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Glacial–Holocene salinity changes in the Mediterranean Sea: hydrographic and depositional effects

Nature volume 338, pages 493–496 (1989)Cite this article

Abstract

OXYGEN isotope changes as recorded by Pleistocene foraminifera from open-ocean sediments are primarily a function of changes in the isotopic composition of the global seawater reservoir caused by ice-volume changes, with a secondary temperature component1. Oxygen isotope records from marginal basins such as the Gulf of Mexico2, the Mediterranean Sea3–5 and the Red Sea6 also exhibit the global signal but are far more complicated owing to the strong overprint of local climate conditions. In particular, glacial–interglacial changes in continental aridity and river runoff produce significant salinity changes in these semi-enclosed basins. Using available oxygen isotope records we estimate that glacial (18,000 yr BP) salinities in the eastern and western Mediterranean Sea were 2.7‰ and 1.2‰ higher, respectively, than at present. These elevated glacial salinities played an important part in preconditioning the eastern Mediterranean for the eventual accumulation of organic carbon-rich sediments (sapropels) at the end of deglaciation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geological Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 29208, USA

    Robert C. Thunell & Douglas F. Williams

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  1. Robert C. Thunell
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  2. Douglas F. Williams
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Thunell, R., Williams, D. Glacial–Holocene salinity changes in the Mediterranean Sea: hydrographic and depositional effects. Nature 338, 493–496 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/338493a0

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