Late Glacial to Holocene paleoenvironmental evolution of the Black Sea

Abstract

Paleoenvironmental changes in the Black Sea since the LGM were reconstructed using a multi-proxy approach. The hydrology and water chemistry of the Black Sea were significantly influenced by meltwater pulses originated from the Scandinavian Ice Sheet between 15.5 and 18 ka. The subsequent warming during Bölling/Alleröd and Early Holocene led to calcite precipitation, interrupted by the YD cold period. A steady increase in the d18O of Black Sea water was related to a higher d18O of the meteoric precipitation. Diverging d18O trends from different water depths indicate a stratification of the then lacustrine Black Sea. At 9.3 ka the inflow of Mediterranean water started as indicated by a drastic increase in the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca of ostracod shells. High-frequent fluctuations in the river run-off of the Danube and Sakarya (Anatolia) rivers could be linked to the NAO. The data shows the persistence of the NAO-influence also during deglacial times and on millennial to decadal time scales.