Twentieth-century warming and hydrographical changes in the Tagus Prodelta, eastern North Atlantic

Abstract

Pluri-annual proxy records of marine sediment cores from the Tagus Prodelta off Lisbon, Portugal, have been generated to gain insight into the climatic and hydrographic changes in the area during the twentieth century. The study includes benthic and planktonic foraminiferal faunas and the stable isotopic composition of one benthic ( Uvigerina celtica) and two planktonic ( Globigerina bulloides and Globorotalia inflata) foraminiferal species. Sea bottom and surface water temperatures were estimated based on the δ18O values of these species and compared with instrumental data. The foraminiferal fauna and the isotope-based temperature record indicate increasing temperatures throughout the last century. The immigration of a new species, Saidovina karreriana, to the area around 100 years ago indicates changes in the trophic conditions and water mass properties, which are probably at least partly due to anthropogenic pollution.