Surface hydrographic changes at the western flank of the Sicily Channel associated with the last sapropel

Abstract

In the eastern Mediterranean Sea, the early Holocene was characterized by major climatic and oceanographic changes that led to the formation of the last sapropel (S1) between 10.8 and 6.1 kyr cal. BP. These hydrographic changes might have altered the water exchange between the eastern and western Mediterranean sub-basins through the Strait of Sicily, but the existing evidences are inconclusive. In the present study we show new evidence from sediment core NDT-6-2016 located at the western flank of the Sicily channel, a key location to monitor the surface/intermediate water exchange between the two Mediterranean sub-basins. We perform paleo-hydrographic reconstructions based on planktic foraminifera ecology for the last 15 kyr cal. BP, including the S1 deposition interval. In addition, δ 18 O measurements in both Globigerina bulloides and Globigerinoides ruber and also major elements analyses in bulk sediment are presented. Our results show that significant changes in surface water properties occurred in W-Sicily characterized by a strong contrast in the seasonal hydrographic conditions during the S1 interval. This study proposes that the oceanographic changes in the eastern Mediterranean associated with the surface freshening promoted by the African monsoon likely triggered a restricted water exchange through the Strait of Sicily. This situation led to limited influence of the surface Atlantic waters into the studied area that favored the development of intense summer stratification and vertical winter mixing. This situation changed at about 7 kyr cal. BP when a decrease in the summer stratification probably reflected the influence of the eastward path of the surface Atlantic Waters. This situation would suggest a reinforcement of the water exchange through the Strait of Sicily that marked the end of the extreme conditions that prevailed in the eastern Mediterranean during the S1 formation. • Surface hydrographic reorganization related to the sapropel S1 is observed for the first time in the central Mediterranean. • The acquired data provide new evidences of a restricted sea surface water exchange during the S1 across the Strait of Sicily. • Paleo-hydrographic reconstructions are based on planktic foraminifera ecology, major element analyses and δ 18 O measurements.