THE CAPO ROSSELLO BORE-HOLE (AGRIGENTO, SICILY) CYCLOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTIONS FROM QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF THE ZANCLEAN FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES

Cyclostratigraphy based on the quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminifera in the Zanclean segment (M Pl 1 base of M Pl 3 biozones) of the bore-hole drilled in the Capo Rossello area (Sicily, Southern Italy) allows us to recognize that the calcareous plankton biostratigraphic events occur in the same cycles as identified by previous authors. Exceptional thick cycles which are thought to represent two precession cycles show two fluctuations is greater than the number of lithologic cycles. Between the base of the Pliocene and the first occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata thirty-five lithologic cycles and thirty eight planktonic foraminifera fluctuations are present. By comparison with relative abundance fluctuations in the benthic foraminifera and the astronomical record is recognized. In particular, the BN>125 µm and the Planulina ariminensis quantitative distributions are related to the long eccentricity. Conversely, the relative abundance fluctuations of Siphonina reticulata, Cibicidoides bradyi, Pullenia bulloides and Uvigerina pygmaea appear to be generally forced by the precession periodicity, but in the intervals coincident with the eccentricity minima such a relationship is less clear. The very abundant and widespread distribution in several Mediterranean sites of S. reticulata, which we consider a quasi-endemic species of this basin during the Early and Middle Pliocene is anticovariant with the quantitative distribution of Cibicidoides brady-robertsonianus, which is considered a characteristic species of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This relationship suggest that a peculiar, intermediate water mass was present in the Mediterranean during this time interval. We propose for this water mass the name of Early Pliocene Mediterranenan Intermediate Water (EPMIW). According to bibliographic data that report the sharp decrease in abundance of S. reticulata during the M Pl 5 biozone, EPMIW was present in the Mediterranean basin until about 2.5 Ma.&nbsp

THE CAPO ROSSELLO BORE-HOLE (AGRIGENTO, SICILY) CYCLOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALEOCEANOGRAPHIC RECONSTRUCTIONS FROM QUANTITATIVE ANALYSES OF THE ZANCLEAN FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES

Cyclostratigraphy based on the quantitative analyses of planktonic foraminifera in the Zanclean segment (M Pl 1 base of M Pl 3 biozones) of the bore-hole drilled in the Capo Rossello area (Sicily, Southern Italy) allows us to recognize that the calcareous plankton biostratigraphic events occur in the same cycles as identified by previous authors. Exceptional thick cycles which are thought to represent two precession cycles show two fluctuations is greater than the number of lithologic cycles. Between the base of the Pliocene and the first occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata thirty-five lithologic cycles and thirty eight planktonic foraminifera fluctuations are present. By comparison with relative abundance fluctuations in the benthic foraminifera and the astronomical record is recognized. In particular, the BN>125 µm and the Planulina ariminensis quantitative distributions are related to the long eccentricity. Conversely, the relative abundance fluctuations of Siphonina reticulata, Cibicidoides bradyi, Pullenia bulloides and Uvigerina pygmaea appear to be generally forced by the precession periodicity, but in the intervals coincident with the eccentricity minima such a relationship is less clear. The very abundant and widespread distribution in several Mediterranean sites of S. reticulata, which we consider a quasi-endemic species of this basin during the Early and Middle Pliocene is anticovariant with the quantitative distribution of Cibicidoides brady-robertsonianus, which is considered a characteristic species of the North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW). This relationship suggest that a peculiar, intermediate water mass was present in the Mediterranean during this time interval. We propose for this water mass the name of Early Pliocene Mediterranenan Intermediate Water (EPMIW). According to bibliographic data that report the sharp decrease in abundance of S. reticulata during the M Pl 5 biozone, EPMIW was present in the Mediterranean basin until about 2.5 Ma.&nbsp

Hydroclimate variability in the central Mediterranean during MIS 17 interglacial (Middle Pleistocene) highlights timing offset with monsoon activity

Mediterranean climates are characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Previous studies suggest that over the last 1.36 Myr, Mediterranean winter rainfalls were in phase with the African monsoon. Here we present a high-resolution terrestrial and marine dataset for the Marine Isotope Stage 17 interglacial (Middle Pleistocene) from Southern Italy, showing that precipitation rates and regimes in the central Mediterranean varied independently of the monsoon system. Specifically, events of extreme summer precipitation were promoted by increased regional insolation rates and/or extratropical cyclones, and their magnitude was further enhanced by the advection of cool and humid North Atlantic air during stadials. Our findings provide new information on the short- to mid-term natural hydroclimatic variability of the Mediterranean basin, and offer new critical insights on land–ocean interactions at the regional scale by complementing previous analyses on the displacement of storm tracks toward southern Europe

Uniqueness of Planktonic Ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea: The Response to Orbital- and Suborbital-Climatic Forcing over the Last 130,000 Years

The Mediterranean Sea is an ideal location to test the response of organisms to hydrological transformations driven by climate change. Here we review studies carried out on planktonic foraminifera and coccolithophores during the late Quaternary and attempt the comparison of data scattered in time and space. We highlight the prompt response of surface water ecosystems to both orbital- and suborbital-climatic variations. A markedly different spatial response was observed in calcareous plankton assemblages, possibly due to the influence of the North Atlantic climatic system in the western, central and northern areas and of the monsoon system in the easternmost and southern sites. Orbital-induced climatic dynamics led to productive surface waters in the northern, western and central Mediterranean Sea during the last glacial and to distinct deep chlorophyll maximum layers in the eastern Mediterranean Sea coinciding with bottom anoxia episodes. High-frequency planktonic modifications are well documented in the Sicily Channel and Alboran Sea and highlight the occurrence of different steps within a single stadial (cold phase)/interstadial (warm phase) oscillation. The review of planktonic organisms in the marine sedimentary archive casts light on the uniqueness of the Mediterranean Sea, especially in terms of climatic/oceanographic/biological interaction and influence of different climatic systems on distinct areas. Further research is needed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea where results are obscured by low-resolution sedimentary records and by a strong focus on sapropel deposition dynamics

DTM-based morphometry of the Palinuro seamount (Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea): Geomorphological and volcanological implications

We present a high resolution DTM of the Palinuro Seamount (PS, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) resulting from the processing of multibeam swath bathymetry records acquired during the second leg of the “Aeolian 2007” cruise. PS consists of several superimposed volcanoes aligned along a N100°E strike and measures 55×25 km. The western and the central sectors result from the coalescence of collapse structures (calderas) with younger volcanic cones. The eastern sector reveals a more complex and articulated structure. In the central sector, a volcanic crater with a well-preserved rim not obliterated by erosional events suggests a volcanological rejuvenation of this sector. The presence of flat surfaces on the top of the seamount may be due to the formation of marine terraces during the last sea-level lowering. Lateral collapses on the northern and southern flanks of the seamount are probably related to slope instability, as suggested by the presence of steep slopes (25–40°). The main fault affecting PS strikes N65°E and shows a right lateral component of movement. E–W and N10°E striking faults are also present. Assuming that theN100°E deep-seated fault,which is responsible for theemplacement of PS,movedwith sinistral slips, we interpret the N65°E and the N10°E faults as right-lateral (second order) shear and left-lateral (third order) shear, respectively. Due to the particular location of the Palinuro Seamount, the data presented here allow us to better understand the volcanism and the geodynamic processes of the Tyrrhenian Sea

The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Serravallian Stage (Middle Miocene)

The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the Base of the Serravallian Stage (Middle Miocene) is defined in the Ras il Pellegrin section located in the coastal cliffs along the Fomm Ir-Rih Bay on the west coast of Malta (35°54'50"N, 14°20'10"E). The GSSP is at the base of the Blue Clay Formation (i.e., top of the transitional bed of the uppermost Globigerina Limestone). This boundary between the Langhian and Serravallian stages coincides with the end of the major Mi-3b global cooling step in the oxygen isotopes and reflects a major increase in Antarctic ice volume, marking the end of the Middle Miocene climate transition and the Earth's transformation into an "Icehouse" climate state. The associated major glacio-eustatic sea-level drop corresponds with sequence boundary Ser1 of Hardenbol et al. (1998) and supposedly with the TB2.5 sequence boundary of Haq et al (1987). This event is slightly older than the last common and/or continuous occurrence of the calcareous nannofossil Sphenolithus heteromorphus, previously considered as guiding criterion for the boundary, and is projected to fall within the younger half of Chron C5ACn. The GSSP level is in full agreement with the definitions of the Langhian and Serravallian in their respective historical stratotype sections in northern Italy and has an astronomical age of 13.82 Ma

DTM-based morphometry of the Palinuro seamount (Eastern Tyrrhenian Sea): Geomorphological and volcanological implications

We present a high resolution DTM of the Palinuro Seamount (PS, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) resulting from the processing of multibeam swath bathymetry records acquired during the second leg of the “Aeolian 2007” cruise. PS consists of several superimposed volcanoes aligned along a N100°E strike and measures 55×25 km. The western and the central sectors result from the coalescence of collapse structures (calderas) with younger volcanic cones. The eastern sector reveals a more complex and articulated structure. In the central sector, a volcanic crater with a well-preserved rim not obliterated by erosional events suggests a volcanological rejuvenation of this sector. The presence of flat surfaces on the top of the seamount may be due to the formation of marine terraces during the last sea-level lowering. Lateral collapses on the northern and southern flanks of the seamount are probably related to slope instability, as suggested by the presence of steep slopes (25–40°). The main fault affecting PS strikes N65°E and shows a right lateral component of movement. E–W and N10°E striking faults are also present. Assuming that theN100°E deep-seated fault,which is responsible for theemplacement of PS,movedwith sinistral slips, we interpret the N65°E and the N10°E faults as right-lateral (second order) shear and left-lateral (third order) shear, respectively. Due to the particular location of the Palinuro Seamount, the data presented here allow us to better understand the volcanism and the geodynamic processes of the Tyrrhenian Sea

The impact of the Little ice age on coccolithophores in the central Mediterranea Sea

The Little ice age (LIA) is the last episode of a series of Holocene climatic anomalies. There is still little knowledge on the response of the marine environment to the pronounced cooling of the LIA and to the transition towards the 20th century global warming. Here we present decadal-scale coccolithophore data from four short cores recovered from the central Mediterranean Sea (northern Sicily Channel and Tyrrhenian Sea), which on the basis of ²¹⁰Pb activity span the last 200-350 years. The lowermost part of the record of one of the cores from the Sicily Channel, Station 407, which extends down to 1650 AD, is characterized by drastic changes in productivity. Specifically, below 1850 AD, the decrease in abundance of F. profunda and the increase of placoliths, suggest increased productivity. The chronology of this change is related to the main phase of the Little Ice Age, which might have impacted the hydrography of the southern coast of Sicily and promoted vertical mixing in the water column. The comparison with climatic forcings points out the importance of stronger and prolonged northerly winds, together with decreased solar irradiance