Late glacial to Holocene [Elektronische Ressource] : paleoenvironmental evolution of the Black Sea / von André Bahr

Andre Kamga F.

Informations

• Publié par: universitat_bremen
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2005
• Nombre de lectures: 13
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 20 Mo

Extrait

Late Glacial to Holocene
Paleoenvironmental Evolution of the Black Sea













Dissertation
zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades




vorgelegt am Fachbereich Geowissenschaften
der Universität Bremen von
André Bahr

Bremen, Oktober 2005




Gutachter:

Herr Prof. Dr. Gerold Wefer
Herr Prof. Dr. Gerhard Bohrmann


Table of contents

ABSTRACT ………………………………………………………………………………….1

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG ……………………………………………………………………..3

INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………………………….6
1. Motivation and aims of research ……………………………………………………..8
2. Study area ……..……………………………………………………………………...9
2.1 Climatology …..……………………………………………………………………..9
2.2 Oceanography………………………………………………………………………11
2.3 Sedimentary history ………………………………………………………………..12
3. Material and Methods ……………………………………………………………….14
3.1 Stable oxygen isotopes …………………………………………………………….14
3.2 Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios ……………………………………………………………17
3.3 Other methods ……………………………………………………………………..20
4. Outline of manuscripts ………………………………………………………………21
5. References …………………………………………………………………………..22

MANUSCRIPT 1 …………………………………………………………………………….26
Late glacial to Holocene climate and sedimentation history
in the NW Black Sea
(A. Bahr, F. Lamy, H. Arz, H. Kuhlmann, G. Wefer)

MANUSCRIPT 2 …………………………………………………………………………….46
Late glacial to Holocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the Black Sea,
reconstructed with stable oxygen isotope records obtained on ostracod shells
(A. Bahr, H.W. Arz., F. Lamy, G. Wefer)

MANUSCRIPT 3 …………………………………………………………………………….67
Abrupt changes during the deglacial and early Holocene in the Black Sea
recorded with trace element (Sr, Mg, Ca), stable oxygen isotope and
strontium isotope records
(A. Bahr, F. Lamy, H.W. Arz, C. Major, G. Wefer)

MANUSCRIPT 4 …………………………………………………………………………….88
Multicentennial-scale hydrological changes in the Black Sea and
northern Red Sea during the Holocene and the Arctic/North Atlantic Oscillation
(F. Lamy, H.W. Arz, G.C. Bond, A. Bahr, J. Pätzold)

MANUSCRIPT 5 ……………………………………………………………………...……110
A preliminary study on alkenones from the western Black Sea –
is there a potential for SST reconstructions?
(A. Bahr, H.W. Arz, F. Lamy)

CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK ……………………………………………………….119
Abstract 1

ABSTRACT

Due to its almost isolated setting, the Black Sea is particularly sensitive to
paleoenvironmental changes and therefore presents an unique archive for paleoclimate
studies. While previous investigations focused predominantly on the marine stage of the
Black Sea covering the last ca. 7500 years, this thesis aims to shed light on the poorly known
glacial and early Holocene evolution of the lacustrine phase of the Black Sea and the
paleoclimatic variations recorded in its sediments. For this purpose a transect of 7 gravity
cores from the outer shelf down to the lower slope of the NW Black Sea was examined in a
multi-proxy approach, including non-destructive XRF and colour-scanning, bulk grain size
18 13determinations, and Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca, δ O and δ C measurements on ostracod and bivalve
shells. In addition to the cores from the NW Black Sea, which record primarily climatic
changes in southeastern and central Europe, two gravity cores from the southern part of the
western Black Sea were used to reconstruct climatic variations in western Anatolia.
The results from the NW Black Sea cores show that the Black Sea underwent significant
hydrological changes during its lake stage. While the Last Glacial Maximum was
characterised by a stable hydrologic budget, late glacial meltwater pulses derived from the
Scandinavian Ice Sheet caused the deposition of characteristic reddish-brown clay layers. The
18strongly depleted isotopic signature of the meltwater led to a temporary drop in the δ O
values of the Black Sea. A sudden shift in the hydrochemical properties of the Black Sea is
marking the transition from the cold Oldest Dryas to the warm Bølling-Allerød period. The
favourable conditions during this period initiated the precipitation of authigenic calcite
through enhanced phytoplankton activity that increased the Sr and Mg concentration in the
water column as reflected in an abrupt rise of the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios. The Mg/Ca record
shows, that a 1-2°C cooling of the Black Sea deep waters took place during the Younger
Dryas, which was also manifested by an interruption of the authigenic calcite precipitation,
18that resumed later during the early Holocene. δ O values became heavier since 15 kyr calBP
but this increase occurred in a more gradual manner than in the trace element record and
18largely reflects the influence of enriched δ O of meteoric precipitation.
With the onset of the Bølling the previously homogenous water column of the Black Sea
started to show signs of stratification, most clearly reflected in the oxygen isotope record:
18δ O values from the deepest core, located in ca. 1977 m depth that are heavier relative to the
shallower cores from 1562 to 168 m water depth. The two shallowest cores from 168 and 465
18
m water depth are showing lighter δ O values than the deeper cores and suggest an increased Abstract 2

influence of the Danube freshwater-plume as well as rising temperatures in the upper water
column during a period of low Black Sea level.
The inflow of saline Mediterranean water via the Sea of Marmara and the strait of Bosphorus
finally terminated the lacustrine stage of the Black Sea. The start of this inflow is clearly
depicted in a steep increase of the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios since around 9.3 kyr BP and an
18accompanying homogenisation of the water column expressed in merging of δ O values from
different depths. The homogenisation of the water column indicates that the inflow might
have happened rather vigorously, but the age model is not detailed enough to determine if the
flooding happened catastrophically in just a few decades or more gradual.
Since the cores used in this study are under the direct influence of major rivers – the Danube
in the northern, the Sakarya in the southern research areas – the reconstruction of fluctuations
in the river discharge gives valuable information about the climatic variations in the
hinterland, in this case central and southeastern Europe on one side and Anatolia on the other.
The data demonstrates that the North Atlantic exerts a persistent influence on the areas
surrounding the Black Sea on long time scales and under considerably different climatic
conditions. This is evident for the last 7500 years in the Sakarya River sediment discharge
that shows multicentennial scale variations linked to NAO-like geographic patterns when
compared to a paleoclimate record from the northernmost Red Sea. But this is also valid for
the Younger Dryas and Allerød where variations in the run-off of the Danube includes
dominant interannual to decadal-scale periods (7.6 and 65 years) that are known from the
present-day North Atlantic climate regime. And finally, similarities between the XRF data
and the Greenland ice core record between 18 – 15.5 kyr BP suggest that the meltwater
delivery during this period was also driven by Arctic or North Atlantic climatic fluctuations.




Zusammenfassung 3

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG

Auf Grund der beinahe vollständig isolierten Lage des Schwarzen Meeres reagiert es sehr
empfindlich auf Schwankungen in den Paläo-Umweltbedingungen und stellt daher ein
einmaliges Archiv für Paläoklimastudien dar. Während sich vorhergehende Arbeiten
vorwiegend mit dem marinen Stadium der letzten 7500 Jahren im Schwarzen Meer
beschäftigt haben, konzentriert sich die vorliegende Arbeit auf die bislang wenig bekannte
glaziale und früh-Holozäne Geschichte des damals lakustrinen Schwarzen Meeres und die in
seinen Sedimenten dokumentierten Klimaschwankungen. Hierzu wurde ein Profil aus 7
Schwerelotkernen, das vom äußeren Schelf bis zum unteren Schelfhang des NW Schwarzen
Meeres reicht, untersucht. In einem Multi-Proxy-Ansatz wurden u.a. RFA- und
18 13Farbscannerdaten, Korngrößenmessungen, sowie Mg/Ca-, Sr/Ca-, δ O- und δ C-
Bestimmungen an Ostrakoden- und Muschelschalen integriert. Zusätzlich zu den Kernen vom
nordwestlichen Schwarzen Meer, die im wesentlichen Klimaschwankungen Südost- und
Zentral-Europas aufzeichnen, wurden zwei Schwerelote vom südlichen Teil des westlichen
Schwarzen Meeres verwendet, um Klimavariationen in Westanatolien zu rekonstruieren.
Die Ergebnisse aus dem NW Schwarzen Meer zeigen, dass das Schwarze Meer signifikante
hydrologische und hydrochemische Schwankungen während seines See-Stadiums erfahren
hat. Während das Letzte Glaziale Maximum durch ein stabiles hydrologisches Budget
gekennzeichnet war, verursachten Schmelzwasserströme, die vom Skandinavischen Eisschild
ausgingen, die Ablagerung charakteristischer rötlicher Tonlagen. Die stark abgereicherte
Isotopensignatur des Schmelzwasser