Climatic variability during the last ∼90ka of the southern and northern Levantine Basin as evident from marine records and speleothems

Almogi‐Labin, Ahuva; Bar‐Matthews, Miryam; Shriki, Dan; Kolosovsky, Elina; Paterne, Martine; Schilman, Bettina; Ayalon, Avner; Aizenshtat, Zeev; Matthews, Alan

doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.07.017

Cited by 190 publications

(141 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…Our result is consistent with the hypothesis that Nile River discharge was one of the main freshwater sources for the Levantine Sea (Rossignol-Strick et al, 1982). Indeed, the influence of Nile River discharge was estimated to have spread as far as Cyprus (Almogi-Labin et al, 2009) (Fig. 1a).…”

Section: Conditions Of Bottom-water Circulation Prior To S1 Depositionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Eastern Mediterranean Sea circulation inferred from the conditions of S1 sapropel deposition

et al. 2015

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Abstract. Holocene eastern Mediterranean Sea sediments contain an organic-rich sapropel S1 layer that was formed in oxygen-depleted waters. The spatial distribution of this layer revealed that during S1 deposition, deep waters were anoxic below a depth of 1800 m. However, whether this boundary permanently existed from the early to the mid-Holocene has not been examined yet. To answer this question, a multiproxy approach was applied to a core retrieved close to the 1800 m boundary (at 1780 m). We measured the bulk sediment elemental composition, the stable isotopic composition of the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber and the abundance of benthic foraminifera since the last deglaciation. The result indicates that authigenic U and Mo accumulation began around 13-12 cal ka BP, in concert with surface water freshening estimated from the G. ruber δ 18 O record. The onset of bottom and pore water oxygen depletion occurred prior to S1 deposition inferred from barium enrichment. In the middle of the S1 deposition period, reduced authigenic V, Fe and As contents and the Br / Cl ratio indicated short-term bottom-water re-oxygenation. A sharp Mn peak and maximal abundance for benthic foraminifera marked a total recovery for circulation at approximately 7 cal ka BP. Based on our results and existing data, we suggest that S1 formation within the upper 1780 m of the eastern Mediterranean Sea was preconditioned by reduced ventilation, resulting from excess freshwater inputs due to insolation changes under deglacial conditions that initiated between 15 and 12 cal ka BP within the upper 1780 m. Short-term re-oxygenation in the Levantine Basin is estimated to have affected bottom water at least as deep as 1780 m in response to cooling and/or the reduction of freshwater inputs. We tentatively propose that complete ventilation recovery at the S1 termination was depth-dependent, with earlier oxygenation within the upper 1780 m. Our results provide new constraints on vertical water column structure in the eastern Mediterranean Sea since the last deglaciation.

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Section: Conditions Of Bottom-water Circulation Prior To S1 Depositionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Eastern Mediterranean Sea circulation inferred from the conditions of S1 sapropel deposition

et al. 2015

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“…10 K) in the eastern Mediterranean (e.g. Emeis et al, 2003;Almogi-Labin et al, 2009), which conflicts with the weak cooling reported from assemblages of foraminifera. A comprehensive overview over the knowledge about the state of the Mediterranean at LGM can be found in Robinson et al (2006).…”

Section: Introductioncontrasting

confidence: 80%

Modeling Mediterranean Ocean climate of the Last Glacial Maximum

Mikolajewicz

2011

Clim. Past

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Abstract.A regional ocean general circulation model of the Mediterranean is used to study the climate of the Last Glacial Maximum. The atmospheric forcing for these simulations has been derived from simulations with an atmospheric general circulation model, which in turn was forced with surface conditions from a coarse resolution earth system model. The model is successful in reproducing the general patterns of reconstructed sea surface temperature anomalies with the strongest cooling in summer in the northwestern Mediterranean and weak cooling in the Levantine, although the model underestimates the extent of the summer cooling in the western Mediterranean. However, there is a strong vertical gradient associated with this pattern of summer cooling, which makes the comparison with reconstructions complicated. The exchange with the Atlantic is decreased to roughly one half of its present value, which can be explained by the shallower Strait of Gibraltar as a consequence of lower global sea level. This reduced exchange causes a strong increase of salinity in the Mediterranean in spite of reduced net evaporation.

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“…Minimum arboreal percentages were found in a southern Levant marine core at the same time as extremely cool events were identified in the North Atlantic (e.g., Heinrich Events, the 8.2 event; Langgut et al 2011). These drier Eastern Mediterranean climatic spells were also recognized based on other climate proxies (Bar-Matthews et al 1999;Bartov et al 2003;Almogi-Labin et al 2009;Marino et al 2009). …”

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confidence: 79%