(Table 2) Stable carbon and oxygen isotope record of benthic foraminifera of eastern Mediterranean Sea sediment cores

The paleoproductivity, paleo-oxygenation, and paleohydrographic configuration of the southeastern Mediterranean during the late Holocene was reconstructed on the basis of the isotopic composition of the epibenthic Heterolepa floridana, shallow-endobenthic Uvigerina mediterranea, and the deeper endobenthic Bulimina inflata from two high-resolution cores GA-112 (470 m) and GA-110 (670 m). The Delta d13C between H. floridana and U. mediterranea reveals four intervals of enhanced productivity, from 3.3-2.6, 2.3-1.9, 1.5-1.1, and 0.8-0.4 kyr BP, coinciding with increased nutrient supply by the Nile River. The entire basin was well aerated, with oxygen consumption varying between 1.0 and 3.5 mL O2/L. Oxygen consumption increases toward present day, probably because of higher accumulation of total organic carbon at 1.7 kyr BP, coinciding with the appearance of the mesotropic benthic species. The hydrographic configuration of the basin has changed during the course of the last 3.75 kyr. The Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW) deepens below 470 m between 3.3 and 2.0 kyr, and especially between 2.5 and 2.0 kyr. During the last 1.5 kyr, the LIW becomes shallower than 470 m, similar to the present day. The change in the hydrographic configuration reflects changes in evaporation/precipitation ratio and in temperature.

Pollen and spores in bottom sediments of the Mediterranean Sea

The paper presents results of palynological analysis of deposits from core VITYAZ4779 (length 6.5 m) that was collected from depth 3090 m in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. These palynological data reveal four distinct strata of sediments, each of which was accumulated under different physiographic conditions.

(Table 2) Oxygen isotopic of composition of Pliocene to late Pleistocene planktonic foraminifera of the Mediterranean Sea

Stable isotopic and micropaleontological studies were made of selected sapropels (organic-rich sediments) deposited in the Mediterranean Sea during the last 5.0 m.y. to determine the processes responsible for their formation. Distinct isotopic and faunal changes occur across sapropels of late Pleistocene, early Pleistocene and latest Pliocene age, while smaller isotopic changes and more stable faunal assemblages are associated with the early and mid-late Pliocene sapropels. The large d18O depletions and euryhaline fauna associated with latest Pliocene-Pleistocene sapropels supports a density stratification model with a low salinity surface layer. In contrast, early Pliocene and mid-late Pliocene sapropels appear to have been formed as the result of sluggish circulation and low oxygen contents in bottom waters of the eastern Mediterranean due to the stable, warm climatic conditions of that time period.

Sr- and Nd-isotopic composition of bulk lithogenic sediments from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (Table 1)

In order to characterize the provenance of lithogenic surface sediments from the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS), residual (leached) fraction of 34 surface samples have been analysed for their 143Nd/144Nd and 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios. The sample locations bracket all important entrances of riverine suspended matter into the EMS as well as all sub-basins of the EMS. The combined analyses of these two isotope ratios provide a precise characterization of the lithogenic fraction of surface sediments and record their dilution towards the central sub-basins. We reconstruct provenance and possible pathways of riverine dispersal and current redistribution, assuming more or less homogenous isotopic signatures and flux rates of the eolian fraction over the EMS. Lithogenic sediments entering the Ionian Sea from the Calabrian Arc and the Adriatic Sea are characterized by high 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios and low epsilon-Nd(0) values (average 87Sr/86Sr=0.718005 and epsilon-Nd(0)=-11.06, n=5). Aegean Sea terrigenous sediments show an average ratio of 87Sr/86Sr=0.713089 (n=5) and values of epsilon-Nd(0)=-7.89 (n=5). The Aegean isotopic signature is traceable up to the southwest, south, and southeast of Crete. The sediment loads entering the EMS via the Aegean Sea are low and spread out mainly through the Strait of Casos (east of Crete). Surface sediments from the eastern Levantine Basin are marked by the highest epsilon-Nd(0) values (-3.3, n=6) and lowest 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios (average 0.709541, n=6), reflecting the predominant input of the Nile sediment. The influence of the Nile sediment is traceable up to the NE-trending, eastern flank of the Mediterranean Ridge. The characterization of the modern riverine dispersal and eolian flux, based on isotope data, may serve as a tool to reconstruct climate-coupled variations of lithogenic sediment input into the EMS.