Abstract
To understand the processes leading to the formation of Holocene sapropel S1 in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, we integrated results from regional ocean-biogeochemical general circulation model experiments with biogeochemical and micropaleontological proxy records. Sapropel S1 formed during the Holocene insolation maximum, when strong Aegean north winds (Etesian) caused enhanced downwelling and mixing of warm surface waters in the Cretan and western Levantine seas accounting for the complex sea-surface temperature pattern derived from planktonic foraminiferal transfer functions. Our results support a scenario where sufficient organic matter for sapropel formation is buried under oligotrophic conditions in an anoxic water column refuting the “high-productivity” hypothesis. We reconstructed a synchronous shift in the state of deep-sea benthic ecosystems, documenting a rapid expansion of dysoxic to anoxic conditions with onset of S1 deposition. The recovery of benthic ecosystems during the terminal S1 phase was controlled by increasingly deeper convection and re-ventilation over a period of approximately 1,500 years.
Ernst Maier-Reimer deceased.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adloff F, Mikolajewicz U, Kucera M, Grimm R, Maier-Reimer E, Schmiedl G, Emeis KC (2011) Upper ocean climate of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Holocene insolation maximum—a model study. Clim Past 7:1103–1122. doi:10.5194/cp-7-1103-2011
Adloff F (2011) Early Holocene Eastern Mediterranean ocean climate and the stability of its overturning circulation. Rep Earth Sys Sci 107:1–157
Cramp A, O´Sullivan G (1999) Neogene sapropels in the Mediterranean: A review. Mar Geol 153:11–28. doi:10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00092-9
De Lange GJ, Thomson J, Reitz A, Slomp CP, Speranza Principato M, Erba E, Corselli C (2008) Synchronous basin-wide formation and redox-controlled preservation of a Mediterranean sapropel. Nat Geosci 1:606–610. doi:10.1038/ngeo283
Emeis KC, Weissert H (2009) Tethyan-Mediterranean organic carbon-rich sediments from Mesozoic black shales to sapropels. Sedimentology 56:247–266. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3091.2008.01026.x
Grimm R (2012) Simulating the early Holocene Eastern Mediterranean sapropel formation using an ocean biogeochemical model. Rep Earth Sys Sci 123:1–156
Ilyina T, Six K, Segschneider J, Maier-Reimer E, Li H, Núñez-Riboni I (2013) The global ocean biogeochemistry model HAMOCC: Model architecture and performance as component of the MPI-Earth System Model in different CMIP5 experimental realizations. J Adv Model Earth Sys. doi:10.1002/jame.20017
Krom MD, Emeis KC, Van Cappellen P (2010) Why is the Eastern Mediterranean phosphorus limited? Prog Oceanogr 85:236–244
Lourens LJ, Antonarakou A, Hilgen FJ, Van Hoof AAM, Vergnaud-Grazzini C, Zachariasse WJ (1996) Evaluation of the Plio-Pleistocene astronomical timescale. Paleoceanography 11:391–413. doi:10.1029/96PA01125
Mikolajewicz U (2011) Modeling Mediterranean ocean climate of the last glacial maximum. Clim Past 7:161–180. doi:10.5194/cp-7-161-2011
Möbius J, Lahajnar N, Emeis KC (2010) Diagenetic control of nitrogen isotope ratios in Holocene sapropels and recent sediments from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Biogeosciences 7:3901–3914. doi:10.5194/bg-7-3901-2010
Schmiedl G, Kuhnt T, Ehrmann W, Emeis KC, Hamann Y, Kotthoff U, Dulski P, Pross J (2010) Climatic forcing of eastern Mediterranean deep-water formation and benthic ecosystems during the past 22,000 years. Quatern Sci Rev 29:3006–3020. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.07.002
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Schmiedl, G. et al. (2015). Holocene Climate Dynamics, Biogeochemical Cycles and Ecosystem Variability in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. In: Schulz, M., Paul, A. (eds) Integrated Analysis of Interglacial Climate Dynamics (INTERDYNAMIC). SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00693-2_19
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00693-2_19
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-00692-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-00693-2
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)