Sea-surface bioproductivity changes in the Northwest Pacific over the last 25 kyr

The sea-surface bioproductivity changes over the last 25 kyr were inferred from published data on 30 sediment cores from the open Northwest Pacific (NWP), Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea and Sea of Japan accounting for the glacioeustatic sea-level changes. A novel method was developed to compare the variations of several independent productivity proxies relative to the present-day values. During the Last Glacial Maximum, the bioproductivity in the Sea of Okhotsk and the western Bering Sea (BS) was lower than at present, whereas the southern and southeastern Bering Sea and the open NWP are characterized by enhanced bioproductivity. During the early deglacial stage, an increase in bioproductivity was estimated only for the southeastern Bering Sea. High and fairly high bioproductivity was estimated for Heinrich 1 in the open NWP, above the Umnak Plateau and on the Shirshov and Bowers Ridges in the Bering Sea. The high productivity in the Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and NWP during the Bølling/Allerød was caused by the global warming and enhanced nutrient supply by meltwater from the continent. During the Early Holocene, high productivity was estimated for almost the entire NWP. The Late Holocene sea-surface bioproductivity was generally lower than that of the Early Holocene. Proposed factors that have controlled the sea-surface bioproductivity during the last 25 kyr include: the location of the sea ice margin, the river runoff, gradual flooding of the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk shelf areas, the water mass exchange between the marginal seas and the open NWP, the eolian supply and the deep vertical mixing of the water column.     

3.4万年以来南极斯科舍海古生产力演变及其环境制约

本文通过对南极斯科舍海东南部DC-11岩芯生物硅、有机氮、TFe2O3与有机氮同位素的年代学分析,重建了该海区3.4万年以来古生产力与环境演变历史.研究结果表明,生物硅、有机氮含量与南极温度变化基本一致,暖期高、冷期低;有机氮同位素值与南大洋海冰变化相吻合,暖期小、冷期大,冷期硝酸盐利用率大于暖期.从末次冰期、末次冰消...     

Oxygen and nutrient fluxes through the Straits of the Cretan Arc (March 1994–January 1995)

The Straits of the Cretan Arc are the gateways through which water exchanges between the Cretan Sea and the SE Ionian and NW Levantine Seas. Dissolved oxygen and nutrient fluxes have been quantified for the major straits — Antikithira, Kassos and Karpathos — by combining chemical bottle-sample data and current measurements obtained during the PELAGOS Project during 1994–1995. Two water masses, Cretan Deep Water (CDW) and Transitional Mediterranean Water (TMW) dominate the circulation through the straits and lead to a vertical redistribution of nutrients in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea.The transport of chemicals through the major straits of the Cretan Arc appears to be highly variable. In the Antikithira and Kassos Straits, a net export of oxygen and nutrients from the Cretan Sea towards the open waters of the Eastern Mediterranean was observed throughout the entire study period. In contrast, a net inflow of oxygen and nutrients of Levantine origin was taking place through the Karpathos Strait. It is concluded that the export of nutrients through the Antikithira and Kassos Straits are almost completely balanced by the net import through the Karpathos Strait.     

New Development of Eastern Mediterranean Circulation based on Hydrological Observations and Current Measurements

Abstract. A number of recent studies based on hydrographic observations and modelling simulations have dealt with the major climatic shift that occurred in the deep circulation of the Eastern Mediterranean. This work presents hydrographic observations and current measurements conducted from 1997 to 1999, which reveal strong modifications in the dynamics of the upper, intermediate and deep layers, as well as an evolution of the thermohaline characteristics of the deep Aegean outflow since 1995. The reversal of the circulation in the upper layer of the north/central Ionian is worthy of note. The observations indicate a reduction of Atlantic Water in the northern Ionian with an increase on the eastern side of the basin. In the intermediate layer, the dispersal path of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) is altered. Highly saline (>39.0) and well-oxygenated intermediate waters were found near the Western Cretan Arc Straits. They flow out from the Aegean, thus interrupting the traditional path of the LIW, and spread prevalently northwards into the Adriatic Sea. In the deep layer, dense waters, exiting from the Adriatic (σ_ø−29.18 kg · m⁻³), flow against the western continental margin in the Ionian Sea at a depth of between 1000–1500 m. Dense waters of Aegean origin (> 29.20 kg · m⁻³), discharged into the central region of the Eastern Mediterranean during the early stages of the transient, propagate prevalently to the east in the Levantine basin and to the west in the northern Ionian Sea. Near-bottom current measurements conducted in the Ionian Sea reveal unforeseen aspects of deep dynamics, suggesting a new configuration of the internal thermohaline conveyor belt of the Eastern Mediterranean.     

Paleoenvironmental records from the northern South China Sea since the Last Glacial Maximum

Core ZHS-176 contains the paleoenvironmental records from the northern South China Sea (NSCS) since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). A coupled approach based on clay mineral assemblages, planktonic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotopes, and calcium carbonate content is used to trace the sources of the fine-grained sediment and to investigate the paleoenviornmental evolution in this area. Clay mineral assemblages are dominated by illite (average about 39%) and chlorite (about 27%), which comes mainly from Taiwan and the East China Sea. Kaolinite, which accounts for about 13%, comes mainly from the Zhujiang (Pearl) River, and Luzon Island is the main source for smectite (about 21%). The planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopic oscillations during the last glacial period are coeval with climate variations recorded in the Greenland ice core and Western Pacific sediment. These variations include the LGM, Heinrich event 1, Bφlling-Allerφd (B/A), and Younger Dryas. For the Holocene, three periods of strong precipitation (S1-S3) and three periods of weak precipitation (W1-W3) are identified. The oxygen isotopic record exhibits corre-lation with climate records from distant regions, including the high-latitude Northern Hemisphere, providing evidence for global tele-connection among regional climate. A brief, negative planktonic foraminiferal carbon isotopic excursion during B/A reflects increased methane released from marine gas hydrate due to the rapid warming of the water. By comparing calcium carbonate content curves of the core ZHS-176 with these of other five boreholes lying above the lysocline, a remarkable low calcium carbonate event is found during the early Holocene in NSCS.     

Paleoclimatic and diagenetic history of the late quaternary sediments in a core from the Southeastern Arabian Sea: Geochemical and magnetic signals

Geochemical and rock-magnetic investigations were carried out on a sediment core collected from the SE Arabian Sea at 1420 m depth in oxygenated waters below the present-day oxygen minimum zone. The top 250 cm of the core sediments represent the last 35 kaBP. The · ¹⁸O values of Globigerinoides ruber are heaviest during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and appear unaffected by low-saline waters transported from the Bay of Bengal by the strong northeast monsoon and West Indian coastal current. The signatures of Bølling-Allerød and Younger Dryas events are distinct in the records of magnetic susceptibility, organic carbon (OC) and · ¹⁸O. Glacial sediments show higher OC, CaCO₃, Ba, Mo, U and Cd, while the early-to-late Holocene sediments show increasing concentrations of OC, CaCO₃, Ba, Cu, Ni and Zn and decreasing concentrations of Mo, U and Cd. Productivity induced low-oxygenated bottom waters and reducing sedimentary conditions during glaciation, and productivity and oxygenated bottom waters in the Holocene are responsible for their variation. The core exhibits different stages of diagenesis at different sediment intervals. The occurrence of fine-grained, low-coercivity, ferrimagnetic mineral during glacial periods is indicative of its formation in organic-rich, anoxic sediments, which may be analogous to the diagenetic magnetic enhancement known in sapropels of the Mediterranean Sea and Japan Sea. The glacial sediments exhibiting reductive diagenesis with anoxic sedimentary environment in this core correspond to reductive diagenesis and intermittent bioturbation (oxygenation) reported in another core in the vicinity. This suggests that the poorly oxygenated bottom water conditions during glacial times should not be generalized, but are influenced locally by productivity, sedimentation rates and sediment reworking.     

罗斯海西部末次冰盛期以来沉积环境重建:有机碳与生物标志化合物分析

本文研究采自位于南极罗斯海西部的ANT32-RB16C柱状沉积物,根据粒度、有机碳和生物标志化合物数据探讨末次冰盛期(24.8 ～20 ka BP)以来该地区有机质来源及沉积环境特征。该柱状样记录了冰架下沉积、冰架前沉积、开阔海域沉积的沉积环境。指示有机质来源的生物标志化合物指标表明该柱状样中所含有机质主要为浮游植物、细菌等海源输入,同时伴有少量陆源物质混合输入。末次冰盛期,由于冰架的影响有机质含量较低,环流影响使得有机质受低等浮游藻类生物等海源影响较大。末次冰消期(20～11.7 ka BP),罗斯冰架消退,冰川溶解释放的有机质在此沉积,使得陆源有机质输入增多,有机质含量升高。进入全新世,有机质含量较末次冰盛期和末次冰消期明显升高,海源输入比例增大,同时细菌等原核生物增多,导致短链正构烷烃降解程度较大。研究区的氧化还原环境主要受冰架与海冰限制作用的影响,与有机质含量和高氧的南极底层水关系不大。总体来说,从末次冰盛期到末次冰消期,研究区沉积环境受罗斯冰架进退影响,全新世以来受气候变化影响。     

Late glacial to Holocene climate and sedimentation history in the NW Black Sea

Gravity cores from the continental slope in the northwestern Black Sea were studied using high-resolution stable isotope, grain size and XRF-scanning data. The measurements provide a 30 000 years AMS ¹⁴C-dated record of variations in the hydrological regime of the Black Sea and give insight into changing paleoenvironments in the surrounding areas. Stable climatic conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum were followed by a series of meltwater pulses most likely originating from the Scandinavian ice sheet between 18 000 and 15 500 yr BP.¹ This meltwater input rose the level of the Caspian Sea to a point that Caspian water could spill into the Black Sea via the Manych-depression north of the Caucasian mountains. High-frequency oscillations in the XRF-data during this period suggest a probable link to the arctic climate regime. Later, during the Bølling/Allerød and the early Holocene, prevailing high temperatures led to authigenic calcite precipitation through increased phytoplankton activity, interrupted by the Younger Dryas and the “8200 yr BP cold event” with dominant clastic sedimentation.     

The Japan Sea Intermediate Water; Its Characteristics and Circulation

In the southern Japan Sea there is a salinity minimum layer between the Tsushima Current Water and the Japan Sea Proper Water. Since the salinity minimum corresponds to the North Pacific Intermediate Water, it is named the Japan Sea Intermediate Water (JIW). To examine the source and circulation of JIW, the basin-wide salinity minimum distribution was investigated on the basis of hydrographic data obtained in 1969. The young JIW, showing the highest oxygen concentration and the lowest salinity, is seen in the southwestern Japan Sea west of 133°E, while another JIW with lower oxygen and higher salinity occupies the southeastern Japan Sea south of the subpolar front. Since the young JIW shows high oxygen concentrations, high temperatures and low densities, the source of the water is probably in the surface layer. It is inferred that the most probable region of subduction is the subarctic front west of 132°E with the highest oxygen and the lowest salinity at shallow salinity minimum. In addition, property distributions suggest that JIW takes two flow paths: a eastward flow along the subarctic front and an southward flow toward the Ulleung Basin. On the other hand, a different salinity minimum from JIW occupies the northern Japan Sea north of the subarctic front, which shows an apparently higher salinity and high oxygen concentration than JIW. However, this salinity minimum is considered not to be a water mass but to be a boundary between overlying and underlying water masses. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Macrofauna Communities in the Eastern Mediterranean Deep Sea

Abstract. During two expeditions with RV ‘Meteor’ in summer 1993 and winter 1997/98 the structural and functional diversity of the benthic system of the highly oligotrophic eastern Mediterranean deep sea was investigated. The macrofauna communities were dominated by polychaetes even at the deepest stations. The fauna at shallow stations was dominated by surface deposit feeders, whereas subsurface deposit feeders and predators generally increased with depth. A high percentage of suspension‐feeding Porifera was found in the Levantine Basin. Mean abundance and number of taxa of both expeditions were significantly correlated to depth and distance to the nearest coast as well as to the total organic carbon (TOC) content in sediments. Numbers of taxa and abundance decreased generally with depth, although lowest numbers were not found at the deepest stations but in the extremely oligotrophic Levantine and Ierapetra Basin. Biomass measured during the second cruise was extremely low in the Ierapetra Basin and comparable to other extreme oligotrophic seas. The significant correlations found for TOC contents and macrofauna with distance to coast during both expeditions apparently reflect the role of hydrographically governed transport of organic matter produced in coastal regions into greater and extreme depths of the Mediterranean Sea. Seasonal differences in macrofauna communities due to seasonal differences in food supply were not found. However, recent large‐scale hydrographic changes (Eastern Mediterranean Transient, EMT) might change the oligotrophy and, thus, the structure of the benthic communities in the Eastern Mediterranean deep sea.     

Transient Eastern Mediterranean deep waters in response to the massive dense-water output of the Aegean Sea in the 1990s

We present a detailed account of the changing hydrography and the large-scale circulation of the deep waters of the Eastern Mediterranean (EMed) that resulted from the unique, high-volume influx of dense waters from the Aegean Sea during the 1990s, and of the changes within the Aegean that initiated the event, the so-called ‘Eastern Mediterranean Transient’ (EMT). The analysis uses repeated hydrographic and transient tracer surveys of the EMed in 1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, and 2001/2002, hydrographic time series in the southern Aegean and southern Adriatic Seas, and further scattered data. Aegean outflow averaged nearly 3 × 10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ between mid-1992 and late 1994, and was largest during 1993, when south and west of Crete Aegean-influenced deep waters extended upwards to 400 m depth. EMT-related Aegean outflow prior to 1992, confined to the region around Crete and to 1800 m depth-wise, amounted to about 3% of the total outflow. Outflow after 1994 up to 2001/2002, derived from the increasing inventory of the tracer CFC-12, contributed 20% to the total, of 2.8 × 10¹⁴ m³. Densities in the southern Aegean Sea deep waters rose by 0.2 kg/m³ between 1987 and 1993, and decreased more slowly thereafter. The Aegean waters delivered via the principal exit pathway in Kasos Strait, east of Crete, propagated westward along the Cretan slope, such that in 1995 the highest densities were observed in the Hellenic Trench west of Crete. Aegean-influenced waters also crossed the East Mediterranean Ridge south of Crete and from there expanded eastward into the southeastern Levantine Sea. Transfer into the Ionian mostly followed the Hellenic Trench, largely up to the trench’s northern end at about 37°N. From there the waters spread further west while mixing with the resident waters. Additional transfer occurred through the Herodotus Trough in the south. Levantine waters after 1994 consistently showed temperature–salinity (T–S) inversions in roughly 1000–1700 m depth, with amplitudes decreasing in time. The T–S distributions in the Ionian Sea were more diverse, one cause being added Aegean outflow of relatively lower density through the Antikithira Strait west of Crete. Spreading of the Aegean-influenced waters was quite swift, such that by early 1995 the entire EMed was affected. and strong mixing is indicated by near-linear T–S relationships observed in various places. Referenced to 2000 and 3000 dbar, the highest Aegean-generated densities observed during the event equaled those generated by Adriatic Sea outflow in the northern Ionian Sea prior to the EMT. A precarious balance between the two dense-water source areas is thus indicated. A feedback is proposed which helped triggering the change from a dominating Adriatic source to the Aegean source, but at the same time supported the previous long-year dominance of the Adriatic. The EMed deep waters will remain transient for decades to come.     

Postglacial paleoceanographic environments in the Barents and Baltic seas

This paper presents reconstructions of ice sheet boundaries, lacustrine and marine paleobasins, as well as the connections of the Barents and Baltic seas with the North Atlantic from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. The reconstructions are based on original and published data obtained from the northern and western parts of the Barents Sea and Baltic depressions with account for the available regional schematic maps of deglaciation. The early deglaciation of the Scandinavian–Barents ice sheet culminated with the Bølling-Allerød interstadial (14.5–12.9 cal ka BP), which was characterized by a more vigorous Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) and a corresponding increase in surface Atlantic water inflow into the Barents Sea through deep troughs. The Baltic Ice Lake (BIL) remained a dammed-up isolated basin during deglaciation from 16.0 to 11.7 cal ka BP. In the Younger Dryas (YD), the lake drained into the North Sea and was replaced by a brackish Yoldia Sea (YS) at the beginning of the Holocene (Preboreal, 11.7–10.7 cal ka BP), due to a limited connection between two basins through the Närke Strait. In the Barents Sea, the next increase in the Atlantic water influx into the deep basins corresponded to terminal YD and Preboreal events with a culmination in the Early Holocene. The Yoldia Sea became a lake again during the next stage, the Ancylus (~10.7–8.8 cal ka BP). Atlantic water inflow both into the Barents and Baltic seas varied during the Holocene, with a maximum contribution in the Early Holocene, when the Littorina Sea (LS, 8–4 cal ka BP) connection with the North Sea via the Danish Straits was formed to replace the Ancylus Lake. The recent, post-Littorina stage (PS, the last 4 cal ka) of the Baltic Sea evolution began in the Late Holocene.     

南海北部陆坡ZSQD196PC柱状样末次间冰期以来的古海洋学记录：氧同位素、有孔虫和硅藻

为了解南海北部陆坡末次间冰期以来的古海洋沉积环境演化特征,对研究区ZSQD196PC柱状样有孔虫、硅藻及有孔虫氧同位素资料开展了分析。依据沉积有孔虫、硅藻主要属种的百分含量、丰度及组合特征,将有孔虫划分为3个组合,分别对应于氧同位素MIS1、2、3~4期;将硅藻划分为4个组合,大致对应于MIS1~4期。MIS1期有孔虫以暖水种占优势,Pulleniatina obliquiloculata百分含量显著升高;硅藻丰度低且以热性种占优势,其中冷期出现大量沿岸种,反映相对温暖的气候条件。MIS2~4期有孔虫以冷水种占优势,温跃层种含量相对较高;硅藻丰度高且以广布种占优势,出现沿岸种含量的升高,反映较冷的气候条件。通过对比浮游有孔虫氧同位素,分析讨论了末次盛冰期、Blling—Allerd暖期和新仙女木事件在ZSQD196PC柱状样的沉积响应,揭示了末次冰期中的气候波动。     

末次盛冰期以来巴伦支海-喀拉海古海洋环境及海冰研究进展

巴伦支海-喀拉海是北冰洋最大的边缘海,能够对环境变化做出快速的响应和反馈,是全球气候变化最为敏感的区域之一,其古海洋环境演变及海冰变化研究是全球气候变化研究的重要组成部分。末次盛冰期以来,该区域的古海洋环境受到太阳辐射、海流强度、海平面变化、温盐环流和河流输入等因素影响发生了一系列不同尺度的波动。巴伦支海受到北大西洋暖水和极地冷水两大水团相互作用的影响,在水团交界处 （极锋) 由于不同水团性质的差异,导致其海水温度、盐度及海冰发生剧烈变化。而喀拉海则受到叶尼塞河和鄂毕河大量淡水输入影响,海流系统较巴伦支海相对复杂,沉积物主要来源于河流输入的陆源物质,并可以通过磁化率的分析明确区分两条河流的陆源物质。由于受到冷水和暖水的相互作用,巴伦支海-喀拉海海冰变化迅速,并且在全新世中晚期存在 0.4 ka 和 0.95 ka 的变化周期,但海冰变化的影响因素并不是单一的,而是气候系统内部各因子相互作用的结果。目前古海冰重建研究工作主要为定性研究,定量研究相对较少,所选用的重建指标也相对单一,另外存在年代框架差、分辨率低等不足。本文以巴伦支海和喀拉海为中心,总结了其快速气候突变事件、古温度盐度、海平面及海冰的变化,对影响因素进行了探讨,并通过分析末次盛冰期以来古海洋环境研究的不足,提出了相应的展望。     

Late quaternary diatom stratigraphy and paleoceanology of the Deryugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk) during the Last Glacial Maximum

Diatoms were studied in the KOMEX LV28-34-2 sediment core from the northwestern Sea of Okhotsk. The interval from the penultimate glacial to the Holocene was subdivided into stratigraphic units based on the distribution of biogeographic groups and individual index species. The analysis of the diatom assemblages indicated that, during the Last Glacial Maximum, of the Deryugin Basin was regularly covered with extensive seasonal ice of at least 70% concentration for a minimum of 6–7 months per year. Cold subarctic water from the adjacent open Pacific could have reached as far as the northwestern sea area.     

Microbial respiration in the Levantine Sea: evolution of the oxidative processes in relation to the main Mediterranean water masses

First data on microbial respiration in the Levantine Sea are reported with the aim of assessing the distribution of oxidative processes in association with the main Mediterranean water masses and the changing physical structure determined by the Eastern Mediterranean Transient. Respiratory rates, in terms of metabolic carbon dioxide production, were estimated from measured electron transport system activities in the polygonal area of the Levantine Sea (32.5–36.5 N Latitude, 26.0–30.25 E Longitude) and at Station Geo’95, in the Ionian Sea (35°34.88 N; 17°14.99 E). At the Levantine Sea, the mean carbon dioxide production rate decreased from the upper to the deeper layers and varied from 22.0±12.4 μg C h⁻¹ m⁻³ in the euphotic layer to 1.30±0.5 μg C h⁻¹ m⁻³ in the depth range between 1600 and 3000 m. Significant differences were found among upper, intermediate and bottom layers. The euphotic zone supported a daily carbon dioxide production of 96.6 mg C d⁻¹ m⁻² while the aphotic zone (between 200 and 3000 m) sustained a 177.1 mg C d⁻¹ m⁻² carbon dioxide production. In Station Geo’95, the carbon dioxide production rates amounted to 170.4 and 102.2 mg C d⁻¹ m⁻² in the euphotic and aphotic zones, respectively. The rates determined in the identified water masses showed a tight coupling of respiratory processes and Mediterranean circulation patterns. The increasing respiratory rates in the deep layers of the Levantine Sea are explained by the introduction of younger waters recently formed in the Aegean Sea.     

末次盛冰期以来南海北部神狐海域沉积有机质的组成特征及其古气候/环境意义

通过对两根沉积柱GHE27L和GHE24L的总有机碳（TOC）、总氮（TN）、C/N比值及稳定碳同位素（δ13C_org）的分析,本文探讨了21.1 ka BP以来南海北部陆坡神狐海域沉积有机质的组成特征及可能的古气候/环境信息。沉积柱GHE27L的TOC含量、TN含量、C/N比值及δ13C_org值分别为0.53%~1.81%,0.07%~0.18%,8.2~16.0和-23.6‰~-20.3‰。沉积柱GHE24L各参数则分布为0.45%~1.65%,0.09%~0.24%,5.3~12.2和-22.6‰~-20.4‰。沉积柱总体有机质的剖面变化显示,末次盛冰期以来南海北部沉积有机质具有海洋和陆地混合来源,但以海洋有机质来源为主。冰期陆源有机质对总有机质的相对贡献比全新世高。末次盛冰期南海北部气候相对干旱,C₄植被发育。全新世夏季风增强、降雨增多。自2.0 ka BP以来,人类活动对南海北部海洋初级生产力产生一定的影响。     

南海北部东沙海域天然气水合物分解事件及其与海底滑塌的关系

东沙海域是南海北部一个重要的天然气水合物成藏区, 其陆坡广泛发育滑塌构造。文章对采自东沙陆坡中部973-4柱样和下部平坦区973-5柱样开展了沉积学粒度、底栖有孔虫种属特征和稳定同位素等的综合分析。研究结果表明: 两个柱样中底栖有孔虫的δ¹³C在末次冰期均出现明显负偏现象, 同时δ¹⁸O增高, 指示该时期东沙海域存在持续的天然气水合物分解事件; 末次冰消期以来, δ¹³C负偏现象逐渐消失, δ¹⁸O值降低, 可能是由于海平面上升阻止了天然气水合物分解。973-4柱样仅在末次盛冰期对应层位440~600cm段存在明显的滑塌沉积, 且该层段对应的特征底栖有孔虫Uvigerina spp.和Bulimina spp.的数量突增, 推测该区的海底滑塌可能是由于末次盛冰期海平面大幅度下降引起天然气水合物大量分解诱发所致; 973-5柱样同样记录到了海底滑塌现象, 但其滑塌沉积晚于973-4柱样的滑塌时间, 且其规模较小。     

中更新世以来东海陆架的古环境

基于１９９６年中法合作在东海陆架进行的电火花单道地震调查资料,并与位于东海外陆架钻孔ＤＺＱ４对比,发现对应于氧同位素６期以来的六个地震地层与钻孔地层呈现很好的对应关系,其间共有四次海退－海进的沉积旋回。资料分析表明东海第四纪环境演变与全球气候冷暖变化所导致的海面升降直接相关。     

Postglacial floodings of the Marmara Sea: molluscs and sediments tell the story

The early Holocene marine flooding of the Black Sea has been the subject of intense scientific debate since the “Noah’s Flood” hypothesis was proposed in the late 1990s. The chronology of the flooding is not straightforward because the connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea involves the intermediate Marmara Sea Basin via two sills (Dardanelles and Bosphorus). This study explores the chronology of late Pleistocene–Holocene flooding by examining sedimentary facies and molluscs from 24 gravity cores spanning shelf to slope settings in the southern Marmara Sea Basin. A late Pleistocene Ponto-Caspian (Neoeuxinian) mollusc association is found in 12 of the cores, comprising 14 mollusc species and dominated by brackish (oligohaline–lower mesohaline) endemic taxa (dreissenids, hydrobiids). The Neoeuxinian association is replaced by a Turritella–Corbula association at the onset of the Holocene. The latter is dominated by marine species, several of which are known to thrive under dysoxic conditions in muddy bottoms. This association is common in early Holocene intervals as well as sapropel intervals in younger Holocene strata. It is an indicator of low-salinity outflows from the Black Sea into the Marmara Sea that drive stratification. A marine Mediterranean association (87 species) represents both soft bottom and hard substrate faunas that lived in well-ventilated conditions and upper mesohaline–polyhaline salinities (ca. 25 psu). Shallower areas were occupied by hard substrate taxa and phytopdetritic communities, whereas deeper areas had soft bottom faunas. The middle shelf part of the northern Gemlik Gulf has intervals with irregular and discontinuous sedimentary structures admixed with worn Neoeuxinian and euryhaline Mediterranean faunas. These intervals represent reworking events (slumping) likely related to seismic activity rooted in the North Anatolian Fault system. The core data and faunas indicate an oscillating postglacial sea-level rise and phases of increased/decreased ventilation in the Marmara Sea during the Holocene, as well as palaeobiogeographic reorganisations of Ponto-Caspian and Mediterranean water bodies since the latest Pleistocene (<30 ka). The findings contribute to arguments against a single catastrophic flooding of the Black Sea at about 7.5 ka (Noah’s Flood).