Deltaic and coastal sediments as recorders of Mediterranean regional climate and human impact over the past three millennia

Type Article
Date 2018-06
Language English
Author(s) Jalali Bassem1, 2, Sicre Marie-Alexandrine2, Klein Vincent2, Schmidt Sabine3, Maselli Vittorio4, 5, Lirer Fabrizio6, Bassetti Maria-Angela7, Toucanne SamuelORCID8, Jorry StephanORCID8, Insinga Donatella Domenica6, Petrosino Paola9, Chales Fanny2
Affiliation(s) 1 : Univ Sfax, Fac Sci Sfax, GEOGLOB, Sfax, Tunisia.
2 : Sorbonne Univ, LOCEAN Lab, CNRS IRD MNHN, Univ Paris 06, Paris, France.
3 : Univ Bordeaux, EPOC UMR5805, Pessac, France.
4 : ISMAR CNR, Ist Scienze Marine, Bologna, Italy.
5 : Univ Aberdeen, Sch Geosci, Dept Geol & Petr Geol, Aberdeen, Scotland.
6 : CNR, IAMC, Naples, Italy.
7 : Univ Perpignan, CNRS, CEFREM UMR5110, Perpignan, France.
8 : IFREMER, Lab Geodynam & Enregistrement Sedimentair, Plouzane, France.
9 : Univ Federico II Napoli, Dipartimento Sci Terra Ambiente & Risorse, Naples, Italy.
Source Paleoceanography And Paleoclimatology (2572-4517) (Amer Geophysical Union), 2018-06 , Vol. 33 , N. 6 , P. 579-593
DOI 10.1029/2017PA003298
WOS© Times Cited 17
Keyword(s) Sea surface temperatures, Higher plant biomarker, Deltaic sediments, NW and central Mediterranean, Last millennia
Abstract

Deltaic and shallow marine sediments represent unique natural archives to study the evolution of surface coastal ocean water properties as compared to environmental changes in adjacent continents. Sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and higher plant biomarker records were generated from the Rhone and Var River deltaic sediments (NW Mediterranean Sea), and three sites in the South Adriatic Sea (Central/Eastern Mediterranean Sea), spanning all or part of the past three millennia. Because of the high sediment accumulation rates at all core sites, we were able to produce time series at decadal time scale. SSTs in the Gulf of Lion and the convection area of the South Adriatic Sea indicate similar cold mean values (around 17°C), and pronounced cold spells, reflecting strong wind‐driven surface water heat loss. However, they differ in the rate of post‐industrial warming, which is steeper in the Gulf of Lion. The three Adriatic Sea SST records are notably different reflecting different hydrological influence from near‐shore to open sea sites. The compositional features of higher plant n‐alkanes in the Rhone and Var delta sediments and inferred vegetation types show differences consistent with the latitudinal extension of the drainage basins of both river‐streams. In the Adriatic Sea, both coastal and open sea sediments indicate enhanced land‐derived material over the past 500 years, that is not seen in the NW Mediterranean cores. We suggest that increased erosion as the result of changes in land use practices is the most likely cause for this trend.

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Jalali Bassem, Sicre Marie-Alexandrine, Klein Vincent, Schmidt Sabine, Maselli Vittorio, Lirer Fabrizio, Bassetti Maria-Angela, Toucanne Samuel, Jorry Stephan, Insinga Donatella Domenica, Petrosino Paola, Chales Fanny (2018). Deltaic and coastal sediments as recorders of Mediterranean regional climate and human impact over the past three millennia. Paleoceanography And Paleoclimatology, 33(6), 579-593. Publisher's official version : https://doi.org/10.1029/2017PA003298 , Open Access version : https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00441/55248/