Benthic foraminiferal response to natural and man-made eutrophicationin the oligotrophic southeast Mediterranean shelf

Abstrac

Three hundred eighty thousand year long stable isotope and faunal records from the Red Sea : influence of global sea level change on hydrography

Stable isotope and faunal records from the central Red Sea show high-amplitude oscillations for the past 380,000 years. Positive δ18O anomalies indicate periods of significant salt buildup during periods of lowered sea level when water mass exchange with the Arabian Sea was reduced due to a reduced geometry of the Bab el Mandeb Strait. Salinities as high as 53‰ and 55‰ are inferred from pteropod and benthic foraminifera δ18O, respectively, for the last glacial maximum. During this period all planktonic foraminifera vanished from this part of the Red Sea. Environmental conditions improved rapidly after 13 ka as salinities decreased due to rising sea level. The foraminiferal fauna started to reappear and was fully reestablished between 9 ka and 8 ka. Spectral analysis of the planktonic δ18O record documents highest variance in the orbital eccentricity, obliquity, and precession bands, indicating a dominant influence of climatically - driven sea level change on environmental conditions in the Red Sea. Variance in the precession band is enhanced compared to the global mean marine climate record (SPECMAP), suggesting an additional influence of the Indian monsoon system on Red Sea climates

Geochemical evidence for the link between sulfate reduction, sulfide oxidation and phosphate accumulation in a late cretaceous upwelling system

Background: On Late Cretaceous Tethyan upwelling sediments from the Mishash/Ghareb Formation (Negev, Israel),bulk geochemical and biomarker analyses were performed to explain the high proportion of phosphates in thelower part and of organic matter (OM) preserved in upper parts of the studied section. The profile is composed ofthree facies types; the underlying Phosphate Member (PM), the Oil Shale Member (OSM) and the overlying MarlMember (MM). Results: Total organic carbon (TOC) contents are highly variable over the whole profile reaching from 0.6% in theMM, to 24.5% in the OSM. Total iron (TFe) varies from 0.1% in the PM to 3.3% in the OSM. Total sulfur (TS) rangesbetween 0.1% in the MM and 3.4% in the OSM, resulting in a high C/S ratio of 6.5 in the OSM section. A meanproportion of 11.5% total phosphorus (TP) in the PM changed abruptly with the facies to a mean value of only 0.9% in the OSM and the MM. The TOC/TOC$_{OR}$ ratios argue for a high bacterial sulfate reduction activity and in addition, results from fatty acidanalyses indicate that the activity of sulfide-oxidizing activity of bacteria was high during deposition of the PM,while decreasing during the deposition of the OSM. Conclusions: The upwelling conditions effected a high primary productivity and consequently the presence of abundant OM. This, in combination with high sulfate availability in the sediments of the PM resulted in a higher sulfide production due to the activity of sulfate-reducing bacteria. Iron availability was a limiting factor during the deposition of the whole section, affecting the incorporation of S into OM. This resulted in the preservation of a substantial part of OM against microbial degradation due to naturally-occurring sulfurization processes expressed by the high C/S ratio of 6.5 in the OSM. Further, the abundant sulfide in the pore water supported the growth of sulfide-oxidizing bacteria promoting the deposition of P, which amounted to as much as 15% in the PM. These conditions changed drastically from the PM to the OSM, resulting in a significant reduction of the apatite precipitation and a high concentration of reactive S species reacting with the OM

Marine oligotrophication due to fine sediments and nutrient starvation caused by anthropogenic sediment and water retention in large rivers: the Nile damming case

In the last two centuries, human activities have radically reduced the transport of suspended sediment and water to marine systems, mainly in the northern hemisphere, while complete sediment retention has been reported for the Nile River after the construction of the Aswan High Dam (AHD). Here, we focused on changes in the inner-shelf sediments most exposed to the pre-AHD flood plume in the distal part of its littoral cell as a predictor of the ecological response to large river fragmentation. Substantial reductions in fine (15-40%) and increases in coarse (~8 fold) sediment accumulation rates, increases in CaCO3 (~50%), decreases in autochthonous and total organic carbon (OC), and changes in the benthic foraminiferal assemblage toward more OC-sensitive species suggest an enhanced oligotrophication trend. The reduced nutrient fluxes and OC accumulation, and the coarsening of the shelf sediments inhibit the retention of “blue” carbon. Combined with fast climate warming and salinization, river fragmentation may have essential implications for the Eastern Mediterranean ecosystem via benthic oligotrophication processes

Anoxic development of sapropel S1 in the Nile Fan inferred from redox sensitive proxies, Fe speciation, Fe and Mo isotopes

Redox conditions and the mechanisms of redox development are a critical aspect of Eastern Mediterranean sapropels, whose formation in oxygen-depleted waters is closely related to water column stratification at times of global sea level rise and insolation maxima. Sapropels in the Nile Fan formed at relatively shallow water depths under the influence of the monsoon-driven freshwater output from the River Nile. This work evaluates the redox evolution of Holocene sapropel S1 in VALPAMED cruise core MD9509, recovered at 880 mbsl in the NE Nile Fan, using a combination of geochemical element proxies, Fe speciation, Fe and Mo isotopes studies. The productivity and redox proxies (Ba/Al, Mo/Al, U/Al, V/Al, Sb/Al) show well-defined enrichments in the sapropel, but with a marked minimum at ca 8.2 ka indicative of reventilation corresponding to a well known global cooling event. Peak productivity and reducing signals occur close to the initiation of sapropel formation. The proxy signals in sapropel 9509 are stronger and of longer duration than those of a second sapropel S1, recovered at the same depth, but 380 km to the north (MD9501), supporting the notion (suggested in previous studies) of more reduced conditions in the Nile Fan. The MoEF vs. UEF enrichment factor variations in core 9509 infer a transition from open marine suboxic conditions in the enclosing non-sapropel sediments to anoxic non-sulphidic water column conditions in the sapropel. Correspondingly, the highly reactive Fe pool (FeHR) measured in Fe speciation studies is dominated by Fe(oxyhydr) oxide minerals in the background sediments, whereas pyrite (Fepy) becomes the dominant component of the FeHR pool in the sapropel. Maximum Fepy values in the sapropel coincide with peak productivity and reducing conditions, implying a clear link between trace element uptake, diagenetic bacterial sulphate reduction in anoxic porewater and Fe mobilization in the sapropel. Iron isotope compositions (δ56Fe) in the sapropel do not show any departure from primary (marine and detrital) source sediment values, and the absence of an Fe/Al vs. δ56Fe trend strongly argues against an Fe shuttle. Molybdenum isotopes, however, show marked non-conservative fractionation patterns. Background sediment δ98/95Mo values (0.2 to 0.7‰) are compatible with fractionation upon absorptive uptake by Fe (oxyhydr)oxides and pyrite. In contrast, minimum δ98/95Mo values exhibited at peak sapropel (reducing and pyrite producing) conditions are most closely modeled by Mo isotope fractionation during kinetically controlled conversion of aqueous molybdate to thiomolybdate species. The conservative Fe isotope behavior/Mo isotope fractionation minima in the sapropel may be a characteristic of organic-rich sediment diagenesis below an anoxic non-sulphidic water body, without the operation of a benthic Fe shuttle

Quaternary paleo-oceanography, pteropod preservation and stable-isotope record of the Red Sea

International audienc

The seasonal dynamics of nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations on the SE Mediterranean shelf-slope

We report the results of a sequence of twelve research cruises over a two-year period, from June 1996 through May 1998 that examined the seasonal variations in the nutrient (NO(3)(-) PO(4)(3-), and Si(OH)(4)) and in the chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations at two permanent stations across the SE Mediterranean continental shelf and slope (120 and 400 m water depth off the Israeli coast). Seasonally-dependent Chl a concentrations ranged between 0.003 and 0.415 mg m(-3). Following autumn and winter a distinct biomass phytoplankton peak was produced (similar to 30 mg Chl a m(-2) in the upper 120 m) and a subsequent moderate spring peak was observed. In the decomposition zone (120-400 m), an opposite pattern was observed with decreasing amounts of NO(3)(-) and PO(4)(3-) during winter. The integrated Si(OH)(4) pattern in the euphotic zone indicates that diatoms grow during spring and summer and that their frustules are rapidly settled during the breakdown of stratification. At depths between 150 and 400 m, the geometric mean NO(3)(-)/PO(4)(3-) ratio (similar to 24) was significantly higher than in the upper 150 m (similar to 7), where it varied seasonally with low ratios (3, 5) during autumn and winter compared to summer and spring (9, 11). At the present time, it is not possible to reconcile the relatively low ( 20) ratios of exogenous upwelling and atmospheric inputs. The determination of the possible presence of additional nutrient phases and preferential uptake of nutrients by the phytoplankton is an important next step toward the understanding of nutrient limitation in such ultra-oligotrophic systems. (Ce travail présente les résultats d'une série de douze campagnes (juin 1996 à mai 1998) portant sur les nutriments (nitrates, phosphates et silicates) et la chlorophylle a. L’étude a porté sur deux stations permanentes, l'une sur la plate-forme (profondeur 120 m), l'autre sur la pente continentale (400 m) au SE de la Méditerranée. Les variations de la chlorophylle a s’étendent de 0,003 à 0,415 mg m–3. Un pic de chlorophylle apparaı̂t aussi bien en fin d'automne qu'en fin d'hiver (≠ 30 mg Chl a m–2 dans les 120 premiers mètres) avec un maximum secondaire à la fin du printemps. Dans la zone de décomposition (120 m à 400 m), les variations de nitrates et de phosphates présentent une allure opposée avec une diminution durant l'hiver. Le modèle intégré de Si(OH)4 dans la couche euphotique souligne la rupture de la stratification verticale. Entre 150 m et 400 m, la moyenne géométrique du rapport NO3–/PO43– (≠ 24) est nettement plus élevée que dans les cent cinquante premiers mètres (≠ 7) où il varie avec les saisons avec des valeurs basses (respectivement 3 et 5) en automne – hiver comparé à l’été et au printemps (respectivement 9 et 11). Actuellement, il est impossible de relier les rapports nitrates/phosphates relativement bas ( 20) des apports atmosphériques et de l'upwelling extérieur. L'apport additionnel de nutriments, ainsi que les préférences éventuelles du phytoplancton, constituent la prochaine étape pour la compréhension de la limitation par les nutriments dans les systèmes ultra-oligotrophes