Integrated paleohydrology reconstruction and Pliocene climate variability in Cyprus Island (eastern Mediterranean)

• Published in: IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
• Main Authors: Tsiolakis, Efthymios, Tsaila-Monopoli, Stella, Kontakiotis, George, Antonarakou, Assimina, Sprovieri, Mario, Geraga, Maria, Ferentinos, George, Theodorou, George, Zissimos, Andreas
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: IOP Publishing 2019
• Subjects: Planktonic foraminifera
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/362/1/012103; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/362/1/012103/pdf; https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1755-1315/362/1/012103

Abstract The present study describes the Pliocene paleoenvironmental evolution and the main paleoclimatic trends of Cyprus Island (southeastern Mediterranean) reconstructed using planktonic foraminifera. The Essovouyes-Exovouyes section, which is located on the boundary of Messaoria basin in the north and Larnaka basin in the south, corresponds to a continuous record from 5.21 to 1.8 Ma and therefore provides good data for the paleoclimatic reconstruction northeast of the Troodos mountain range. The sedimentary sequence of the studied section is about 90 meters thick and characterized of pinkish to brownish massive marls, rhythmic sedimentary cycles of yellow to light grey homogeneous marls and brownish organic-rich laminated layers, brown to light grey sandy marls, light yellow marly sands enriched in macrofossils, and yellow massive fine- to coarse-grained bioclastic calcarenites at the top. We particularly focused on its middle part (3.9-3.0 Ma time interval), which consists of well-preserved cyclic marine sediments, including organic-rich laminated brownish sapropelitic layers alternating with grey homogeneous marls. This part of the section was measured and sampled at 0.1 to 0.55 m intervals, which allowed us to perform a detailed biostratigraphic analysis. Seven astronomically dated planktonic foraminiferal bioevents were recognized and constrained the age model of the studied interval through the linear interpolation. Within this biostratigraphic framework, the first occurrence of Globorotalia crassaformis is highlighted in this study and confirms the presence of the Zanclean/Piacenzian boundary (3.6 Ma). Integrated micropaleontological, sedimentological, and geochemical (Total Organic Carbon; TOC, and stable oxygen and carbon isotope; δ 18 O, δ 13 C) analyses revealed the presence of numerous cycles that resulted in the sapropelitic/homogeneous marl alternations. The sapropelites developed around the Zanclean/Piacenzian boundary suggest a climate characterized by fluctuations of warm/temperate to humid ...