Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740

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Journal of Asian Earth Sciences

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Using n-alkanes as a proxy to reconstruct sea-level changes in Thale Noi,

the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand
Assuma Sainakum a, Piyada Jittangprasert b, Penjai Sompongchaiyakul c,
Akkaneewut Jirapinyakul a, *
a
Morphology of Earth Surface and Advanced Geohazards in Southeast Asia Research Unit (MESA), Department of Geology, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn
University, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
b
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Srinakharinwirot University, Sukhumvit 23, Bangkok 10110, Thailand
c
Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University, Phayathai Rd., Patumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The n-alkanes content in the sedimentary sequence from Thale Noi, on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand, was
n-Alkanes analyzed and used to reconstruct the past sea-level fluctuations. The results were further compared with those
Sea-level changes based on sediment characteristics, loss on ignition, grain size distribution, and pollen analysis from the same core
Mangrove
to investigate the efficiency of n-alkanes as a paleoenvironmental proxy. The analysis of n-alkanes indicated the
The Gulf of Thailand
likely periods of regression and transgression from c. 8300–7950 cal. a BP and from c 7950–7665 cal. a BP that
agrees well with the reconstructed sea-level changes from the sediment characteristics and pollen records. The
steady abundance of mangrove pollen taxa in the sediment core points to a standstill in the sea-level from
7650–6870 cal. a BP. However, the results from the n-alkanes analysis further suggested a sea-level fall at c.
7650–7610 cal. a BP and at c. 7400–6870 cal. a BP, and a sea-level rise at c. 7610–7400 cal. a BP. Furthermore,
these sea-level changes were intervened by short intervals of regression centered at c.7590 and 7470 cal. a BP.

1. Introduction investigate the efficiency of n-alkanes to reconstruct sea-level changes in

n-Alkanes have been widely used as proxy for environmental
reconstruction, due to their source specificity and high resistance to the
early diagenetic alteration (e.g., Meyers and Ishiwatari, 1993; Ankit
et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2020). The long-chain odd carbon n-alkanes
(C27, C29, C31, C33, and C35) are well-known as source indicators of
terrestrial organic matter (OM). The submerged and floating aquatic
plants are the main producers of the mid-chain odd carbon n-alkanes
(C21, C23, and C25) (Ficken et al., 2000), while the short-chain odd
carbon n-alkanes (C15, C17, and C19) generally originated from algae and
phytoplankton (Cranwell et al., 1987; Zhang et al., 2020). Consequently,
the profile of preserved n-alkanes in sediments is a geochemical record
that can be used to assess the sources of OM, which will reflect the
environmental changes from the surrounding catchment area (Zhang
et al., 2020). However, the multiple sources of OM in sediments make it
difficult for reliable environmental interpretation, and so the validation
of any n-alkane-based analysis for environmental assessment by the use
of other proxies is necessary. The objective of this study was to
the Gulf of Thailand using the sedimentary sequence TLN-CP5.
Core TLN-CP5 was taken from Thale Noi, on the west coast of the
Gulf of Thailand, during January 2015 (Fig. 1). The glacial isostatic and
tectonic adjustments on the sea-level changes in the Gulf of Thailand are
potentially insignificant, since it is located in a tropical climate and
tectonically stable region (e.g., Tjia, 1992; Horton et al., 2005; Culver
et al., 2015). Therefore, the Gulf of Thailand is a crucially important
area for the study of sea-level fluctuations (Voris, 2000; Horton et al.,
2005; Hanebuth et al., 2011). The sedimentary characteristics, loss on
ignition, grain size, and pollen analysis in the core TLN-CP5 were used to
reconstruct sea-level changes in Thale Noi from 8300 to 7000 cal. a BP
(Chabangborn et al., 2020).
According to the sedimentary characteristics and sparsity of pollen,
Thale Noi and its surrounding area was likely to have been flooded
before c. 8300 cal. a BP. The abundance of Acrostichum, a back mangrove
pollen taxa, suggests that the sea-level subsequently dropped from 8300
to 8050 cal. a BP. The recolonized mangrove swamp forest reflecting this
transgression can be reconstructed from the replacement with

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: akkaneewut@gmail.com (A. Jirapinyakul).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.104740
Received 7 July 2020; Received in revised form 7 March 2021; Accepted 8 March 2021
Available online 26 March 2021
1367-9120/© 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Sainakum et al.
Rhizophora in the mangrove pollen taxa, at 8050 cal. a BP. The continued
sea-level rise possibly extended from 8050 to 7650 cal. a BP, and led to a
hiatus due to the coastal erosion. The steady abundance of Rhizophora
pollen points to a standstill in the sea-level from 7650 to 7000 cal. a BP.
The abundance of associate mangrove pollen assemblage, especially
Poaceae, is well consistent with the recent conditions of the Thale Noi,
which is a shallow freshwater swamp (Sompongchaiyakul and Sir­
inawin, 2007).
2. Regional setting
Thale Noi (7.79◦ N, 100.15◦ E) is located in Pattalung Province, near
the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand (Fig. 1). It is a shallow freshwater
lake of 1.2–2 m water depth (Sompongchaiyakul and Sirinawin, 2007;
Pradit et al., 2010). The lake is surrounding by a peat swamp forest,
mainly Melaleuca cajuputi, dense sedge and grass near the lake edge, and
the scattered open water with floating/submerged plants further into
the lake (Storrer, 1977; Sompongchaiyakul and Sirinawin, 2007; Pradit
et al., 2010) (Fig. 2). The water inflow into the lake is from the north,
east, and west canals (Fig. 1). Thale Noi covers an area of c. 25 km2,
which is surrounded by a flat plain of c. 0–2 m above mean sea-level
(Chaimanee et al., 1986). Limestone mountain and outcrops of clastic
sedimentary rocks are found on the western part of the lake and scat­
tered in north of Thale Noi, respectively, (Chaimanee et al., 1986). The
eastern area of the lake is a flat plain and a strand plain next to the
coastline. The southernmost part of Thale Noi is connected to Songkhla
Lake, a shallow coastal lagoon, by the Khlong (canal) Nang Riam,
Khlong Ban Klang, and Klong Yuan (Storrer, 1977; Sompongchaiyakul
and Sirinawin, 2007; Pradit et al., 2010) (Fig. 1b). Thale Noi was
possibly a component of Songkhla Lake that was separated from the sea
by sand spits extending along he west coast of the Gulf of Thailand from
Nakorn Si Thammarat to Song Khla Provinces in a north-south direction
(Storrer, 1977).
The climate of Thailand is mainly controlled by the southwest
(summer) and northeast (winter) monsoons (Wohlfarth et al., 2012;
Chawchai et al., 2013). The summer monsoon transports humid air
masses from the Indian Ocean and elevates the amount of precipitation
in Thailand from May to October (Wohlfarth et al., 2012; Chawchai
et al., 2013). In contrast, the northeast monsoon, which carries the cold
and dried air masses from central Asia, prevails from November to
February and decreases the rainfall amount in Thailand. However, the
monthly precipitation amount in the study area is approximately 100
mm from January to September, and then remarkably increases from
200 to 500 mm during October–December, which is caused by the
transportation of humid air masses from the Gulf of Thailand by the
Fig. 1. (a) Location of the study area on the west coast of the Gulf of Thailand and (b) the location of coring points (red circle) discussed in the text. (For inter­
pretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
2
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740
winter monsoon (Amatayakul and Chomtha, 2017). The mean annual
precipitation and temperature in this area are about 2000 mm and 27.9
◦
C (Amatayakul and Chomtha, 2017). The temperature difference be­
tween winter and summer is about 3 ◦ C (Amatayakul and Chomtha,
2017).
3. Methods
Eight sediment cores were taken at intervals of approximately 1 km
in north-south and east-west transects from Thale Noi, Pattalung Prov­
ince, in January 2015 using a modified Russian corer (7.5 cm diameter,
1 m length). Sediment cores were taken with a 50-cm overlap at each
coring site in order to achieve a continuous sequence. The sediment
cores were wrapped in plastic and placed in PVC tubes for transport to
the Department of Geology, Chulalongkorn University. The sediment
cores were described in detail, correlated, constructed composite depth,
sub-sampled, and stored in a refrigerator until analyses. Detailed sedi­
mentary descriptions of each core and lithostratigraphic correlation
have been presented in Chabangborn et al. (2020).
Since TLN-CP5 was the most extended sequence, and was comprised
of all the sedimentary units, it was selected for the further analysis of the
loss on ignition, grain size distribution, and pollen analysis (Chabang­
born et al., 2020). To validate the environmental reconstruction, TLN-
CP5 was again selected for the analysis of the n-alkanes. Consecutive
10-cm samples were freeze-dried at the Department of Marine Science,
Chulalongkorn University. The dried samples were subsequently ground
and homogenized to increase their available surface area for the lipid
extraction.
The prepared samples were left in 20 ml of a 9:1 (v/v) mixture of
dichloromethane: methanol, and then placed in an ultrasonic extractor
for 10 min. This procedure was repeated three times and the solvent
phases (containing the extracted total lipids) were pooled and evapo­
rated to approximately 2 ml in a rotary evaporator before being trans­
ferred to a glass vial and left to evaporate all of the solvent under room
temperature. The non-polar fraction was further separated from the total
lipid by silica gel column chromatography, using silica gel at ten-fold the
weight of the total lipid weight. The total lipid was transferred to the
silica gel column by an auto pipette, and the non-polar (n-alkane)
fraction was eluted using three- to four-column volumes of pure hexane.
The fractions were evaporated by a rotary evaporator before transferring
to a glass vial. Finally, a 1:1 (v/v) hexane: ethyl acetate was added to the
n-alkane fraction and sent to Scientific and Technological Research
Equipment Center (STREC), Chulalongkorn University for further anal­
ysis by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometer (GC–MS).
The relative abundances of long-chain n-alkanes, which ranged from
A. Sainakum et al. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740

Fig. 2. Thale Noi (TLN) is surrounding by dense sedge and grass near the lake edge (a and b) and the scattered open water with floating/submerged plants further
into the lake (c).

C14–35, were calculated from the peak area of the GC–MS chromato­
C25 +C31 + C33
grams. The C26–35 alkanes were here classified as long-chain n-alkanes TAR = . (2)
C15 +C17 + C19
(Cranwell et al., 1987; Meyers, 2003; Ankit et al., 2017; Zhang et al.,
2020), while mid- and short-chain n-alkanes were C20–25 and C14–19, The proxy ratio (Paq) is the discriminate between submerged,
respectively, (Cranwell et al., 1987; Ficken et al., 2000; Meyers, 2003, emergent, and terrestrial input, based on the relative proportion of mid-
Ankit et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2020). The n-alkanes distribution was and long-chain n-alkanes (Ficken et al., 2000; Ankit et al., 2017; Torres
considered with their indices developed to identify the likely sources of et al., 2014; Zhang et al., 2020), and was derived from Eq. (3),
the OM.
C23 + C25
The average chain length (ACL) and terrestrial/aquatic ratio (TAR) Paq = . (3)
C23 + C25 + C29 + C31
were used to estimate the relative variation in the n-alkanes input from
terrestrial or aquatic sources (Ankit et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2020). The The degradations were assessed using the carbon preference index of
ACL and TAR were calculated from Eqs. (1) and (2), respectively; the short- and long-chain n-alkanes (CPIS and CPIL) (Grimalt and
∑ Albaigés, 1987; Zhang et al., 2020), which were calculated by Eqs. (4)
(Cn × n)
ACLT = ∑ (1) and (5), respectively;
(Cn )
C15 + C17 + C19
CPI S = , (4)
where Cn is the relative abundance of each n-alkane and n is the carbon C16 + C18 + C20
number, and

3
A. Sainakum et al. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740

(∑ ∑ )
C25− 31 C25− 31 prevalence of the short-chain homologues are under debate, most of the
CPI L = 0.5 × ∑ odd + ∑ odd (5)
even C24− 30 even C26− 33
studies we reviewed indicated that microorganisms, such as bacteria,
algae, fungi, and yeasts, are the main contributor for these n-alkanes (e.
A CPIS value of >1 that is rich in odd-numbered short-chain n-al­ g., Lu and Meyers, 2009; Aloulou et al., 2010; Grimalt and Albaigés,
kanes, especially C17, are directly produced by phytoplankton, such as 1987; Kim et al., 2018; Duan et al., 2019; Zhang et al., 2020). The odd
diatoms, green algae, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria (Zhang et al., carbon-numbered long-chain n-alkanes are characteristic components of
2020). Although the sources of CPIS ≤ 1 with an even carbon-numbered

Fig. 3. Carbon number distributions of n-alkanes in the sedimentary sequence TLN-CP5.

4
A. Sainakum et al.
epicuticular plant waxes in terrestrial plants, including mangrove leaves
(Ankit et al., 2017). However, even carbon-numbered long-chain n-al­
kanes are produced by microorganisms and recycling of the OM (Mey­
ers, 2003; Chevalier et al., 2015).
The chronology of core TLN-CP5 was based on the 14C dating of 10
sequential samples of plant macro-remains. These dating results were
calibrated with InCal13 (Reimer et al., 2013). An age-depth model was
further constructed by Bacon, the Bayesian statistic base routine, from
3.87 to 2.17 m DBWS, and by interpolation from 2.17 to 2.05 m DBWS
(Blaauw and Christen, 2011). The age-depth model construction for this
core has been discussed in detail before (Chabangborn et al., 2020). The
sedimentary sequence TLN-CP5 demonstrated the environmental
changes from 8300 cal. a BP to recent.
4. Results
Core TLN-CP5 is composed of five sedimentary units and 20 sedi­
mentary layers (detailed in Chabangborn et al., 2020), as shown in
Fig. 4. The lowermost unit A (3.87–3.68 m DBWS) is a stiff, light grey
clay, which gradually changes to the dark grey clay of unit B
(3.68–3.335 m DBWS). The interstratifications of the dark grey clay with
detrital OM and peat layers can be investigated at 3.505–3.44 and
3.44–3.405 m DBWS, respectively. Unit B is overlaid by the peat layer of
unit C (3.335–2.985 m DBWS), in which a thin layer of peaty clay has
been found from 3.11 to 3.085 m DBWS. A sharp boundary marked the
division between units C and D (2.985–2.17 m DBWS), the latter being
the interbedding of the dark grey clay with detrital OM and dark grey
clay layers. A 21 cm thick of the grey clay layer has been found in unit D
from 2.48 to 2.275 m DBWS. Unit D gradually changes to the uppermost
unit E (2.17–1.50 m DBWS), which is the gyttja interbedded with gyttja
clay.
However, the sedimentary sequence TLN-CP5 was here divided into
five units (I–V), according to the n-alkanes distribution (Fig. 3).
4.1. Unit I (c. 3.8–3.5 m DBWS)
Unit I was characterized by the bimodal distribution of n-alkanes,
with C16 and C17 being the most abundant short-chain homologues and
varied from c. 8–12.5% in all samples (Fig. 3). In this unit, C18, C19, and
C20 homologues, however, were indeterminable. The relative
Fig. 4. Lithostratigraphy, and profiles of ACL, CPIL, CPIS, Paq, and TAR in the sedimentary sequence TLN-CP5 discussed in the text.
5
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740
abundances of the long-chained n-alkanes ranged from 5 to 12.5%, with
the most abundant components being C28, C25, and C29 for the samples
at 3.8, 3.6, and 3.5 m DBWS, respectively, (Fig. 3).
The ACL, CPIL, and TAR values increased from 24–26, 1.5–1.6, and
1.0–2.5, respectively, while CPIS and Paq decreased from 1.5–0.8 and
0.5–0.3, respectively, in this sedimentary unit (Fig. 4).
4.2. Unit II (c. 3.4 m DBWS)
Unit II was characterized by a higher abundance of short-chain n-
alkanes than in units I and III. The proportion of C16 and C17 n-alkanes
increased and reached c. 12.5 and 14.5%, respectively, whilst C18 and
C19 were detected at approximately 7.5%, and C21, C25, C31, and C35 all
varied from 5 to 8% each (Fig. 3). However, the other homologues were
generally at less than 5%.
The ACL, CPIL, CPIS, Paq, and TAR values were c. 24, 2, 1, 0.4, and 1,
respectively, (Fig. 4), which were slightly different from those at the top
of unit I.
4.3. Unit III (c. 3.3–3.0 m DBWS)
The long-chain n-alkanes, especially C31, in this unit were signifi­
cantly more abundant compared to other units (Fig. 3). In contrast, the
short-chain homologues were found at only approximately 5%. The
relative abundance of long-chain n-alkanes gradually increased from 5%
for C25 to 14, 24, and 29% in C31 in the samples from 3.3, 3.2, and 3.1 m
DBWS, respectively, (Fig. 3). However, the distribution of n-alkanes in
the sample from 3.0 m DBWS were different from the other samples in
this unit, with the highest proportion being 12.5% for C27 (Fig. 3).
Despite that the ACL, CPIL, and TAR values gradually increased and
reached their maximum at 28.8, 3.5, and 9.2, respectively, at c. 3.1 m
DBWS, they declined at the top of unit III (Fig. 4). The variations in the
CPIS and Paq values differed from the other n-alkane indices, which
decreased from 2.4 to 0.8 and 0.2 to 0.1 between 3.3 and 3.1 m DBWS,
respectively, and suddenly increased at 3.0 m DBWS (Fig. 4).
4.4. Unit IV (c. 2.9–2.0 m DBWS)
In contrast to unit III, the short-chain n-alkanes, especially C17 and
C16, were clearly dominant in unit IV (Fig. 3), except for samples from
A. Sainakum et al.
2.7 and 2.3 m DBWS that demonstrated a bimodal distribution of n-al­
kanes (Fig. 3). The C16, C17, and C18 n-alkanes ranged from c. 10–12.5%,
12.5–20%, and 15–22.5% in samples from 2.9–2.8, 2.6–2.4, and 2.2–2.0
m DBWS, respectively. However, C14, C15, and C19 were generally at less
than 5% in all the samples. The most dominant long-chain n-alkane was
C31 at c. 10% from 2.9–2.7 and from 2.2–2.0 m DBWS (Fig. 3). Although
C29, C31, and C33 were the dominant long-chain n-alkanes from 2.6–2.5
m and 2.3 m DBWS, their relative abundances were only c. 5–7.5%. The
relative abundances of the other long-chain homologues in these sam­
ples, including those in the sample at 2.4 m DBWS, were generally less
than 5% (Fig. 3).
The ACL, CPIL, CPIS, Paq, and TAR values showed slight changes of
approximately 23, 0.5, 0.6, 0.3, and 1.0, respectively, (Fig. 4).
4.5. Unit V (c. 1.9–1.55 m DBWS)
The sample from 1.9 m DBWS was characterized by a remarkably
high abundance of the long-chained n-alkanes, while the short-chain n-
alkanes were found at less than 5% (Fig. 3). The C14–35 homologues
showed insignificant differences at c. 7.5%. However, a bimodal distri­
bution of n-alkanes was recognized from 1.7 to 1.55 m DBWS, where
C17, and C25, C27, C29, and C31 were at c. 10% and the highest abundance
level for the short- and long-chained n-alkanes, respectively, (Fig. 3).
The ACL and TAR decreased from 26–24 and 6–1, respectively, while
CPIL, CPIS, and Paq increased from 0.25–2, 0.6–2.4, and 0.2–0.4,
respectively, in this unit (Fig. 4).
5. Discussion
5.1. Chronology
The sequential dating suggested the gradual deposition of sediments
at c. 2.3 mm/a between 3.68 and 2.985 m DBWS (c. 8300–7920 cal. a
BP) (Chabangborn et al., 2020). At c. 2.985 m DBWS, a hiatus was ex­
pected in regards to the sharp boundary between sedimentary units C
and D, and the relatively significant difference in the date between the
close-together samples (c. 7950 cal. a BP at 3.015 m DBWS, and c. 7620
cal. a BP at 2.94 m DBWS) (Fig. 4). Above the hiatus, the sedimentation
rate increased to approximately 3.3 mm/a between 2.985 and 2.17 m
DBWS (c. 7660–7420 cal. a BP) and declined to 0.3 mm/a between 2.17
and 2.05 m DBWS (c 7420–7020 cal. a BP). The decrease in sedimen­
tation rate at 2.17 m DBWS is consistent with the boundary between
sedimentary units D and E, gradual increase in loss on ignition and grain
size distribution (Chabangborn et al., 2020). Since the radiocarbon
dating of the sample at c. 1.61 m DBWS was modern, the presence of the
upper hiatus was estimated at 2.05 m DBWS, which is the boundary
between the sedimentary layer (Chabangborn et al., 2020).
However, this new investigation demonstrated that the predomi­
nance of short-chain n-alkanes in the samples from 2.1 and 2.0 m DBWS
was different from the distribution in the sample at 1.9 m DBWS (Fig. 3).
This result, and the lack of samples for radiocarbon dating between 2.06
and 1.6 m DBWS, made us assume that the upper hiatus was at
approximately 1.95 m DBWS instead of 2.05 m DBWS. Since the dating
result of the upper part of core TLN-CP5 is modern, the environmental
reconstruction here was based on the new chronology focused on from c.
8250 to 6870 cal. a BP.
5.2. Environmental reconstruction based on n-alkanes analysis
Although to identify sources of OM based on only the n-alkanes
analysis directly is difficult, the pollen analysis and other supporting
information for core TLN-CP5 from Chabangborn et al. (2020) indicate
that sea-level fluctuations played a crucial role in the environmental
changes between a mangrove swamp and back mangrove forests in
Thale Noi from 8300 to 7000 cal. a BP. This information allows us to
assume that the OM in this sedimentary sequence was mainly derived
6
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740
from various sources in the intertidal environments. The primary sour­
ces of the long- and short-chain n-alkanes were therefore the epicutic­
ular plant waxes in mangrove leaves (Mead et al., 2005; Ankit et al.,
2017), and phytoplankton (Cranwell et al., 1987) and their degradation
by microbial activities (Hedges and Prahl, 1993), respectively. The
distribution of n-alkanes in the OM in this environment can be classified
into the three types of the predominance of the long-chain (short-chain)
n-alkanes reflecting the increased (decreased) terrestrial input and the
bimodal distribution indicating the terrestrial and marine inputs (He
et al., 2016).
The bimodal distribution of n-alkanes in unit I (Fig. 3) demonstrated
that the organic input was produced by both terrestrial and marine
sources from c. 8250–8125 cal. a BP (He et al., 2016). In regards to the
high abundance of C17 with a CPIS > 1, phytoplankton were the po­
tential contributor of the short-chain homologues from 8250 to 8175
cal. a BP (Zhang et al., 2020) (Figs. 3 and 3). Then, C16 with a CPIS < 1
subsequently replaced the C17 prevalence, which points to an increased
microbial degradation at 8125 cal. a BP (Kim et al., 2017; Zhang et al.,
2020) (Figs. 3 and 3). Since the CPIL was approximately 1, the bacterial
recycling of OM was a potential source of the long-chain n-alkanes at
8250 cal. a BP (Meyers, 2003; Hu et al., 2009; Chevalier et al., 2015;
Zhang et al., 2020) (Fig. 4).
The increased CPIL (~1–1.5) suggested a decreased reworking or an
increased contribution of terrestrial organic input between 8250 and
8125 cal. a BP (Fig. 4). The elevated terrestrial input was supported by
the increased ACL and TAR, and also the decreased Paq (Ficken et al.,
2000; Mead et al., 2005; Ankit et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2020) (Fig. 4).
Since the degradation of long-chain n-alkanes in the water column is less
than their short-chain homologues (e.g. Meyers, 1997), the inverse
relation between CPIL and CPIS can be explained by the lowering of the
sea-level in this marginal marine environment from 8250 to 8125 cal. a
BP.. This interpretation agrees well in time with the reconstructed
regression based on the sediment characteristic of the stiff light grey clay
and the appearance of mangrove pollen taxa in the bottom and top of
unit I (Chabangborn et al., 2020).
The preference of the short-chain n-alkanes and the decline in TAR in
unit II suggests a lower contribution of terrestrial organic input than in
the period before at 8100 cal. a BP (He et al., 2016; Ankit et al., 2017;
Zhang et al., 2020) (Figs. 3 and 4). This scenario agrees well with the
increase in submerged plants based on the elevated Paq of ~ 0.4 (Ficken
et al., 2000; Mead et al., 2005) (Fig. 4). Alternatively, the dominance of
long- and short-chain odd carbon-number alkanes on the increases in
CPIL and CPIS, together with the abundance of C17, could indicate the
replacement of the eutrophic conditions caused by the continued
decrease in the sea-level at 8100 cal. a BP (Meyers, 1997; Lu and Meyers,
2009; He et al., 2016; Zhang et al., 2020) (Fig. 4). The fall in sea-level
allowed the back mangrove plants, especially Acrostichum aureum, to
thrive (Chabangborn et al., 2020).
The distinctively abundant long-chain n-alkanes, and the gradual
increase to a maximum value of the ACL, CPIL, and TAR in unit III
indicated a high terrestrial organic input from 8050 to 7950 cal. a BP
(He et al., 2016; Ankit et al., 2017; Zhang et al., 2020) (Fig. 4). This
interpretation corresponds with the gradual decline in Paq from 0.4 to
0.1 during this interval (Ficken et al., 2000; Mead et al., 2005). More­
over, the CPIS reached its maximum value at 8050 cal. a BP before
gradually decreasing from 8050 to 7950 cal. a BP, which potentially
suggested a shift from eutrophic conditions to subaerial/aerial envi­
ronments and so reflect the continued lowering of the sea level. In
contrast, the sea-level rise was reconstructed by the abundance of Rhi­
zophora pollens, indicating a recolonizing of the mangrove swamp forest
(Chabangborn et al., 2020).
The lead/lag response of proxies to the environmental changes is a
potential cause of the discrepancies in the reconstructed sea-level
changes based on n-alkanes and pollen (Wohlfarth et al., 2012).
Although the high contribution of terrestrial input can be assessed, the
sea-level rise began according to the predominance of the mid-chain n-
A. Sainakum et al.
alkanes and an abrupt increase in Paq at 7950 cal. a BP (Fig. 3). This
transgression is a potential cause of the hiatus at 2.985 m DBWS and was
extends from c. 7950 to 7665 cal. a BP (Chabangborn et al., 2020)
(Fig. 4).
In contrast, the preferential short-chain homologues found in unit IV
reflect the predominance of marine input from c. 7650 to 6870 cal. a BP
(He et al., 2016) (Fig. 3). These results, and the domination of C16 and
C18 with a CPIS of <1, further indicate that microbial activities in the
water column were the main contributor of the short-chain n-alkanes
(Kim et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2020) (Figs. 3 and 4). The dominance of
mangrove pollen taxa, especially Rhizophora, also demonstrated the
prolonged flood of the mangrove swamp, which reflects the standstill of
the sea-level from c. 7650 to 6870 cal. a BP. However, the n-alkanes
analysis suggests a fluctuation in the sea-level during this interval
(Chabangborn et al., 2020).
The decline in the CPIL and CPIS reflects the progressive degradation
of the long- and short-chain n-alkanes (Fig. 4). Furthermore, the
decrease in Paq and the relatively high TAR indicate the emergent
aquatic macrophyte and high terrestrial organic input, respectively,
(Ficken et al., 2000; Mead et al., 2005) (Fig. 4). These results point to a
sea-level drop from c. 7650 to 7610 cal. a BP. Although the slight
changes in the TAR, CPIL, and CPIS suggest a steady sea-level, the var­
iations in Paq between 0.3 and 0.4 indicate a sea-level rise from c. 7575
to 7400 cal. a BP and drop from 7400 to 6870 cal. a BP (Ficken et al.,
2000; Mead et al., 2005; Ankit et al., 2017) (Fig. 4). The inverse rela­
tionship between CPIL and CPIS supports the later regression from 7400
to 6870 cal. a BP. In addition, the bimodal distribution of the n-alkanes
indicate the increased terrestrial organic input and the subsequently
short intervals of regression center at c.7590 and 7470 cal. a BP that
intervened in the standstill of sea-level from c. 7650 to 6870 cal. a BP
(He et al., 2016) (Fig. 4).
In the wetland, the OM is mainly originated from the surrounding
plants, while the pollen is an integrated signal of regional vegetation
(Meyers and Teranes, 2001; Zheng et al., 2009; Huang et al., 2013).
Consequently, the differences in sea-level reconstructions based on n-
alkanes and pollen between 7650 and 6870 cal. a BP were possibly
caused by their transportation pathways (Zheng et al., 2009; Huang
et al., 2013).
The sea-level rose and reached its highstand at c. 6000 a BP, which is
a potential cause of the upper hiatus at 1.95 m DBWS (~6870 cal. a BP)
(e.g. Sinsakul, 1992; Choowong et al., 2004). The pollen records above
the hiatus suggest a replacement of the freshwater swamp forest during
the modern period (Chabangborn et al., 2020). The n-alkanes distribu­
tion demonstrates the remarkable changes in OM sources from the
predominance of terrestrial input at 1.9 m DBWS to the terrestrial/
aquatic input between 1.9 and 1.55 m DBWS (Fig. 3). The increase in Paq
and decrease in TAR suggest a water level rise from 1.9 to 1.55 m DBWS
(Ficken et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2020) (Fig. 4). However, the increase
in CPIL and CPIS suggest high catchment runoffs and lake productivities
(Fig. 4).
6. Conclusions
Sediment cores from Thale Noi, which is in the western part of the
GOT, were analyzed using n-alkanes. The results were compared with
other records from the same core to investigate the efficiency of n-al­
kanes as a paleoenvironmental proxy. Overall, the reconstructed sea-
level fluctuations based on n-alkanes agree well with those from sedi­
ment characteristics, loss on ignition, grain size distribution, and pollen
analysis. They suggest a sea-level fall from c. 8300–7950 cal. a BP, and a
gradual rise in sea-level at c 7920–7665 cal. a BP. However, the stand­
still of sea level derived from pollen records differ from the recon­
structed sea-level fluctuations based on n-alkanes from 7650 to 6870 cal.
a BP. The n-alkane analysis suggests a regression at c. 7650–7610 cal. a
BP and at c. 7400–6870 cal. a BP, and a transgression at c. 7610–7400
cal. a BP. Moreover, the short intervals of regression centered at c.7590
7
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 213 (2021) 104740
and 7470 cal. a BP intervene these sea-level fluctuations.
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Assuma Sainakum: Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis,
Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing,
Visualization. Piyada Jittangprasert: Methodology, Validation, Formal
analysis, Writing - review & editing, Resources. Penjai Sompong­
chaiyakul: Conceptualization, Writing - review & editing, Resources.
Akkaneewut Jirapinyakul: Conceptualization, Formal analysis,
Investigation, Writing - original draft, Writing - review & editing,
Visualization, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial
interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence
the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgements
This research was financed through the Ratchadapisek Sompoch
Endowment Fund 2018 (CU-GR_61_011_23_004) and Science Super III
(Department)-009, Chulalongkorn University. The authors are grateful
to the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation for
collecting samples, the Departments of Geology and Marine Science,
Faculty of Science, Chulalongkorn University for providing geochemical
laboratory and other facilities, Dr. Piyaphong Chenrai, Dr. Paramita
Punwong and Mr. Niran Chaimanee for helpful discussions, Dr. Robert
Butcher for proofreading and manuscript preparation. The anonymous
reviewers are thanked for their useful and constructive comments.
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