Aegean Sites Research Articles

A Primate on a Fresco from the Mycenaean Acropolis of Tiryns

The earliest Bronze Age Mediterranean primate representations on frescoes are found at the Aegean sites of Knossos (Crete) and Akrotiri (Thera). By contrast, monkeys have so far been missing from Mycenaean frescoes in mainland Greece. A fresco fragment of a cultic scene from Tiryns changes this; it depicts a bipedal partial lower body, with a hanging tail. This image, previously interpreted as a human wearing an animal hide, had already been suggested to represent a monkey. A re-examination of this miniature fresco identified various features that seem to confirm the representation of a monkey, most probably of a baboon-like primate. Assuming that the fresco from Tiryns is part of a cult scene, similar to those from Akrotiri, this adds a further image to a small corpus of Aegean depictions connecting monkeys with important female figures or deities. Furthermore, the Tiryns fresco fragment indicates that primates were not entirely absent from local Mycenaean iconography.

Isotopic evidence for animal management strategies at Archaic and Classical period Argilos, Greece

This paper utilizes the stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition of bulk animal bone collagen to better understand animal management practices in Archaic and Classical period Argilos in northern Greece. The results from Argilos are compared with data from other sites in northern Greece to provide new insights into herd management in the region over time. Our results reveal some changes in cattle and pig diets at Argilos between the Archaic and Classical periods. Throughout both periods cattle and caprines exhibit evidence of having consumed C4 vegetation, likely obtained from the nearby salt marshes in the Strymon river delta. This dietary regime is similar to that observed at other north Aegean sites dating back to the Neolithic, suggesting that the long tradition of animal herding in the marshes was an environmentally specific practice in the region.

LEFKANDI PHASE I, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE POTTERY, ITS CHRONOLOGICAL POSITION, AND ITS ANATOLIAN CONNECTIONS

The aim of this article is to publish David French's manuscript on Lefkandi Phase I, in as close a form as possible to what he wrote. Some changes have been necessary to improve the presentation of the material, to correct occasional errors, and to conform with BSA stylistic requirements. The material discussed is essentially that from the lowest levels of the ‘Deep Sounding’ in Trench CC. The discussion has four sections. The first section is a very brief comment on the stratigraphical data, including sections of the Lefkandi Phase I stratum in Trench CC and plans of the remains of sub-phases. The second section is the core of the paper, a general account of the pottery, listing wares and shapes identifiable, which demonstrates that it contains a little material from periods certain or likely to be earlier than Phase I (Final Neolithic, Early Helladic I and Early Helladic II), also later strays, but essentially belongs to a range of wares that have clear West Anatolian links, although it cannot be linked exclusively with any individual Anatolian site or region. The third section lists the small finds from the stratum, with catalogue entries on the most significant, including a seal impression on a probable pithos rim fragment. Finally, the fourth section sums up views on the classification of the pottery, its chronological relationship with the Early Helladic sequence, its cultural relationship with West Anatolian material, and the question of how an essentially Anatolian style of pottery came to be locally produced in Euboea, with a range of references to comparable material from other Aegean sites.

Alien Species Threat across Marine Protected Areas of Turkey—An Updated Inventory

This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of alien species occurrences within the selected 11 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) located on the Aegean and Levantine coasts of Turkey. The inventory includes a total of 289 species belonging to 15 phyla, in which lowest and highest diversities were observed in Saros Bay MPA (27 species, northern Aegean Sea) and Fethiye-Göcek Bay MPA (150 species, northwest Levantine Sea), respectively. Alien species distributions that were revealed in protected areas located in the southern Aegean and Levantine Seas were 56.9% similar (based on presence vs. absence data), while northern Aegean sites formed another distinct group. According to the breakdown of major phyla through the entire study areas, Mollusca had the highest alien diversity (22.1% of alien species), followed by Actinopterygii (19.0%), Arthropoda (15.2%) and Annelida (13.5%). Casual aliens were represented by very low proportions in each MPA, proving that most species were already established in the region, with a significant proportion of invasive species. Regardless of the localities, the majority of the species originated from the Red Sea, whose primary pathway of introduction is the corridor, the Suez Canal. In the absence of effective management actions against bioinvasions, MPAs located along the Turkish coastline do not currently seem to provide any protection, revealing a large conservation gap to be filled.

Tekstylia i pieczęcie. O relacjach pomiędzy produkcją włókienniczą a praktykami stemplowania w Grecji epoki brązu oraz o zupełnie nowych danych z odcisków glinianych pieczęci

This contribution discusses the evidence of textile impressions preserved on the undersides of clay sealings from Bronze Age Greece. A collection of modern casts taken from these sealings, stored in the Corpus der minoischen und mykenischen Siegel in Heidelberg, is currently being analyzed by the author. The assumed reliability of textile impressions as a source of knowledge about the qualities of actual textiles and raw materials used to produce them has been verified by a series of archaeological experiments and comparative analysis of modern raw materials of various origin. Results ofthe analysis of 199 casts from two Aegean sites: Lerna in Argolid and Phaistos on Crete, have provided new evidence for technical uses of textile and organic products in the daily storage routine and sealing practices, as well as for the specific parameters of threads, cords, and fabrics impressed on clay. Due to the relatively large number of textile imprints, it is possible, for the first time, to make site-specific comparisons of textile production on the basis of products and to tracktechnical developments in textile manufacturing throughout the Aegean Bronze Age.

TRAVELLING WITH THE POTTER'S WHEEL IN THE EARLY BRONZE AGE AEGEAN

By adopting thechaîne opératoireapproach as a dynamic theoretical and methodological framework for studying ancient technologies, this paper investigates the modalities behind the appearance of the potter's wheel in the Aegean during the Early Bronze Age II (c.2550–2200bc). Based on the comparative examination of ceramic assemblages from different Aegean sites, an extended technological study has been carried out in order to track the earliest wheel-made pottery and reconstruct the craft behaviours perpetrated by the use of the potter's wheel across the Aegean. The paper presents the results of this multi-site study and aims to (a) trace out the wheel-based technological traditions, (b) explore the contexts of the learning and transmission of the new tool, (c) shed light on the connectivity among Aegean and western Anatolian communities that enabled the transfer of the new craft knowledge, and, finally, (d) bring into view the mechanisms behind its emergence and appropriation. By considering technologies as representing an entire social system of knowing, perceiving and acting on the material world, it will be argued that the spread of the potter's wheel in the Aegean does not reflect a moment of linear diffusion of a technological innovation, adopted thanks to certain techno-functional advantages. Instead, it discloses the resilience of social identities and values embedded through the practical engagement of individuals in the production of their material culture. The potter's wheel, in fact, emerges as a socially and culturally mediated practice, specific to small groups of potters trained within a technological tradition of Anatolian origin, performing their craft in the Aegean socio-cultural milieus. Furthermore, its transfer reveals a multidirectional and dynamic crossing of material cultures that designated a navigable world where traditions, objects and people travelled, mixed and merged in unpredictable ways.

Pigs in Sight: Late Bronze Age Pig Husbandries in the Aegean and Anatolia

ABSTRACTThis paper explores pig husbandry across the Aegean and Anatolia based on zooarchaeological data and ancient texts. The western Anatolian citadel of Kaymakçı is the departure point for discussion, as it sits in the Mycenaean-Hittite interaction zone and provides a uniquely large assemblage of pig bones. NISP, mortality, and biometric data from 38 additional sites across Greece and Anatolia allows observation of intra- and interregional variation in the role of pigs in subsistence economies, pig management, and pig size characteristics. Results show that, first, pig abundance at Kaymakçı matches Mycenaean and northern Aegean sites more closely than central, southern, and southeastern Anatolian sites; second, pig mortality data and biometry suggest multiple husbandry strategies and pig populations at Kaymakçı, but other explanations cannot yet be excluded; and, third, for the Aegean and Anatolia during the Late Bronze Age more generally, pig data suggests pluriformity, which challenges the use of “pig principles” in this region.

Small-Scale Coastal Fishing Shapes the Structure of Shallow Rocky Reef Fish in the Aegean Sea

Shallow rocky reef fish assemblages were studied in sites of low versus high fishing pressure (FP) across different parts of the Aegean Sea, in order to assess community structure at a large scale and investigate spatial variability in relation to FP, depth, and geographic location. A total of 15 pairs of high and low FP sites were selected (18 sites in North Aegean, 12 in South Aegean). The level of FP was defined based on a fishing pressure index specifically developed for coastal small-scale fisheries in the region. In each site, fish communities were investigated at two depth zones (5 and 15 m). Number of species, fish size (TL) and abundance were recorded along strip transects through underwater visual surveys. Abundance and TL were used to estimate biomass, and fish species were assigned to distinct trophic and commercial status groups. An 8-fold range in fish density and a 14-fold range in fish biomass were detected, while community structure was affected by all spatial variables considered (FP, depth, geographic location). The N Aegean sites scored higher in number of species and biomass of carnivorous fish, whereas the S Aegean had a higher biomass of several allochthonous and thermophilous species. Abundance and biomass estimates were higher in low FP sites, and primarily at the 15 m depth zone, where low FP sites had 2 times higher abundance and 2.8 times higher biomass. However, differences were mainly due to an increase of fish with low or no commercial value, whereas biomass of highly-priced fish was overall low. Given that sites of lower FP represent areas of lower conflicting interests for fisheries whilst providing enhanced biomass levels, they should be included in future marine conservation planning schemes, as they could contribute to the replenishment of fisheries and the boosting of conservation benefits provided by MPAs, once properly managed.

ARACHNE'S WEB: WOMEN, WEAVING AND NETWORKS OF KNOWLEDGE IN THE BRONZE AGE SOUTHERN AEGEAN

The appearance of loom weights at a number of southern Aegean sites in the Middle and early Late Bronze Age is indicative of the adoption of a new weaving technology: the use of the warp-weighted loom. The specific type of loom weight (discoid) recovered is a Cretan form, and this evidence of Cretan influence is also seen in a wider range of material culture features at these settlements during this period. Weaving is a complex skill and learning requires contact between novice and expert practitioner over an extended period of time; the introduction of a new weaving technology therefore raises the question of how the necessary technical knowledge and know-how was transferred from one individual or community to another. The archaeological indicators of this new technological practice, the loom weights themselves, are objects that very rarely travel, except with their owners; the presence of loom weights manufactured from non-local ceramic fabrics at some of the southern Aegean sites can therefore provide a window into the patterns of mobility through which the new technology is likely to have spread. Both in the Bronze Age and subsequent Archaic and Classical periods, weaving was closely associated with women. Loom weights thus constitute archaeological markers for the craftswomen who used them. This paper explores the insight they can offer into female networks of teaching, learning and craft practice in the second millenniumbc.

Tracing the Absolute Time-Frame of the Early Bronze Age in the Aegean

AbstractThe Early Bronze Age (EBA) is associated with technological and cultural changes that may suggest the onset of a new culture. The question usually posed is whether the spread of the EBA culture is a matter of contemporary evolutionary practices or a matter of migration of peoples. We contribute to this discussion by tracing the appearance and spread of the EBA in the Aegean using an absolute time-frame provided by more than 200 radiocarbon (14C) dates from 25 different Aegean sites. These have been compiled and statistically treated, individually, and in geographical groups to allow temporal and spatial comparisons. A new model is constructed for the first time for northern Greece. The dates are compared between various settlements and areas in each of the traditional cultural divisions EBA I, EBA II, and EBA III and possible subdivisions. The statistical treatment and comparisons indicate that the EBA appeared slightly earlier, around 3300 BC, in northern Greece than in southern Greece, and the Cycladic Islands and also lasted longer in some areas in northern Greece, ending at around 1900 BC.

Eastern-Mediterranean ventilation variability during sapropel S1 formation, evaluated at two sites influenced by deep-water formation from Adriatic and Aegean Seas

Present-day bottom-water ventilation in the Eastern Mediterranean basin occurs through deep-water convection originating from the two marginal basins, i.e. Adriatic and Aegean Seas. In the paleo record, long periods of enhanced deep-water formation have been alternating with shorter periods of reduced deep-water formation. The latter is related mainly to low-latitude humid climate conditions and the enhanced deposition and preservation of organic-rich sediment units (sapropels). This study focuses on sedimentary archives of the most-recent sapropel S1, retrieved from two sites under the direct influence of the two deep-water formation areas. Restricted oxygen conditions have developed rapidly at the beginning of S1 deposition in the Adriatic site, but bottom-water conditions have not persistently remained anoxic during the full interval of sapropel deposition. In fact, the variability in intensity and persistence of sedimentary redox conditions at the two deep-water formation sites is shown to be related to brief episodes of climate cooling. In the Adriatic site, sapropel deposition appears to have been interrupted twice. The 8.2 ka event, only recovered at the Adria site, is characterized by gradually increasing suboxic to possibly intermittently oxic conditions and decreasing Corg fluxes, followed by an abrupt re-establishment of anoxic conditions. Another important event that disrupted sapropel S1 formation, has taken place at ca. 7.4 cal ka BP. The latter event has been recovered at both sites. In the Adriatic site it is followed by a period of sedimentary conditions that gradually change from suboxic to more permanently oxic, as deduced from the Mn/Al pattern. Using the same proxy for suboxic/oxic sedimentary redox conditions, we observe that conditions in the Aegean Sea site shift to more permanently oxic from the 7.4 ka event onwards. However, at both sites the accumulation and preservation of enhanced amounts of organic matter have continued under these suboxic to intermittently oxic sedimentary conditions. It seems thus, that after 7.4 cal ka BP sapropel-like surface or deep-chlorophyll-maximum conditions including enhanced productivity continued, whereas bottom-water conditions were at least intermittently oxic. The latter is related to decreasing precipitation, i.e. run-off, and thus a progressive development and deepening of deep-water formation. The shallower Aegean site, would be affected earlier by such deepening ventilation than the slightly deeper Adriatic site. Finally, termination of sapropel S1 formation as deduced from diminished organic matter contents and Ba/Al, appears to have occurred almost simultaneously in the two areas, namely at 6.6 ± 0.3 and 6.3 ± 0.5 cal ka BP in Adriatic and Aegean sites, respectively.

An atypic form of mediterranean spotted fever: First report in Aegean site of Turkish literature

An atypic form of mediterranean spotted fever: First report in Aegean site of Turkish literature

Late Quaternary paleoenvironmental reconstruction and paleoclimatic implications of the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean) based on paleoceanographic indexes and stable isotopes

The Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental evolution and the main palaeoceanographic changes of the Aegean Sea was reconstructed using planktonic foraminifera obtained from the sediments of a northern (SK-1) and a southern (NS-14) core site. Multivariate statistical approach, including Q-mode cluster and Principal Component (PCA) Analyses, gives an insight into the relationships between sea surface environmental changes between the north and south Aegean, and furthermore serves as a baseline data set for palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic reconstructions of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Stable isotope analyses coupled with additional paleoceanographic (sea surface temperature (SST), productivity (SSP), stratification (S-index), upwelling (U-index), seasonality (Sn-index)) proxies provide insights into the sedimentological, hydrographic and trophic evolution and ecosystem dynamics of the Aegean Sea, and furthermore serve as a baseline data set for palaeoclimatic and palaeoceanographic reconstructions of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Concentrating on the last ∼19 ka, faunal and isotopic data concur, suggesting a series of climatic zones, corresponding to well-known climatic phases of the last glacial cycle. Cold and arid conditions during the late glacial period were followed by a warmer and wetter climate trend during deglacial time. A marked seasonality, characterized by homogenous water column favored by efficient upwelling during the winter and by warm stratified water column during the summer, has also been recognized during this period (Bølling–Allerød – B–A) in both basins. An abrupt switch to cool, arid climatic event (Younger Dryas – YD) suggests a strengthening of winter convection around 12.9 ka, which seems to be more evident in the north Aegean core. However, the more pronounced environmental changes between the north and south Aegean Sea were identified during the Holocene, and they coincide with the deposition of sapropel S1 and Sapropel-Mid-Holocene (SMH). The comparison between SK-1 and NS-14 records indicated significant changes in both the productivity and stratification patterns, with the former the main factor in north Aegean and the latter in south Aegean for S1 deposition. Regarding the localized deposition of SMH in the semi-enclosed shallow south Aegean site, the fully oxygenated and less productive water column conditions prevailing during that time (5.4–4.3 ka) in the north Aegean were the limiting factor for its deposition.

Coccolithophore assemblages during the Holocene Climatic Optimum in the NE Mediterranean (Aegean and northern Levantine Seas, Greece): Paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic implications

Recent paleoceanographic findings suggest that during the Holocene, NE Mediterranean climate was less stable than previously thought. Several recently generated Aegean paleoceanographic records of sapropel S1 suggest that during the Holocene short-term potentially global cooling episodes, reflecting the N. Atlantic climatic fluctuations and possibly related to solar variability, are superimposed on the underlying regional subtropical/tropical control on the hydrography and ecosystems. Detailed quantitative analyses of coccolithophores have been performed on the deep sea deposits of the NE Mediterranean Sea; four gravity core records from North Aegean Sea (SL- 152), SE Aegean (NS-14, NS-18) and South Cretan continental Margin/northern Levantine Sea (HCMR 2/22) respectively, with a focus on the regional expression of sapropel S1 deposition. In all sites, higher values of Florisphaera profunda, Helicosphaera carteri, Braarudosphaera bigelowii and the increase of stratification S-index within sapropel intervals can be interpreted as the result of elevated marine production in the deep photic zone and enhanced inflow of fresh water input during the S1 period. The stratification S-index is significantly higher in the North Aegean, in respect to SE Aegean and the South Cretan Margin (SCM), reflecting increased coccolithophore productivity at the lower photic zone, being associated with a remarkably stratified water column. The concomitant increased presence of B. bigelowii indicates the prominent riverine input in the North Aegean basins and possible influx of Black Sea waters after ∼9.0 ka BP. Consequently, the increased stratification of the water column is linked to the significant freshening of the North Aegean surface waters, particularly during the early stages of the Holocene Climatic Optimum (S1a depositional interval). A series of cooling events detected towards the end of sapropelic conditions (∼7.2 ka BP) mostly in the North Aegean site, may be linked to outbursts of cold northerly air masses and relevant pulses in the deep-intermediate water ventilation that caused the enhancement of surface marine productivity and the temporary cessation of S1 at ∼ 8.0 ka BP. In contrast, in the SE Aegean and the northern Levantine Sea, the water column remains still warm and stratified, influenced by moderate fresh water input, for at least 1 more ky.

Evidence for a warm and humid Mid-Holocene episode in the Aegean and northern Levantine Seas (Greece, NE Mediterranean)

Marine and terrestrial biological and biogeochemical proxies in three sediment cores from North and SE Aegean and northern Levantine Seas record continuous warm and humid conditions between 5.5 and 4.0 ka BP related to the establishment of relatively stratified conditions in the upper water column. These conditions may have resulted from the concordant albeit weak Mid-Holocene South Asian monsoon forcing, combined with lighter Etesian winds. During this interval, sea surface temperatures fluctuate in the Aegean Sea, although exhibiting a strong positive shift at ~4.8 ka BP. The warm and humid climatic conditions triggered upper water column stratification and enhancement of the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM), leading to dysoxic conditions and the deposition of a sapropel-like layer, but only in the SE Aegean site. In contrast to the shallow water SE Aegean, the deeper North Aegean and the northern Levantine sites, although experiencing stratification in the upper parts of the water column, did not achieve bottom-water dysoxia. Thus, a top–bottom mechanism of stratification–DCM development accompanied by fast transport and burial of organic matter is a likely explanation for the preservation of productivity signal in the shallow sites of the SE Aegean and establishment of sapropelic conditions during the warm and humid Mid-Holocene. The termination of the Mid-Holocene warm and humid phase coincides with the “4.2 ka” climate event. Our data exhibit an N–S time transgressive aridification gradient around the Aegean Sea, most probably associated with the reorganization of the general atmospheric circulation during the Mid-Holocene.

Late postglacial paleoenvironmental change in the northeastern Mediterranean region: Combined palynological and molecular biomarker evidence

Three gravity cores collected from the NE Mediterranean (NEMR) across a transect from the northern Aegean Sea (North Skyros basin) to the south Cretan margin (SCM), were investigated for pollen and terrestrial biomarkers derived from epicuticular waxes of vascular plants during the last ∼20 ky. Pollen data show diversified mixed temperate forest in the northern borderlands and enhanced Mediterranean vegetation in the southern areas, documenting an N–S climatic trend. Terrestrial plant biomarkers and their diagnostic geochemical indices exhibit latitudinal patterns which are interpreted in terms of the different delivery pathways (fluvial/runoff vs. atmospheric transport), resulting from the climate conditions during different periods. During the Late Glacial and early deglaciation periods (20–14 ka BP) relatively increased humidity (H-index) is recorded in the north Aegean Sea, while in the South drier climate was the limiting factor for vegetation development. During this interval, terrestrial n-alkanes showed increased accumulation rates, suggesting massive transport of terrestrial organic matter through runoffs and rivers, followed by weaker input after 14 ka BP. After ∼11 ka BP a major expansion of forest cover is evidenced in the NEMR, accompanied by a higher H-index because of the climatic amelioration. The forest vegetation exhibited regionally different characteristics, with cool temperate taxa being more abundant in the Aegean cores, while the SCM record is being featured by Mediterranean elements. At the onset of the Holocene and throughout the Holocene Climatic Optimum the delivery of terrestrial biomarkers increased and became more significant in the Aegean sites compared to the SCM site. Within the Holocene, the average chain length (ACL) of long chain n-alkanes exhibits lower values in the northern Aegean than in the southeastern Aegean and SCM, indicating the predominance of warmer species southwards. Finally, the H-index records a conspicuous humidity increase between 5.4 and 4.3 ka BP in the south Aegean that coincides with an increase in the terrestrial biomarker supply and the deposition of a distinct sapropel-like layer, SMH (Sapropel Mid Holocene). Similar trends in T (temperature) and H indices are slightly delayed and attenuated in the northern Aegean and are accompanied by an increase in the ACL index. A noticeable increase in the accumulation rates (ARs) of terrestrial biomarkers and the HPA index values during this period are clearly recorded in all three cores, indicative of enhanced terrigenous inputs of organic matter along with higher in-situ preservation.

Organic carbon distribution and isotopic composition in three records from the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Holocene

We investigated the distribution of organic carbon (TOC) and bulk organic δ 13C org values in two cores from the Aegean Sea and one from the Libyan Sea, eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) with a focus on the timing and regional expression of sapropel S 1 deposition in the early Holocene. Our data indicate that the onset of S 1 occurred earlier in the Libyan Sea (∼9.8 kyr BP) than in the Aegean Sea (∼8.9 kyr BP), implying that dysoxia/anoxia started earlier in the deeper sites of the EMS than in the shallower sites in the Aegean Sea. Accumulation rates of organic matter (OM) during the S 1 period have a clear decreasing gradient from north to south, with higher values in the Aegean Sea and TOC contents higher in the deep basin. The three sedimentary sequences exhibit δ 13C org values that fall within the range of algal OM (−25‰ to −20‰). Shifts to lighter δ 13C org values within sapropel intervals in the Aegean sites can be interpreted as the result of elevated marine production, enhanced inflow of light terrestrial dissolved inorganic carbon and/or of the shoaling of the pycnocline, along with the presence of a deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) during the S 1 period.

Sedimentation processes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea during the Late Glacial and Holocene revealed by end-member modelling of the terrigenous fraction in marine sediments

We present grain-size distributions of the terrigenous fraction of two sediment cores from the southeast Levantine Sea (SL112) and the northern Aegean Sea (SL148), spanning the time interval from the late glacial to the present. End-member modelling of the grain-size distribution allows discriminating between aeolian and fluvial transport of the sediments and helps to infer palaeoenvironmental conditions in the source areas. Sedimentary and depositional processes during the late glacial and Holocene were controlled by climatic variations of both the northern high latitudes and the African climate system. The sedimentation at site SL112 off Israel is dominated by the suspension load of the River Nile and aeolian dust from the Sahara. Variations in grain size reflect the early to mid-Holocene climate transition from the African Humid Period to recent arid conditions. This climate change was gradual, in contrast to the abrupt humidity change documented in Western Saharan records. This implies a successive decrease in Nile river sediment supply due to a step-wise aridification of the headwaters. The grain-size data of SL112 show a humidity maximum at 5 kyr BP coincident with a regionally-restricted wet phase in the Levantine Sea. The sediments at the North Aegean site SL148 consist of riverine particles and low amounts of aeolian dust, probably derived from South European sources and with probably minor Saharan influence. The sedimentation processes are controlled by climate conditions being characterized by enhanced deposition of dust during the cold and dry glacial period and by decreased aeolian influx during the temperate and humid Holocene.

A Mössbauer spectroscopic study of the iron redox transition in eastern Mediterranean sediments

Fe cycling at two sites in the Mediterranean Sea (southwest of Rhodes and in the North Aegean) has been studied, combining the pore water determination of nutrients, manganese, and iron, citrate-bicarbonate-dithionite (CDB) and total sediment extractions, X-ray diffraction, and 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy (MBS). At the Rhodes site, double peaks in the CDB-extractable Mn and Fe profiles indicate non-steady-state diagenesis. The crystalline iron oxide hematite, identified at both sites by room temperature (RT) MBS, appears to contribute little to the overall Fe reduction. MBS at liquid helium temperature (LHT) revealed that the reactive sedimentary Fe oxide phase was nanophase goethite, not ferrihydrite as is usually assumed. The pore water data at both sites indicates that upon reductive dissolution of nanophase goethite, the upward diffusing dissolved Fe 2+ is oxidized by Mn oxides, rather than by nitrate or oxygen. The observed oxidation of Fe 2+ by Mn oxides may be more common than previously thought but not obvious in sediments where the nitrate penetration depth coincides with the Mn oxide peak. At the Rhodes site, the solid-phase Fe(II) increase occurred at a shallower depth than the accumulation of dissolved Fe 2+ in the pore water. The deeper relict Mn oxide peak acts as an oxidation barrier for the upward diffusing dissolved Fe 2+, thereby keeping the pore water Fe 2+ at depth. At the North Aegean site, the solid-phase Fe(II) increase occurs at approximately the same depth as the increase in dissolved Fe 2+ in the pore water. Overall, the use of RT and cryogenic MBS provided insight into the solid-phase Fe(II) gradient and allowed identification of the sedimentary Fe oxides: hematite, maghemite, and nanophase goethite.

Photochemical activity over the eastern mediterranean under variable environmental conditions

The present paper presents some of the results from the EU-funded Photochemical Activity and solar Ultraviolet Radiation (PAUR) and Photochemical Activity and solar Ultraviolet Radiation Modulation Factors (PAUR II) projects that are relevant to the photochemistry of the Eastern Mediterranean under variable conditions. Compared to S-SW flows, northern flows result in higher ozone values above the PBL. Usually during N flow the aerosol optical depth is also lower, thus resulting in higher NO2 photodissociation rates. In one case of northern flow, the Etesian synoptic regime, N-NE flows are associated with high wind speeds and result to even lower aerosol optical depth. S-SW flow during springtime in some cases brings air loaded with Saharan dust particles over the region that is poor in tropospheric ozone and precursors. Often, these cases are associated with southern stratospheric circulation, resulting in reduced total ozone amounts and hence increased ozone photolysis rates, whereas the dust load reduces nitrogen dioxide photolysis rates. Results are presented from a spectral radiation model, which simulates the spectral UV radiation during some of the above cases. Measurement results from the Athens basin and rural Aegean sites are presented, that compare the ozone levels between normal N flow conditions and Etesian flow.