Thermosteresis and Transportation of Atlantic Water Along Eurasian Basin of the Arctic Ocean

It is summarized based on previous studies that warm and salty Atlantic Water (AW) brings huge amount of heat into Arctic Ocean and influences oceanic heat distribution and climate. Both heat transportation and heat release of AW are key factors affecting the thermal process in Eurasian Basin. The Arctic circumpolar boundary current is the carrier of AW, whose flow velocity varies to influence the efficiency of the warm advection. Because the depth of AW in Eurasian Basin is much shallower than that in Canadian Basin, the upward heat release of AW is an important heat source to supply sea ice melting. Turbulent mixing, winter convention and double-diffusion convention constitute the main physical mechanism for AW upward heat release, which results in the decrease of the Atlantic water core temperature during its spreading along the boundary current. St. Anna Trough, a relatively narrow and long trough in northern continental shelf of Kara Sea, plays a key role in remodeling temperature and salinity characteristics of AW, in which the AW from Fram Strait enters the trough and mixes with the AW from Barents Sea. Since the 21^st Century, AW in the Arctic Ocean has experienced obvious warming and had the influence on the physical processes in downstream Canada Basin, which is attributed to the anomalous warming events of AW inflowing from the Fram Strait. It is inferred that the warming AW is dominated by a long-term warming trend superimposed on low frequency oscillation occurring in the Nordic Seas and North Atlantic Ocean. As the Arctic Ocean is experiencing sea ice decline and Arctic amplification, the role of AW heat release in response to the rapid change needs further investigation.     

Freshwater pulses in the eastern Arctic Ocean during Saalian and Early Weichselian ice-sheet collapse

Improved multiparameter records from the northern Barents Sea margin show two prominent freshwater pulses into the Arctic Ocean during MIS 5 that significantly disturbed the regional oceanic regime and probably affected global climate. Both pulses are associated with major iceberg-rafted debris (IRD) events, revealing intensive iceberg/sea ice melting. The older meltwater pulse occurred near the MIS 5/6 boundary (∼131,000 yr ago); its ∼2000 year duration and high IRD input accompanied by high illite content suggest a collapse of large-scale Saalian Glaciation in the Arctic Ocean. Movement of this meltwater with the Transpolar Drift current into the Fram Strait probably promoted freshening of Nordic Seas surface water, which may have increased sea-ice formation and significantly reduced deep-water formation. A second pulse of freshwater occurred within MIS 5a (∼77,000 yr ago); its high smectite content and relatively short duration is possibly consistent with sudden discharge of Early Weichselian ice-dammed lakes in northern Siberia as suggested by terrestrial glacial geologic data. The influence of this MIS 5a meltwater pulse has been observed at a number of sites along the Transpolar Drift, through Fram Strait, and into the Nordic Seas; it may well have been a trigger for the North Atlantic cooling event C20.     

西北冰洋加拿大海盆MIS 8期以来的物源变化及其指示的北极冰盖和洋流的演化

基于对中国第七次北极考察在西北冰洋获得的ARC7-LIC岩芯上部1 m（加拿大海盆近阿尔法脊一侧）自MIS 8期（约300 ka）以来的粘土矿物和全样Sr-Nd-Pb同位素的分析,判断北冰洋中心沉积物源的变化及其所反映的冰盖和表层洋流的演化。结果显示：在MIS 8、MIS5.4、MIS5.1、MIS3期中期冰筏事件以及末次冰消期,北美劳伦冰盖生长规模较大,研究区域的沉积被北美物源主导;相对地,MIS 6、MIS4期的沉积由西伯利亚物源-穿极流模式主导,反映了欧亚大陆冰盖的大规模发育。同时,研究区域在MIS 7、MIS5期的间冰期/间冰阶的沉积也与MIS 3、MIS1期的沉积有所区别。MIS 7、MIS5期的间冰期/间冰阶表现为西伯利亚物源以及穿极流控制下的沉积,而MIS 3期和全新世则表现为北美物源以及波弗特环流作用下的沉积特征,这一差异说明中-晚第四纪间冰阶段北冰洋表层洋流的位置在晚更新世前后发生了变迁。

     

白令海与西北冰洋表层沉积物中四醚膜类脂物研究及其生态和环境指示意义

通过对中国第3次和第4次北极考察在白令海和西北冰洋采集的65个表层样沉积物中生物标记物四醚膜类脂物(GDGTs)的研究,发现西北冰洋表层沉积物中类异戊二烯和支链GDGTs的浓度分布大致以楚科奇海和波弗特海的陆坡为界线,呈现南高北低的特征,这一特征主要与水体生产力和陆源有机质的输入量有关.基于GDGTs的陆源输入指数BIT显示,从楚科奇海北部到高纬度区的阿尔法脊,陆源有机质的相对比例明显增加,与有机碳稳定同位素等结果一致,表明BIT可以用来指示北极陆源有机质输入量的变化.应用前人TEXL86-SST方程估算的研究区表面海水温度SST与现代年均SST和夏季平均SST的相关性较差,原因可能与陆源输入的类异戊二烯GDGTs干扰以及低的古菌生产力有关.从季节性海冰覆盖区到永久性海冰覆盖区,基于支链GDGTs的环化指数CBT明显升高,可能反映了CBT对海冰覆盖状况的响应,但其响应机制还不清楚.基于支链GDGTs的环化指数CBT和甲基化指数MBT估算的北极陆地年均大气温度和土壤pH差异较大,可能是由表层沉积物的来源复杂以及混合作用造成的.     

冷水柳珊瑚骨骼化石重建的早全新世南海中层水十年际变化

冷水珊瑚可以提供其生长期内周围环境变化的信息, 有望填补中-深层海洋高分辨率重建材料的空缺。本文利用“深海勇士”号载人深潜器在甘泉海台西南角海山上(16.55°W, 110.89°E; 水深1119.3m)采集的柳珊瑚样品(SY185-9)开展探索性研究, 检验冷水珊瑚高分辨率古环境重建的应用价值。X射线衍射(XRD)分析结果表明SY185-9的矿物成分主要为镁方解石(Mg_0.06Ca_0.94CO₃); 骨骼横切面的¹⁴C测年结果显示SY185-9生长于早全新世, 时间跨度为9621±135~8922±114a B.P.; 利用环境扫描电子显微镜结合能谱仪和电子探针, 分析SY185-9骨骼横切面的元素组成和变化, 其中Mg/Ca比值指示了SY185-9生长时期平均海水温度为4.7±0.9℃, 较现代相同位置处的平均海水温度高约0.9℃, 可能反映早全新世南海中层水温度较现代略高的特征, 但也需注意冷水珊瑚Mg/Ca温度计算公式的区域适用性和珊瑚生命效应问题; Mg/Ca记录的频谱分析结果揭示显著的十年-百年际尺度波动, 可能反映中层水温度的自然变率, 或因局地海山地形而造成的中层海水与海表气候之间的密切联系。

     

Late Quaternary stratigraphy of the northern Rockall trough and Faeroe-Shetland channel,northeast Atlantic Ocean

A late Quaternary deep-water stratigraphic framework has been established for the deep-water areas (>450m) of the northern Rockall Trough and Faeroe-Shetland Channel. Four stratigraphic units (1–4) are identified; these are primarily biostratigraphic units based on dinoflagellate cyst evidence. Unit 1 represents the late Weichselian glacial (pre-13 000 yr BP); unit 2 the Late Glacial Interstadial (11 000-13 000 yr BP); unit 3 is of Younger Dryas age (10 000-11 000 yr BP); and unit 4 represents the Holocene interglacial (post-10 000 yr BP). This stratigraphy is supported by the discovery of the mixed Vedde Ash (10 600 yr BP) and North Atlantic Ash zone 1, and the Saksunarvatn Ash (9000–9100 yr BP), concentrated in units 3 and 4 respectively. The sedimentology indicates that the oceanographic regime underwent a major change between the glacial and interglacial stages. This is marked by the onset of strong bottom current activity, allied to the restoration of overflow of the Norwegian Sea Deep Water into the North Atlantic, towards the end of the Younger Dryas Stadial. Despite intense bioturbation and bottom-current reworking the basic stratigraphic framework is maintained. Recognition of two volcanic ash markers enables correlation with established onshore and offshore sequences of marine and non-marine environments.     

Arsenic and mercury contamination in 31 cores taken in 1965, St. Anna Trough, Kara Sea, Arctic Ocean

 Several cores of 31 collected in 1965 in the St. Anna Trough, Kara Sea, have very high concentrations of Hg and As in surface/near-surface samples. Mercury contents range from 94 to 3915 ppb with a mean of 444 ppb and a baseline value of 314 ppb. Arsenic contents range from 5 to 710 ppm with a mean of 51 ppm and a baseline value of 23 ppm. The Hg and part of the As loading is likely anthropogenic from industrial activities in Siberia via atmospheric emission and deposition onto catchments. This is followed by mobilization into fluvial systems and is added to by industrial effluent discharge. Post-depositional diagenesis from depth in the cores contributes to high As values. A north-flowing bottom current transports Hg- and As-bearing suspended material from the Ob River sea discharge zone to depositional environments in the St. Anna Trough. Dumping of military materials and other wastes into the Kara Sea from the late 1940s to 1991 has likely added to Hg and As loading in the trough sediments. The bioavailability of mercury from suspended materials may be the reason why higher than normal levels of these potentially toxic elements are found in European Arctic seabirds, ringed seal and polar bear. Received: 12 December 1999 · Accepted: 23 May 2000     

Holocene History of the Bering Sea Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) in Its Beaufort Sea Summer Grounds off Southwestern Victoria Island, Western Canadian Arctic

The fossil remains of 43 bowhead whales were mapped on the raised beaches of western Wollaston Peninsula, Victoria Island, Canadian Arctic, near the historic summer range limit of the Bering Sea stock in the Beaufort Sea. The elevations and radiocarbon ages of the remains demonstrate that the bowhead ranged commonly into the region following the submergence of Bering Strait at ca. 10,000 ¹⁴C yr B.P. until ca. 8500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. During the same interval, bowheads ranged widely from the Beaufort Sea to Baffin Bay. Subsequently, no whales reached Wollaston Peninsula until ca. 1500 ¹⁴C yr B.P. Late Holocene populations evidently were small, or occupations were brief, in comparison to those of the early Holocene. Although the late Holocene recurrence may relate to the expansion of pioneering Thule whalers eastward from Alaska, there are few Thule sites and limited evidence of Thule whaling in the area surveyed to support this suggestion.     

Stratigraphic constraints on late Pleistocene glacial erosion and deglaciation of the Chukchi margin, Arctic Ocean

At least two episodes of glacial erosion of the Chukchi margin at water depths to ∼ 450 m and 750 m have been indicated by geophysical seafloor data. We examine sediment stratigraphy in these areas to verify the inferred erosion and to understand its nature and timing. Our data within the eroded areas show the presence of glaciogenic diamictons composed mostly of reworked local bedrock. The diamictons are estimated to form during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and an earlier glacial event, possibly between OIS 4 to 5d. Both erosional events were presumably caused by the grounding of ice shelves originating from the Laurentide ice sheet. Broader glaciological settings differed between these events as indicated by different orientations of flutes on eroded seafloor. Postglacial sedimentation evolved from iceberg-dominated environments to those controlled by sea-ice rafting and marine processes in the Holocene. A prominent minimum in planktonic foraminiferal δ¹⁸O is identified in deglacial sediments at an estimated age near 13,000 cal yr BP. This δ¹⁸O minimum, also reported elsewhere in the Amerasia Basin, is probably related to a major Laurentide meltwater pulse at the Younger Dryas onset. The Bering Strait opening is also marked in the composition of late deglacial Chukchi sediments.     

原特提斯洋的俯冲、增生及闭合:阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘造山系早古生代增生/碰撞造山作用

分布在青藏高原北缘的阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘早古生代造山系被认为是原特提斯构造域最北部的构造拼合体。与其北侧具有长期增生历史的中亚造山系相比,特提斯造山拼合体被认为是各种来自冈瓦纳大陆北部大陆块体相互碰撞的产物。然而,与典型的阿尔卑斯和喜马拉雅碰撞造山带相比,阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘早古生代造山系包括有大量蛇绿岩、弧岩浆杂岩、俯冲-增生杂岩等,因此一些学者认为青藏高原北部的早古生代造山系为沿塔里木和华北克拉通边界向南逐渐增生的增生型造山带。但是,增生造山模式又很难解释南阿尔金-柴北缘地区普遍存在的与大陆俯冲有关的UHP变质岩、广泛分布的巴罗式变质作用和相关的岩浆作用,以及与碰撞造山有关的变形构造等。在本文中,通过对已有研究资料的综合总结,结合一些新的研究资料,我们提出在青藏高原东北缘的阿尔金-祁连-柴北缘造山系中,早古生代时期存在两种不同类型的造山作用,即增生和碰撞造山作用,其主要标志是北祁连-北阿尔金的HP/LT变质带、蛇绿混杂岩及与洋壳俯冲有关的构造岩浆作用,以及分布在柴北缘-南阿尔金与大陆俯冲和陆陆碰撞有关的UHP变质带、区域巴罗式变质作用、深熔作用、相关的岩浆活动及伸展垮塌作用等,并建立了一个反映原特提斯洋俯冲、增生、闭合及碰撞造山作用的构造模式。     

New constraints on elemental and Pb and Nd isotope compositions of South American and Southern African aerosol sources to the South Atlantic Ocean

Improving the geochemical database available for characterising potential natural and anthropogenic aerosol sources from South America and Southern Africa is a critical precondition for studies aimed at understanding trace metal controls on the marine biogeochemical cycles of the South Atlantic Ocean. We here present new elemental and isotopic data for a wide range of sample types from South America and Southern Africa that are potentially important aerosol sources. This includes road dust from Buenos Aires and lichen samples from Johannesburg, soil dust from Patagonia, volcanic ash from the Andean volcanic belt, and aerosol samples from São Paulo. All samples were investigated for major (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, K, Mn) and trace element (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, REE, Sc, Th, Y, V, Zn) concentrations and Nd and Pb isotopic compositions. We show that diagrams of ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb vs. ε_Nd, ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁷Pb vs. Pb/Al, 1/[Pb], Zn/Al, Cd/Al, Cu/Al, and ε_Nd vs. Pb/Al, and 1/[Nd] are best suited to separate South American and South African source regions as well as natural and anthropogenic sources. A subset of samples from Patagonia and the Andes was additionally subjected to separation of a fine (<5?μm) fraction and compared to the composition of the bulk sample. We show that differences in the geochemical signature of bulk samples between individual regions and source types are significantly larger than between grain sizes. Jointly, these findings present an important step forward towards a quantitative assessment of aeolian trace metal inputs to the South Atlantic Ocean.     

Varying sediment sources (Hudson Strait,Cumberland Sound,Baffin Bay) to the NW Labrador Sea slope between and during Heinrich events 0 to 4

Core HU97048‐007PC was recovered from the continental Labrador Sea slope at a water depth of 945 m, 250 km seaward from the mouth of Cumberland Sound, and 400 km north of Hudson Strait. Cumberland Sound is a structural trough partly floored by Cretaceous mudstones and Paleozoic carbonates. The record extends from ～10 to 58 ka. On‐board logging revealed a complex series of lithofacies, including buff‐colored detrital carbonate‐rich sediments [Heinrich (H)‐events] frequently bracketed by black facies. We investigate the provenance of these facies using quantitative X‐ray diffraction on drill‐core samples from Paleozoic and Cretaceous bedrock from the SE Baffin Island Shelf, and on the < 2‐mm sediment fraction in a transect of five cores from Cumberland Sound to the NW Labrador Sea. A sediment unmixing program was used to discriminate between sediment sources, which included dolomite‐rich sediments from Baffin Bay, calcite‐rich sediments from Hudson Strait and discrete sources from Cumberland Sound. Results indicated that the bulk of the sediment was derived from Cumberland Sound, but Baffin Bay contributed to sediments coeval with H‐0 (Younger Dryas), whereas Hudson Strait was the source during H‐events 1–4. Contributions from the Cretaceous outcrops within Cumberland Sound bracket H‐events, thus both leading and lagging Hudson Strait‐sourced H‐events. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary environmental and human events at En Gedi, reflected by the geology and archaeology of the Moringa Cave (Dead Sea area, Israel)

The Moringa Cave within Pleistocene sediments in the En Gedi area of the Dead Sea Fault Escarpment contains a sequence of various Pleistocene lacustrine deposits associated with higher-than-today lake levels at the Dead Sea basin. In addition it contains Chalcolithic remains and 5th century BC burials attributed to the Persian period, cemented and covered by Late Holocene travertine flowstone. These deposits represent a chain of Late Pleistocene and Holocene interconnected environmental and human events, echoing broader scale regional and global climate events. A major shift between depositional environments is associated with the rapid fall of Lake Lisan level during the latest Pleistocene. This exposed the sediments, providing for cave formation processes sometime between the latest Pleistocene (ca. 15 ka) and the Middle Holocene (ca. 4500 BC), eventually leading to human use of the cave. The Chalcolithic use of the cave can be related to a relatively moist desert environment, probably related to a shift in the location of the northern boundary of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt. The travertine layer was U-Th dated 2.46 ± 0.10 to 2.10 ± 0.04 ka, in agreement with the archaeological finds from the Persian period. Together with the inner consistency of the dating results, this strongly supports the reliability of the radiometric ages. The 2.46-2.10 ka travertine deposition within the presently dry cave suggests a higher recharge of the Judean Desert aquifer, correlative to a rising Dead Sea towards the end of the 1st millennium BC. This suggests a relatively moist local and regional climate facilitating human habitation of the desert.     

高黎贡西北缘早白垩世火山活动与怒江洋俯冲:来自流纹岩岩石地球化学、锆石U-Pb定年和Hf同位素的证据

高黎贡构造带西北缘早白垩世火山岩的厘定将为揭示腾冲与保山地块之间的关系补充强有力的证据。本文通过对构造带内高家寨和濮家寨一带的流纹岩进行岩石学、地球化学、锆石U-Pb定年和Hf同位素地质学等方面的研究,并结合前人对同时代侵入岩的研究成果,分析其形成的构造背景。锆石U-Pb定年结果表明高家寨和濮家寨流纹岩的形成时代相同,分别为122±2.2Ma和121±1.9Ma。岩石学和地球化学分析结果说明高家寨和濮家寨流纹岩都属于科迪勒拉型、镁质、弱过铝质-过铝质高钾钙碱性岩类,具有轻稀土富集、分馏程度高、重稀土相对亏损、Eu中度亏损及大离子亲石元素相对原始地幔强烈富集,高场强元素（HSFE）Nb、Ta、P、Ti及Sr强烈负异常的特点;流纹岩的Mg^#值较高,在SiO₂-Mg^#图解上分布于壳源物质部分熔融区上方;锆石ε_Hf（t）值变化范围大（-9.6~-2.6）和t_DM^C值高（1189~1572Ma）;在构造环境判别图解上所有样品落在大陆边缘弧区;流纹岩斑晶中普遍存在黑云母。这些特征与高黎贡构造带早白垩世岩浆岩带内壳幔混源的中酸性侵入岩一致,说明其岩浆主要来源于壳源物质的部分熔融,同时有少量幔源岩浆的混入,是怒江洋壳向腾冲地块下俯冲的结果。

     

Late Pleistocene to Holocene record of changing uplift rates in southern Calabria and northeastern Sicily (southern Italy, Central Mediterranean Sea)

A combination of published and new radiometric dates on uplifted Holocene fossil beaches from northeastern Sicily and southern Calabria (southern Italy) is compared with the altitude of the inner margin of the Last Interglacial (LIg) (Late Pleistocene, 124 ka) and older marine terraces in order to gain a regional-scale outline of uplift rates and their temporal changes in a region which is one of the fastest uplifting sectors of the Central Mediterranean Sea. Late Holocene radiocarbon dates from Ioppolo (southern Calabria) and Ganzirri (northeast Sicily), two newly discovered sites are here presented for the first time. The Holocene uplift rates are highest at St. Alessio and Taormina in eastern Sicily (2.4 mm/y) and at Scilla in southwestern Calabria (2.1 mm/y), two sites located across the Messina Straits and which separate the island of Sicily from mainland Italy. Uplift rates decrease towards the south and north from this centre of uplift. Late Holocene uplift rates show an apparent increase of between 64 and 124% when compared with the longer-term uplift rates calculated from the LIg highstand terraces. Furthermore, we discovered that the locations of fastest Late Pleistocene and Late Holocene uplift rates spatially coincide. To what extent the Holocene increase in uplift rates results from incomplete elastic strain release along the major extensional faults which frame the seismotectonic of the area, or indicate a true change in regional tectonic processes, is not resolved. Nonetheless, the heterogeneity of uplift, with a well-defined centre that crosses the Messina Straits, and its persistence at different time-scales indicates a tight connection between wider regional processes and fault-related displacement in controlling crustal instability in this area.     

Early Cretaceous Adakitic Rocks in the Northern Great Xing’an Range, NE China: Implications for the Final Closure of Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and Regional Extensional Setting

A large amount of igneous rocks in NE China formed in an extensional setting during Late Mesozoic. However, there is still controversy about how the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean and the Paleo-Pacific Ocean effected the lithosphere in NE China. In this paper, we carried out a comprehensive study for andesites from the Keyihe area using LA-ICP-MS zircon UPb dating and geochemical and Hf isotopic analysis to investigate the petrogenesis and tectonic setting of these andesites. The U-Pb dating yields an Early Cretaceous crystallization age of 128.3±0.4 Ma. Geochemically, the andesites contain high Sr(686–930 ppm) and HREE contents, low Y(11.9–19.8 ppm) and Yb(1.08–1.52 ppm) contents, and they therefore have high Sr/Y(42–63) and La/Yb(24–36) ratios, showing the characteristics of adakitic rocks. Moreover, they exhibit high K_2O/Na_2O ratios(0.57–0.81), low Mg O contents(0.77–3.06 wt%), low Mg# value(17–49) and negative εHf(t) values(-1.7 to-8.5) with no negative Eu anomalies, indicating that they are not related to the oceanic plate subduction. Based on the geochemical and isotopic data provided in this paper and regional geological data, it can be concluded that the Keyihe adakitic rocks were affected by the Mongol-Okhotsk tectonic regime, forming in a transition setting from crustal thickening to regional extension thinning. They were derived from the partial melting of the thickened lower crust. The closure of the Mongol-Okhotsk Ocean may finish in early Early Cretaceous, followed by the collisional orogenic process. The southern part region of its suture belt was in a post-orogenic extensional setting in the late Early Cretaceous.     

基于海陆对比建立苏北—南黄海盆地晚二叠世—早三叠世地层格架

以层序地层学和沉积学理论为指导,依托大陆架科学钻探CSDP-2井并结合WX5-ST1井、N5井及南京江宁地区典型剖面,利用岩性、测井、古生物等资料,在识别苏北-南黄海盆地各级层序界面的基础上,将研究区上二叠统-下三叠统划分为2个长期基准面旋回（LC1、LC2）和3个中期基准面旋回（MC1-MC3）。研究表明,南黄海盆地与苏北盆地实为被海岸线分割的同一沉积盆地,其上二叠统-下三叠统具有良好的可对比性,其中：LC1长期基准面旋回（上二叠统）不对称性明显,最大海泛面MFS1对应于龙潭组中下部浅海陆棚相的泥岩,LC2长期基准面旋回（下三叠统）因后期印支运动抬升剥蚀,仅存基准面上升半旋回;研究区MC1旋回期（龙潭组）主要发育潮坪、泻湖、三角洲等海陆过渡相,各地水深相差不大;MC2、MC3时期（大隆组、青龙组）发育浅海陆棚、潮坪、泻湖及碳酸盐岩台地等沉积相,水体演变为南西深而北东浅,分析认为是东吴运动时期盆地差异抬升的结果。     

Mineralogy of Holocene Sediments from the Southwestern Black Sea Shelf (Turkey) in Relation to Provenance, Sea-level and Current Regimes

Grain size and mineral composition of core sediments were used to investigate influences of various terrestrial and marine conditions, which have prevailed on the southwestern Black Sea shelf during the Holocene. Siliciclastic mud with small amounts of sand and gravel from nearby coastal hinterland is the principal sediment type, whereas sediments deposited near the shelf edge and the Istanbul Strait and off the Duru Lake （a paleo-river mouth） constitued large quantities of sand and gravel of both biogenic and terrigenic origin. Variable amounts of aragonite, 1 nmmicas, quartz, feldspars, calcite and dolomite constitute the dominant non-clay minerals in bulk sediments. The clay mineral assemblage in the 〈 2 μm fraction is made up of smectite, illite, kaolinite and chlorite. Aragonite and calcite are mainly derived from benthic accumulations, whereas feldspars （mainly plagioclase） and smectite reflect magmaticvolcanic provenance and the distribution of 1 nm-micas and chlorite correlate with nearby metamorphic sources onland. Nevertheless, grain size and mineral distribution generally indicate a combination of effects of wind and wave climate, longshore and offshore cyclonic currents, changing sea-level stands and nearby source rock and morphological conditions. It is also suggested that at least part of clay minerals could be derived from the northwesterly Danube River input.