Distribution of surficial shelf sediments in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the Sea of Marmara: Strait and canyon regimes of the Dardanelles and Bosporus

Spatial and temporal variation of soft-bottom peracarid (Crustacea: Peracarida) infauna in the Canakkale Strait (Turkey)

“…The Strait has a well-defined two-layer stratification associated with a two-layer pattern of water exchange. A prominent southward flow, at velocities of 50-200 cm s -1 (ERGIN et al, 1991), is driven by sea level difference, with the Sea of Marmara being at a higher level than the Aegean Sea. The sea level difference follows a seasonal pattern, ranging at the extremes from 12 cm during summer to 18 cm during winter.…”

“…The sea level difference follows a seasonal pattern, ranging at the extremes from 12 cm during summer to 18 cm during winter. The northward flow, with velocities ranging from 20-40 cm s -1 (ERGIN et al, 1991), is driven by the different salinity between the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea. Consequently, brackish Black Sea waters flow southward through the Canakkale Strait at the surface layer, Medit.…”

Dating the Sea of Marmara sediments by a uniform mixing model

“…This results in a stratified water column: low salinity (22-25%0) water at the top and saline (38.5%0) water filling the rest of the basin. An average bottom current velocity is measured around 25 cm s-' reaching a maximum value of 60 cm sP1 in the Dardanelles, whereas velocities of 10-20cm s-i are measured in the Bosporus (Ergin et al, 1991). The high current conditions at the bottom of straights wipes off all fine particles, leaving coarse material there.…”

“…Additional material is derived from coastal erosion, particulate matter flux from the atmosphere and biogenic activity within the Marmara Basin. The particle fluxes from these sources are summarized in Table 1 (Ergin et al, 1991). Large varia- tion of sedimentation rates is expected around the major particulate matter sources, especially around the Bosporus and Dardanelles.…”

“…The first published data were on the palyonology of a core from the western Marmara Sea (Koreneva, 1971). The distribution of surficial shelf sediments in the northeastern and southwestern parts of the Sea of Marmara was investigated by Ergin et al (1991). The radiocarbon dating of the eastern basin sediments of the Sea of Marmara was carried out by Stanley and Blanpied (1980) to study the water exchange between the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the late Quaternary period.…”