Sedimentary archives of climate and sea-level changes during the Holocene in the Rhône prodelta (NW Mediterranean Sea)

Abstract

Abstract. A 7.38 m long sediment core was collected from the eastern section of the Rhône prodelta (NW Mediterranean) at 67 m water depth. A multi-proxy study (including sedimentary facies, benthic foraminifera, ostracods, and clay mineralogy) provides a multi-decadal to century-scale record of climate and sea-level changes during the Holocene. The early Holocene is marked by alternative silt and clay layers interpreted as distal tempestites deposited in a context of rising sea level. This interval contains shallow infra-littoral benthic meiofauna (e.g., Pontocythere elongata, Elphidium spp., Quinqueloculina lata) and formed between ca. 20 and 50 m water depth. The middle Holocene (ca. 8.3 to 4.5 ka cal. BP) is characterized, at the core site, by a period of sediment starvation (accumulation rate of ca. 0.01 cm yr −1 ) resulting from the maximum landward shift of the shoreline and the Rhône outlet(s). From a sequence stratigraphic point of view, this condensed section, about 35 cm thick, can be identified on seismic profiles as a maximum flooding surface that marks the transition between delta retrogradation and delta progradation. The transition between the early Holocene deposits and the middle Holocene condensed section is marked by a gradual change in all proxy records. Following the stabilization of sea level at a global scale, the late Holocene is marked by the establishment of prodeltaic conditions at the core site, as shown by the lithofacies and by the presence of benthic meiofauna typical of the modern Rhône prodelta (e.g., Valvulineria bradyana, Cassidulina carinata, Bulimina marginata). Several periods of increased fluvial discharge are also emphasized by the presence of species commonly found in brackish and shallow-water environments (e.g., Leptocythere spp.

Tertiary Sequence Stratigraphy of Bird Head Area, Eastern Indonesia

“…Meanwhile, paleo-bathymetry changes related to the shift of shoreline trajectories at one point through time. The evolution of sedimentary environment marked by changes of lithofacies and benthic faunal assemblages in relation to sea level rise and climate changes (Fanget et al, 2016). The fossil abundance is related to an adequate nutrition and accommodation space.…”

Late Holocene development of Bubiyan Island, Kuwait

“…3) was initiated concurrently with most present deltas in the world, during deceleration of global sea-level rise ca. 8500-6500 cal yr BP (Stanley and Warne, 1994;Trincardi et al, 2004;Engels and Roberts, 2005;Fanget et al, 2016). Evolution of these deltas was controlled by sea-level changes, climatic fluctuations, and differential sedimentation (Sanlaville, 1989(Sanlaville, , 2002Baltzer and Purser, 1990;Aqrawi, 1993Aqrawi, , 2001Sanlaville and Dalongeville, 2005).…”

Dynamics of benthic marine communities across the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary in the Mediterranean region (Valle di Manche, Southern Italy): Biotic and stratigraphic implications

“…crustaceans (0.4 to 2.0 mm on average) a routinely employed tool in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from continental to marine settings (e.g., Bonaduce et al, 1975;Henderson, 1990;Montenegro and Pugliese, 1996;Faranda et al, 2007;Pascual et al, 2008;Marriner and Morhange, 2007;Bini et al, 2012;Marco Barba et al, 2013a, 2013bGrossi et al, 2015;Martinez Garcia et al, 2015;Mazzini et al, 2015Mazzini et al, , 2017Pint et al, 2015). Recent studies have also documented the os tracod capability to track high frequency and high energy depositional events (paleofloods) in the marine realm (Angue Minto'o et al, 2015;Barbieri and Vaiani, 2018;Fanget et al, 2016). In contrast, minor at tention has been paid on the relevance of marine ostracods in identi fying stratal stacking patterns and depositional trends in a sequence stratigraphic perspective, also with respect to other biological proxies (e.g., Yasuhara et al, 2012;Amorosi et al, 2014a).…”