Lithofacies and Foraminiferal Stratigraphy for the Last 32000 Years in the Methane Seep Area of Umitaka Spur, off Joetsu

Plantonic and benthic foraminifera are analyzed with 11 sediment cores recovered from the Umitaka Spur area of the Joetsu Basin off Joetsu, Niigata Prefecture. The area is characterized by active methane seeps and methane hydrates. We recognize 12 foraminiferal biozones (Biozone I to XII in descending order) in the last 32000 years based on three selected cores (two well-dated and one longest), and apply them to another 8 cores for correlation. Sediment cores are divided into five lithologic units as massive to bioturbated mud (lithologic unit 1), thinly laminated mud (unit 2), gray massive mud (unit 3), thinly laminated dark mud (unit 4), and bioturbated mud (unit 5) from upper to lower. Lithologic units 2 and 4 correspond to basin-wide thinly laminated layers, previously reported as TL-1 and TL-2, respectively. The Japan Sea became a closed inland basin during the lowest sea level period of the last glacial maximum (LGM) at 27-26cal kyr BP (Biozone VIII). The surface water reached the lowest salinity level, while the bottom water was strongly anoxic due to reduced vertical circulation. An expulsion of a large amount of methane occurred on the Umitaka Spur during the LGM due to a massive dissociation of subsurface methane hydrate. Biozones VIII, VII, and VI at around 27-17 cal kyr BP with planktonic foraminiferal maximum and benthic foraminiferal minimum are found in a dark layer of TL-2, which was formed during the period of the lowest sea level in the LGM. Biozone IV, 12-11 cal kyr BP, is characterized by low oxygen tolerant benthic species of Bolivina pacifica, and correlates with dark layer TL-1, which implies that the deep circulation of Japan Sea was severely reduced for a short period during (or soon after) the Younger Dryas Cooling Event. B III represents the planktonic foraminiferal minimum zone, which marks the transition from cool water species to warm water species in planktonic foraminifera. Foraminiferal stratigraphy reveals that the sedimentation rate of the Umitaka spur sediments varied significantly depending on topography such as pockmarks or mounds.