A HIGH-RESOLUTION PALYNOLOGICAL RECORD AND ITS PALEOENVIRONMENTAL INTERPRETATION IN THE LOW LATITUDE OF SOUTH CHINA SEA SINCE LAST DEGLACIATION

In accordance with the high resolution pollen record of the Core SA09-090,which was located in the low latitude of the South China Sea,four pollen zones have been distinguished in an ascending order.Inferred from the pollen composition in each zone,the history of vegetation evolution and climate change since 15 000 aBP was reconstructed.The research result shows that at the early stage of Last deglaciation(15.0~12.5 kaBP),the pollen in the research area mainly came from the emerged continental shelf.The vegetation was mainly composed of tropical low-mountain and lowland rainforests.Mangroves bloomed on the coastal area.The temperature was a little lower than that of today,but there was no clear evidence of aridity. At the late stage of Last deglaciation(12.5~10 kaBP),the amount of pollen from lowland rainforest increased, and the amount of pollen from mangroves decreased.It indicates a sea level rise at that period,and the temperature rose too.The pollen source area was far away.At the Holocene(10 kaBP to present),the concentration of the pollen decreased significantly.They mainly came from the Borneo and the islands around. It means that the sea level kept rising then,and the researched area is even farther away from the pollen source area.It was hot and humid in the mid-Holocene.In the late period of the Holocene,the pollen composition was similar to that at present.