Planktonic foraminifera and sea surface temperature reconstruction of sediments from the Mediterranean Sea

DOI

Water exchange between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea has been a major focus of the paleohydrography of the eastern Mediterranean. Glacial melt water released from the Black Sea is a potential factor in the formation of sapropel S1, an organic-rich sediment layer that accumulated during the Early Holocene. A high-resolution study done on sediments from the Marmara Sea, the gateway between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, sheds light on the Holocene exchange processes. Past sea surface temperature and sea surface salinity (SSS) were derived from stable oxygen isotope ratios (delta18O) of foraminiferal calcite and alkenone unsaturation ratios (Uk'37). Heavy delta18O values and high SSS in the Marmara Sea suggest absence of low salinity water from the Black Sea during S1. The comparison with data from the Levantine Basin and southern Aegean Sea outlines gradients of freshening in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, whereby the major sources of freshwater were closer to the Levantine Basin. It is thus concluded that the Black Sea was not a major freshwater source contributing to formation of S1. Given the absence of a low salinity layer, the deposition of organic-rich sediments corresponding to S1 in the Marmara Sea is likely the result of the global transgression and the concomitant re-organization of biogeochemical cycles, leading to enhanced productivity as shown by Globigerina bulloides.

Supplement to: Sperling, Michael R; Schmiedl, Gerhard; Hemleben, Christoph; Emeis, Kay-Christian; Erlenkeuser, Helmut; Grootes, Pieter Meiert (2003): Black Sea impact on the formation of eastern Mediterranean sapropel S1? Evidence from the Marmara Sea. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 190, 9-21

Identifier
DOI https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.736518
Related Identifier https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00596-5
Metadata Access https://ws.pangaea.de/oai/provider?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=datacite4&identifier=oai:pangaea.de:doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.736518
Provenance
Creator Sperling, Michael R; Schmiedl, Gerhard ORCID logo; Hemleben, Christoph; Emeis, Kay-Christian (ORCID: 0000-0003-0459-913X); Erlenkeuser, Helmut ORCID logo; Grootes, Pieter Meiert ORCID logo
Publisher PANGAEA
Publication Year 2003
Funding Reference Sixth Framework Programme https://doi.org/10.13039/100011103 Crossref Funder ID 36949 https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/36949 Southern European Seas: Assessing and Modelling Ecosystem Changes
Rights Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported; https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
OpenAccess true
Representation
Language English
Resource Type Supplementary Publication Series of Datasets; Collection
Format application/zip
Size 4 datasets
Discipline Geosciences; Natural Sciences
Spatial Coverage (27.763W, 32.609S, 34.139E, 40.842N)
Temporal Coverage Begin 1999-02-04T00:00:00Z
Temporal Coverage End 1999-04-18T00:00:00Z