Marine resource abundance drove pre-agricultural population increase in Stone Age Scandinavia

How climate and ecology affect key cultural transformations remains debated in the context of long-term socio-cultural development because of spatially and temporally disjunct climate and archaeological records. The introduction of agriculture triggered a major population increase across Europe. However, in Southern Scandinavia it was preceded by ~500 years of sustained population growth. Here we show that this growth was driven by long-term enhanced marine production conditioned by the Holocene Thermal Maximum, a time of elevated temperature, sea level and salinity across coastal waters. We identify two periods of increased marine production across trophic levels (P1 7600–7100 and P2 6400–5900 cal. yr BP) that coincide with markedly increased mollusc collection and accumulation of shell middens, indicating greater marine resource availability. Between ~7600–5900 BP, intense exploitation of a warmer, more productive marine environment by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers drove cultural development, including maritime technological innovation, and from ca. 6400–5900 BP, underpinned a ~four-fold human population growth

Coccolithophorid ecostratigraphy and multi-proxy paleoceanographic reconstruction in the Southern Adriatic Sea during the last deglacial time (Core AD91-17)

A very detailed environmental history of the last deglaciation and the Holocene is recorded in a high sedimentation rate core collected in the Southern Adriatic Sea (Core AD91-17). The stratigraphic framework, based on radiocarbon dating (C-14 AMS) and the oxygen isotope record, allows recognition of the paleoceanographic changes of the last 16 200 years. Fluctuations within the coccolithophorid assemblage identify five intervals that can be correlated to major changes in the planktonic foraminifera records. Recognition of the same zonation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea suggests that they are truly basin-wide ecozones rather than local events. Interpretation of the paleoceanographic meaning of these coccolithophorid ecozones, together with planktonic and benthic foraminifera, dinocyst, pollen, magnetic parameters, oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation indexes, outlines fluctuations related to different paleoclimatic phases. In particular, from 16 200 to about 11 670 yr BPnc all proxies register cold conditions with a well-ventilated sea bottom. A gradual sea-surface temperature (SST) increase characterized the period between 11670 and 10800 yr BPnc, followed by a slight cooling coincident with the beginning of the Younger Dryas. Between 8650 and 6560 yr BPnc, corresponding to sapropel S1 formation, all proxies register a transition to warmer climate. Sea-surface productivity reached maximum values, while evidence for development of low salinity superficial waters and of a deep chlorophyll maximum is observed. The multi-proxy analysis suggests the presence of at least three phases in the S1 sapropel itself. The first part of the sapropel is characterized by high nutrient availability, warm stratified waters and severe bottom anoxia. Between 7650 and 7500 yr BPnc, corresponding to an interruption of the sapropel, we observe a rapid reoxygenation at the seafloor when SST warmed. Just after the sapropel interruption, and particularly between 7400 and 7250 yr BPnc, a slight climatic deterioration, an increase of salinity and a decrease of runoff are observed. At the top part of the sapropel, eutrophic environments, a well-stratified euphotic zone and dysoxic conditions at the bottom are identified. From 6560 to 5080 yr BPnc, conditions became more oligotrophic and SST reached a maximum, while a slight increase of superficial water salinity may suggest the end of stratified waters and the beginning of water column mixing. Finally, between 5080 and 2240 yr BPnc all proxies indicate warm and normal salinity waters. The bottom environment returned to normal oxygenated conditions

Performance evaluation of nitrogen isotope ratio determination in marine sediments: an inter- laboratory intercomparison

Nitrogen isotopes of organic matter are increasingly studied in marine biogeochemistry and geology, plant and animal ecology, and paleoceanography. Here, we present results of an inter-laboratory test on determination of nitrogen isotope ratios in marine and lacustrine sediments. Six different samples covering a wide range of total nitrogen content and δ15N values were analyzed by eight different laboratories using their routine procedures. The laboratories were asked to measure three batches with three replicates for each sample to assess accuracy and variability within and among laboratories; this permits assessment of repeatability and reproducibility, which are essential in meta analysis of the increasing database on δ15N values in marine sediments. The grand average δ15N values for individual samples ranged from 1.65-10.90‰. One laboratory exhibited an average bias of -0.27‰ compared to the mean of all other laboratories. Apart from one sample, which showed an exceptionally high overall standard deviation (OSD) of 0.51‰, the analytical precision (1 s) averaged 0.24‰, ranging from 0.18-0.31‰ for individual samples. Out of the eight participating laboratories, two showed a significantly elevated within-laboratory standard deviation (WLSD) of 0.41‰ and 0.32‰ compared to an average WLSD of 0.15‰ for the other laboratories. The WLSD was inversely correlated with the ratio of peak height to peak width, which was taken as a simple measure of peak shape. Moreover, our data also revealed an inverse correlation between total nitrogen content and measurement precision. These correlations may provide guidance for improving the measurement precision of individual laboratories. Based on the results of this round robin test, we have estimated the expanded measurement uncertainty on the 2σ level to 0.45‰ for sediment samples with a nitrogen content >0.07 wt%. Sediment samples with lower nitrogen contents cannot be measured with sufficient precision without additional precautions and care should be taken when interpreting δ15N signatures and records for sediments with nitrogen concentrations <0.07 wt%. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.status: publishe

Distribution and sources of organic matter in surface sediments of Bohai Sea near the Yellow River Estuary, China

Total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations and C and N stable isotope compositions in 64 surface sediment samples from the mouth of the Yellow River (YR) and from the Bohai Sea (BS) outline the distribution and sources (terrestrial and marine) of sediment organic matter. Comparatively high TOC (0.5-0.9%) and TN (0.07-0.11%) concentrations in the Central BS correlate with fine-grained sediments that contain high concentrations of algal-derived organic carbon (AOC) and biogenic silica (BSi). Together, they indicate a dominant contribution of autochthonous organic matter from marine primary production. Low TOC (<0.2%) and TN (<0.03%) contents characterize surface sediments in the Bohai Strait and are typically associated with coarse-grained sediments of low AOC and BSi contents. (delta C-13 values (-21 to 22 parts per thousand) are characteristic of marine-derived organic carbon in the Central BS and the Bohai Strait, whereas a significant terrigenous contribution of 40-50% is indicated by lower values (<-23 parts per thousand) near the YR mouth. The spatial pattern of rising (delta C-13 from the YR mouth to offshore areas indicates rapid sedimentation of fluvial suspensions within the vicinity of the river mouth and in Laizhou Bay, so that only approximately 10-20% of YR-derived sediments are transported to and deposited in the Central BS and/or the Bohai Strait. At most sites, delta N-15 values are in the typical range of marine organic matter produced from assimilation of marine nitrate by phytoplankton (5-5.5 parts per thousand), but some relatively high values (6-7.28 parts per thousand) mark the southern area of the Laizhou Bay as a significant sink of anthropogenic nitrogen. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Changes in northeast African hydrology and vegetation associated with Pliocene–Pleistocene sapropel cycles

East African climate change since the Late Miocene consisted of persistent shorter-term, orbital-scale wet–dry cycles superimposed upon a long-term trend towards more open, grassy landscapes. Either or both of these modes of palaeoclimate variability may have influenced East African mammalian evolution, yet the interrelationship between these secular and orbital palaeoclimate signals remains poorly understood. Here, we explore whether the long-term secular climate change was also accompanied by significant changes at the orbital-scale. We develop northeast African hydroclimate and vegetation proxy data for two 100 kyr-duration windows near 3.05 and 1.75 Ma at ODP Site 967 in the eastern Mediterranean basin, where sedimentation is dominated by eastern Sahara dust input and Nile River run-off. These two windows were selected because they have comparable orbital configurations and bracket an important increase in East African C(4) grasslands. We conducted high-resolution (2.5 kyr sampling) multiproxy biomarker, H- and C-isotopic analyses of plant waxes and lignin phenols to document orbital-scale changes in hydrology, vegetation and woody cover for these two intervals. Both intervals are dominated by large-amplitude, precession-scale (approx. 20 kyr) changes in northeast African vegetation and rainfall/run-off. The δ(13)C(wax) values and lignin phenol composition record a variable but consistently C(4) grass-dominated ecosystem for both intervals (50–80% C(4)). Precessional δD(wax) cycles were approximately 20–30‰ in peak-to-peak amplitude, comparable with other δD(wax) records of the Early Holocene African Humid Period. There were no significant differences in the means or variances of the δD(wax) or δ(13)C(wax) data for the 3.05 and 1.75 Ma intervals studied, suggesting that the palaeohydrology and palaeovegetation responses to precessional forcing were similar for these two periods. Data for these two windows suggest that the eastern Sahara did not experience the significant increase in C(4) vegetation that has been observed in East Africa over this time period. This observation would be consistent with a proposed mechanism whereby East African precipitation is reduced, and drier conditions established, in response to the emergence of modern zonal sea surface temperature gradients in the tropical oceans between 3 and 2 Ma. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Major transitions in human evolution’

Synchronous basin-wide formation and redox-controlled preservation of a Mediterranean sapropel

Organic-rich sedimentary units called sapropels have formed repeatedly in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in response to variations of solar radiation. Sapropel formation is due to a change either in the flux of organic matter to the sea floor from productivity changes or in preservation by bottom-water oxygen levels. However, the relative importance of surface-ocean productivity versus deep-water preservation for the formation of these organic-rich shale beds is still being debated, and conflicting interpretations are often invoked1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Here we analyse at high resolution the differences in the composition of the most recent sapropel, S1, in a suite of cores covering the entire eastern Mediterranean basin. We demonstrate that during the 4,000 years of sapropel formation, surface-water salinity was reduced and the deep eastern Mediterranean Sea, below 1,800 m depth, was devoid of oxygen. This resulted in the preferential basin-wide preservation of sapropel S1 with different characteristics above and below 1,800 m depth as a result of different redox conditions. We conclude that climate-induced stratification of the ocean may therefore contribute to enhanced preservation of organic matter in sapropels and potentially also in black shales.<br/