Publication Date:
2023-11-02
Description:
The upper Mediterranean Outflow Water (MOW) paleo-oceanographic history in the Gulf of Cadiz is poorly constrained due to the lack of high-resolution records that pre-date the last glaciation. Existing proxy records concentrate on MOW variability along the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz. Here we present a continuous high-resolution benthic foraminifera d18O record from the upper MOW core at IODP Expedition 339 Site U1386 in the Gulf of Cadiz of the past 150000 years. Based on d18O, grain-size and Zr/Al variability comparison of our results with existing Mediterranean Sea (MD01-2472, MD95-2043), open ocean (LR04) and Gulf of Cadiz (MD99-2339) records we have gathered new insights into the evolution of the upper MOW core on glacial-interglacial timescales. The influence of the upper MOW at Site U1386 was strongest during MIS 5 and MIS 1. Similar d18O variability can be seen in the Levantine IntermediateWater (LIW) originating from the Levantine Basin of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. We found clear indication for a vertical shift of the MOW from the upper to the middle slope of the Gulf of Cadiz during sea level lowstands coinciding with MIS 4 and MIS 2 but also during MIS 3. Additionally, our results indicate an increased upper MOW flow correlated with Heinrich Events 7 to 10 and the Younger Dryas, and also inversely relate to precession-forced monsoonal freshwater inputs into the Eastern Mediterranean. In the context of Sapropel formation,we could not find conclusive evidence of the proposed MOW shutdown in our data.
Keywords:
339-U1386; Age model; Age model, stable isotope stratigraphy; COMPCORE; Composite Core; DEPTH, sediment/rock; Exp339; Integrated Ocean Drilling Program / International Ocean Discovery Program; IODP; Joides Resolution; Mediterranean Outflow
Type:
Dataset
Format:
text/tab-separated-values, 36 data points
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