Abstract
Mediterranean Neogene sedimentary sequences are characterized by the cyclic occurrence of organicrich layers (sapropels) in between 'normal' marine sediments. Mainly on the basis of research on land sections (most notably in Sicily, Calabria, Crete and Gavdos) it has been demonstrated that the occurrence of these sapropels correlates to variations in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit and the obliquity and precession of the Earth's axis. At Mediterranean latitudes, the precession has the strongest effect on climate. Since one precession cycle lasts 23,000 years on average, that is also the presumed duration of each sapropel cycle. Scenarios detailing how these climatic changes led to sapropel formation have largely been derived from micropalaeontological, sedimentological and geochemical research on sapropels from marine sites. There is general agreement that during precession minima (Northern
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