Short-term climate changes in the southern Aegean Sea over the last 48,000 years (original) (raw)

2005, Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology

High-resolution palaeoenvironmental changes, corresponding to a mean time interval of 450 years covering the last 48,000 years, were examined in a core from the Cretan Basin in the southern Aegean Sea. The intensity and duration of the climatic and oceanographic events were determined by examining the compositional changes in the planktonic foraminifera and pollen assemblages, along with the y 18 O signal of Globigerinoides ruber. A reconstruction of sea-surface temperatures was attempted using the Modern Analogue Technique (MAT). In total, 10 stadials and 6 interstadials occurred over the last 48,000 years. These fluctuations in climatic conditions coincide with fluctuations documented in the western and central Mediterranean and seem to be associated with Dansgaard-Oeschger events. Some of these climatic fluctuations are correlated with changes in the vegetation in the surrounding land.