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Early Pleistocene climate changes in the central Mediterranean region as inferred from integrated pollen and planktonic foraminiferal stable isotope analyses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Sébastien Joannin ,
Frédéric Quillévéré ,
Jean-Pierre Suc ,
Christophe Lécuyer  and
François Martineau
Sébastien Joannin*
Affiliation:
Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère, Villeurbanne,F-69622, France
Frédéric Quillévéré
Affiliation:
Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère, Villeurbanne,F-69622, France
Jean-Pierre Suc
Affiliation:
Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère, Villeurbanne,F-69622, France
Christophe Lécuyer
Affiliation:
Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère, Villeurbanne,F-69622, France Institut Universitaire de France, 103 bld Saint-Michel, 75005 Paris, France
François Martineau
Affiliation:
Université de Lyon; Université Lyon 1; CNRS, UMR 5125, Paléoenvironnements et Paléobiosphère, Villeurbanne,F-69622, France
*
⁎Corresponding author. Université de Lyon, Lyon, F-69003, France. Fax: +33 472 44 83 82. E-mail address:sebastien.joannin@univ-lyon1.fr (S. Joannin).
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Abstract

Vegetation inherited from a Pliocene subtropical climate evolved through obliquity oscillations and global cooling leading to modern conditions. An integrated, highly time-resolved record of pollen and stable isotopes (δ18O and δ13C of Globigerina bulloides) was obtained to understand vegetation responses to Early Pleistocene climate changes. Continental and marine responses are compared in the Central Mediterranean region with a particular consideration of environmental changes during anoxic events.

Pollen data illustrate vegetation dynamics as follows: [1] development of mesothermic elements (warm and humid conditions); [2] expansion of mid- and high-altitude elements (cooler but still humid conditions); and [3] strengthening of steppe and herb elements (cooler and dry conditions). These successions correlate with precession. δ18O variations recorded by Globigerina bulloides define two cycles (MIS 43-40) related to obliquity. At northern low- to mid-latitudes, the pollen signal records temperature and wetness changes related to precession even during global climate changes induced by obliquity. This may result in unexpected increasing wetness during glacial periods, which has to be considered specific to the Central and Eastern Mediterranean region. Lastly, an analysis of anoxic events reveals that enhanced runoff is indicated by increasing frequency of the riparian trees Liquidambar and Zelkova.

Keywords

Pollen analysisStable isotopesClimatic cycleEarly PleistoceneCentral Mediterranean regionCrotone
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 67 , Issue 2 , March 2007 , pp. 264 - 274
Copyright
University of Washington

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