Abstract
This study provides the first detailed multi-proxy paleoenvironmental reconstructions of changes in the aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems during the Holocene, Eemian and the last two glacial/interglacial transitions (Terminations I and II) by studying sediment cores from the southeastern Black Sea and stalagmite studies from Sofular Cave in northwestern Anatolia. The terrestrial proxies document gradual changes from late glacial cold/arid conditions in northern Anatolia, dominated by steppe vegetation, to warm/humid forest dominated landscapes characteristic for interglacial periods. The Holocene and Eemian, however, developed differently, with warmer and moister conditions prevailing during the Eemian. Major fluctuations in the hydrological state of the Black Sea are closely linked to changes of terrestrial environments. Disrupted by large melt water pulses from the disintegrating Fennoscandian Ice Sheet, the limnic glacial Black Sea environment becomes more productive during the postglacial warming. Global sea-level rise finally reconnects the hydrological increasingly active Black Sea basin with the Mediterranean Sea leading to the development of marine, for the Eemian even fully marine, conditions with a stratified water column and sapropelic sedimentation.
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Arz, H.W., Shumilovskikh, L.S., Wegwerth, A., Fleitmann, D., Behling, H. (2015). Environmental and Climate Dynamics During the Last Two Glacial Terminations and Interglacials in the Black Sea/Northern Anatolian Region. In: Schulz, M., Paul, A. (eds) Integrated Analysis of Interglacial Climate Dynamics (INTERDYNAMIC). SpringerBriefs in Earth System Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00693-2_20
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00693-2_20
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