The Arakawa Lowland is located in the central part of the Kanto Region. The authors reconstructed the Holocene environmental changes in the upper part of Arakawa Lowland based on analysis of boringlogs, fossil diatom assemblages, and radiometric datings. The relationship between the shoreline location and the distribution of shell mounds was also analyzed. The results can be summarized as follows.
Stratigraphic examination showed a buried valley lying below the Arakawa Lowland, dissecting the buried Tachikawa Terrace at the later maximum stage of the Last Glacial Age. The width of the buried valley is 2.5-3.5km and the level of the valley floor is from -10 to -20m a. s. l. in this area. At the early stage of the Holocene transgression, fluvial (fresh water) sediments were deposited on the lowland. At about 8, 600y. B. P., when the sea-level rose to around -15m a. s. l., the environment of inner bay expanded into this area due to the rise in sea level. The inner bay environment expanded inland and reached to the furthest point at about 8, 300y. B. P. This condition continued till about 6, 800y. B. P. After about 6, 300y. B. P., the inner bay sediments were overlaid by fluvial (fresh water) sediments. Around 5, 500y. B. P., the inner bay environment ceased to exist in this area.
The expansion of the inner bay area at around 8, 300y. B. P., as seen by the fossil diatom assemblage, extended east of the center of the lowland (Fig. 1). Some branches of rivers, such as the Iruma River, the Koaze River, the Oppe River and the Ichinokawa River, flow into the Arakawa River. These supply a great deal of sediment to the lowland. Therefore the inner bay environment did not expand to the west side of the lowland. Furthermore, the molluscan of shell mounds, situated on the uplands, included
Corbicula japonica,
Crassostrea gigas,
Anadara (
Tegillarca)
granosa, and
Meretrix lusoria: such marine-brackish water molluscan shells were found in the Hirakata Shell Mound situated on the Oomiya Upland, while fresh water molluscan shells were found at the Kosenba Shell Mound situated on the Musashino Upland. These molluscan shell compositions of shell mounds coincide with the shoreline location indicated by diatom assemblages.
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