Along the eastern margin of the Korean Peninsula, a coastal mountain range spanning over 800 km with summits above 1500 m faces the East Sea (or Sea of Japan), the back-arc sea behind the Japanese Islands. Two contrasting hypotheses exist regarding the tectonic history of this coastal mountain range: long-lasting and progressive uplifts from the Early Tertiary to the Late Quaternary, and a short and intensive uplift during the Early Miocene. However, to date, no consensus has been reached. Here, we studied the spatial distribution of knickzones to understand the formation period and development pattern of this coastal mountain range. We extracted the knickzones in a drainage basin from digital elevation models, and investigated whether or not they are transient knickzones induced by the development of the coastal mountain range. We found that all identified knickzones were stationary, which was verified by slope-area and chi-elevation analyses. This implies that sufficient time has passed for all transient knickzones relevant to the growth of the mountain range to migrate up to the catchment boundary and disappear. We then calculated the time spent for the migration of transient knickzones from the outlet to their stream heads to be at least 5.1 to 10.6 Myr. Therefore, our results suggest that the current form of the coastal mountain range had been built at least before 5.1 Myr ago and has reached a quasi-equilibrium state up to the present, thus invalidating the prevailing hypothesis of the long-lasting and progressive development until the Late Quaternary.
BeesonHWMcCoySWKeen-ZebertA (2017) Geometric disequilibrium of river basins produces long-lived transient landscapes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters475: 34–43.
2.
BerlinMMAndersonRS (2007) Modeling of knickpoint retreat on the Roan Plateau, western Colorado. Journal of Geophysical Research112: F03S06.
3.
BuckWR (1986) Small-scale convection induced by passive rifting: The cause for uplift of rift shoulders. Earth and Planetary Science Letters77(3–4): 362–372.
4.
ByunJSeongYB (2015) An algorithm to extract more accurate stream longitudinal profiles from unfilled DEMs. Geomorphology242: 38–48.
5.
ByunJHeimsathAMSeongYB, et al. (2015) Erosion of a high-altitude, low-relief area on the Korean Peninsula: Implications for its development processes and evolution. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms40(13): 1730–1745.
6.
ChoMMinKKimH (2018) Geology of the 2018 Winter Olympic site, Pyeongchang, Korea. International Geology Review60(3): 267–287.
7.
ChoiDKBongPY (1986) Neogene palynomorphs from lignite beds of Bugpyeong and Yeonghae areas, Korea. Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea2(1): 1–17.
8.
ChoiSGLeeHJ (2007) The correlation of the last interglacial terraces of the southwestern coast with those of the eastern and western coasts of the Korean Peninsula. Journal of the Korean Geomorphological Association14(3): 15–26 (in Korean with English abstract).
9.
ChoiKHSeongYBJungPM, et al. (2012) Using cosmogenic 10Be dating to unravel the antiquity of a rocky shore platform on the west coast of Korea. Journal of Coastal Research28(3): 641–657.
10.
CrosbyBTWhippleKX (2006) Knickpoint initiation and distribution within fluvial networks: 236 waterfalls in the Waipaoa River, North Island, New Zealand. Geomorphology82: 16–38.
11.
FlintJJ (1974) Stream gradient as a function of order, magnitude, and discharge. Water Resources Research10: 969–973.
12.
GilchristARSummerfieldMA (1990) Differential denudation and flexural isostasy in formation of rifted-margin upwarps. Nature346: 739–742.
13.
HanksTCWebbRH (2006) Effects of tributary debris on the longitudinal profile of the Colorado River in Grand Canyon. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface111(F2): F02020.
14.
HarelM-AMuddSMAttalM (2016) Global analysis of the stream power law parameters based on worldwide 10Be denudation rates. Geomorphology268: 184–196.
15.
HayakawaYSOguchiT (2006) DEM-based identification of fluvial knickzones and its application to Japanese mountain rivers. Geomorphology78: 90–106.
16.
HayakawaYSOguchiT (2009) GIS analysis of fluvial knickzone distribution in Japanese mountain watersheds. Geomorphology111: 27–37.
17.
HayashidaAFukuiTToriiM (1991) Paleomagnetism of the Early Miocene Kani Group in southwest Japan and its implication for the opening of the Japan Sea. Geophysical Research Letters18: 1095–1098.
18.
JolivetLTamakiK (1992) Neogene kinematics in the Japan Sea region and volcanic activity of the northeast Japan Arc. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Legs 127/128, 1311–1331.
19.
JolivetLTamakiKFournierM (1994) Japan Sea, opening history and mechanism: A synthesis. Journal of Geophysical Research99: 22237–22259.
20.
KimH-JLeeGHJouH-T, et al. (2007) Evolution of the eastern margin of Korea: Constraints on the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea). Tectonophysics436: 37–55.
21.
KimS-H (1961) Topographical development of the Central Korea. Seoul University Journal10: 111–123 (in Korean with English abstract).
22.
KimS-H (1973) Geomorphic studies of the erosion surfaces in Central Korea. Seoul University Journal21: 85–115 (in Korean with English abstract).
23.
KimS-H (1980) The introduction of the landscape formation and development of the Korean Peninsula. The Geographical Journal of Korea5: 1–15 (in Korean).
24.
KimY-SJinKChoiW-H, et al. (2011) Understanding of active faults: A review for recent researches. Journal of the Geological Society of Korea47(6): 723–752 (in Korean with English abstract).
25.
KirbyEWhippleKX (2012) Expression of active tectonics in erosional landscapes. Journal of Structural Geology44: 54–75.
26.
KwonH. (2000) Mountain ranges of Korea. Journal of the Korean Geographical Society35(3): 389–400 (in Korean with English abstract).
27.
LallemandSJolivetL (1986) Japan Sea: A pull-apart basin?Earth and Planetary Science Letters76: 375–389.
28.
LeeG-R (2009) Properties of channel and evolutions of fluvial terraces in Odae River. Journal of the Korean Geographical Society44: 224–239 (in Korean with English abstract).
29.
LeeY-NJacobsLL (2010) The platacanthomyine rodent Neocometes from the Miocene of South Korea and its paleobiogeographical implications. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica55(4): 581–586.
30.
MontgomeryDR (2001) Slope distributions, threshold hillslopes, and steady-state topography. American Journal of Science30: 432–454.
31.
National Emergency Management Agency (2011) The current status in the research of active faults in the Korean Peninsula. The Magazine of the Korean Society of Hazard Mitigation11(1): 117–123 (in Korean).
32.
NiemannJDGaspariniNMTuckerGE, et al. (2001) A quantitative evaluation of Playfair’s law and its use in testing long-term stream erosion models. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms26: 1317–1332.
33.
OrtegaJAWohlELiversB (2013) Waterfalls on the eastern side of Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, USA. Geomorphology198: 37–44.
34.
OtofujiY-I (1996) Large tectonic movement of the Japan Arc in late Cenozoic times inferred from paleomagnetism: Review and synthesis. Island Arc5: 229–249.
35.
OtofujiY-IMatsudaTNohdaS (1985) Opening mode of the Japan Sea inferred from the palaeomagnetism of the Japan Arc. Nature317: 603–604.
36.
ParkYReeJ-HYooS-H (2006) Fault slip analysis of Quaternary faults in southeastern Korea. Gondwana Research9: 118–125.
37.
PechlivanidouSCowiePADuclauxG, et al. (2019) Tipping the balance: Shifts in sediment production in an active rift setting. Geology47: 259–262.
38.
PerronJTRoydenL (2013) An integral approach to bedrock river profile analysis. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms38: 570–576.
39.
PhillipsJDMcCormackSDuanJ, et al. (2010) Origin and interpretation of knickpoints in the Big South Fork River basin, Kentucky-Tennessee. Geomorphology114: 188–198.
40.
SnyderNPWhippleKXTuckerGE, et al. (2000) Landscape response to tectonic forcing: Digital elevation model analysis of stream profiles in the Mendocino triple junction region, Northern California. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America112: 1250–1263.
41.
SongU-G (1998) Geomorphic development of river terrace and meander cut-off in the Donggang. Journal of the Geomorphological Association of Korea5(2): 109–130 (in Korean with English abstract).
42.
TamakiKSuyehiroKAllanJ, et al. (1992) Tectonic synthesis and implications of Japan Sea ODP drilling. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, Legs 127/128, 1333–1348.
43.
WangYZhangHZhengD, et al. (2017) How a stationary knickpoint is sustained: New insights into the formation of the deep Yarlung Tsangpo Gorge. Geomorphology285: 28–43.
44.
WeisselJKKarnerGD (1989) Flexural uplift of rift flanks due to mechanical unloading of the lithosphere during extension. Journal of Geophysical Research941: 13919–13950.
45.
WeisselJKSeidlMA (1998) Inland propagation of erosional escarpments and river profile evolution across the southeast Australian passive continental margin. In: TinklerKJWohlEE (eds) Rivers over Rock: Fluvial Processes in Bedrock Channels. Washington, DC: American Geophysical Union, 189–206.
46.
WhippleKX (2001) Fluvial landscape response time: How plausible is steady-state denudation?American Journal of Science301: 313–325.
47.
WhippleKXTuckerGE (1999) Dynamics of the stream-power river incision model: Implications for height limits of mountain ranges, landscape response timescales, and research needs. Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth104: 17661–17674.
48.
WhippleKXDiBiaseRAOuimetWB, et al. (2017) Preservation or piracy: Diagnosing low-relief, high-elevation surface formation mechanisms. Geology45: 91–94.
49.
WhippleKXHancockGSAndersonRS (2000) River incision into bedrock: Mechanics and relative efficacy of plucking, abrasion, and cavitation. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America112: 490–503.
50.
WhittakerACBoultonSJ (2012) Tectonic and climatic controls on knickpoint retreat rates and landscape response times. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface117. DOI: 10.1029/2011JF002157
51.
WillgooseG (1994) A physical explanation for an observed area-slope-elevation relationship for catchments with declining relief. Water Resources Research30: 151–159.
52.
WobusCWhippleKXKirbyE, et al. (2006) Tectonics from topography: Procedures, promise, and pitfalls. Geological Society of America Special Paper398: 55–74.
53.
YoonSHChoughSK (1995) Regional strike slip in the eastern continental margin of Korea and its tectonic implications for the evolution of Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan). Geological Society of America Bulletin107: 83–97.
54.
YoonSHSohnYKChoughSK (2014) Tectonic, sedimentary, and volcanic evolution of a back-arc basin in the East Sea (Sea of Japan). Marine Geology352: 70–88.
55.
YoonS-OHwangSLeeG-R (2007) Geomorphic evolution of fluvial terraces at Yeongdong·Yeongseo streams in Gangwon Province, Korea. Journal of the Korean Geographical Society42(3): 388–404 (in Korean with English abstract).
56.
YoshikawaT (1947) The geomorphic history of Central Korea. Journal of the Geological Society of Japan53(616): 28–32 (in Japanese).
57.
YuCJ (1971) The Tertiary fossil pollens and diatoms from Bukpyeong, Korea. Bulletin of the Geological Survey of Korea13: 449–484 (in Korean with English abstract).
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
