Late Pleistocene sedimentation in the Western Mediterranean Sea: Implications for productivity changes and climatic conditions in the catchment areas

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

Volumn 190, Issue , 2003, Pages 121-137

  Weldeab, Syee ^a,c,e   Siebel, Wolfgang ^a   Wehausen, Rolf ^b   Emeis, Kay Christian ^c   Schmiedl, Gerhard ^d   Hemleben, Christoph ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TÜBINGEN   (Germany)

^b UNIVERSITY OF OLDENBURG   (Germany)

^c LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR BALTIC SEA RESEARCH   (Germany)

^d UNIVERSITY OF LEIPZIG   (Germany)

^e UNIVERSITY OF BREMEN   (Germany)

Author keywords

Biogenic and lithogenic sediments; Paleoproductivity; Source areas; Sr and Nd isotope; Western Mediterranean Sea

Indexed keywords

GLACIAL-INTERGLACIAL CYCLE; PALEOCEANOGRAPHY; PALEOCLIMATE; PALEOPRODUCTIVITY; PLEISTOCENE; SEDIMENTATION;

MEDITERRANEAN SEA;

EID: 0037440527     PISSN: 00310182     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/S0031-0182(02)00602-8     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (85)

1. Balsam, W.L., Otto-Bliesner, B.L., Deaton, B.C., 1995. Modern and Last Glacial Maximum eolian sedimentation patterns in the Atlantic Ocean interpreted from sediments iron oxide content. Paleoceanography 10, 493-507.
2. Bergametti, G., Gomes, L., Remoudaki, E., Debois, M., Martin, D., Buat-Menard, P., 1989. Present transport and deposition patterns of African dusts to the North-Western Mediterranean. In: Leinen, M., Sarnthein, M. (Eds.), Paleoclimatology and Paleometeorology: Modern and Past Patterns of Global Atmospheric Transport. Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, pp. 227-252.
3. Bernstein, R.E., Byrne, R.H., Betzer, P.R., Greco, A.M., 1992. Morphologies and transformations of celetite in seawater; The role of acantharians in strontium and barium geochemistry. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 3273-3279.
4. Bishop, J.K.B., 1988. The barite-opal-organic carbon associations in oceanic particulate matter. Nature 332, 341-343.
5. Bertram, M., Cowen, J.P., 1997. Morphological and compositional evidence for biotic precipitation of marine barite. J. Mar. Res. 55, 577-593.
6. Breymann von, M., Emeis, K.-C., Suess, E., 1992. Water depth and diagenetic constraints on the use of barium as a palaeoproductivity indicator. In: Summerhayes, C.P., Prell, W.L., Emeis, K.-C. (Eds.), Upwelling Systems: Evolution since the Early Miocene. Geological Society Special Publication, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 29-46.
7. Brumsack, J.H., Gieskes, J.M., 1983. Interstitial water trace-metal chemistry of laminated sediments from the Gulf of California, Mexico. Mar. Chem. 14, 89-106.
8. Calvert, S.E., Fontugne, M.R., 2001. On the Late Pleistocene-Holocene sapropel record of climatic and oceanographic variability in the eastern Mediterranean. Paleoceanography 16, 78-94.
9. Capotondi, L., Vigliotti, L., 1999. Magnetic and microfaunal characterization of Late Quaternary sediments from the Western Mediterranean: influences about sapropel formation and paleoceanographic implication. In: Zahn, R., Comas, M.C., Klaus, A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results. Ocean Drilling Project, College station, TX, pp. 505-517.
10. Causse, C., Coque, R., Fontes, J.-C., Gasse, F., Ben Quezdou, H., Zouari, K., 1989. Two high levels of continental waters in the southern Tunisian chots at about 90 and 150 ka. Geology 17, 922-925.
11. Chiapello, I., Bergametti, G., Chatenet, B., 1997. Origin of African dust transported over the northeastern tropical Atlantic. J. Geophys. Res. 102, 13701-13709.
12. Cramp, A., Collins, M., West, R., 1988. Late Pleistocene - Holocene sedimentation in the NW Aegean Sea: A palaeoclimatic palaeoceanographic reconstruction. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 68, 61-77.
13. Cramp, A., O'Sullivan, G., 1999. Neogene sapropels in the Mediterranean: a review. Mar. Geol. 153, 11-28.
14. Dasch, E.J., 1969. Strontium isotopes in weathering profiles, deep-sea sediments, and sedimentary rocks. Geochim. Cosmochim Acta 33, 1521-1552.
15. D'Almeide, G.A., 1989. Desert aerosol: Characteristics and effects on Climate. In: Leinen, M., Sarnthein, M. (Eds.), Paleoclimatology and Paleometeorology: Modern and Past Patterns of Global Atmospheric Transport. Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 311-358.
16. Dehairs, F., Chesselet, R., Jedwab, J., 1980. Discrete suspended particles of barite and barium cycle in the open ocean. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 528-550.
17. Dulac, F., Tarnè, D., Bergametti, G., Burat-Ménard, P., Desbois, M., 1992. Assessment of the African aiborne dust mass over the western Mediterranean Sea using Meteosat data. J. Geophys. Res. 97, 2489-2506.
18. Dymond, J., Suess, E., Lyle, M., 1992. Barium in deep-sea sediment: a geochemical proxy for paleoproductivity. Paleoceanography 7, 163-181.
19. Emeis, K.-C., Camerlenghi, A., McKennzie, J.A., Rio, D., Sprovieri, R., 1991. The occurrence and significance of Pleistocene and Upper Pliocene sapropels in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Mar. Geol. 100, 155-182.
20. Emeis, K.-C., Sakamoto, T., 1998. The sapropel theme of Leg 160. Proc. Ocean Drilling Prog. Sci. Res. 160, 29-36.
21. Emeis, K.-C., Sakamoto, T., Wehausen, R., Brumsack, H.-J., 2000a. The sapropel record of the eastern Mediterranean Sea - results of Ocean Drilling Program Leg 160. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 158, 371-395.
22. Emeis, K.-C., Struck, U., Schulz, H.-M., Rosenberg, R., Bernosconi, S., Erlenkeuser, H., Sakanoto, T., Martinez-Ruiz, F., 2000b. Temperature and salinity variations of Mediterranean Sea surface waters over the last 16,000 years from records of planktonic stable oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation ratios. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 158, 259-280.
23. Fleming, K, Johnston, P., Zwartz, D., Yokoyama, Y., Lambeck, K., Chappell, J., 1998. Refining the eustatic sea-level curve since the Last Glacial Maximum using far- and intermediate field sites. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 163, 327-342.
24. Foucault, A., Mèlières, F., 2000. Palaeoclimatic cyclicity in central Mediterranean Pliocene sediments: the mineralogical signal. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 158, 311-323.
25. Francois, R., Honjo, S., Manganini, S.J., Ravizza, G.E., 1995. Biogenic barium fluxes to the deep sea: Implication for paleoproductivity reconstruction. Glob. Biogeochem. Cycles 9, 289-303.
26. Freydier, R., Michard, A., De Lange, G., Thomson, J., 2001. Nd isotopic compositions of Eastern Mediterranean sediments: tracers of the Nile influence during sapropel S1 formation? Mar. Geol. 177, 45-62.
27. Frost, C.D., O'Nions, R.K., Goldstein, S.L., 1986. Mass balance for Nd in the Mediterranean Sea. Chem. Geol. 55, 45-50.
28. Gingele, F.X., Zabel, M., Kasten, S., Bonn, W.J., Nürnberg, C.C., 1999. Biogenic barium as a proxy for paleoproductivity: Methods and limitations of application. In: Fischer, G., Wefer, G. (Eds.), Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography: Examples from the South Atlantic. Springer, Berlin, pp. 345-364.
29. Goldstein, S.L., O'Nions, R.K., Hamilton, P.J., 1984. A Sm-Nd isotopic study of atmospheric dusts and particulates from major river systems. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 70, 221-236.
30. Goudie, A.S., Middleton, N.J., 2001. Saharan dust storms: nature and consequences. Earth-Sci. Rev. 56, 179-204.
31. Grousset, F., Biscaye, P.E., Revel, M., Petit, J.-R., 1992. Antarctic (Dome C) ice-core dust at 18 k.y. B.P.: Isotopic constraints on origins. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 111, 175-182.
32. Grousset, F.E., Biscaye, P.E., Zindler, A., Prospero, J., Chester, R., 1988. Neodymium isotopes as tracers in marine sediments and aerosol: North Atlantic. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 87, 367-378.
33. Grousset, F.E., Minster, J.F., Monaco, A., 1990. Nd isotopes as tracers in water column particles: the western Mediterranean Sea. Mar. Chem. 30, 389-407.
34. Grousset, F.E., Parra, M., Bory, A., Martinez, P., Bertrand, P., Shiemmield, G., Ellam, R.M., 1998. Saharan wind regimes traced by the Sr-Nd isotopic composition of subtropical Atlantic sediments: Last Glacial Maximum vs. today. Quat. Sci. Rev. 17, 395-409.
35. Guerzoni, S., Guerzoni, S., Chester, R., Dulac, F., Herut, B., Loye-Pilot, M.-D., Measures, C., Migon, C., Molinaroli, E., Moulin, C., Rossini, P., Saydam, C., Soudine, A., Ziveri, P., 1999. The role of atmospheric deposition in the biogeochemistry of the Mediterranean Sea. Prog. Oceanogr. 44, 147-190.
36. Guerzoni, S., Molinaroli, E., Chester, R., 1997. Saharan dust input to the western Mediterranean Sea: depositional patterns, geochemistry and sedimentology implications. Deep-Sea Res. 44, 631-654.
37. Henry, F., Jeandel, C., Duprè, B., Minster, J.-F., 1994. Particulate and dissolved Nd in the western Mediterranean Sea: sources, fate and budget. Mar. Chem. 45, 283-305.
38. Hilgen, F.J., 1991a. Astronomical calibration of Gauss to Matuyama sapropels in the Mediterranean and implication for the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 104, 226-244.
39. Hilgen, F.J., 1991b. Extension of the astronomically calibrated polarity time scale to the Miocene/Pliocene boundary. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 107, 349-368.
40. Hooghiemstra, H., Agwu, C.O.C., 1988. Changes in the vegetation and trade winds in equatorial northeast Africa 140,000-70,000 yr B.P. as deduced from two pollen records. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 66, 173-213.
41. Jacobson, S.B., Wasserburg, G.J., 1980. Sm-Nd isotopic evolution of chondrites. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 50, 139-155.
42. Kidd, R.B., Cita, M.B., Ryan, W.B.F., 1978. Stratigraphy of eastern Mediterranean sapropel sequences recovered during DSDP Leg 42A and their paleoenvironmental significance. Init. Rep. DSDP 42, 421-443.
43. Krom, M.D., Cliff, R.A., Eijsink, L.M., Herut, B., Chester, R., 1999a. The characterisation of Saharan dusts and Nile particulate matter in surface sediments from the Levantine basin using Sr isotopes. Mar. Geol. 155, 319-330.
44. Krom, M.D., Michard, A., Cliff, R.A., Strohe, K., 1999b. Source of sediment in the Ionian Sea and western Levantine basin of the Eastern Mediterranean during S-1 sapropel times. Mar. Geol. 160, 45-61.
45. Kullenberg, B., 1952. On the salinity of water contained in marine sediments. Medd. Oceanogr. Inst. Göteborg 21, 1-38.
46. Lèzine, A.-M., Casanova, J., 1991. Correlated oceanic and continental records demonstrate past climate and hydrology of North Africa (0-140 ka). Geology 19, 307-310.
47. Lourens, L.J., Antonarakou, A., Hilgen, F.J., Van Hoof, A.A.M., 1996. Evaluation of the Plio-Pleistocene astronomical timescale. Paleoceanography 11, 391-413.
48. Loye-Pilot, M.-D, Martin, J.-M., Morelli, J., 1986. Influence of Saharan dust on the rainfall acidity and atmospheric input to the Mediterranean. Nature 321, 427-428.
49. Martin, J.-M., Elbaz-Poulichet, F., Guieu, C., Loye-Pilot, M.-D, Han, G., 1989. River versus atmospheric input of material to the Mediterranean Sea: an overview. Mar. Chem. 28, 159-182.
50. Martin, J.-M., Milliman, J.D., 1997. EROS 2000 (European Rivers Ocean System). The western Mediterranean Sea: an introduction. Deep-Sea Res. 44, 521-529.
51. Martinez, P., Bertrand, P., Shimmield, G.B., Cochrane, K., Jorissen, F.J., Foster, J., Dignan, M., 1999. Upwelling intensity and ocean productivity changes off Cape Blanc (northwest Africa) during the last 70,000 years: geochemical and micropalaeontological evidence. Mar. Geol. 158, 57-74.
52. Martinson, D.G., Pisias, N.G., Hays, J.D., Imbrie, J., Moore, T.C., Shackleton, N.J., 1987. Age dating and the orbital theory of the Ice Age: Development of a high-resolution 0 to 300,000-year chronostratigraphy. Quat. Res. 27, 1-29.
53. Matthewson, A.P., Shimmield, G.B., Kroon, D., Fallick, 1995. A 300 kyr high-resolution aridity record of the North African continent. Paleoceanography 10, 677-692.
54. McManus, J., Berelson, W., Klinkhammer, G.P., Johnson, K.S., Coale, K.H., Anderson, R.F., Kumar, N., Burdige, D.J., Hammond, D.E., Brumsack, H.J., McCorkle, D.C., Rushdi, A., 1998. Geochemistry of barium in marine sediments: Implications for its use as a paleoproxy. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 62, 3453-3473.
55. Mercone, D., Thomson, J., Croudace, I.W., Siani, G., Paterne, M., Troelstra, S., 2000. Duration of S1, the most recent sapropel in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, as indicated by accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon and geochemical evidence. Paleoceanography 15, 336-347.
56. Molinarli, J.M., 1996. Mineralogical characterisation of Saharan dust with a view to its final destination in Mediterranean sediments. In: Guerzoni, S., Chester, R., (Eds.), The Impact of Desert Dust across the Mediterranean. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 153-162.
57. Moulin, C., Lambert, C.E., Dilac, F., Dayan, U., 1997. Control of atmospheric export of the dust from North Africa by the North Atlantic Oscillation. Nature 387, 691-694.
58. Moreno, Targarona, J., Henderiks, J., Canals, M., Freudenthal, T., Meggers, H., 2001. Orbital forcing of dust supply to the North Canary Basin over the last 250 kyr. Quat. Sci. Rev. 20, 1327-1339.
59. Murat, A., 1999. Pliocene-Pleistocene occurrence of sapropels in the Western Mediterranean Sea and their relation to Eastern Mediterranean sapropels. In: Zahn, R., Comas, M.C., Klaus, A. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results. Ocean Drilling Project, College station, TX, pp. 519-527.
60. Olausson, E., 1961. Studies in deep sea cores. Deep Sea Exped. 1947-48 8, 337-391.
61. Pachur, H.-J., Kröpelin, S., 1989. Wadi Howar: Paleoclimatic evidence from an extinct river system in the southeastern Sahara. Science 237, 298-300.
62. Paillard, D., Labeyrie, L., Yiou, P., 1996. Macintosh program performs time-series analysis. EOS Trans. AGU 77, 379.
63. Perissoratis, C., Piper, D.J.W, 1992. Age, regional variation, and shallowest occurrence of S1 sapropel in the northern Aegean Sea. Geo-Mar. Lett. 12, 49-53.
64. Pokras, E.M., Mix, A.C., 1985. Eolian evidence for spatial variability of Late Quaternary climates in Tropical Africa. Quat. Res. 24, 137-149.
65. Prospero, J.M., 1996. Saharan dust transport over the Atantic Ocean and Mediterranean: an overview. In: Guerzoni, S., Chester, R. (Eds.), The Impact of Desert Dust across the Mediterranean. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp. 133-151.
66. Rea, D.K., 1994. The paleoclimatic record provided by eolian deposition in the deep sea: the geologic history of wind. Rev. Geophys. 32, 159-195.
67. Rohling, E.J., 1994. Review and new aspects concerning the formation of eastern Mediterranean sapropels. Mar. Geol. 122, 1-28.
68. Rossignol-Strick, M., 1983. African monsoons, an immediate climate response to orbital insolation. Nature 304, 46-49.
69. Rossignol-Strick, M., 1985. Mediterranean Quaternary sapropels, an immediate response of the African Monsoon to variation of insolation. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 49, 237-263.
70. Rossignol-Strick, M, Nesteroff, W.D., Olive, P., Vergnaud-Grazzini, C., 1982. After the deluge: Mediterranean stagnation and sapropel formation. Nature 295, 105-110.
71. Ruddiman, W.F., 1997. Tropical Atlantic terrigeneous fluxes since 25,000 yrs BP. Mar. Geol. 136, 189-207.
72. Ryan, W.B.F., 1973. Geodynamic implications of Messinian crisis of salinity. In: Droogers, C.W. (Ed.), Messinian Events in the Mediterranean. North-Holland Publ., Amsterdam, pp. 26-38.
73. Schenau, S.J., Prins, M.A., De Lange, G.J., Monnin, C., 2001. Barium accumulation in the Arabian Sea: Controls on barite preservation in marine sediments. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 65, 1545-1556.
74. Stein, R., 1990. Organic carbon/sedimentation rate relationship and its paleoenvironmental significance for marine sediments. Geo-Mar. Lett. 10, 37-46.
75. Thomson, J., Higgs, N.C., Wilson, T.R.S., Croudace, I.W., De Lange, G.J., Van Santvoort, P.J.M., 1995. Redistribution and geochemical behaviour of redox-sensitive elements around S1, the most recent eastern Mediterranean sapropel. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 59, 3487-3501.
76. Van Os, B.J.H., Lourens, L.J., Hilgen, F.J., de Lange, G.J., Beaufort, L., 1994. The Formation of Pliocene and carbonate cycles in the Mediterranean: Diagenesis, dilution, and productivity. Paleoceanography 9, 601-617.
77. Van Santvoort, P.J.M., De Lange, G.J., Thomson, J., Cussen, H., Wilson, T.R.S., Krom, M.D., Ströhle, K., 1996. Active post-depositional oxidation of the recent sapropel (S1) in sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 4007-4024.
78. Walter, H.J., Hegner, E., Diekamn, B., Kuhn, G., Van der Loeff, M.M.R., 2000. Provenance and transport of terrigenous sediment in the South Atlantic Ocean and their relations to glacial and interglacial cycles: Nd and Sr isotopic evidence. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 64, 3813-3827.
79. Wegrzynek, D., Jambers, W., Van Griekn, R., Eisma, D., 1997. Individual particle analysis of Western Mediterranean Sea sediment cores, Rhone suspended matter and Saharan aerosols - Investigation of inputs to the sediments. Mar. Chem. 57, 41-53.
80. Wehausen, R., Brumsack, H.-J., 2000. Chemical cycles in the Pliocene sapropel-bearing and sapropel-barren eastern Mediterranean sediments. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol. 158, 325-352.
81. Weldeab, S., Emeis, K.-C., Hemleben, C., Schmiedl, G., Schulz, H., in press. Spatial productivity variations during formation of sapropel S5 and S6 in the Mediterranean Sea: Evidence from Ba concentration. Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol.
82. 86Sr isotope. Chem. Geol. 186, 139-149.
83. Weldeab, S., Emeis, K.-C., Hemleben, C., Schulz, H., Vennemann, T.W., 2002b. Sr, Nd isotope composition of Late Pleistocene sapropels and non-sapropel sediments from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea: Implications for detrital influx and climatic conditions in the source areas. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 66, 3585-3598.
84. Yarinick, K.M., Murray, R.W., Peterson, L.C., 2000. Climatically sensitive eolian and hemipelagic deposition in the Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, over past 578,000 years: Results from A1/Ti and K/A1. Paleoceanography 15, 210-228.
85. Zuo, Z., Eisma, D., Gieles, R., Beks, J., 1997. Accumulation rates and sediment deposition in the northwestern Mediterranean. Deep-Sea Res. 44, 597-609.