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A detailed quantitative, statistical and isotopic study on benthic foraminiferal assemblages from the upper Burdigalian - lower Langhian of Malta Island (St. Peter's Pool section) was carried out in order to gain more insights on paleoenvironmental changes that affected the central part of the Mediterranean Basin during the early-middle Miocene. The most abundant and/or palaecologically significant taxa were grouped into Group A (oxic/oligotrophic and oxic/oligo-mesotrophic opportunistic behaving) and Group B (hypoxic/eutrophic) and, on the base of their microhabitat in superficial microhabitat taxa (epifaunal + epifaunal to shallow infaunal taxa), intermediate microhabitat taxa (shallow infaunal + shallow to intermediate infaunal taxa) and deep microhabitat taxa (deep infaunal species). The changes in the structure of the benthic foraminiferal assemblages, together with isotopic data and statistical analysis results, identify five main intervals SPP1-SPP5, testifying the evolution of bottom water conditions between 16.12 and 15.36 Ma, corresponding to warm climate conditions due to the onset of the Miocene Climatic Optimum (MCO). The main benthic foraminiferal turnover occurred between 16.01 and 15.91 Ma. It has been recorded in both the palaecological and geochemical data and can be related to the Miller's Mi2 cooling event. This turnover correlates to a sea level falling that we believe caused an increase of the primary productivity due to runoff intensification. We suggest that the fluctuations of superficial microhabitat oxic/oligo/oligo-mesotrophic Group A, opposite to those of intermediate and deep microhabitat hypoxic/eutrophic Group B, and the occurrence of the superficial microhabitat, oxic/oligo-mesothrophic opportunistic behaving species are indicative of increased seasonality, which in turn affect food flux and oxygenation at the sea-floor. Moreover, the calculation of %P and the well-defined depth distribution range of some significant species allowed us to estimate a middle bathyal paleodepth, ranging from 600 m to 1000 m for the entire composite section.

International audience; A multiproxy study combining calcareous plankton assemblages (coccolithophore and planktonic foraminifera), terrestrial (n-alkanes) and marine (alkenones) biomarkers was carried out in a sediment core (ND14Q-AR2) from the South Adriatic Sea. The focus of the study is to investigate millennial-to-centennial scale climate variability in the Eastern Mediterranean during the last deglaciation, between 20 and 11 ka BP. The high-resolution reconstruction allows for the characterization of the impact of the Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1, here identified between 17.1 and 14.9 ka BP) at a centennial/multi-decadal time scale resolution. Based on terrestrial proxies, the HS1 interval has a two-fold partition: HS1a (17.1–15.9 ka BP), characterized by decreasing temperatures and relative high humidity, and HS1b (15.9–14.9 ka BP), characterized by the coldest temperatures and drier conditions on land. Terrestrial proxies suggest changes in moisture availability on land and ice melting delivery from the Alps during HS1. This period is followed by the Bølling-Allerød record (B-A, 14.9–12.3 ka BP) indicating ameliorated climate conditions and distinct local hydrological signals, related to global melt events similar to the Melt Water Pulse-1A. Finally, the comparison of our results with other Northern Hemisphere climatic records shows a good correspondence between the temperature variations in the South Adriatic Sea and the Greenland ice core oxygen isotope record, highlighting the climatic response of the South Adriatic to global climate variations. Comparison with other Mediterranean paleoclimatic records suggests a two-steps reorganization of the ocean/atmospheric circulation during the HS1 in the mid- and low-latitudes during the HS1 interval, but also a connection with the tropical Northern Hemisphere climate.

A high resolution study of calcareous nannofossils has been performed on samples from the Sapropel S1interval deposited in the North Ionian Sea, with the aim to assess the paleoenvironmental changes in the photic zone during this crucial interval in Mediterranean circulation. Calcareous nannofossil data have been integrated with planktonic foraminiferal data recently published from which the paleoclimatic curve has been constructed. Placoliths (namely Emiliania huxleyi) and Florisphaera profunda distributions, along with that of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber white, evidence that, after a progressive weakening of surface water mixing, a deep chlorophyll maximum developed just prior to the sapropel deposition. We suggest that these changes took place as a response to enhanced precipitation conditions and riverine discharge as testified by increasing trend of reworked coccoliths and the occurrence of lower salinity taxon Braarudosphaera bigelowii. Calcareous nannofossils also point out that the oceanographic (water column stratification, reduced bottom water ventilation) and biogeochemical (increased primary production) processes that occurred during the S1 formation were particularly dominant during the earliest part of the older S1 warm phase (S1a). Our results support than some re-ventilation events of the shallow depth of studied site (665 m) occurred to some extent, particularly during the final phases of S1a. The distribution of holococcoliths, more abundant during the cold interruption phase S1i, seems confirm that the preservation of these tiny and delicate coccoliths, highly susceptible to dissolution, is enhanced under seafloor re-ventilation conditions. Finally, we tentatively suggest that preservation also plays a significant role in the distribution of the warm upper photic zone taxa, particularly during the warm S1b interval.

Coccolithophores were collected at 21 stations during summer 2016, from coastal and offshore areas of the Central Mediterranean Sea, to describe the ecology of the coccolithophore community integrating information on their abundance, environmental parameters (salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescence) and oceanographic data. Emiliania huxleyi dominated the assemblage from surface to intermediate layers, while Florisphaera profunda was more abundant in the deep photic zone. Principal Component Analysis revealed that the distribution of coccolithophore taxa was influenced by environmental parameters: K-strategist taxa were related to warm surface waters, whereas lower photic zone taxa were influenced by the development of a Deep Chlorophyll Maximum and high salinity values, well below the thermocline. These results confirmed that a vertical species zonation, as a typical feature of low-middle latitude, characterizes the Central Mediterranean during summer. The distribution of F. profunda once again confirmed its use as a proxy of Deep Chlorophyll Maximum development and paleoproductivity estimates. Gephyrocapsa spp. (=total Gephyrocapsa), and in particular G. oceanica, were more abundant along the Atlantic Water pathway. Finally, the high concentration value of Helicosphaera carteri, recorded in the Ligurian Sea at an offshore station, suggested an expansion of the opportunist nature of this taxon from coastal environments to the offshore areas characterized by high turbidity and high productivity.

The middle Miocene is marked by a changeover from a warm climatic period (Miocene Climatic Optimum, ~17-14.7 Ma), to a transitional phase (Middle Miocene Climatic Transition), culminating in a cold stage (Icehouse Mode, ~13.8 Ma). This period is associated with a positive excursion of δ13C (“Monterey Excursion”), showing a series of δ13C maxima (CM events) highlighted by cooling peaks in the δ18O values (Mi events). DSDP Site 372 obtained a high-resolution record of the middle Miocene of the western Mediterranean (Balearic Islands), and represents one of the best marine sedimentary records for the considered time interval. In this study, high-resolution stable isotope and quantitative calcareous plankton records for the Langhian to the early Serravallian time interval are presented. The stable oxygen and carbon isotope records allowed us to recognize and chronologically frame the Mi and CM events falling between 15.82 and 13.04 Ma. Furthermore, by integrating the stable isotope data with those obtained by the quantitative analyses of the calcareous plankton content, the three-folded climatic and environmental evolution was outlined for the considered time interval in the Mediterranean region. During the first stage (Miocene Climatic Optimum = MCO; from 17 up to 14.55 Ma), an initial warm-surface-water, oligotrophic, high salinity and restricted environment is followed by an open marine setting (starting from 15.18 Ma) within still warm-surface-water and oligotrophic conditions. The re-opening of the connections between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean would have likely triggered this latter environmental change. From 14.55 to 13.75 Ma (second stage; Middle Miocene Climatic Transition; MMCT) an initial (up to 14.05 Ma) temperate-warm-surface-water and eutrophic environment occurred, followed by the onset of warm-surface-water, oligotrophic and slightly restricted marine conditions. The third stage (Icehouse Mode = IHM; from 13.75 Ma onwards) points to the development of a cold-water, eutrophic, high salinity environment in an open-marine setting.

Planktonic foraminifer oxygen isotopes through MIS 12 were analysed from Ocean Drilling Program Site 977 in the Alboran Sea. After the correction of the sea surface temperature (SST) effect on the δ18O composition of foraminiferal calcite, the resulting seawater δ18O (δ18Ow) was used to reconstruct variations in the δ18Ow of the Atlantic inflow into the Mediterranean. A synchronous record from the KC01B core, in the Ionian Sea, was used to evaluate changes in the oxygen isotope gradient within the Mediterranean due to hydrological variations during MIS 12. Instead of the glacial δ18Ow enrichment expected for the Mediterranean, lower values than today have been observed both in the Alboran and the Ionian seas, especially between 455 ka and the end of MIS 12 (424 ka). These negative oxygen isotope anomalies must have been caused by a flux of freshwater to the Mediterranean during MIS 12. Although the largest fraction of the freshwater anomalies entered the Mediterranean through the Atlantic inflow, especially during Heinrich stadials, the Mediterranean δ18Ow gradient allowed us to identify other sources of freshwater to the eastern basin. One of these sources was probably the meltwater generated at the southern margin of the Fennoscandian ice-sheet that entered via the Caspian and Black seas. However, the proximity of core KC01B to the Adriatic Sea points to meltwater delivered from the Alpine ice-sheet and transported through the Po river into the Mediterranean as the main cause of the Ionian Sea 18O depletions., This work was funded by the FPU contract of the Ministry of Education and Professional Formation FPU2015/03283 awarded to Lucia A. Azibeiro and project RTI 2018-099489-B-100 of the Ministry of Science, innovation and Universities of the Spain government granted to the Grupo de Geociencias Oceánicas (GGO) of the University of Salamanca. The Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation, Severo Ochoa Project CEX2018-000794-S is likewise acknowledged. We are very grateful to IODP for providing the samples used in this study and appreciate the work of Jose Ignacio Martin Cruz in the picking of planktonic foraminifers for isotope analyses and Marta Casado, Yolanda Gonzalez-Quinteiro, Bibiano Hortelano, Walter Hale and Inma Fernandez for laboratory assistance. We thank the scientific data provided by Samuel Toucanne. The authors thank Philip Hughes and other anonymous reviewer for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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, δ18O 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.

High-resolution paleoceanographic reconstruction of surface water properties during the most recent Sapropel event (S1) has been carried out by means of quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages, planktonic foraminiferal oxygen isotopes (δ18O) and XRF elemental data from a 655 m depth core recovered in the North Ionian Sea. The results show that the S1 interval presents two distinctive warm phases (S1a and S1b), separated by a cold interruption event (S1i). High resolution faunal and geochemical analyses allow to identify two sub-phases within S1a interval, the oldest one has similar characteristics to S1b interval while the youngest sub-phase has less stratified surface waters with relatively lower nutrient content. The high abundance of Globigerinoides ruber white variety opposite to the low percentages of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma during the pre-S1 phase suggests that the onset of surface waters stratification occurred prior to the beginning of Sapropel deposition, acting as a pre-conditioning phase. Paleo-productivity proxies indicate that the deposition of S1 initiated after an increase in nutrient content, potentially related to increased fluvial inputs. Based on the integrated ecological interpretation of our records we argue that S1a and S1b are characterized as warm, stratified and nutrient rich surface waters in the Ionian Sea, while proxies related to oxygen content indicate dysoxic deep waters linked to a combination of the high nutrient content and stratified water column. The S1 interruption phase is characterized by the entrance of colder waters that caused mixing of the stratified water column and re-ventilation of the deep dysoxic waters.

Reconstruction of last millennia Sea Surface Temperature (SST) evolution is challenging due to the difficulty retrieving good resolution marine records and to the several uncertainties in the available proxy tools. In this regard, the Roman Period (1 CE to 500 CE) was particularly relevant in the socio-cultural development of the Mediterranean region while its climatic characteristics remain uncertain. Here we present a new SST reconstruction from the Sicily Channel based in Mg/Ca ratios measured on the planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber. This new record is framed in the context of other previously published Mediterranean SST records from the Alboran Sea, Minorca Basin and Aegean Sea and also compared to a north Hemisphere temperature reconstruction. The most solid image that emerges of this trans-Mediterranean comparison is the persistent regional occurrence of a distinct warm phase during the Roman Period. This record comparison consistently shows the Roman as the warmest period of the last 2 kyr, about 2 °C warmer than average values for the late centuries for the Sicily and Western Mediterranean regions. After the Roman Period a general cooling trend developed in the region with several minor oscillations. We hypothesis the potential link between this Roman Climatic Optimum and the expansion and subsequent decline of the Roman Empire.

The coastal area located in front of the Volturno river's estuary (Gulf of Gaeta, central-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea) has been synoptically sampled during seven surveys, between June 2012 and October 2014. The vertical profiles of temperature and salinity have been acquired on a high resolution nearly-regular grid, in order to describe the spatial and temporal variability of the water masses characteristics. Moreover, to provide a first assessment of the steady circulation at small scale, the three-dimensional velocity field associated to each survey has been obtained through the full momentum equations of the Princeton Ocean Model. The data analysis has shown the entire water column characterized by an evident thermal cycle and a vertical thermohaline structure dominated by three types of water masses: the freshwater of river's origin, the saltier coastal Tyrrhenian waters and transitional waters, resulting from the mixing of them. The freshwater inflow strongly affected the density distribution, causing a strong temporal variability in the upper layer. Its impact was more evident in winter inducing also a temperature inversion along the water column. In case of rainy events, its effect was clear also in condition of high vertical temperature stratification, forming a surface-trapper layer characterized by high density gradients. Together with wind forcing, they contributed to the formation of small scale shallow features, such as longshore currents, cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies. The latter influenced the vertical stratification and modify the coastal circulation preserving the transitional waters from the surrounding saltier ones.

12 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, supplementary material https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2020.102340, Seawater rare earth element (REE) concentrations and Nd isotopic composition (εNd) are increasingly applied as valuable tracers of oceanographic processes such as water mass mixing and lithogenic inputs to seawater. However, their measurements are basically lacking in the Mediterranean Sea water column. This study analyzes 9 seawater stations around the central Mediterranean Sea to clarify the relative importance of external sources, vertical (biogeochemical) processes and lateral water mass transport in controlling REE and εNd distributions. Concentrations of REE do not show nutrient-like profiles with depth, likely indicative of relatively young waters with limited accumulation of remineralized REE. Light REE (LREE) present a non-conservative behavior, which largely peak at surface waters and rapidly decrease with depth. The negative correlation of surface LREE enrichment with offshore distance highlights the influence of continental input from the western Italian coast to the Tyrrhenian surface waters. In contrast to other regions with reported boundary exchange, this process does not modify the εNd values here. On the other side, distributions of dissolved heavy REE (HREE) and εNd display a conservative behavior that can be explained by mixing of western- (MAW and WMDW) and eastern- (LIW and EMDW) originated waters. We test this hypothesis with an Optimum Multi-Parameter Analysis (OMPA) including HREE and εNd parameters. Even though the limited data set, consistent results of water mass fractions are obtained for the four main water masses although with some particularities. While LIW takes on major importance when considering HREE in the model, EMDW fractions are preferentially detected with εNd. This latter finding implies a noticeable deep water flux across the Sicily Strait into the Western Mediterranean that was not clearly evidenced before, This research has been financially supported by the TIMED Project funded by the European Commission (ERC Consolidator Grant to I. Cacho; ID: 683237). The authors thank financial support from the CHIMERA Project (CTM2016-75411-R), Generalitat de Catalunya-Grups de Recerca Consolidats (2017 SGR 315) and the Project of Strategic Interest NextData PNR 2011-2013 (www.nextdataproject.it). [...]. E. Garcia-Solsona acknowledges support from a post-doctoral fellowship (FPDI-2013-15660) and L.D. Pena from the Ramón y Cajal program (MINECO, Spain). I. Cacho thanks the ICREA-Academia programme from the Generalitat de Catalunya. J.N. Pérez-Asensio has been funded by a Beatriu de Pinós postdoctoral fellowship from AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya) and the European Commission (Marie Curie-COFUND), With the funding support of the ‘Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence’ accreditation (CEX2019-000928-S), of the Spanish Research Agency (AEI)

Globorotalia truncatulinoides oscillations have been recorded from different marine sediment cores collected in the central and western Mediterranean Sea. The abundances of this species over the last 500 yrs. demonstrates its potential value as bio-indicator of particular oceanographic condition during the Maunder Minimum (MM) event of the Little Ice Age (LIA). The comparison between the G. truncatulinoides abundance patterns of the Balearic Basin, central and south Tyrrhenian Sea and central and eastern Sicily Channel allows to highlight a similar response of this species during the MM event in the central-western Mediterranean Sea. The ecological meanings of this species and its peculiar high abundance percentages in the total assemblages suggest the development of enhanced vertical mixing conditions during MM winter season with a strong advection of nutrients from the nutrient-rich deeper layers and enhances the productivity levels in the mixed layer. The intensified vertical mixing could be linked to persistence of an atmospheric blocking event recorded by several authors during the MM.

New information on palaeoenvironmental conditions over the past ~2700 years in the Central Mediterranean Sea have been acquired through the high-resolution study of calcareous nannofossils preserved in the sediment core SW104-ND14Q recovered in the Southern Adriatic Sea (SAS) at 1013-m water depth. The surface water properties at this open SAS site are sensitive to atmospheric forcing (acting both at local and regional scale) and the North Ionian Sea driven inflowing waters. Our data show a relationship between reworked coccolith abundances, flood frequency across the Southern Alps and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) confirming their value as indicator of runoff/precipitation. Changes in the abundance of the opportunistic (r-strategist) speciesEmiliania huxleyiand deep dweller taxaFlorisphaera profundawere used to reconstruct the upper water column stratification and associated changes in coccolithophorid productivity. The negative correlation between reworked coccoliths and the N-Ratio (r= −0.44;p= 6−7) suggest that fresh water induced stratification is a controlling factor of the SAS coccolithophorid production. High coccolithophorid productivity levels occurred during dry periods and/or time intervals of inflowing salty and nutrient-rich Levantine Intermediate Waters favouring convection while lower levels took place during high freshwater discharge, mainly during the ‘Little Ice Age’ and two centennial scale intervals of weakest NAO around 200 BCE and 500 CE.

Living benthic foraminiferal assemblages were investigated at 22 marine stations in front of the Volturno River mouth (Gulf of Gaeta, central Tyrrhenian Sea), during 3-years survey (2012-2014). The results were compared with the oceanographic data recorded at the same sites, to highlight the ecology of the main dominant species and the relationship between the community structures and the environmental variables (turbidity, dissolved oxygen content, salinity, temperature, and runoff). The living assemblage, analyzed in the top 1 cm of sea floor, was characterized by three dominant species (Ammonia tepida, Bulimina elongata, and Rectuvigerina phlegeri ) during all the sampling periods. Correlation analysis identified turbidity, runoff, and oxygen as the main environmental factors influencing living foraminiferal assemblages. Ammonia tepida and Rectuvigerina phlegeri showed opportunistic behaviour in response to turbidity, oxygen, and salinity values. No significant correlation was recorded between Bulimina elongata and the environmental parameters, testifying the capability of this species to adapt to different environmental conditions. The occurrence and distribution of these species provided useful information about coastal dynamics and sediment transport, and our results confirmed them as reliable proxies of coastal water column turbidity and Volturno river basin runoff.

The aim of this study is the reconstruction of the late Pleistocene-Holocene stratigraphy of the Sibari Plain (southern Italy) aimed to obtain information about hydrogeological framework. A multidisciplinary approach combining boreholes data and Electrical Resistivity Tomography, allowed us to recognize three electro-stratigraphic units, which consist of upper Pleistocene fluvial and floodplain-littoral facies (deep aquifer), passing upward to Holocene marine-transitional deposits (aquiclude) evolving toward continental sediments (shallow aquifer) related to the Crati delta progradation. The late Quaternary-Holocene plain evolution took place in a tectonic-controlled setting and was driven by the interaction between sea-level variations and local factors. The presence of a NE-SW fault zone controlled the facies and thickness of Holocene sediments along strike of the fault. This active fault zone contributed to determine the plain stratigraphic architecture, the arrangement of the depositional environments, and consequently the stratigraphic pattern.

The analyses of water and sediment samples, collected at 24 marine stations in a coastal area (Gulf of Gaeta, central Tyrrhenian Sea) during a three year survey (2012–2014), have improved our knowledge of coccolithophore ecology in the Mediterranean neritic domain. A comparison between the results and the oceanographic data has highlighted the ecology of the considered groups, and quantified the relationship between the community structures and the environmental parameters. The coccosphere concentration measured in the Gulf of Gaeta is extremely variable over the sampling periods (min:64 l−1; max:2.4*105 l−1), and comparable with data from other Mediterranean sites. Placolith-bearing taxa are the dominant group of the living communities. The concentration and distribution of Emiliania huxleyi is controlled by the distance from the coast and the Volturno River runoff. The K-strategist taxa are an important component of the summer nannoplankton in the upper 15 m and in the sediment samples. These taxa are also related to summer oligotrophic warm waters and low turbidity as well. The opportunistic behaviour of Helicosphaera carteri is confirmed and is related to moderately elevated nutrient levels and also tolerance to low salinity and terrigenous input. Nevertheless, our findings raise some questions on the reliability of H. carteri as a low salinity proxy. Overall, the sediment assemblages reflect the composition and the temporal distribution of the living communities. The occurrence and distribution of abundant reworked coccoliths, both in water and sediments, provides useful information about coastal dynamics and confirm their use as a reliable runoff proxy.

The climate evolution of the last 2700 years in the central - westernMediterranean Seahas been reconstructed frommarine sedimentrecords by integrating planktonic foraminifera and geochemical signals. The results provide the characterization of six climatic phases: Balearic Bronze Age (BA), Roman Period (RP), Dark Age (DA), Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA),Little Ice Age(LIA) and Industrial Period (IP). Paleoclimatic curve inferred from planktonic foraminifera associated with heavy values in δ18OGlobigerinoides ruberduring the BA document two cold intervals (spanning ca. 200 years) related to the Homeric and Greek solar minima. The dominance ofTurborotalita quinqueloba –Globigerinita glutinatagr. andGlobigerina bulloidesduring the RP suggest high fertility surface waters condition probably triggered by the increase in precipitation. During the DA, changes in the foraminiferalpaleoclimatecurve andoxygen isotopevalues display a cold –dry phase from 700 CE to the end of the DA (ca. 850 CE). This phase corresponds to the cold Roman IV solar minimum and marks the beginning of a long - term cooling interval that terminates during the LIA. The MCA is characterized by mild climatic conditions, interrupted at ca. 1050 CE by a cold - dry event. The gradually increase in abundance ofG. ruberwhite characterize the IP warm period. The reconstructed climate evolution in the Balearic Basin results almost time - equivalent with theMediterranean climatevariability over the last 2700 years.

Quantitative coccolithophore analyses were performed in core MD01-2446, located in the midlatitude North Atlantic, to reconstruct climatically induced sea surface water conditions throughout Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 14-9. The data are compared to new and available paleoenvironmental proxies from the same site as well as other nearby North Atlantic records that support the coccolithophore signature at glacial-interglacial to millennial climate scale. Total coccolithophore absolute abundance increases during interglacials but abruptly drops during the colder glacial phases and deglaciations. Coccolithophore warm water taxa (wwt) indicate that MIS11c and MIS9e experienced warmer and more stable conditions throughout the whole photic zone compared to MIS13. MIS11 was a long-lasting warmer and stable interglacial characterized by a climate optimum during MIS11c when a more prominent influence of the subtropical front at the site is inferred. The wwt pattern also suggests distinct interstadial and stadial events lasting about 4-10 kyr. The glacial increases of Gephyrocapsa margereli-G. muellerae 3-4 mu m along with higher values of C-org, additionally supported by the total alkenone abundance at Site U1313, indicate more productive surface waters, likely reflecting the migration of the polar front into the midlatitude North Atlantic. Distinctive peaks of G. margereli-muellerae (>4 mu m), C. pelagicus pelagicus, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma left coiling, and reworked nannofossils, combined with minima in total nannofossil accumulation rate, are tracers of Heinrich-type events during MIS12 and MIS10. Additional Heinrich-type events are suggested during MIS12 and MIS14 based on biotic proxies, and we discuss possible iceberg sources at these times. Our results improve the understanding of mid-Brunhes paleoclimate and the impact on phytoplankton diversity in the midlatitude North Atlantic region.

The Thetis basin is a deep hypersaline anoxic basin in the western part of the Mediterranean Ridge (eastern Mediterranean Sea). It is characterised by highly sulphidic NaCl-saturated brine with one of the highest values of salinity reported from similar basins (S ~. 348?). The strong pycnocline at the seawater-brine interface induces permanent anoxic bottom conditions driving depositional processes and distribution patterns of redox-sensitive metals in the sediments. This work presents a high-resolution dataset of sedimentological, mineralogical and geochemical features and planktonic foraminifera distribution, derived from the exploration of a 52. cm long box-core sampled in the Thetis sediments. Basing on direct comparisons with available data from other hypersaline records and ancient anoxic organic-rich deep-sea records (sapropels and black shales), we aim to explore the potential of these anoxic basins as natural laboratories to better understand the mechanisms driving geochemical patterns in recent/ancient anoxic sediments. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

aleoclimatic data are essential for fingerprinting the climate of the earth before the advent of modern recording instruments. They enable us to recognize past climatic events and predict future trends. Within this framework, a conceptual and logical model was drawn to physically implement a paleoclimatic database named WDB-Paleo that includes the paleoclimatic proxies data of marine sediment cores of the Mediterranean Basin. Twenty entities were defined to record four main categories of data: a) the features of oceanographic cruises and cores (metadata); b) the presence/absence of paleoclimatic proxies pulled from about 200 scientific papers; c) the quantitative analysis of planktonic and benthonic foraminifera, pollen, calcareous nannoplankton, magnetic susceptibility, stable isotopes, radionuclides values of about 14 cores recovered by Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC) of Italian National Research Council (CNR) in the framework of several past research projects; d) specific entities recording quantitative data on δ18O, AMS 14C (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) and tephra layers available in scientific papers. Published data concerning paleoclimatic proxies in the Mediterranean Basin are recorded only for 400 out of 6000 cores retrieved in the area and they show a very irregular geographical distribution. Moreover, the data availability decreases when a constrained time interval is investigated or more than one proxy is required. We present three applications of WDB-Paleo for the Younger Dryas (YD) paleoclimatic event at Mediterranean scale and point out the potentiality of this tool for integrated stratigraphy studies. © 2017 I. Alberico et al. 2017.

Through a multidisciplinary approach based on novel micropaleontological and geochemical analyses, the main paleoceanographic and paleoclimate changes that have influenced the surface- and deep-water circulation in the SW Pacific Ocean (Chatham Rise, eastern New Zealand) during the last million years are reconstructed. This region represents a key area for investigating the climate evolution during the Pleistocene because here the largely wind-driven Antarctic Circumpolar Current interacts with the west Pacific Ocean circulation via the Deep Western Boundary Current, the major source of deep water for the whole Pacific Ocean. To understand coupling or decoupling events between sea surface and bottom waters, a continuous marine sedimentary succession since 1.1 Ma, recovered by the IMAGES (International Marine Past Global Change Study) cruise in the SW Pacific Ocean (Core MD97-2114), has been investigated based on calcareous planktonic and benthic microfossil content and C and O isotope record performed on planktonic and benthic foraminiferal tests. Results show the occurrence of long- and short-term patterns of climate and ocean circulation in the last million years as the result of the interplay of ice-sheet dynamics, surface tropical versus polar water inflow, and trophic status of the surface water. Copyright # 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integrated data of calcareous plankton and benthic foraminifers from the pre-evaporitic interval of Trave section (Central Italy) allowed the reconstruction of surface and bottom-water conditions in the Central Mediterranean during the interval from 7.61 to 6.33 Ma, preceding the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Our data point out a three-step paleoenvironmental evolution. During the first stage (7.61–7.02 Ma) benthic foraminiferal assemblages depict stable, well-oxygenated and ventilated bottom-water conditions, while the surface water records variable temperature and high nutrient conditions, probably associated with strong seasonality. The second stage (7.02–6.70 Ma) points to unfavourable bottom-water condition, triggered by deep-sea stagnation. This is witnessed by a significant decrease in oxygen concentration and biotic diversity, and by the presence of stress-tolerant taxa. A general warming of the surface water and a strongly stratified water column, characterized by an expanded mixed layer, are also recorded. From 6.70 Ma onwards (third stage), a prominent change to more restricted, low-oxygenated, hypersaline conditions at the sea floor is testified by the total disappearance of deep-dwelling planktonic foraminifers and the increasing abundance of stress-tolerant species. Calcareous plankton reflects high instability of the surface water in terms of nutrients, temperature and salinity. During this stage the environmental deterioration reaches intermediate depths in the water column. The initial change toward a step-wise isolation of the Central Mediterranean bottom-waters is probably related to a general warming, responsible for a first slowing-down of the vertical circulation, favouring stratification of surface and intermediate waters and stagnation of bottom-waters. This warming is related to the restricted connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which occurred since 7.146 Ma. In the Trave section, the isolation of bottom-waters most likely occurred at the same time as in other Mediterranean sections. However, due to the presence of a hiatus it cannot be excluded that it occurred with a delay of ~ 100 kyr, probably related to the shallower paleodepth of the basin.

An integrated magneto-biostratigraphic framework is presented for Middle Miocene sediments of DSDP Site 372 located in the Western Mediterranean. Detailed biostratigraphic analysis shows a nearly complete sequence of early Middle Miocene calcareous plankton bioevents in the Mediterranean, including the LCO (Last Common Occurrence) of the nannofossil Sphenolithus heteromorphus which has been astronomically dated in the Ras il Pellegrin (RIP) section on Malta Island [Abels, H.A., Hilgen, F.J., Krijgsman, W., Kruk, R.W., Raffi, I., Turco, E., Zachariasse, W.J., 2005. Long-period orbital control on middle Miocene global cooling: integrated stratigraphy and astronomical tuning of the Blue Clay Formation on Malta, Paleoceanography, 20, PA4012. doi: 10.1029/2004PA001129. 11 pp]. Thermal demagnetization of discrete samples revealed a characteristic low-temperature component with dual polarities despite a weak paleomagnetic signal. The resultant magnetostratigraphic record, combined with the calcareous plankton biostratigraphy, is straightforwardly correlated to the geomagnetic polarity time scale (CK95) of Cande and Kent [Cande, S.C., Kent, D.V., 1995. Revised calibration of the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale for the Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic, J. Geophys. Res., 100, 6093-6095] and the Astronomical Tuned Neogene Time Scale (ATNTS04) of Lourens et al. [Lourens, L.J., Hilgen, F.J., Laskar, J., Shackleton, N.J., Wilson, D., 2004. The Neogene Period. In: Gradstein F.M., Ogg J.G., Smith A.G. (Eds.), A Geologic Time Scale, Cambridge Univ. Press, pp. 409-440]. The subchrons recorded in Site 372 succession range from C5Br up to C5AAr. To confirm the magnetostratigraphic calibration, 40Ar/39Ar dating was performed on feldspar of two volcanic ash layers. The radio-isotopic dating indicates a younger age for these two ash layers compared to the magnetostratigraphic calibrated ages according to the CK95 and ATNTS04 age models. However, if the astronomically calibrated age of 28.21 ± 0.04 Ma is used for the Fish Canyon standard (FCs), the age for the older ash layer exactly matches its ATNTS04 age. Ages for bioevents were calculated assuming constant sedimentation rates between magnetostratigraphic age-tie points. The S. heteromorphus LCO has an age of 13.54 Ma and 13.63 Ma according to CK95 and ATNTS04, respectively, which is consistent with the astronomical tuned age of 13.65 Ma determined at RIP section [Abels, H.A., Hilgen, F.J., Krijgsman, W., Kruk, R.W., Raffi, I., Turco, E., Zachariasse, W.J., 2005. Long-period orbital control on middle Miocene global cooling: integrated stratigraphy and astronomical tuning of the Blue Clay Formation on Malta, Paleoceanography, 20, PA4012. doi:10.1029/2004PA001129. 11 pp]. We therefore conclude that the magnetostratigraphic calibration of DSDP Site 372 is correct and that, for the time being, this site can be considered as a reference section for the early Middle Miocene of the Mediterranean region.

We present a high-resolution paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the last five millennia from a shallow water marine sedimentary record from the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Gulf of Gaeta) using planktonic foraminifera, pollen, oxygen stable isotope, tephrostratigrapy and magnetostratigrapy. This multiproxy approach allows to evidence and characterize nine time intervals associated with archaeological/cultural periods: Eneolithic (base of the core–ca. 2410 BCE), Early Bronze Age (ca. 2410 BCE–ca. 1900 BCE), Middle Bronze Age–Iron Age (ca. 1900 BCE–ca. 500 BCE), Roman Period (ca. 500 BCE–ca. 550 CE), Dark Age (ca. 550 CE–ca. 860 CE), Medieval Climate Anomaly (ca. 860 CE–ca. 1250 CE), Little Ice Age (ca. 1250 CE–ca. 1850 CE), Industrial Period (ca. 1850 CE–ca. 1950 CE), Modern Warm Period (ca. 1950 CE–present day). The reconstructed climatic evolution in the investigated sedimentary succession is coherent with the short-term climate variability documented at the Mediterranean scale. By integrating the planktonic foraminiferal turnover from carnivorous to herbivorous–opportunistic species, the oxygen isotope record and the pollen distribution, we document important modification from the onset of the Roman Period to the present-day. From ca. 500 CE upwards the documentation of the cooling trend punctuated by climate variability at secular scale evidenced by the short-term δ 18 O is very detailed. We hypothesise that the present day warm conditions started from the end of cold Maunder event. Additionally, we provide that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) directly affected the central Mediterranean region during the investigated time interval.

Sea state knowledge has a key role in evaluation of coastal erosion, the assessment of vulnerability and potential in coastal zone utilization, and development of numerical models to predict its evolution. X-band radar measurements were conducted to observe the spatial and temporal variation of the sea-state parameters along a 3 km long sandy-gravelly pocket beaches forming a littoral cell on Bagnara Calabra. We produced a sequence of 1000 images of the sea state extending offshore up to 1 mile. The survey has allowed monitoring the coastline, the directional wave spectra, the sea surface current fields, and the significant wave heights and detecting strong rip currents which cause scours around the open inlets and affect the stability of the submerged reef-type breakwaters. The possibility to validate the data acquired with other datasets (e.g., LaMMA Consortium) demonstrates the potential of the X-band radar technology as a monitoring tool to advance the understanding of the linkages between sea conditions, nearshore sediment dynamics, and coastal change. This work proves the possibility to obtain relevant information (e.g., wave number, period, and direction) for evaluation of local erosion phenomena and of morphological changes in the nearshore and surf zone.

We present the results of a high resolution study carried out on a shallow water sediment core, recovered in the central Tyrrhenian Sea to reconstruct the runoff history of the catchment basin of Volturno and Garigliano rivers (Gulf of Gaeta, Italy), over the past ~ 400 years. We compared the abundance distribution pattern of Reworked Coccoliths to the surface runoff model simulation for the Volturno and Garigliano hydrographic river basins, the Global Historical Climatology Network index, the Palmer drought severity index, the Tevere river discharge anomaly, the average summer rainfall in Southern Italy and the reconstructed North Atlantic Oscillation signal. This comparison suggested that the biotic signal of the Reworked Coccoliths may be used to detect climatic events from local to “global” scale. The calcareous nannofossil assemblages as well as their diversity index are modulated by oscillation in solar activity, where minima in solar activity correspond to minima calcareous nannofossil diversity and vice versa. In particular, the antiphase correlation between the abundance of Reworked Coccoliths and the North Atlantic Oscillation index, which modulates winter precipitation, suggests that this biotic index could be used as a reliable proxy to reconstruct the variations in the hydrographic basin runoff of the Volturno and Garigliano rivers. In addition, power spectral and wavelet analysis carried out on both signals documented the occurrence of climatic cycles of the duration of about 95 yr. From 1900 AD upwards, a turnover in the periodicity from 95 yr climatic cycles to 22–26 yr cycles occurred in the Reworked Coccoliths signal, suggesting a strong control of solar forcing (Hale cycle) over the last century.

High-resolution calcareous plankton (planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossils) biostratigraphy is presented from the Middle to early Late Miocene interval (from 14.45 to 8.86 Ma) at Site 926 (ODP Leg 154, equatorial Atlantic Ocean). The main bioevents used in the low-latitude zonal schemes, and also auxiliary events revealing potential biostratigraphic value have been recognised. The investigated succession ranges from N.10 to N.16 Zones based on planktonic foraminifera, and from NN5 (CN4) to NN10 (CN8) Zones based on calcareous nannofossils. The evolution of the planktonic foraminiferal Globorotalia fohsi lineage appears to be environmentally controlled. The main diagnostic features of the species of this lineage are not always evident, rendering problematic the definition of the N.9/N.10, N.10/N.11 and N.11/N.12 zonal boundaries. Calcareous plankton events have been calibrated on the basis of the Astronomical Time Scale of Shackleton and Crowhurst [Shackleton, N.J., Crowhurst, S., 1997. Sediment fluxes based on an orbitally tuned time scale 5 Ma to 14 Ma, Site 926. In: Curry, W.B., Shackleton, N.J., Richter, C., Bralower, T.J. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program, Scientific Results, College Station, TX (Ocean Drilling Program) 154, pp. 69-82]. The astrobiochronology obtained at Site 926 has been compared with that of the Mediterranean astronomically calibrated deep marine successions, allowing the evaluation of the degree of synchroneity and diachroneity of bioevents. Some bioevents, such as the last occurrence of Globigerinoides subquadratus dated at 11.55 Ma, the last occurrence of Sphenolithus heteromorphus dated at 13.51 Ma and the last common occurrence of Cyclicargolithus floridanus calibrated at 13.32 Ma, are near-synchronous events between the equatorial Atlantic and the Mediterranean area indicating their high biostratigratigraphic value in global correlation. The diachroneity of the last occurrence of Paragloborotalia siakensis, the first occurrence of Neogloboquadrina acostaensis and the last occurrence of Globorotalia peripheroronda between equatorial Atlantic and the Mediterranean reflect a different spatial and temporal distribution of these marker species probably due to a sharp definition of surface plankton provinces related to the latitudinal thermal gradient. © 2002 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

A high-resolution integrated study has been performed in a super-expanded marine record (sedimentation rate spanning from 11 cm/100 years to 20 cm/100 years) from the continental shelf area of the southeastern Tyrrhenian Sea. Planktonic foraminiferal distribution illustrates 6 major environmental changes during the past 2000 years: (i) the Roman Period-Dark Age transition (from herbivorous-opportunistic to carnivorous species); (ii) the Dark Age-MCA transition (from carnivorous to herbivorous-opportunistic species); (iii) the Medieval Classic Anomaly-Little Ice Age transition (a further and definitive change from carnivorous to herbivorous-opportunistic species); (iv) the period during the Maunder event between approximately 1720 AD and 1740 AD (turnover from the carnivorous planktonic foraminifer Globigerinodes ruber to the herbivorous-opportunistic planktonic foraminifer Turborotalita quinqueloba); (v) the Industrial Period (dominance of herbivorous-opportunistic planktonic foraminifera); and (vi) the Modern Warm Period at approximately 1940 AD (the last turnover in favor of herbivorous-opportunistic planktonic foraminifers, associated with an increase in benthic foraminifera). Our studies lead us to link this latter feature to an anthropogenic impact associated with the damming of Sele River (Salerno Gulf) at 1934 AD, which induced a change in the sediment input with a strong decrease in coarse-grained fraction and a probable alteration in nutrient supply. The δ(18) OG. ruber record of the past 2000 years shows the alternation of warm/wet and cold/dry events related to the Roman Period, the Dark Age, the Medieval Classic Anomaly, the Little Ice Age, the Industrial Period and the Modern Warm Period. The 5 evident δ(18) OG. ruber oscillations (between approximately 1325 AD and 1940 AD) coincide with the 5 minima in the solar activity record (Wolf, Spörer, Maunder, Dalton and Damon events).

Article history:Received 20 November 2013Received in revised form 19 May 2014Accepted 1 June 2014Available online 06 June 2014Keywords:coccolithophorescoastal environmentVolturno estuaryTyrrhenian Seacentral MediterraneanItaly We present the distribution pattern of living and surface sediment coccolithophores, the main phytoplanktoncalcifying group, from 22 stations set in a neritic environment (from 10 to 50 m water depth), adjacent to theshelfareaoftheVolturnoRivermouth(GulfofGaeta—centralpartoftheTyrrhenianSea).Thesurveyconductedin June 2012 included five transects perpendicular to the coast, which enabled us to provide indications on thestructureofcalcareousphytoplanktonassociationsinrelationtocoastaldynamicsandtheVolturnoRiverrunoff.Thetotalnumberofcoccospheresrangedfrom15to64∗10 3 ∗l −1 coccolithophores.Emilianiahuxleyidominatesthe assemblages, followed byRhabdosphaera xiphos, holococcolithophores and Syracosphaera pulchra.Thecoccolithophore community shows a typical vertical zonation, with K-strategist taxa in the upper 15 m and thedeepcommunitydevelopeddownto40m.Thelocalwatercirculationsignificantlyaffectsthespatialandverticaldistributionofcoccolithophores.Theriverdischargeinfluencesthedistributionofcoccolithophoretaxa,resultingin a north–south gradient. In the northern sector, outside the influence of the Volturno River, the high values ofR. xiphos suggest a negative correlation with river runoff.Thesurfacesedimentassemblagesreflecttheoverallcompositionofthelivingcoccolithophorecommunities.Thedistributionofabundantreworkedspecies,bothinwaterandsediment,providesusefulinformationaboutcoast-al dynamics and sediment transport in the study area.© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The 91.15 m thick St. Thomas section belongs to the Middle Globigerina Limestone, which is the intermediate member of the Globigerina Limestone Formation, and crops out along the eastern cliff of the Delimara Peninsula (the south-eastern part of Malta Island). The sedimentary record is composed of alternating calcareous marls and marly limestones with subordinated prominent bioturbated indurated limestones that are deposited in a pelagic environment. For the first time paleomagnetic analyses of a Burdigalian succession have provided reliable data that allow the identification of five magnetozones that have been correlated to the Astronomically Tuned Neogene Time Scale, spanning the Early Miocene C6n–C5Dn interval. Calcareous plankton quantitative analyses integrated with paleomagnetic analyses, allowed us to identify and date several bioevents that have great potential for Mediterranean and extra-Mediterranean correlations in the interval between ~ 19.7 and ~ 17.2 Ma. In particular, the complete distributional range of the calcareous nannofossil Sphenolithus belemnos has been recorded as follows: the First Occurrence (FO) at 19.12 Ma, the First Common Occurrence (FCO) at 19.05 Ma, the Last Common Occurrence (LCO) at 18.44 Ma, and the Last Occurrence (LO) at 18.02 Ma. In addition, the FO and the FCO of Sphenolithus heteromorphus have been documented at 18.29 Ma and at 17.99 Ma, respectively. A new paracme interval in the lower part of the range of this species is described between 17.56 and 17.31 Ma. Concerning the planktonic Foraminifera, the main bioevents are the Common Interval top of Paragloborotalia siakensis at 19.55 Ma, a Common Interval of Globoquadrina dehiscens between 19.34 and 18.48 Ma, the Globigerinoides subquadratus FO at 18.43 Ma, and the onset of an acme interval of Paragloborotalia acrostoma that changes its coiling from random to prevalently sinistral at the same time, at 18.40 Ma. These new biostratigraphic data allowed us to place the succession in the standard Mediterranean calcareous plankton zonal schemes and to make some amendments to these schemes. The FCO of S. belemnos was revealed a more reliable marker than its FO for the base of the MNN3a Zone. With regard to the planktonic Foraminifera, the P. acrostoma AB-r/s has been used as a subzonal marker of the G. dehiscens / Catapsydrax dissimilis Zone, which now comprises three subzones instead of two. The deep marine paleoenvironmental setting, the excellent outcrops and the recognition of a continuous succession of bio-magnetostratigraphic events suggest that the St. Thomas section should be considered as a reference section for the lower Burdigalian of the Mediterranean area and for future studies in the definition of the Burdigalian GSSP.

A high-resolution integrated stratigraphy is presented for the Late Quaternary in the southern-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea. It is based on calcareous plankton taxa (planktonic foraminifera and nannoplankton) distribution, δ 18 O G lobigerinoides ruber record, tephrostratigraphy and radiometric dating methods ( 210 Pb and 137 Cs, AMS 14 C) for a composite sediment core (from the top to the bottom, C90-1m, C90 and C836) from the continental shelf of the Salerno Gulf. High sedimentation rates from ca 1 cm/100 y for the early Holocene, to 3.45 cm/100 y for the middle Holocene to 8.78 cm/100 y from late Holocene and to 20 cm/100 y for the last 600 AD, make this area an ideal marine archive of secular paleoclimate changes. Quantitative distributional trend in planktonic foraminifera identify seven known (1F–7F) eco-biozones, and several auxiliary bioevents of high potential for Mediterranean biostratigraphic correlation. Recognised were: the acme distribution of Neogloboquadrina pachyderma r.c. between 10.800 ± 0.400 ka BP and 5.500 ± 0.347 ka BP, a strong increase in abundance of Globorotalia truncatulinoides r.c. and l.c. at 5.500 ± 0.347 ka BP and at 4.571 ± 0.96 ka BP, respectively, an acme interval of Globigerinoides quadrilobatus (between 3.702 ± 0.048 ka BP and 2.70 ± 0.048 ka BP) and the acme/paracme intervals of T. quinqueloba (acme between 3.350 ± 0.054 ka BP and 1.492 ± 0.016 ka BP; paracme between 1.492 ± 0.016 ka BP and 0.657 ± 0.025 ka BP; acme beginning 0.657 ± 0.025 ka BP). These results, integrated with trends of selected calcareous nannofossil species ( Florisphaera profunda, Brarudosphaera bigelowii, Gephyrocapsa oceanica and Emiliania huxleyi ) and δ 18 O G. ruber signature, are consistent with the most important pre-Holocene and early Holocene paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic phases i.e., the Bolling–Allerod, the Younger Dryas and the time interval of Sapropel S1 deposition in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These features revealed the high potential of this shallow water environment for high-resolution stratigraphy and correlation for the western Mediterranean. In addition, the chemical characterization of seven tephra layers supplied further data about the age and the dispersal area of some well-known Campi Flegrei explosive events, inferring the possible occurrence of explosive activity at Vesuvius around the middle of the 6th century, and contributing to refine the tephrostratigraphic framework for the last 15 ka in the south-eastern Tyrrhenian Sea.

The high-resolution study of sediment core C90-1 m collected at the continental shelf of the Gulf of Salerno (southern Tyrrhenian Sea) provides an excellent opportunity to show paleoenvironmental changes during the last 500 years induced by natural variability and human impact. Based on 210 Pb and 137 Cs measurements, the sedimentation rate results 0.20 cm/year for the last 100 years. The high sampling resolution (1 cm sample spacing) of core C90-1 m, 105 cm long, provides a time resolution of approximately 5 years/cm. Quantitative changes in the planktonic and benthonic foraminiferal assemblages combined with d18O variations allow to identify regional climatic and oceanographic signals. A significant turnover between herbivorous and opportunistic species and G.ruber carnivorous planktonic foraminifera after the Maunder event suggests changes in river runoff and/or an increase in coastal flooding events in the studied area. Variations in the microfauna since 1940 yAD document environmental changes induced by the construction of a dam in the Sele River.

New centennial-scale data of benthic foraminifera assemblages and of stable isotopes of foraminifera shells from the Sicily Channel, representative of surface and bottom waters, over the interval between about 140 and 110 kyr BP, are presented. During this period anoxia developed on the eastern Mediterranean basin and sapropel S5 deposited. Although anoxic sediments have not been deposited in the Sicily Channel, this area is strategic to study the character of intermediate waters, whose chemical-physical properties strongly precondition the eastern Mediterranean deep water formation. So far, no data from these water masses have been obtained, apart from the isotopic composition of shells of the planktonic foraminifera species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma which lives at about 200. m depth, thus quite far from the intermediate water core. We conclude that, although with a reduced rate, the flowing of intermediate waters coming from the eastern basin, together with the surface water masses with a clear western affinity, implies the maintenance of an anti-estuarine circulation pattern across the Sicily Channel and in the Mediterranean Sea, also during one of the most severe episodes of anoxia of the Late Pleistocene. © 2011 Elsevier B.V.

Quantitative study on calcareous nannofossil assemblages has been performed in high time resolution (2–3 kyr) at the Ocean Drilling Program Site 1090. The location of this site in the Southern Ocean is crucial for the comprehension of thermohaline circulation and frontal boundary dynamics, and for testing the employ of nannoflora as paleoceanographical tool. The chronologically well constrained investigated record spans between Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 35 and 15, through an interval of global paleoclimate and paleoceanographical modification also known as mid-Pleistocene revolution (MPR). Measures of ecological (Shannon–Weaver diversity and paleoproductivity) and dissolution indices together with spectral and wavelet analyses carried out on the acquired time series provide valuable information for interpretation of data in terms of paleoecology and paleoceanography. Assemblages are mainly represented by dominant small Gephyrocapsa, common Calcidiscus leptoporus s.l., Coccolithus pelagicus s.l., Gephyrocapsa (4-5.5 μm), the extinct Pseudoemiliania lacunosa and Reticulofenestra spp. (R. asanoi and Reticulofenestra sp.). Morphotypes discriminated within Calcidiscus leptoporus s.l. and Coccolithus pelagicus s.l., reveal that they may have had different ecological preferences during Pleistocene with respect to the present. The composition and fluctuation in nannofossil assemblage and their comparison with the available Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and C-org curves suggest a primary ecological response to paleoenvironmental changes; relationships to different surface water features and boundary dynamics, as well as to different efficiencies and motions of the intermediate and deep water masses have been inferred. A more northward position of Subantarctic Front (SAF) during most of the Early Pleistocene record has been highlighted based on assemblage composition characterised by common Calcidiscus leptoporus s.l., Coccolithus pelagicus s.l., medium Gephyrocapsa (4–5.5 μm), and by the rarity or absence of Umbilicosphaera spp., Rhabdosphaera spp., Pontosphaera spp., Oolithotus fragilis. Exceptions are the more intense interglacials MIS 31, 17, and probably MIS 15, when a southward displacement of frontal system occurred, coincident with peaks in abundance of Helicosphaera spp. and Syracosphaera spp. Higher nutrient content and more dynamic conditions occurred between MIS 32 and MIS 25, in relation to shallower location of nutrient-rich Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) core and to reduction of glacial–interglacial variability. A nannofossil barren interval is coincident with the known stagnation of South Atlantic deep water circulation during MIS 24, when North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) was reduced or suppressed and an enhanced northward deep penetration of the more corrosive Circumpolar Deep Water (CPDW) took place. An event of strong instability in nutricline dynamics characterised the transition MIS 23–22 as suggested by sharp fluctuations in paleoproductivity proxies, linked to major changes in oceanographic circulation and to the first distinct increase of larger ice volumes at this time. From MIS 21 upward the nannofossil variations seem to be primarily controlled by glacial–interglacial cyclicity and temperature fluctuations. The cyclic fluctuation recognised in nannofossil abundance seems to be linked to orbitally-forced climatic variation, primarily to the obliquity periodicity recorded in the patterns of C. leptoporus intermediate (5–8 μm) and C. pelagicus pelagicus (6–10 μm); however no obvious and linear relations may be always observed between nannoflora fluctuation and Milankovitch parameters, suggesting more complex and unclear relationships between nannofossils and environmental change.

Middle Miocene (14.8–11.9 Ma) deep-sea sediments from ODP Hole 747A (Kerguelen Plateau, southern Indian Ocean) contain abundant, well-preserved and diverse planktonic foraminiferal assemblages. A detailed study of the climatic and hydrographic changes that occurred in this region during the Middle Miocene Climatic Transition led to the identification of an intense cooling phase (the Middle Miocene Shift). Abundance fluctuations of planktonic foraminiferal species with different paleoclimatic affinities, and oxygen and carbon stable isotopes have been integrated in a multi-proxy approach. Reconstruction of changes in foraminiferal faunal composition and diversity through time were the basis for identification of three foraminiferal biofacies. The most prominent faunal change took place at 13.8 Ma, when a fauna with warm-water affinity (marked by high abundance of Globorotalia miozea group and Globoturborotalita woodi plexus) was replaced by an oligotypic, opportunistic fauna with typical polar characters and dominated by neogloboquadrinids. This faunal change is interpreted as the result of foraminiferal migration from adjacent bioprovinces, caused by modifications in climate and hydrography. A positive 2.0‰ shift in δ18O (interpreted as the Mi3 event) and a related positive 1.0‰ shift in δ13C (corresponding to the CM6 event) accompanied this faunal turnover. These are interpreted to reflect substantial reorganization of Southern Ocean waters, the northward migration of the Polar Front and a strong increase in primary productivity. The second faunal change took place at 12.9 Ma and was characterized by the gradual decrease in abundance of the neogloboquadrinids and the recovery of Globorotalia praescitula/scitula group and Globigerinita glutinata. A positive 1.5‰ shift in δ18O (interpreted as the Mi4 event) and a concurrent gradual negative shift in δ13C accompanied this faunal change, witnessing further modifications of the climate/ocean system. Variations in sea surface temperature, considered as the main factor causing changes of surface hydrography at the Kerguelen Plateau, seem to have been driven by obliquity and long-term eccentricity, thus suggesting a key role played by the astronomical forcing on the evolution of Southern Ocean dynamics during the Middle Miocene. Also an evident 1.2 Myr modulation of the δ13C record suggests a main control of the long-term obliquity cycles on the carbon cycle dynamics. Particularly, the Mi3/CM6 events exactly fit with a node of the 1.2 Myr modulation cycles. This confirms the key role played by orbital parameters on high-latitude temperatures and Antarctic ice volume, and indirectly on global carbon burial and/or productivity. This climatic transition was marked also by changes in surface hydrography. From 14.8 to 13.8 Ma an intermediate-strength thermocline controlled by seasonality developed just below the photic zone. Weaker seasonality characterized the interval from 13.8 to 12.9 Ma, when the thermocline became shallower and sharper and favored intermediate-water foraminifers. From 12.9 Ma, seasonality increased again and an intermediate-strength thermocline re-developed.

A high-resolution correlation between an orbital tuned Middle and early Late Miocene record of the Central Paratethys and an astronomically calibrated Mediterranean deep marine composite record is proposed. The astronomical tuning of the Sarmatian and Pannonian sedimentary record in the Vienna Basin confirms that the beginning of the Pannonian regional stage (lower Tortonian), dated in this work at 11.42 My, is very close to the Miller event Mi5. It coincides with a period of minimum amplitude in the 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle, which in the Mediterranean marine record corresponds with a drastic change in the planktonic foraminiferal fauna. In addition, the warmer period between Mi5 and Mi6-corresponding to a maximum in the long-term 2.3-Myr eccentricity cycle-coincides with a long interval of lignite deposition in the Paratethyan realm. The sedimentation pattern shown by high-frequency cyclicity between lignite and normal sediments reflects a primary influence of 100-kyr eccentricity cycles on the sedimentation system of the Central Paratethys, which corresponds with small- and large-scale sapropel-clusters hierarchical organization in the Mediterranean record. The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary (astronomically dated at 13.32 Myr) does not coincide with a low-amplitude variation in the 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle and any Mi events. This orbital configuration is supported by the paleoclimatic and paleoecologic data of the Late Badenian and Early Sarmatian, which both represent a warm temperate system with stagnant bottom-water conditions. Finally, the transitional phase from a temperate Early Sarmatian to a warmer Late Sarmatian, associated with predominant carbonate sedimentation, coincides with the glacio-eustatic isotope event Mi4, while the entire Late Sarmatian spans a complete 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; An integrated micropaleontological, geochemical and mineralogical study has been performed across the mid-Pleistocene sapropel 19 (i-cycle 90) from the Montalbano Jonico land section (southern Italy), to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions at time of its formation. The sapropel interval is characterized by two oxygen depletion phases (phase A and C) interrupted by a temporary re-oxygenation interval (phase B). The beginning and the end of sapropel deposition are dated at 957±0.81 kyr and 950± 0.86 kyr respectively. The duration of the interruption is estimated to 0.350±0.32 kyr. The multiproxy approach highlights that deposition of sapropel 19 reflects a period of enhanced freshwater runoff induced by a wetter climate. As a consequence of a more efficient fluvial erosion, a higher terrigenous input, mostly ascribable to a southern Apennines source, and an increased turbidity of surface waters accompanied most of sapropel deposition. Biotic and abiotic proxies document that different paleoenvironmental conditions occur through phases A–C. The beginning of phase A is characterized by warm on-land paleoclimate as well as warm and oligotrophic surface water conditions. During the upper part of phase A temperature starts decreasing and surface waters appear more productive. This change probably represents the prelude to cooler and drier conditions characterizing phase B, which displays a river supply reduction and an eolian input increase (Sahara dust). During phase C the restored depleted oxygen environment at the bottom sediments is clearly coupled with the re-establishment of humid conditions and increased river supply. At the same time, enhanced mixing of water column, a cooler paleoclimate, and increased productivity of surface waters are recorded, the latter likely favored by the enhanced mixing of water column and also increased delivery of land-derived nutrients. The end of phase C is marked by a restored “normal” run-off. Enhanced productivity in surface waters and low oxygen conditions at the bottom sediments persist slightly above phase C. The overall results suggest that the onset of sapropel deposition is related to water stratification that caused low oxygen exchanges with the sea-bottom. Although enhanced productivity characterizes most of the sapropel deposition it was not the primary factor triggering sapropel deposition.

[1] A Mediterranean composite sedimentary record was analyzed for Ba/Ca ratios on carbonate shells of Orbulina universa planktonic foraminifer (Ba/Ca)carb providing the opportunity to study and assess the extent of freshwater inputs on the basin and possible impacts on its dynamics during the Tortonian to Recent period. A number of scanning electron microscope analyses and auxiliary trace element measurements (Mn, Sr, and Mg), obtained from the same samples, exclude important diagenetic effects on the studied biogenic carbonates and corroborate the reliability of (Ba/Ca)carb ratios in foraminifera calcite as indicators of seawater source components during the studied interval. A long-term trend with (Ba/Ca)carb values shifting from ∼7 to 3 μmol mol−1 from the base of the Tortonian to the top of the Messinian is observed. The interval of the late Messinian salinity crisis, where biogenic carbonates are missing or strongly diagenized, represents a crucial passage not monitored in our record. At the base of the Pliocene, up to about 4.7 Ma, the (Ba/Ca)carb record shows a decreasing trend from ∼4 μmol mol−1 stabilizing itself to an about constant value of 0.9 ± 0.3 μmol mol−1 for the whole Plio-Pleistocene interval. These results suggest a dramatic change in the continental runoff values, up to ∼3–16 times higher during part of the late Neogene (Tortonian–early Pliocene), with a possible profound modification in the physical dynamics of the Mediterranean basin. First-order mass balance equations used to estimate barium and salinity budgets in the Mediterranean Sea during the late Miocene–early Pliocene interval support the hypothesis of an active connection of the basin with the Paratethys region and of a definitive restriction at the base of the Pliocene after about 0.7 Ma from the well-known Messinian Lagomare phase. They also open intriguing scenarios on possible circulation shifts during the Neogene.

A quantitative analysis of planktonic foraminifera, coupled with petrophysical and paleomagnetic measurements and 14 C-AMS calibrations, was carried out on a deep core recovered in the Sardinia Channel (Western Mediterranean Sea), during the CIESM Sub2 survey, providing an integrated stratigraphic time-framework over the last 80 kyr. Significant changes in the quantitative distribution of planktonic foraminifera allowed the identification of several eco-bioevents useful to accurately mark the boundaries of the eco-biozones widely recognized in the Western Mediterranean records and used for large-scale correlations. Namely, 10 eco-biozones were identified based on the relative abundance of selected climate-sensitive planktonic foraminiferal species. Sixteen codified eco-bioevents were correlated with Alboran Sea planktonic foraminiferal data and several climatic global events (Sapropel S1, Younger Dryas, Greenland Isotope Interstadial 1, Greenland Isotope Stadial 2, Heinrich event H1–H6) were recognized. The eco-bioevents together with the 14 C-AMS calibrations allowed us to define an accurate age model, spanning between 2 and 83 kyr. The reliability of the age model was confirmed by comparing the colour reflectance (550 nm%) data of the studied record with the astronomically tuned record from the Ionian Sea (ODP-Site 964). A mean sedimentation rate of about 7 cm/kyr included three turbidite event beds that were chronologically constrained within the relative low stand and regressive sea-level phases of MIS 4 and 3. The deep-sea sedimentary record includes a distinct tephra occurring at the base of the core that dates 78 ka cal. BP. The paleomagnetic data provide a well-defined record of the characteristic remanent magnetization that may be used to reconstruct the geomagnetic paleosecular variation for the Mediterranean back to 83 kyr.

The distribution of calcareous nannofossils are quantitatively analysed in high-resolution deep-sea core samples from North Atlantic DSDP Site 607 and Eastern Mediterranean ODP Site 967, between marine oxygen isotope stage (MIS) 35 and 15, in order to observe the response of calcareous nannofossils to the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR). Nannofossil abundance patterns show major variations through MIS 25-22 and distinct higher amplitude changes from MIS 21 upward, sometime clearly correlatable to glacial-interglacial cycles. High amplitude, short-term, fluctuations of small placoliths and F. profunda characterize the interval through MIS 24 to 22/21, suggesting strong instability in nutricline dynamics and surface water productivity. Principal Component Analysis and Shannon-Weaver indices (diversity and dominance) highlight significant shifts, mainly related to variations in the characteristics of surface waters. In both sites a minimum in diversity is recorded at MIS 22/21, corresponding to a maximum in the dominance of Reticulofenestra spp. at Site 607 and of Pseudoemiliania lacunosa at Site 967. Above MIS 21 the increase in abundance of various taxa (C. leptoporus, Umbilicosphaera spp., Syracosphaera spp., Rhabdosphaera spp., Oolithotus spp.) and a general increase in diversity are related to a distinct trend toward more stable and oligotrophic surface waters in contrast to the higher productivity and less stratified surface waters of the Early Pleistocene. In addition, power spectral analysis was performed on calcareous nannofossil abundances, Shannon Index diversity values and Factor 1 of Principal Component Analysis. These show significant peaks in the obliquity (41-kyr) and eccentricity (100-kyr) frequency bands, indicating that the quasi-periodic oscillations in the climate proxy data are controlled by these orbital parameters. A relationship between changes in abundance of calcareous nannofossils and production of glacial North Atlantic Deep Water is inferred. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[1] A high-resolution pelagic bulk carbonate stable isotope record from a central Tethyan lower Cretaceous composite section is presented. Three well-exposed sedimentary sequences (Chiaserna Monte Acuto, Bosso, and Gorgo a Cerbara sections, central Italy) cropping out throughout the Maiolica Formation were correlated by a detailed magnetostratigraphy, lithostratigraphy, and calcareous plankton biostratigraphy in order to reconstruct a continuous composite record from the middle Berriasian to the lower Aptian. The integrated stratigraphy of the three sequences provided an accurate time framework for the new high-resolution C isotope curve which is presented in this study. The composite δ13C signal, recorded in the depth domain, was analyzed by combined Lomb-Scargle periodogram and weighted wavelet Z transform (WWZ) – weighted wavelet amplitudes (WWA) Foster wavelet spectral methodologies, both appropriate for unevenly sampled curves. These tools allowed us to unravel the main frequencies modulating the record and their hypothetical shift in depth, respectively. The long-term, ∼400,000 and ∼2,400,000 years, eccentricity cycles were consistently recorded throughout all the composite record. Once band-pass filtered in these two periodicity bands and compared to the lithologic pattern cycles identified throughout the composite sequence, the δ13C signal was used as a valuable proxy record for a reliable construction of an orbital tuning of the early Cretaceous. An estimated age for all the different stratigraphic events recognized throughout the composite record was reported. In particular, the reestimated ages of the paleomagnetic chrons, documented in the upper part of the record, show differences with those reported by Gradstein et al. (2004) up to ∼2 m.y. The Valanginian carbon shift, present in the middle part of the composite sequence was estimated to be ∼2.3 m.y. long. The good agreement between the estimated age of the base of this positive carbon isotope excursion (∼136.34 m.y.) and the predominant volcanic phase associated to the Parana-Etendeka large igneous province intrusion confirmed a possible cause-effect link between the two events.