Humidity changes in southern Tunisia during the Late Pleistocene inferred from U–Th dating of mollusc shells

Abstract

Calcareous deposits, mainly consisting of mollusc shell accumulations, which have been dated by the U/Th disequilibrium method, mark the shorelines of paleolake highstands in the Great Chotts Area of Southern Tunisia. The 5 sites studied consist of discontinuous accumulations of fossils of marine-like organisms e.g.: Cerastoderma glaucum, Melania tuberculata, Melanopsis praemorsa, Cerithium rupestre. U/Th isochron plots and age frequency histograms for 39 shell samples are reported here. Limited variations for U content and 234U/ 238U activity ratios (AR) of shells support the hypothesis of closure of the geochemical system with respect to this element. It is remarkable that 234U/ 238U AR of shells collected in Chott Fejej or Chott Jerid are clustered around different values, reflecting probably different groundwater recharge from the Continental Intercalaire (CI) or Complexe Terminal (CT) aquifers. Furthermore waters collected near Wadi el Akarit show 234U/ 238U AR values comparable to those observed for shells. 14C determinations made on aliquots of some of these samples suggested an age distribution between 18 and 34 ka BP. The U/Th data of these 39 shell samples imply that 4 distinct flood episodes of these lakes occurred at about 30, 95–100, 130–150 and 180–200 ka. For the episode centred around 30 ka, the frequency histogram of ages shows a multimodal age group that could represent the existence of several humid pulses rather than a unique event. Moreover, the comparison of δ 13C and δ 18O with those of older humid Pleistocene phases, when very large palaeolakes have been recorded, suggests that these young carbonate shells are not related to a true highstand lake. It is suggested that they represent a period of less humid climatic conditions with carbonate accumulation in minor water ponds in which intensive biological activity could have taken place. It should be noted that this period was less arid than the present.