Seasonal response of benthic foraminifera to anthropogenic pressure in two stations of the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea, Italy): the marine protected area of Miramare versus the Servola water sewage outfall

A seasonal survey of living benthic foraminifera was performed in 2013 in the Gulf of Trieste (N Adriatic Sea) to compare two marine coastal sites with different degrees of anthropogenic influence. An assessment of ecological quality statuses showed that the station located near the end of an urban pipeline (Ser station), has worse ecological conditions than the site located in a protected marine area (Res station) all year around. Stressed conditions at Ser station were mainly related to high contents of total organic carbon (TOC) and Zn in the bioavailable fraction, which were a limiting factor for the studied foraminiferal communities. Ammonia tepida, Bolivina spp., and Bulimina spp., which characterised this station, were the most tolerant taxa of the studied assemblage. Conversely, Elphidium spp., H. depressula, N. iridea, Quiqueloculina spp., R. nana and Textularia spp., could be considered less tolerant species as they benefitted from the less stressful conditions recorded at Res station, despite slightly higher concentrations of some potentially toxic elements (PTEs), especially Pb, being recorded in this station in comparison to Ser station. Furthermore, foraminiferal assemblages were found to be quite resilient over an annual cycle, being able to recover from a seasonal unbalanced state to a mature one. The beginning of spring and latest summer would be the best period to assess the ecological quality status to avoid any under- or overestimation of the health of the environment

Foraminifer and ostracod occurrence in a cool-water carbonate factory of the cape adare (Ross sea, Antarctica): A key lecture for the climatic and oceanographic variations in the last 30,000

Foraminifers and ostracods were studied in a gravity-core recovered near Cape Adare (Ross Sea, Antarctica) with the aim of identifying the climatic and oceanographic variations during the last 30 ka. The sedimentary sequence represents conditions of a cool-water carbonate factory, which evidences that during the Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS2) the area was ice-free and very productive. The overall preservation of delicate skeletal remains such as bryozoans and molluscs indicated moderate bottom currents. This carbonate factory was interrupted by some terrigenous levels, representing conditions of instability/retreat of the ice shelves southward. The younger levels were referred to the meltwater pulse (MWP)-1A and 1B events. The Holocene sequence comprised more terrigenous sediments, reflecting high bottom-currents similar to the present-day conditions. Very abundant and well preserved foraminifers and ostracods, representative of shelf-upper slope paleoenvironments, were recovered. Epistominella exigua, among the foraminifers, suggested the influence of the Circumpolar Deep Water during some periods of the late Quaternary. Heavy-test taxa, such as Cibicides refulgens, indicated strengthening bottom hydrodynamics. As for the ostracods, peaks in the presence of Australicythere devexa, Bairdoppilata simplex and Pseudocythere aff. caudata together with significant values of Polycope spp. allowed us to identify environments rich in nutrients with the influence of cold and deep water upwelling phenomena

Distribution and morphological abnormalities of recent foraminifera in the Marano and Grado Lagoon (North Adriatic Sea, Italy)

The Marano and Grado Lagoon, is a northern Adriatic wetland system of relevant naturalistic and economic value, that is constantly under quality control in accordance with the current environmental directives. Benthic foraminifers community with its morphological abnormalities were investigated in the recent sediments (about 10 years old) of 21 stations collected in the framework of the \u201cMIRACLE\u201d Project which aimed at testing the coexistence of clam farming with high Hg contamination. Euryhaline foraminifers, well known in Mediterranean brackish-waters, mainly characterizes the total assemblage. Ammonia tepida dominates in areas characterized by low salinity, high clay and organic carbon content, but also to anthropogenic pressure. Elphidium gunteri and Haynesina germanica are recorded in the western sector of the lagoon, which is more affected by salinity variations and agricultural activities. Slightly higher values of assemblage diversity appear in less restricted areas of the lagoon or, at least, where physical parameters such as temperature and salinity are less variable. The test abnormalities, carried out on total assemblage, show that the FAI (Foraminiferal Abnormality Index) values always exceed 1% of the total assemblage, with clear decreasing gradients from inland to the sea (from N to S) and from W to E in the studied area

Ostracod and Foraminifer Responses to Late Pleistocene–Holocene Volcanic Activity in Northern Victoria Land as Recorded in Ross Sea (Antarctica) Marine Sediments

The impacts on ostracods and foraminifers caused by three Late Quaternary ashfalls of different intensities and recovered in the ANTA02-NW2 core sediments (Drygalski Basin, western Ross Sea) were analysed for the first time. Albeit with different timing, both associations demonstrated similar response patterns associated with the deposition of material from volcanic eruptions. In particular, based on the palaeontological evidence, it was possible to divide the cores into four intervals/phases recording the evolution of the ecosystem before and after the deposition events: (1) Pre-extinction phase (high abundance and high diversity values). (2) Extinction phase, characterised by the complete disappearance of ostracod fauna; the foraminiferal assemblage, although not entirely absent, records extremely low values of abundance and diversity (survivor assemblage). (3) Recovery phase (increasing abundance and diversity values), characterised by the recolonisation of some opportunistic taxa; species such as Australicythere devexa and Australicythere polylyca dominate the ostracod assemblage. (4) Post-extinction phase (high abundance and high diversity values), with the return to an environmental equilibrium characterised by the colonisation of specialised taxa such as Argilloecia sp., Cytheropteron sp., Echinocythereis sp., and Hemicytherura spp. Our results may aid in the understanding of how communities (i.e., ostracods and foraminifers) recovered after the impact of direct deposits of volcanic ash into ocean waters. The mechanisms by which disappearance and/or mortality was induced are still not clear. The release of toxic metals during the reaction of the volcanic ash with seawater, the resulting chemical alteration in the seawater, and the change in pH, together with the possible suppression of planktonic organisms, may have caused the two main extinction phases recorded by the ANTA02-NW2 core sediments

Late Holocene palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern harbour at the Elaiussa Sebaste archaeological site (south-eastern Turkey): evidence from core ELA6

9noAbstract: The ancient site of Elaiussa Sebaste (SE coast of Turkey) was one of the main trading harbours of the Mediterranean, growing in the Augustan period and maintaining its prestige until the Byzantine era. The Arabic invasion that occurred in the second half of the 7th century AD marked its definitive abandonment. A very prominent historical topic concerns the palaeoenvironmental evolution of the northern and southern harbours of Elaiussa Sebaste, including their decline and burial. A wide interdisciplinary study plans to analyse 8 cores drilled in the modern plains, which correspond to the setting of the 2 harbours basins. This geoarchaeological investigation aims to provide a first model of the environmental evolution recorded in the northern port basin, obtained by means of litho- and biofacies analyses from one of the 8 cores (ELA6) that best represents a good reference-succession in order to interpret this evolution. It consists of sediments deposited in a timespan from the 2nd century BC to the 6th century AD, corresponding to the developments of the ancient town and its harbours. The geophysics evidences the depth of the bedrock and the overlaying deposits. Sedimentology, macropalaeontology, and micropalaeontology define a sequence of shallow marine palaeoenvironments, with clear influence of fresh water. The palynology focuses the attention on a short core-interval corresponding to the timespan of 150–190 AD approximately, when the human impact might have controlled this evolution by building and cultivating. A hypothetical scenario might link some natural events (i.e. the uplift of the area, the increase of the sedimentation rate) to the human impact. These causes may have resulted in the siltation of the harbour that finally ended all harbour-related activities. During the timespan of the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD, the northern harbour of Elaiussa-Sebaste may represent a good test to apply the Ancient Harbour Parasequence.openopenMelis, Romana; Bernasconi, Maria Pia; Colizza, Ester; Di Rita, Federico; Equini Schneider, Eugenia; Forte, Emanuele; Montenegro, Maria Eugenia; Pugliese, Nevio; Ricci, MarcoMelis, Romana; Bernasconi, Maria Pia; Colizza, Ester; Di Rita, Federico; Equini Schneider, Eugenia; Forte, Emanuele; Montenegro, Maria Eugenia; Pugliese, Nevio; Ricci, Marc

HOLOCENE EVOLUTIONOF THE CAORLE BARRIER-LAGOON (NORTHERN ADRIATIC SEA, ITALY)

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Sedimentary sequences from embayments along the Victoria land (Ross Sea, Antarctica) as potential archives recording holocene climate fluctuations.

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Integrated sedimentology and micropaleontology for the study of the deglaciation post LGM in the south- western Svalbard slope (Arctic Ocean).

The north-western continental margin of the Barents Sea represents the only gateway for deep-water masses moving between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans. On this respect, the western Svalbard margin, located on the eastern side of the Fram strait straight, represents a key area to study the paleoceanographic variation of the North Atlantic/West and East Spitsbergen currents . Integrated sedimentological and micropaleontological analyses on calcareous nannofossils, diatoms, planktonic and benthonic foraminifera and clay mineral assemblages have been performed on three sediment cores, collected during the EGLACOM and CORIBAR projects from the Storfjorden-Kveithola depositional system (NW Barents Sea), to with the aim of reconstructing the deep-water paleoceanographic evolution after the Last Glacial Maximum. The lithological sequence and the magnetic susceptibility are consistent between the EGLACOM and CORIBAR cores. The recovered cores contain an expanded thick sedimentary sequence that includes continuous well-preserved Holocene interglacial sediments. The microfossils are scarce in the lithological units that represent the deglaciation after LGM, and became abundant in the Holocene sequences that record a clear upswingreprise of the North Atlantic Current (NAC) strength. AnywayNevertheless, the benthic assemblage is indicative of non-permanently ice-covered conditions since about 16 cal ka BP. The planktonic microfossil patterns of distribution are coherent with the trend of smectite content in the clay mineral assemblage that is mainly transported by the NAC, therefore high contents are associated to a vigorous current (Junttila et al., 2010). The nannofossil assemblages during the Holocene, are dominated by Emiliania huxleyi (< 4 \ub5m), confirming the climatic ameliorationdeglaciation trend. The diatom assemblages are dominated by Chaetoceros resting spores, related to stratified waters in association with ice melting at the beginning of Holocene. The presence of the diatom Coscinodiscus spp. and a more diversified planktonic foraminiferal assemblage, with Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s), N. incompta and Globigerina bulloides, indicating subpolar conditions, confirm the onset of warm environmental period that were associated to the Holocene Thermal Maximum. The benthic foraminiferal assemblage here contains Cassidulina reniforme, C. teretis, Islandiella helenae/norcrossi, Melonis barleeanum and Cibicidoides wuellerstorfi. The significant occurrence of small taxa, such as Stetsonia horvati, during the medium-late Holocene suggests a condition of low productivity and low content of organic matter to the sea floor. Some peaks of agglutinated species, corresponding to high percentage of fragmentation/dissolution, could suggest the influence of cold, salty and dense waters (brines) coming from the shelf area, that are very aggressive to the calcareous tests

Very recent sedimentation in the northwestern Ross Sea coastal area

In the HOLOCLIP project (Holocene climate variability at high\u2010southern latitudes: an integrated perspective) the Ross Sea is one of the 4 key areas selected to understand the processes linking different components of the climate system during the Holocene by integrating ice and sediment core data and model simulations. Within the northwestern Ross Sea we propose 3 areas in which it is possible to study the Late Holocene (Neoglacial) to the Hypsithermal period in detail: Joides Basin, and 2 coastal areas, Cape Hallett and Wood Bay. Joides Basin represents an homogeneous sedimentation of structureless diatomaceous mud (about 2 meters thick), Holocene in age, not influenced by coastal glaciers. On the contrary, the two coastal areas show expanded sections of Holocene laminated sediments (seasonal resolution) restricted to time intervals from late Holocene Neoglacial to the Hypsithermal periods influenced by local oceanographic and morphological conditions. In this work we propose a preliminary study on two box cores collected in Cape Hallett and Wood Bay areas during 2005 PNRA oceanographic cruise. Magnetic susceptibility and X ray analyses were performed. Box cores were opened, described and subsampled for 210 Pb, diatoms and foraminifera assemblages, organic carbon, and grain\u2010size analyses are now in progress. Box core ANTA05\u2010bc21 was collected in Cape Hallett at a depth of 454 m. It is characterized by a mottled mud with dark olive grey \u201ccotton like\u201d sediment and dark more compact mud. During the sampling, bioturbated sediment with mottles and tube\u2010worms tests in the topmost 20 cm are recognized. The H2S smell is linked to organic matter reduction. The sediment of the box core ANTA05\u2010bc40 (Wood Bay area, depth 1034 m) is an olive fluffy mud with wavy black laminae. Some very small carbonate shell is noted. The box cores study will be crucial to link the present to past environmental conditions in the two selected areas