Last interglacial surface water structure in the western Mediterranean (Balearic) Sea: Climatic variability and link between low and high latitudes

• Published in: Global and Planetary Change
• Main Authors: Kandiano, Evgeniya S., Bauch, Henning A., Fahl, Kirsten
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2014
• Subjects: Nordic Seas; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/27268/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/27268/1/Kandiano%20et.al.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.10.004

Highlights • Climate progression in the Balearic basin is examined between 140 and 100 ka. • A number of MIS 5e intra-interglacial cooling events is recognized. • MIS 5e climate phasing in the Western Mediterranean resembles the one in the Nordic Seas. • Foraminiferal abundances are strongly tied to a water circulation regime. • The timing of ORL deposition during MIS 5e resembles that of during the Holocene. Abstract A multiproxy analysis based on planktic foraminiferal abundances, derived SSTs, and stable planktic isotopes measurements together with alkenone abundances and Uk′37 SSTs was performed on late MIS 6 to early MIS 5d sediment recovered from Site 975 (ODP Leg 161) in the South Balearic Islands Basin (Western Mediterranean) with emphasis on reconstructing the climate progression of the last interglacial period. A number of abrupt climate changes related to alternative influence of nutrient rich northern and oligotrophic southern water masses was revealed. Heinrich event 11 and cooling events C27, C26, C25, C24, and C23, which have been previously described in the North Atlantic, were recognized. However, in comparison to the eastern North Atlantic mid-latitude region, events C27 and C26 at Site 975 seem to be significantly more pronounced. Together with evidence of a two-phase climate optimum with maximum SSTs reached during its later phase, this implies a close similarity in climate dynamics between the Western Mediterranean and the Nordic seas. We propose that postglacial effects in the Nordic seas had an influence on the western Mediterranean climate via atmospheric circulation and that these effects competed with the insolation force.