Terrigenous climate signals in deep-sea sediments: Insights from the inorganic and organic geochemistry

Abstract

Terrigenous material is transported to the marine environment in large quantities, mainly by fluvial and eolian transport. Its deposition within the marine sediments provides an archive of Earth s history, past climate conditions, source regions, transport processes, and their variations in time and space. The main objective of this thesis was the documentation of the transport of terrigenous material into the marine environment and the identification of terrigenous material (especially soil organic carbon) in sediments of continental margin systems. These investigations were based on the analysis of the chemical composition as well as specific organic compounds (biomarkers). This thesis contributes to the understanding of the chemical composition of Saharan/Sahelian dust which is deposited in the Atlantic Ocean off NW Africa. It also provides insights into the deposition of terrigenous material on two large deep sea fans in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean during the last ~35 ka.