Potential and applications of stable oxygen isotope chronologies for tree-ring dating in South Korea

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of the overlap period, geographical distance, and filtering on the success of crossdating using oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O_TR) chronologies established in South Korea. We also examined the reliability of a long-term central Japanese δ¹⁸O_TR chronology to date Korean samples with the aim of exploring strategies to overcome the limitations of existing Korean tree-ring dating chronologies. Using δ¹⁸O_TR chronologies developed from living trees, we analyzed seven Korean regions and two historical wooden structures. We applied a 9-year rectangular filter to minimize autocorrelation, and we performed crossdating using 20-, 40-, 60-, and 80-year segments. Irrespective of the region, all crossdating intervals exceeding 80 years yielded a 100 % success rate among the seven Korean dating chronologies. Filtered chronologies showed high success in dating historical buildings, with filtering being particularly important when crossdating samples were separated by large geographical distances. Dating was successful when the central Japanese chronology was used with Korean chronologies from the southeastern and southern coastal regions. A minimum overlap of 190–200 years was required to achieve a 100 % success rate across all intervals. Reliable tree-ring dating based on δ¹⁸O_TR chronologies requires filtering to detect signals, to use Korean chronologies with a minimum overlap of 80 years, and to apply statistical criteria such as 1/p and isolation factor (IF). Notably, the first successful crossdating between Korean and central Japanese chronologies demonstrates its potential to extend the timeline of tree-ring dating in Korean studies.