Abstract
This paper discusses the paleogeography of the Kimotsuki Lowland, southern Kyushu Island, during the middle to late Holocene based on tephrochronology and AMS 14C dating.
As indicated by the Ikeda pumice fall on the berm deposits, the most landward baymouth barrier was formed about 5.5-5.7ka, and the entire barrier appears to have been formed within about 100 years. The relative height of sea level at that time is estimated to be about 3-5m above the present sea level.
Five tephra layers occur in the peat deposits, four of which are identified as the Sakurajima-Takatoge 2 (4.5ka), the Kirishima-Miike (4.2ka), the Kaimondake-9c (2ka) and the Kaimondake-12a (A. D. 874). The fifth layer has not yet been correlated. Three AMS 14C dates obtained from the base of the peat deposits, along with the tephrochronology, indicate that the accumulation of the peat began 5.6ka to 5.0ka and lasted for at least 4, 000 years.
