Dating drainage reversal using mineral provenance along the Yangsan Fault, South Korea

Tectonics is broadly accepted as one of the main factors controlling long-term landscape evolution. The impact of tectonics on short timescales is most often observed through earthquake rupturings that produce localized, metric-scale deformations. Although these deformations significantly affect the landscape, it remains challenging to precisely correlate major landscape changes with these localized earthquake deformations. Therefore, linking instantaneous deformation to long-term morphological changes often involves a thought experiment with potentially limited temporal resolution. At a paleoseismological site along the slow-moving strike-slip Yangsan Fault in South Korea, we employed optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and detrital zircon analysis on all exposed unconsolidated layers in trench walls. The results reveal a significant provenance shift in the sediments accumulating in the trench, indicating a major reorganization of the drainage network. Based on our OSL and detrital zircon data, we estimate that this change occurred around 70 ka. We propose that this drastic drainage reorganization was caused by a combination of very slow, yet continuous, earthquake activity and a temporary reduction in river erosion during the onset of the cold, dry spell characteristic of the MIS4 stage across the Korean Peninsula.