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© 2021 The Author(s). This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.

Abstract

Sun Moon Lake is the first dam reservoir constructed in Taiwan with the capability of generating hydroelectricity satisfying the whole Taiwan need during the Japanese colonial period since 1934 CE. Now, the Sun Moon Lake is one of the biggest hydropower stations in Taiwan and has become an important touring area. During World War II (1944–1945 CE), the hydroelectric power plant at Sun Moon Lake was bombed by the U.S. air force, which caused severe damage to the dam structure. More recently, the dam structure was also damaged during the 1999 CE Chi-Chi earthquake whose epicenter is nearby in the Nantou County. A suite of cores were taken from both Sun Lake and Moon Lake, and two selected cores, Sun 2–1 and SM 16 4–3, from Sun Lake were detailed studied with multiple analyses, including X-ray imaging, magnetic susceptibility, visible spectrophotometry, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) scanning, and mineral analysis. We discovered that the increase of Ca content in the sediments not only clearly indicates when the dam was constructed at Sun Moon Lake but also records evidence of structure repairs after both the World War II bombing and the Chi-Chi earthquake. Additionally, the yellow turbidite, X-ray image, and low-Ca signals in Core Sun 2–1 strongly correlate to the typhoon events that caused severe floods in the watershed of Zhuoshui River. The turbidite layers caused by the 1963 Gloria Typhoon are also characterized by conspicuous high peak of Fe/Mn in both cores. This study shows that XRF scanning results are useful for recognition of human activity and for high precipitation event correlation. Moreover, the appearance of charcoal layers shows evidence of forest burning and slash-and-burn activities by humans during the past 4,000 years back to the Middle Neolithic Age.

Details

Title
High-resolution records of anthropogenic activity and geohazards from the reservoir of Sun Moon Lake, Central Taiwan
Author
Chen Huei-Fen 1 ; Kuo-Yen, Wei 2 ; Huang, Jyh-Jaan Steven 3 ; Chi-Cheng, Lin 4 ; Su Chih-Chieh 5 ; Song Gwo-Shyh 5 ; Hong-Chun, Li 2 ; Lee, Teh-Quei 6 ; Shen-Rong, Song 2 ; Hui-Juan, Pan 4 

 Institute of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, Republic of China; Center of Excellence for Oceans, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, Republic of China 
 Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 
 Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China; Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria 
 Institute of Earth Sciences, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, Taiwan, Republic of China 
 Institute of Oceanography, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 
 Institute of Earth Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
University of California Press, Journals & Digital Publishing Division
ISSN
23251026
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2738663829
Copyright
© 2021 The Author(s). This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.