitates 

further investigation and confirmation. The main task in 

this respect will be to provide more records with precise 

chronologies to establish firm regional correlations and 

global teleconnections. 

Acknowledgements 

We thank D. Berger, M. K.ohler, M. Ramrath, R. 

Scheuss, A. Hofmann and M. Hauf for their enthusiasm 

during the drilling campaign. We owe special thanks to 

M. Dziggel and A. Hendrich for drawing Figs.1, 2 and 

4. The manuscript was significantly improved by the 

critical review of M.R. Talbot and an anonymous 

reviewer. We are also particularly grateful to A. Brauer 

and S. Prasad for constructive comments and corrections. 

The Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur F.orderung 

der Wissenschaften e.V. is gratefully acknowledged 

for providing a half-year grant for Huoyuan Lu. The 

Huguang maar coring campaign was entirely financed 

by the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Germany. 

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The Huguang maar lake—a high-resolution record of ...

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