Towards an Integrated and Accurate Planktonic-Foraminiferal-Deduced Bio-Chrono-Stratigraphic Framework of Late Quaternary Mediterranean Marine Cores

Abstract

The late Quaternary is a key stratigraphic interval as it encompasses the Late Glacial to Holocene transition, which is characterized by a series of pronounced centennial climate oscillations and subsequent short-term events of paleoceanographic variability. Across this stratigraphic interval, significant turnovers and faunal changes in the composition and abundance of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages are well-documented through their high-resolution quantitative analysis performed in the south Aegean core NS-18. The identification of 10 synchronous bioevents among the Mediterranean sub-basins allows accurate inter-basinal correlations over the study time interval, thus contributing to the development of a robust chronostratigraphic framework for this setting. Moreover, the identification and timing of additional 20 diachronous bioevents, in conjunction with the already established bio-ecozonation scheme of the Aegean Sea, provide a continuous record of faunal changes (in terms of species-specific distributional abundances) which can be used as an additional locally expressed biochronological tool for the eastern Mediterranean deep-sea cores. The present study certainly indicates that the cause-and-effect relationships between the paleoceanographic/paleoclimatic perturbations and biological response require a highly resolved regional chronostratigraphy.