title: Late glacial initiation of Holocene eastern Mediterranean sapropel formation.
abstract: Recurrent deposition of organic-rich sediment layers (sapropels) in the eastern Mediterranean Sea is caused by complex interactions between climatic and biogeochemical processes. Disentangling these influences is therefore important for Mediterranean palaeo-studies in particular, and for understanding ocean feedback processes in general. Crucially, sapropels are diagnostic of anoxic deep-water phases, which have been attributed to deep-water stagnation, enhanced biological production or both. Here we use an ocean-biogeochemical model to test the effects of commonly proposed climatic and biogeochemical causes for sapropel S1. Our results indicate that deep-water anoxia requires a long prelude of deep-water stagnation, with no particularly strong eutrophication. The model-derived time frame agrees with foraminiferal δ(13)C records that imply cessation of deep-water renewal from at least Heinrich event 1 to the early Holocene. The simulated low particulate organic carbon burial flux agrees with pre-sapropel reconstructions. Our results offer a mechanistic explanation of glacial-interglacial influence on sapropel formation.
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstrasse 53, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
authors.forename: Rosina
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Grimm
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstrasse 53, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
authors.forename: Ernst
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maier-Reimer
authors.affiliation: Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Bundesstrasse 53, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mikolajewicz
authors.affiliation: Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geology, University of Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schmiedl
authors.affiliation: Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geology, University of Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, Hamburg 20146, Germany.
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müller-Navarra
authors.affiliation: CNRM-GAME, Météo-France, CNRS, 42 avenue G. Coriolis, Toulouse 31057, France.
authors.forename: Fanny
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Adloff
authors.affiliation: Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia.
authors.forename: Katharine M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: 1] ETH Zürich, Geological Institute, Sonneggstrasse 5, Zürich 8092, Switzerland [2] Department of Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht, Budapestlaan 455, Utrecht 3584 CD, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ziegler
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht, Budapestlaan 455, Utrecht 3584 CD, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Lucas J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Lourens
authors.affiliation: 1] Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Institute of Geology, University of Hamburg, Bundesstrasse 55, Hamburg 20146, Germany [2] Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Institute of Coastal Research, Max-Planck-Strasse 1, Geesthacht 21502, Germany.
authors.forename: Kay-Christian
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Emeis
mesh_terms: D001578:Benzopyrans; D057486:Carbon Cycle; D056908:Foraminifera; D019015:Geologic Sediments; D006812:Humic Substances; D046448:Ice Cover; D008522:Mediterranean Sea; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010100:Oxygen; D055110:Radiometric Dating; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001578:Benzopyrans; D006812:Humic Substances; C050488:sapropel; D010100:Oxygen