a gradual drowning of the southwestern black sea shelf evidence for a progressive rather than abrupt holocene reconnection with the eastern mediterranean sea through the marmara sea gateway core m02 45 recovered 9 5 m of a 12 m thick transgressive succession on the sw black sea shelf the underlying transgressive unconformity a deepens toward the shelf edge so that the coresite was never isolated from the open black sea fourteen radiocarbon dates indicate sedimentation from 9 3 ka to the present with only one hiatus at 270 cm depth spanning 4 5 2 5 ka three units are present in the core unit a 0 270 cm burrowed mud with laminated silt beds and mollusc shells of mediterranean affinity accumulation rate 125 cm ky unit b 270 525 cm silty mud with shelly interbeds containing truncatella subcylindrica mytilus galloprovincialis parvicardium exiguum rissoa spp and modiolula phaseolina rate 85 cm ky unit c 525 950 cm burrowed silty mud with graded beds of silt and fine sand and shells of t subcylindrica p exiguum and dreissena polymorpha rate 360 cm ky unit c developed below storm wave base at a time when proponents of a catastrophic flood in the black sea claim that the shelf was subaerially exposed clearly it was not ostracoda of caspian affinity indicate 5 salinity until 7 5 ka dinocysts and foraminifera confirm a low but rising salinity after 8 6 ka an increase of d 34 s from 5 30 through 8 4 7 6 ka is attributed to a first pulse of sulfate rich aegean water into an already high black sea after which this sulfate was quantitatively precipitated as sulfide d 34 s then dropped at 8k a to 20 as dysoxia and water column stratification were established because of the initiation of two way flow through the bosphorus earlier water exchange with the mediterranean was likely impeded by strong black sea outflow which prevented easy access of the aegean water mass r 2006 published by elsevier ltd

was the black sea catastrophically flooded in the early holocene abstract a catastrophic flooding of the black sea basin was proposed to have occurred during its reconnection to the ocean in the early holocene possible cultural consequences of the flood include the migration of neolithic farmers from around the black sea towards central europe as well as the creation of flood myths stratigraphic and paleo geomorphologic information from danube delta aided by radiocarbon ages on articulated mollusks constrain the level in the black sea before the marine reconnection to ca 30 m below the present sea level rather than 80 m or lower if the flood occurred at all the sea level increase and the flooded area during the reconnection were significantly smaller than previously proposed

did postglacial catastrophic flooding trigger massive changes in the black sea gas hydrate reservoir after the last glacial maximum the semi land locked black sea basin was flooded by warm water from the mediterranean sea this major sea level rise and change of physical water properties had a large impact on the gas hydrate reservoir in the sediments below modelling of the regional response of the gas hydrate stability zone ghsz to the black sea flooding 7100 years ago shows that a strong effect of near bottom temperature increase pushes the gas hydrate reservoir to a large shrinking of 15 62 that may release up to 1 1 4 6 gt of methane this catastrophic scenario is however delayed because of the transient nature of the heat wave propagation the large scale reduction of the ghsz is only to take place within the next thousand years at present widespread hydrate dissociation is only expected to occur where there is a minimum water depth for hydrate stability

the velocity description of deformation paper 2 sediment geometries associated with fault bend and fault propagation folds abstract a general tectono sedimentary forward modelling equation is used to derive two dimensional numerical models of sediment geometries associated with developing fault bend and fault propagation folds these styles of folding are described in terms of velocity models of deformation and are linked with syn tectonic erosion transport and sedimentation the resultant two dimensional numerical models simulate pre growth and growth strata in both submarine and subaerial settings the geometries and relationships produced by the models are broadly similar to those seen in natural examples however complex stratal geometries may be generated which are significantly different to those produced by previous models growth strata associated with fault bend and fault propagation folds are also compared and the distinguishing features of each mode of folding discussed the forward models presented in this paper have predictive capabilities in terms of possible sediment geometries associated with fault bend and fault propagation folds and also in terms of the amount of deformation or erosion that a part of a structure may have undergone

climatic controls on holocene lake level changes in europe sensitivity experiments with a simple water balance model were used to constrain the possible climatic causes of distinct holocene patterns of lake level variation in different regions of europe lakes in s sweden were low at 9 ka high around 6 5 ka low again around 4 ka and are high now lakes in estonia show similar but weaker trends lakes in s france were highest around 9 ka lowest around 4 ka intermediate now lakes in greece were also high around 9 ka but continued rising until 7 5 ka then fell gradually from 5 ka with a brief high phase around 3 ka and are low now the model was forced with insolation anomalies deduced from orbital variations temperature anomalies inferred from the pollen record and cloudiness anomalies derived from changes in the position of the subtropical anticyclone inferred from reconstructed changes in the equator to pole temperature gradient in order to evaluate the effects of resultant evaporation changes on catchment water balance the resulting simulated changes in runoff precipitation minus actual evapotranspiration were slight and frequently opposite to the observed trends larger changes in precipitation are plausible and are required to explain the data the required precipitation increase in n europe from 9 ka low to 6 ka high is suggested by gcm experiments to have been a consequence of interacting insolation and residual ice sheet effects on the atmospheric circulation over the north atlantic the explanation of other observed changes including the drying trend during the holocene in s europe has not been provided by gcm experiments to date explanations may lie in changes in mesoscale circulation sea surface temperature patterns and the coupling between these phenomena that may not follow orbital changes in any simple way

glacial hydrologic conditions in the black sea reconstructed using geochemical pore water profiles abstract chloride and 18 o compositions of interstitial water extracted from a long sediment core retrieved from the nw coast of the black sea allowed us to constrain the main hydrologic changes of the back sea during the late pleistocene and holocene prior to its reconnection with the mediterranean sea through the marmara sea at approximately 9000 calendar yr before present 9 ka cal bp the black sea has evolved as a fresh to brackish water lake at the time of reconnection hydrologic changes were drastic bottom water salinities changed from a few psu practical salinity unit to 22 psu since solutes in the interstitial water column within sediments are advected and diffused the measured concentrations do not reflect those of past bottom waters in order to reconstruct these former concentrations we used an advection diffusion model different scenarios of bottom water chloride and 18 o variations were accounted for in this model in order to simulate present day vertical profiles for concentrations of interstitial water in order to compare them to measured ones the comparison suggests that the glacial black sea was a homogeneous freshwater lake with a 18 o of 10 and a salinity of 1 psu modern hydrologic conditions would only have been reached at 2 ka cal bp concomitant with the onset of coccolith rich thin layers that characterize modern basin sediments such delayed salinization over 7000 yr in the basin may have been due to higher precipitation during the early holocene we also simulated the impact of a catastrophic reconnection and a smoother reconnection both salinity scenarios lead to undistinguishable modelled present day profiles indicating that the precise impact of the last reconnection was lost due to the advection diffusion processes

late quaternary history of the marmara sea and black sea from high resolution seismic and gravity core studies abstract lithologic and multi proxy paleoenvironmental data from 21 dated cores have been used to define three allostratigraphic units allounits within the late quaternary successions of the marmara sea and black sea allounits are bounded by unconformities and their correlative conformities in both regions allounit a extends from the seafloor downward to a 12 11 ka sequence boundary which is a major shelf crossing unconformity in water depths less than 100 110 m in deep basins of the marmara sea the lower part of allounit a designated subunit a2 is a laminated sapropel m1 on the shelf subunit a2 consists of backstepping delta lobes and early transgressive barrier islands and sand sheets allounit b has only been recovered in marmara sea cores collected at water depths greater than 90 m and represents basinal or prodeltaic deposition during the 23 12 ka late pleistocene lowstand during the last glacial maximum the shelves surrounding the marmara sea were subaerially exposed and deltas of allounit b accumulated along the present day shelf edge following the post glacial rise of global sea level to 75 m at 12 ka the marmara sea quickly became inundated and thereafter rose in synchroneity with the mediterranean by 10 ka the black sea rose to start spilling into the marmara sea leading to establishment of a brackish water lid that has persisted to the modern day the strongest black sea outflow began at 10 ka and persisted to 6 ka promoting the accumulation of sapropel m1 in the deep marmara sea and progradation of an overflow delta just south of the exit from the bosphorus strait allounit c is a laminated sapropel m2 in basinal cores dated at 30 23 ka like m1 it is believed that m2 accumulated during a period of increased brackish water input into the marmara sea mainly from the black sea in the black sea wave erosion kept the shelf stripped of unconsolidated sediments during the falling sea level associated with the last glaciation and subsequent early stages of the post glacial holocene transgression this erosion created a major unconformity shelf edge deltas of allounit b received their sediment during the last lowstand from small rivers that likely coalesced into a single system toward the shelf edge at modern water depths of 100 to 110 m these deltas were active until 11 10 5 ka subsequently sea level in the black sea rose to 40 m by 10 ka and a set of backstepping barrier islands developed on the shelf as part of the associated transgressive systems tract once water level reached 40 m continued sea level rise stalled until 9 ka as the black sea began to spill across the bosphorus strait into the marmara sea

architecture of late orogenic quaternary basins in northeastern mediterranean sea abstract in the northeastern mediterranean sea pliocene to quaternary depocentres have formed in extensional basins bounded by splays of the east anatolian transform fault this tectonic regime is superimposed on a miocene and older back arc environment that experienced late miocene compression along the misis kyrenia thrust which now lies in the middle of the extensional zone the thrust zone is now represented by a narrow horst that appears to be bounded by strike slip faults pliocene quaternary extension took place on listric fault fans that are orthogonal to the bounding transform splays and sole at a messinian evaporite horizon and on some deeper soling listric faults parallel to and near the bounding faults the rapid extension has resulted in progressive landward migration of paleoshorelines and low depositional gradients glacio eustatic fluctuations in shoreline positions strongly influenced sediment distribution most sediment dispersion was from deltaic plumes with turbidites of minor significance depocentres landward of the maximum seaward extent of paleoshorelines were formed almost entirely by tectonic subsidence minor deep water depocentres controlled by halokinesis accumulated mud turbidites during extreme low stands of sea level

further evidence of abrupt holocene drowning of the black sea shelf a 1999 survey of the black sea continental shelf off the north central turkish seaport of sinop using a side scan sonar small remotely operated vehicles and a series of dredge lowerings located inspected and sampled an exposed high energy paleoshoreline at a depth of 155 m radiocarbon dating of mollusk shells collected from this ancient beach revealed that the marine flooding of the black sea took place between 7460 and 6820 yr b p all ages are reported in radiocarbon years not calendar years without correction for reservoir age or dendro calibration changing it from a lacustrine to marine environment this relic surface remained in contact with the bottom waters of the black sea for a long period of time before being draped by a thin layer of sapropel mud wood samples recovered from this same location were very well preserved and yielded dates as old as 3580 yr b p q 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

oxygen isotopes and sea level from the time that detailed oxygen isotope records derived from foraminifera living in the constant temperature environment of the abyssal ocean became available there has been a discrepancy between the ice volume record that these records imply and that derived from the altitude of dated coral terraces around the world here we re examine the data and conclude that the temperature of the abyssal ocean has been an actively varying component of the climate system

architecture of stacked quaternary deltas correlated with global oxygen isotopic curve a distinctive pattern of quaternary stacked prograded deltas and intervening transgressions on a rapidly subsiding continental margin in the eastern mediterranean has been dated from offshore wells simple modeling using the quaternary oxygen isotope record as a proxy sea level curve has demonstrated that this pattern is a consequence of sea level change the progradational pattern is dependent principally on the amount of time that is available between successive highstands to provide accommodation space by subsidence on rapidly subsiding continental margins the standard pattern of stacked deltas can be used as a chronological tool in undated quaternary seismic sequences

cenozoic evolution of the eastern black sea a test of depth dependent stretching models abstract subsidence analysis of the eastern black sea basin suggests that the stratigraphy of this deep extensional basin can be explained by a predominantly pure shear stretching history a strain rate inversion method that assumes pure shear extension obtains good fits between observed and predicted stratigraphy a relatively pure shear strain distribution is also obtained when a strain rate inversion algorithm is applied that allows extension to vary with depth without assuming its existence or form the timing of opening of the eastern black sea which occupied a back arc position during the closure of the tethys ocean has also been a subject of intense debate competing theories called for basin opening during the jurassic cretaceous or paleocene eocene our work suggests that extension likely continued into the early cenozoic in agreement with stratigraphic relationships onshore and with estimates for the timing of arc magmatism further basin deepening also appears to have occurred in the last 20 myr this anomalous subsidence event is focused in the northern part of the basin and reaches its peak at 15 10 ma we suggest that this comparatively localized shortening is associated with the northward movement of the arabian plate we also explore the effects of paleowater depth and elastic thickness on the results these parameters are controversial particularly for deep water basins and margins but their estimation is a necessary step in any analysis of the tectonic subsidence record stored in stratigraphy

a post younger dryas black sea regression identified from sequence stratigraphy correlated to core analysis and dating the north western black sea shelf is the widest continental shelf of the black sea where the danube delta prodelta system includes important records on the black sea water level fluctuations this study integrates newly acquired high resolution single channel seismic reflection profiles and calypso piston cores recovered along a transect extending from the danube delta deep into its deep sea fan the correlated results provide information on the late quaternary architecture of the danube black sea shelf and on the role of global glacio eustatic fluctuations on the building of the danube delta prodelta the sedimentary sequences in the black sea are strongly affected by water level changes for the whole duration of late glacial holocene period the level of the black sea was controlled by the regional climate modifications rather than the global eustatic changes the seismic sequences recognized on a very high resolution seismic profile were dated by two calypso piston cores based on the obtained data during the last glacial maximum the black sea was a land locked lake with the level below 120 m in the course of the deglaciation the lake level rose up to 40 m which is confirmed by occurrence of the prodelta lobes formed after the rise in water level originated from the melt water following the younger dryas 11 000 8500 c 14 bp there occurred a new level lowering to the level of 100 m identified by the forced regression deposits recorded on the romanian shelf this last lowstand previously recognized by a pronounced shoreline with a characteristic beach profile and a belt of coastal dunes is also indicated by the prodelta at 100 m depth all these coastal features as well as the incised anastomosed channel system remained preserved on the shelf resulting from a rapid ultimate transgression starting immediately after 8500 c 14 bp c 2010 elsevier ltd and inqua all rights reserved

nature of the moho beneath the scottish highlands from a receiver function perspective abstract the geology of scotland documents a protracted geological history from precambrian basement formation through the caledonian orogeny and to the tertiary opening of the atlantic a temporary deployment of 22 closely spaced broadband seismic stations in scotland traverses many of the major terrane boundaries in the region and provides a unique opportunity to place spatial and temporal constraints on variations in crustal structure with teleseismic p wave receiver functions we use the h method to determine variations in bulk crustal parameters crustal thickness h and v p v s ratio mean crustal thickness is 28 km varying from 23 km in the ne highlands and increasing to 30 km near the highland boundary faultin the southern part of the study area mean v p v s values of 1 76 show no significant variation across the study area an abrupt increase in crustal thickness of 4 5 km nw across the moine thrust is not easily linked to tertiary recent tectonic activity instead it appears that scotland s crust has retained features for hundreds of millions of years since it was first formed despite abundant volcanic activity in tertiary times our work favours the view that the moho is a compositional boundary rather than a mineralogical one defined by a reaction in p t space

an abrupt drowning of the black sea shelf abstract during latest quaternary glaciation the black sea became a giant freshwater lake the surface of this lake drew down to levels more than 100 m below its outlet when the mediterranean rose to the bosporus sill at 7 150 yr bp 1 saltwater poured through this spillway to refill the lake and submerge catastrophically more than 100 000 km2 of its exposed continental shelf the permanent drowning of a vast terrestrial landscape may possibly have accelerated the dispersal of early neolithic foragers and farmers into the interior of europe at that time

stratal architecture of western mediterranean margins as the result of the stacking of quaternary lowstand deposits below glacio eustatic fluctuation base level abstract through a comparison of high resolution seismic stratigraphy of seven western mediterranean margins similarities and differences in stratigraphic architecture were highlighted and a hierarchy of controlling factors was established the areas are northwestern alboran ebro and northern catalonia in the spanish margin rho ne in the french margin and tuscany latium and calabria in the italian tyrrhenian margin despite their different tectonic physiographic and depositional setting the seismic facies and growth pattern of the middle late pleistocene deposits are comparable the margins are in fact the result of the stacking of lowstand systems tracts of 4th order depositional sequences bounded by polygenetic unconforniities on the shelf and condensed sections on the upper slope this lowstand nature results from the high frequency 100 ka high amplitude 100 m asymmetry falling 65 of the time and stationariness between 10 and 120 m with respect to the present of the glacio eustatic sea level curve if eustasy directly controls the types of deposits making up the margins tectonism conditions their growth pattern as it is the only factor accounting for similarities and differences in the external geometry stratal pattern and distribution of the middle late pleistocene depositional sequences an evolutionary model for the quaternary growth of young passive continental margins is proposed in this model tectonics determines the degree of preservation of lowstand deposits because it conditions the accommodation space left below the erosional profile produced by each glacio eustatic cycle thus some of the sequence stratigraphy principles widely used to set up the model have been modified and adjusted to take into consideration the peculiar nature of quaternary glacio eustasy

palaeogeographical evolution of the thrace neogene basin and the tethys paratethys relations at northwestern turkey thrace abstract the thrace neogene basin situated in northwestern turkey was initiated by strike slip faulting that was active from the early miocene until the end of the pliocene during the early miocene it began to form under the control of the thrace eskisehir fault zone initiated by continental collision in northwestern anatolia late oligocene early miocene during the late early miocene the basin was a site of mainly fluviatile and limnic sedimentation to the west and marine sedimentation via the paratethyan transgression in the north with the onset of the middle miocene the thrace block started to rotate in a counterclockwise sense and escaped westward with respect to the strandja istanbul block owing to rejuvenation of fossil fault systems within it in this period warm marine conditions were also established around the gulf of saros through a mediterranean originated transgression during the middle late miocene fluviatile and limnic conditions were created over the western thrace by the westerly propagation of the thrace eskisehir fault zone one of the principal results of the early middle miocene tectonics is the tilting of the strandja istanbul block to the south severing the tethys and the paratethys during the latest miocene early pliocene period the thrace eskisehir fault zone was deactivated because of the evolution of the north anatolian fault zone to the south the resurrected ganos fault zone situated on the dissected fossil suture zone in the sea of marmara also joined the north anatolian fault zone uplifting the gelibolu peninsula and thus severing the connection that existed between the sea of marmara and the paratethys the sea of marmara eventually became an endemic basin by the activity of the north anatolian fault zone

reconstruction of late quaternary sea and lake level changes in a tectonically active marginal basin using seismic stratigraphy the gulf of cariaco ne venezuela abstract the gulf of cariaco is a marginal basin located between the cariaco basin and the paria gulf offshore ne venezuela along a system of active right lateral strike slip faults it is connected to the caribbean sea via a shallow 58 m deep sill implying that the gulf was disconnected from the global ocean during eustatic lowstands a dense grid of high resolution reflection seismic profiles has been used to determine the overall tectonic structure of the gulf and to establish the seismic stratigraphy of its sedimentary infill six unconformity bounded seismic stratigraphic units were identified in the upper 200 m of the sedimentary infill detailed seismic stratigraphic and seismic facies analysis allowed defining a series of sedimentary features that can be used as indicators of past sea or lake level in the gulf of cariaco i delta offlap breaks ii evaporites and iii erosional unconformities using accurate measurements of these various indicators at several locations in the gulf and a simple total subsidence model a relative sea lake level history encompassing the last 130 kyr could be reconstructed in periods of connection with the open ocean reconstructed relative sea level correlates well with eustatic sea level in times of disconnection distinct lake level fluctuations occurred which sometimes resulted in total dessication of the gulf lake level fluctuations appear to correlate with major heinrich events stadials and interstadials mis 4 the lgm and the younger dryas were thus identified in the gulf of cariaco sedimentary record the last reconnection to the caribbean sea occurred during mwp1b around 11 5 kyr the very good fit of the cariaco sea lake level curve with the eustatic sea level curves both in terms of amplitude and of timing underscores potential for future paleoclimate research of the sedimentary record contained in this marginal basin despite its active tectonic setting

landform characterization using geophysics recent advances applications and emerging tools abstract this paper presents an overview of the strengths and limitations of existing and emerging geophysical tools for landform studies the objectives are to discuss recent technical developments and to provide a review of relevant recent literature with a focus on propagating field methods with terrestrial applications for various methods in this category including ground penetrating radar gpr electrical resistivity er seismics and electromagnetic em induction the technical backgrounds are introduced followed by section on novel developments relevant to landform characterization for several decades gpr has been popular for characterization of the shallow subsurface and in particular sedimentary systems novel developments in gpr include the use of multi offset systems to improve signal to noise ratios and data collection efficiency amongst others and the increased use of 3d data multi electrode er systems have become popular in recent years as they allow for relatively fast and detailed mapping novel developments include time lapse monitoring of dynamic processes as well as the use of capacitively coupled systems for fast non invasive surveys em induction methods are especially popular for fast mapping of spatial variation but can also be used to obtain information on the vertical variation in subsurface electrical conductivity in recent years several examples of the use of plane wave em for characterization of landforms have been published seismic methods for landform characterization include seismic reflection and refraction techniques and the use of surface waves a recent development is the use of passive sensing approaches the use of multiple geophysical methods which can benefit from the sensitivity to different subsurface parameters is becoming more common strategies for coupled and joint inversion of complementary datasets will once more widely available benefit the geophysical study of landforms three cases studies are presented on the use of electrical and gpr methods for characterization of landforms in the range of meters to 100 s of meters in dimension in a study of polygonal patterned ground in the saginaw lowlands michigan usa electrical resistivity tomography was used to characterize differences in subsurface texture and water content associated with polygon swale topography also a sand filled thermokarst feature was identified using electrical resistivity data the second example is on the use of constant spread traversing cst for characterization of large scale glaciotectonic deformation in the ludington ridge michigan multiple cst surveys parallel to an 60 m high cliff where broad 100 m synclines and narrow clay rich anticlines are visible illustrated that at least one of the narrow structures extended inland a third case study discusses internal structures of an eolian dune on a coastal spit in new zealand both 35 and 200 mhz gpr data which clearly identified a paleosol and internal sedimentary structures of the dune were used to improve understanding of the development of the dune which may shed light on paleo wind directions

subsidence history of australia s southern margin constraints on basin models the subsidence history of australia s southern margin is shown to consist of two distinct tectonic phases and has important implications for models of sedimentary basin formation the first phase is characterized by rapid tectonic subsidence about 50 m m y which lasted for about 25 30 m y during the early cretaceous the period of rapid subsidence represents the rifting phase of margin development this early stage is correlated with associated rifting phenomena faulting and extension of the brittle upper crust formation of grabens and half grabens and the rapid accumulation of volcanogenic detritus otway group the amount of extension 20 50 is estimated from a comparison of observed and modeled tectonic subsidence at several exploratory wells along the margin the model includes uniform extension and thinning of the continental lithosphere a prolonged extensional event followed by simple cooling horizontal and vertical conduction of heat and radioactive heat production by the crust the rift phase may have begun earlier but the most rapid and widespread subsidence occurred during the early cretaceous the end of rapid and widespread subsidence occurred during the early cretaceous the end of rapid subsidence coincides closely with the age of the oldest sea floor spreading magnetic anomaly about 90 ma adjacent to the continent ocean boundary cob the second stage of margin development is the post rift or drift phase a period of much slower rates of subsidence and relative tectonic quiescence subsidence during the post rift stage is modeled as cooling and contraction of extended continental lithosphere estimates of extension and thinning from subsidence modeling agree with seismic refraction measurements of the thickness of continental crust near the cob estimates of extension from the geometry of basement blocks near the cob do not agree with the analysis from subsidence modeling upper crustal extension seems to record only a small proportion of total lithospheric extension alternative or supplementary mechanisms of extension are explored with emphasis on implications from a model that includes localized shear along a lithospheric detachment system

high resolution sr isotopic evolution of black sea water during the holocene implications for reconnection with the global ocean abstract the 10 m thick holocene succession at core site m02 45 41 41 17 n 28 19 08 e 69 m water depth has key advantages for investigation of the sr isotopic evolution of the holocene black sea earlier studies have focussed on thinner successions and coquinas at the m02 45 site augmented by nearby core m05 03p 87sr 86sr determinations on mollusc shells extracted at mostly 10 20 cm depth increments provide a temporal resolution mostly

the circulation and hydrography of the marmara sea abstract a comprehensive set of data collected during 1986 1992 reveal seasonal and interannual variability in the circulation and hydrography of the marmara sea waters which have contrasting properties and originate from the adjacent basins supply the two layer stratified flows in the sea of marmara turbulent entrainment into the upper layer in the exit region of the bosphorus jet and wind stirring in winter both contribute equally to the basin vertical mixing the upper layer circulation of the marmara sea is determined from adcp measurements and from dynamical calculations based on hydrographic data the mean upper layer circulation is anti cyclonic mainly driven by the southward flowing bosphorus jet in the enclosed domain the bosphorus inflow is well defined except during the periods of low discharge in autumn and winter when the jet becomes weaker and tends to become attached to the west coast near the exit mediterranean water entering from the dardanelles supply the suhalocline layer the negatively buoyant plume of well oxygenated water is the only means of renewal of the deep waters partially compensating for the oxygen consumed by the degradation of organic matter sinking from the upper layer into the lower layer yet the subhalocline waters remain permanently deficient in oxygen as a result of the internal balances of diffusion advection and consumption the depth to which the plume penetrates is a function of the seasonal characteristics of the inflow density modified in the strait and the weak interior stratification

the timing of the black sea flood event insights from modeling of glacial isostatic adjustment abstract we present a suite of gravitationally self consistent predictions of sea level change since last glacial maximum lgm in the vicinity of the bosphorus and dardanelles straits that combine signals associated with glacial isostatic adjustment gia and the flooding of the black sea our predictions are tuned to fit a relative sea level rsl record at the island of samothrace in the north aegean sea and they include realistic 3 d variations in viscoelastic structure including lateral variations in mantle viscosity and the elastic thickness of the lithosphere as well as weak plate boundary zones we demonstrate that 3 d earth structure and the magnitude of the flood event which depends on the pre flood level of the lake both have significant impact on the predicted rsl change at the location of the bosphorus sill and therefore on the inferred timing of the marine incursion we summarize our results in a plot showing the predicted rsl change at the bosphorus sill as a function of the timing of the flood event for different flood magnitudes up to 100 m these results suggest for example that a flood event at 9 ka implies that the elevation of the sill was lowered through erosion by 14 21 m during and after the flood in contrast a flood event at 7 ka suggests erosion of 24 31 m at the sill since the flood more generally our results will be useful for future research aimed at constraining the details of this controversial and widely debated geological event

oscillating quaternary water levels of the marmara sea and vigorous outflow into the aegean sea from the marmara sea black sea drainage corridor abstract detailed interpretation of single channel air gun and deep tow boomer profiles demonstrates that the marmara sea turkey experienced small amplitude 70 m fluctuations in sea level during the later quaternary limited in magnitude by the sill depth of the strait of dardanelles moderate subsidence along the southern shelf and quaternary glacio eustatic sea level variations created several stacked deltaic successions separated by major shelf crossing unconformities which developed during the transitions from global glacial to interglacial periods near the strait of dardanelles a series of sand prone deposits are identified beneath an uppermost holocene transparent mud drape the sandy deposits thicken into mounds with the morphology and cross sectional geometries of barrier islands sand waves and current generated marine bars all cross stratification indicates unidirectional flow towards the dardanelles prior to the deposition of the transparent drape which began 7000 years bp in strong support of the notion that the marmara sea flowed westwards into the aegean sea through the dardanelles at times of deglaciation in northern europe the global sea level curve shows that at 11 000 and 9500 years bp sea level rose to the sill depths of the straits of dardanelles and bosphorus respectively the effect from 11 000 to 9500 years bp was seawater incursion into the marmara sea drowning and formation of algal serpulid bioherms atop lowstand barrier islands and transgression of shelves and lowstand deltas at 9500 years bp glacial meltwater temporarily stored in the black sea lake developed into a vigorous southward flow toward the aegean sea forming west directed sandy bedforms in the western marmara sea and initiating deposition of sapropel s1 in the aegean sea this strong outflow persisted until 7000 years bp after which a mud drape began to accumulate in the marmara sea and euryhaline mediterranean mollusks successfully migrated into a progressively more saline black sea where sapropel deposition began most eastern mediterranean sapropels from s1 to s11 appear to correlate with periods of rising sea level and breaching or near breaching of the bosphorus sill these events are believed to coincide with times of vigorous outflow of low salinity fresh surface waters transiting the black sea marmara sea corridor and ultimately derived from melting of northern european ice sheets

paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic conditions leading to development of sapropel layer s1 in the aegean sea abstract sapropel s1 occurs as 25 35 cm thick black weakly laminated muds in aegean sea cores s1 was deposited between 9600 and 6400 yr b p during a period of isotopically depleted and relatively cool surface waters micro faunal and floral data indicate a major reduction in surface waters salinity during the deposition of s1 and oxygen isotopic data show a northerly fresh water source relatively light 13 c org and high pollen spore concentrations in s1 suggest increased influx of terrestrial organic carbon probably supplied by major rivers draining into the northern aegean sea benthic foraminifera indicate high nutrient low oxygen bottom waters for s1 and together with silt sized hematite and manganese coatings suggest that during the deposition of s1 surface sediments were oxic visual and xrd evidence of pyrite in s1 together with enrichments in s cu zn as ni cr and fe suggest that subsurface conditions were sufficiently reducing for so 4 2 reduction to occur probably by diffusion from surface oxic into subsurface anoxic sediments palynomorphs in s1 show large increases in terrestrial pollen and spores with the floral assemblage indicating significant influx from northern european rivers and minor african components associated with increased summer monsoonal rain abundance of dinoflagellates and amorphogen suggests some increase in primary productivity in response to increased influx of humic compounds however there is no evidence of upwelling the clay fraction in s1 shows notable decreases in smectite and kaolinite and reciprocal increases in illite and chlorite the combined data suggested that the evolution of s1 in the aegean sea largely resulted from stagnation of the surface waters during the final disintegration of the continental ice sheets rather than an increase in primary productivity and higher preservation of organic carbon on the sea floor

deltas south of the bosphorus strait record persistent black sea outflow to the marmara sea since 10 ka at the southern exit of the bosphorus strait in the northeastern marmara sea high resolution seismic profiles reveal two lobate progradational delta lobes in modern water depths of v40 65 m the younger delta was active from v10 to 9 ka based on radiocarbon dates of equivalent prodelta deposits and the elevation of its topset to foreset transition the topset to foreset transition climbs in the seaward direction because the delta prograded into a rising sea low abundances of marine fauna and flora in the 10 9 ka interval support a deltaic interpretation there are no rivers in the area that could have fed the delta instead all evidence points to the strait itself as the source of sediment and water when this outflow was strongest v10 6 6 0 ka sapropels accumulated in basinal areas of both the aegean and marmara seas benthic foraminiferal and dinoflagellate cyst data from contemporary deposits elsewhere in the marmara sea point to the continual presence through the holocene of a surface layer of brackish water that we ascribe to this same outflow from the black sea through the bosphorus strait by v9 1 8 5 ka two layer flow developed in the bosphorus strait as global sea level continued to rise and the sediment supply to the younger delta was cut off because the outflowing black sea water ceased to be in contact with the floor of the strait the older delta lobe lies below a prominent lowstand unconformity and is tentatively interpreted to have formed from v29 5 to 23 5 ka oxygen isotopic stage 3 when the marmara sea stood at v355 m and a second sapropel accumulated in deep basinal areas crown copyright 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

evolution of the danube deep sea fan since the last glacial maximum new insights into black sea water level fluctuations abstract the danube deep sea fan nw black sea is one of the most developed deep sea sediment depositional systems in europe although the morphology and the architecture have been widely described in the past years little is known about the stratigraphy of this depositional system for the late quaternary this results from the lack of significant stratigraphic markers the scarcity of radiocarbon ages and the difficulty in constraining reservoir ages recent robust quantification of reservoir ages has allowed the construction of a new stratigraphic framework for the black sea from the end of the last glacial period to the holocene thus giving the opportunity to correlate sedimentological and geochemical features previously described on the nw black sea margin with climatic events identified in the northern hemisphere based on this approach we propose an improved chrono lithostratigraphic framework for the danube deep sea fan channel levees since the last glacial maximum we show that the danube deep sea fan was active during the last glacial maximum until the younger dryas early holocene transition ca 11 700 cal a bp when the turbidite activity abruptly terminated in the whole system throughout this period the danube river was the main source of the deep depositional system except between ca 17 200 cal a bp and 15 700 300 cal a bp at that time the deposition of red turbidites in the deep basin concomitant with the deposition of the so called red layers onto the continental shelf and the upper slope emphasises the direct impact of the increased meltwater runoff of the dnieper river as far as the danube deep sea fan some significant changes in the location of the depocentre of the danube deep sea fan occurred through time the main change in depocentre location occurred at ca 28 000 cal a bp with the northward avulsion leading to the formation of the middle channel although the middle and northern channel became the preferential turbidite depocentres after this event the deposition of turbidites has persisted in the southern channel levee until 14 700 cal a bp indicating that the southern channel was definitely not abandoned after the upstream northward avulsion unsurprisingly water level fluctuations and river sediment flux acted as the main forcings on the evolution of the danube deep sea fan based on these results and on the morphology of the danube canyon we propose that i lowstand conditions 110 m prevailed during the last glacial maximum and possibly between 15 700 300 cal a bp and 14 700 cal a bp ii water level ranged from 110 and 70 m between 14 700 and 11 700 cal a bp and iii water level ranged from 70 and 30 m from 11 700 cal a bp and until the reconnection of the black sea lake with the global ocean at ca 9000 cal a bp

early holocene marine flooding of the black sea abstract echo sounding data recorded in the black sea in 1969 imaged a chain of hills 5 to 150 m high at a depth of 2000 2200 m that resemble hills on the lower continental rise like those hills the features in the western black sea may have been created by bottom currents the easterly flowing currents inferred to have formed the hills may be related to a catastrophic flood of the black sea from the sea of marmara 7150 yr ago

mediterranean vegetation lake levels and palaeoclimate at the last glacial maximum the apparent conflict between pollen evidence for widespread artemisia steppe1 6 implying semi arid conditions and geomorphological evidence for high lake levels4 7 11 has produced controversy about the ice age palaeoclimate of the mediterranean region here we use a water balance model12 to predict catchment runoff and a biome model13 to predict vegetation type to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment around lake loannina a type locality for the northern mediterranean region we show that both sets of evidence are compatible with a summer dry winter wet regime with seasonal temperature anomalies similar to those predicted by atmospheric model simulations of the last glacial maximum14 18 the drying effect of the cold north atlantic ocean may have been counteracted in winter by increased storm frequency under a southward shifted jet stream as shown by several atmospheric models16 18

last glacial holocene paleoceanography of the black sea and marmara sea stable isotopic foraminiferal and coccolith evidence multi proxy data and radiocarbon dates from several key cores from the black sea and marmara sea document a complex paleoceanographic history for the last v30 000 yr the marmara sea was isolated from both the black sea and the aegean sea during glacial periods when global sea level lowering subaerially exposed the shallow sills at the straits of bosphorus and dardanelles i e lake stage and reconnected through both straits during interglacial periods when rise of global sea level breached the shallow sills i e gateway stage micropaleontological data show that during the lake stage the surface water masses in both the marmara sea and black sea became notably brackish however during the gateway stages there was a low salinity surface layer and normal marine water mass beneath two sapropel layers are identified in the marmara sea cores sapropels m2 and m1 were deposited between v29 5 and 23 5 ka and v10 5 and 6 0 ka respectively micropaleontological and stable isotopic data show that the surface water salinities were reduced considerably during the deposition of both sapropel layers m2 and m1 and calculation using planktonic foraminiferal transfer functions shows that sea surface temperatures were notably lower during these intervals the presence of fauna and flora with black sea affinities and the absence of mediterranean fauna and flora in sapropels m1 and m2 strongly suggest that communication existed with the black sea during these times a benthic foraminiferal oxygen index shows that the onset of suboxic conditions in the marmara sea rapidly followed the establishment of fully marine conditions at v11 10 5 ka and are attributed to black sea outflow into the marmara sea since 10 5 ka these suboxic conditions have persisted to the present the data discussed in this paper are completely at odds with the flood hypothesis of ryan et al 1997 and ryan and pitman 1999 crown copyright 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

late quaternary lake level record from northern eurasia lake records from northern eurasia show regionally coherent patterns of changes during the late quaternary lakes peripheral to the scandinavian ice sheet were lower than those today but lakes in the mediterranean zone were high at the glacial maximum reflecting the dominance of glacial anticyclonic conditions in northern europe and a southward shift of the westerlies the influence of the glacial anticyclonic circulation attenuated through the late glacial period and the westerlies gradually shifted northward such that drier conditions south of the ice sheet were confined to a progressively narrower zone and the mediterranean became drier the early holocene shows a gradual shift to conditions wetter than present in central asia associated with the expanded asian monsoon and in the mediterranean in response to local monsoon type circulation there is no evidence of mid continental aridity in northern eurasia during the mid holocene in contrast the circum baltic region was drier reflecting the increased incidence of blocking anticyclones centered on scandinavia in summer there is a gradual transition to modern conditions after ca 5000 yr b p although these broad scale patterns are interrupted by shorter term fluctuations the long term trends in lake behavior show a clear response to changes in insolation and glaciation

on the origin of the bosphorus abstract the palaeozoic upper cretaceous basement palaeomorphology of the bosphorus the strait of istanbul bears the evidence of a valley of a palaeostream running to the black sea in the north a palaeobasin deeper than 160 m opening to the sea of marmara in the south and a barrier between these two features this suggest that the northern part of the bosphorus was formed mainly by fluvial activity whereas the southern part developed as a basin by faulting the recent sediment thickness exceeds 130 m in the basin indicating that the southern part of the bosphorus was once essentially depositional rather than an erosional the present form of the bosphorus was established in holocene time by the connection of the basin in the south with the stream in the north the barrier and the stream valley in the north have been deepened by erosion and faulting to form a strait connecting the black sea and the mediterranean

seasonal interannual and mesoscale variability of the black sea upper layer circulation derived from altimeter data 1 topex poseidon and ers altimeter data comprising the period from may 1992 to may 1999 are assimilated into a shallow water model for providing a dynamically consistent interpretation of the sea surface height variations and estimation of the temporal and spatial characteristics of the upper layer circulation in the black sea these 7 year long observations offer a new capability for interpretation of major transient and quasi permanent features of the upper layer circulation the instantaneous flow fields involve a complex eddy dominated system with different types of structural organizations in which the eddies and the gyres of the interior cyclonic cell interact continuously among themselves and with meanders and filaments of the rim current the circulation possesses a distinct seasonal cycle whose major characteristic features repeat every year with some year to year variability an organized two gyre winter circulation system disintegrates gradually into a series of interconnecting eddies in the summer and autumn months which are also characterized by more pronounced and complex mesoscale activity in the peripheral flow system our analyses suggest a revised schematic circulation picture of the major quasi permanent and recurrent elements of the black sea

seismic stratigraphy of late quaternary deposits from the southwestern black sea shelf evidence for non catastrophic variations in sea level during the last 10 000 yr abstract detailed interpretation of single channel seismic reflection and huntec deep tow boomer and sparker profiles demonstrates that the southwestern black sea shelf formed by a protracted shelf edge progradation since the miocene pliocene five seismic stratigraphic units are recognized unit 1 represents the last phase of the progradational history and was deposited during the last glacial lowstand and holocene it is divided into four subunits subunit 1a is interpreted as a lowstand systems tract 1b and 1c are interpreted as a transgressive systems tract and subunit 1d is interpreted as a highstand systems tract the lowstand systems tract deposits consist of overlapping and seaward prograding shelf edge wedges deposited during the lowstand and the subsequent initial rise of sea level these shelf edge wedges are best developed along the westernmost and easternmost segments of the study area off the mouths of rivers the transgressive systems tract deposits consist of a set of shingled shore parallel back stepping parasequences deposited during a phase of relatively rapid sea level rise and include a number of prograded sediment bodies including barrier islands beach deposits and thin veneers of seismically transparent muds showing onlap onto the flanks of older sedimentary features a number of radiocarbon dates from gravity cores show that the sedimentary architecture of unit 1 contain a detailed sedimentary record for the post glacial sea level rise along the southwestern black sea shelf these data do not support the catastrophic refilling of the black sea by waters from the mediterranean sea at 7 1 ka postulated by ryan pitman major shimkus maskalenko jones dimitrov gorur sakinc yuce mar geol 138 1997 119 126 ryan pitman touchstone book 1999 319 pp and ballard coleman rosenberg mar geol 170 2000 253 261

late quaternary sedimentation and high resolution sequence stratigraphy of the east texas shelf the shelf margin deltas of the area show a complex pattern of progradation and aggradation that varies from one delta to the next this complexity is due predominantly to the different response of systems with different sediment supplies to fifth order eustatic fluctuations before we understood these autocyclic effects attempts at relating seismic stratigraphic changes to the oxygen isotope curve our proxy for sea level change were unsuccessful

holocene sedimentation in the southwestern black sea interplay between riverine supply coastal eddies of the rim current surface and internal waves and saline underflow through the strait of bosphorus abstract an extensive grid of high resolution huntec deep tow seismic reflection profiles 9150 line km complemented by 72 gravity cores and 25 piston cores reveals that the sedimentary architecture of the southwestern black sea above a prominent shelf crossing unconformity is characterized by three allostratigraphic units allounits 1b 1c 1d separated by two regional unconformities and their correlative conformities 1 and 2 a fourth allounit 1a occurs as patchy remnants between the unconformity and a deeper pleistocene erosional unconformity 0 the chronology is established using 56 radiocarbon dates in five key piston cores the unconformity developed as a ravinement surface during the transgression associated with the transition from the last glacial maximum to holocene thus defines the base of the holocene successions allounit 1b is bounded at its base and top by the and 1 unconformities correlative conformities it was deposited between 12 5 and 7 4 cal ka and shows a notably patchy but widespread distribution across the southwestern shelf allounit 1c is bounded at its base and top by the 1 and 2 unconformities correlative conformities it was deposited between 7 4 and 5 3 cal ka allounit 1d accumulated above the 2 unconformity correlative conformity and was deposited since 5 3 cal ka interpretation of radiometrically dated cores and several detailed regional maps reveal that the widespread occurrence of 12 5 7 4 cal ka deposits allounit 1b across the middle and outer shelf provides no possibility for a holocene evaporative drawdown to a lowstand elevation of 120 m at 9 4 cal ka as suggested by yanchilina et al 2017 instead the volume of detritus in allounit 1b can only be explained if base level was sufficiently high to allow major distant rivers in bulgaria and romania e g kamchiya danube to contribute mud through long distance marine transport along a submerged shelf there is no evidence in any cores which sample allounit 1b that the sites were located in limans rather than on a transgressed shelf which had been flooded by post glacial meltwater and enhanced river runoff as the climate became more humid in the early holocene a prolonged stillstand at the spill depth controlled by the sill in the strait of bosphorus is confirmed by the elevation of a drowned recurved spit downdrift from cape emine bulgaria the development of the subaqueous unconformities correlative conformities 1 and 2 was facilitated by storm induced wave erosion transport bypass and erosion under the rim current and its anticyclonic eddies and possibly breaking internal waves volumetrics based on isopach maps and pre industrial sediment discharge rates of various rivers entering the western and southwestern black sea suggest that the total sediment yields of bulgarian and turkish rivers can only account for 13 14 of the total holocene succession allounits 1b 1d and that major input from the danube river via along shelf long distance transport must have occurred through the entire holocene

late quaternary co seismic sedimentation in the sea of marmara s deep basins the deep northern part of the sea of marmara northwestern turkey is composed of several aligned actively subsiding basins which are the direct structural and morphological expression of the north anatolian fault s northern branch the last 20 kyr of their sedimentary fill lacustrine before 12 kyr bp have been investigated through giant piston coring onboard r v marion dufresne marmacore cruise 2001 and chirp subbottom profiler onboard r v atalante during marmarascarps cruise 2002 especially during the lacustrine stage the infilling of the deep basins tekirda central kumburgaz and cinarcic basins up to 1250 m depth was dominated by turbidites with coarse mixed siliciclastic and bioclastic basal part intercalated in hemipelagic type finegrained calcareous and slightly siliceous clays often especially in the thickest ones the turbidites show strong segregation and a sharp boundary between coarse part and suspendedload part in the central basin 8 m of a unique sedimentary event include a 5 to 8m thick homogenite well imaged on seismic profiles the latter is interpreted as related to a major possibly triggered tsunami effect as described in the eastern mediterranean by kastens and cita 1981 in the marine holocene upper part of the sedimentary fill repeated to and from structures affecting silt or fine sand are evidencing seiche like effects and thus earthquake triggering detailed correlations between two deep coring sites 1250 and 1200 m indicate more than 100 overthickening in the deepest one this implies specific processes of distribution of terrigenous input by dense hyperpycnal currents high kinetic energy seiche effect complex reflections on steep slopes the peculiar sedimentary infilling of the sea of marmara s central basin and by extrapolation of the whole set is tentatively interpreted as a direct consequence of the strong seismic activity the imprint of the latter is more obvious prior to the base of the holocene as environmental conditions favoured marginal accumulation especially on the southern shelf of large amounts of erosion products available for mass wasting

catastrophic flooding of the black sea abstract decades of seabed mapping reflection profiling and seabed sampling reveal that throughout the past two million years the black sea was predominantly a freshwater lake interrupted only briefly by saltwater invasions coincident with global sea level highstand when the exterior ocean lay below the relatively shallow sill of the bosporus outlet the black sea operated in two modes as in the neighboring caspian sea a cold climate mode corresponded with an expanded lake and a warm climate mode with a shrunken lake thus during much of the cold glacial quaternary the expanded black sea s lake spilled into to the marmara sea and from there to the mediterranean however in the warm climate mode after receiving a vast volume of ice sheet meltwater the shoreline of the shrinking lake contracted to the outer shelf and on a few occasions even beyond the shelf edge if the confluence of a falling interior lake and a rising global ocean persisted to the moment when the rising ocean penetrated across

the effects of the north anatolian fault zone on the latest connection between black sea and sea of marmara abstract the development of the strait of istanbul is also one of the principal results of the tectonics which led to the evolution of the north anatolian fault zone nafz in the marmara region 3 7 ma ago high resolution seismic profiles from the marmara entrance of the strait of istanbul show a folding which occurred after the deposition of the parallel reflected tyrrhenian sediments over the tyrrhenian strata a fondoform zone of a deltaic sequence and marine sediments of the latest sea level rising are present these sediments also display syn depositional folding this situation implies that a local compressional stress field was created over the area probably since the wurm glacial age this recent variation of the tectonic regime in the northern shelf of the sea of marmara may indicate a significant change in the development of the nafz through the sea of marmara this variation of evolution of the nafz affected the latest development of the strait of istanbul via clockwise rotation of the istanbul and kocaeli peninsulas by right lateral shearing between two zone bounding faults this rotation has led to the development of nne ssw left lateral faults in the strait of istanbul and local compressional and tensional areas explaining the compressional structures seen in the southern entrance of the strait of istanbul therefore the latest mediterranean black sea connection was established by means of the sufficient deepening of the bosphorus channel by a variation in the evolution of nafz through the sea of marmara

reconstruction of holocene precipitation patterns in europe using pollen and lake level data abstract lake level data can be used to refine palaeoclimate reconstructions based on pollen data this approach is illustrated for the european holocene estimates of p pet precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration were first inferred from modern pollen analogues the pollen based estimates were then compared with the status of lakes within a 5 radius analogues with p pet anomalies inconsistent with the lake level changes were rejected the constrained sets of analogues were used to estimate continental scale patterns of annual mean temperature and annual precipitation at 3000 yr intervals estimated temperature anomalies differed only slightly from the unconstrained reconstructions estimated precipitation anomalies however showed improved spatial coherence and increased regional contrast and were occasionally reversed in sign the effect of the constraint was to impose a rational selection among almost equally similar modern pollen analogues with similar temperatures but widely varying moisture regimes the resulting maps showed clear spatially coherent patterns of change in precipitation as well as temperature suitable for comparison with climate model results further improvement of these maps will become possible as a more extensive coverage of lake level data is obtained

abrupt drainage cycles of the fennoscandian ice sheet continental ice sheets are a key component of the earth s climate system but their internal dynamics need to be further studied since the last deglaciation the northern eurasian fennoscandian ice sheet fis has been connected to the black sea bs watershed making this basin a suitable location to investigate former ice sheet dynamics here from a core retrieved in the bs we combine the use of neodymium isotopes high resolution elemental analysis and biomarkers to trace changes in sediment provenance and river runoff we reveal cyclic releases of meltwater originating from lake disna a proglacial lake linked to the fis during heinrich stadial 1 regional interactions within the climate lake fis system linked to changes in the availability of subglacial water led to abrupt drainage cycles of the fis into the bs watershed this phenomenon raised the bs water level by 100 m until the sill of the bosphorus strait was reached flooding the vast northwestern bs shelf and deeply affecting the hydrology and circulation of the bs and probably of the marmara and aegean seas

controversy over the great flood hypotheses in the black sea in light of geological paleontological and archaeological evidence abstract legends describing a great flood are found in the narratives of several world religions and the biblical account of noah s flood is the surviving heir to several versions of the ancient mesopotamian flood myth recently the story of the biblical deluge was connected to the black sea together with the suggestion that the story s pre mesopotamian origins might be found in the pontic basin ryan w b f pitman iii w c 1998 noah s flood the new scientific discoveries about the event that changed history simon and schuster new york based on the significance of this flood epic in the judeo christian tradition popular interest surged following publication of the idea currently two great flood scenarios have been proposed for the black sea 1 an early holocene event caused by catastrophic mediterranean inflow at 7 2 ky bp initial hypothesis of ryan et al 1997 an abrupt drowning of the black sea shelf marine geology 138 119 126 or 8 4 ky bp modified hypothesis of ryan et al 2003 catastrophic flooding of the black sea annual review of earth and planetary science 31 525 554 and 2 a late pleistocene event brought on by caspian influx between 16 and 13 ky bp chepalyga a l 2003 late glacial great flood in the black sea and caspian sea gsa annual meeting and exposition 2 5 november 2003 seattle usa p 460 both hypotheses claim that the massive inundations of the black sea basin and ensuing large scale environmental changes had a profound impact on prehistoric human societies of the surrounding areas and both propose that the event formed the basis for the biblical great flood legend this paper attempts to determine whether the preponderance of existing evidence sustains support for these great floods in the evolution of the black sea based upon established geological and paleontological data it finds that the late pleistocene inundation was intense and substantial whereas the early holocene sea level rise was not between 16 and 13 ky bp the late neoeuxinian lake the late pleistocene water body in the pontic basin pre dating the black sea increased rapidly from 14 to 50 m below the present level of the black sea then rose gradually to 20 m by about 11 ky bp at 11 10 ky bp the younger dryas it dropped to 50 m when the black sea re connected with the sea of marmara at about 9 5 ky bp inflowing mediterranean water increased the black sea level very gradually up to 20 m and in so doing it raised the salinity of the basin and brought in the first wave of mediterranean immigrants these data indicate no major drawdown of the black sea after the younger dryas and they do not provide evidence for any catastrophic flooding of the black sea in the early holocene in addition available archaeological and paleoenvironmental evidence from the pontic region reveal no recognizable changes in population dynamics between 14 and 6 ky bp that could be linked to an inundation of large magnitude dolukhanov p shilik k 2006 environment sea level changes and human migrations in the northern pontic area during late pleistocene and holocene times in yanko hombach v gilbert a s panin n dolukhanov p m eds the black sea flood question changes in coastline climate and human settlement springer dordrecht pp 297 318 stanko v n 2006 fluctuations in the level of the black sea and mesolithic settlement of the northern pontic area in yanko hombach v gilbert a s panin n dolukhanov p m eds the black sea flood question changes in coastline climate and human settlement springer dordrecht pp 371 385 more specifically mesolithic and early neolithic archaeological data in southeastern europe and ukraine give no indications of shifts in human subsistence or other behavior at the time of the proposed catastrophic flood in the early holocene anthony d 2006 pontic caspian mesolithic and early neolithic societies at the time of the black sea flood a small audience and small effects in yanko hombach v gilbert a s panin n dolukhanov p m eds the black sea flood question changes in coastline climate and human settlement springer dordrecht pp 345 370 dergachev and dolukhanov 2006 the neolithization of the north pontic area and the balkans in the context of the black sea floods in yanko hombach v gilbert a s panin n dolukhanov p m eds the black sea flood question changes in coastline climate and human settlement springer dordrecht pp 489 514

quaternary sedimentary history of adana cilicia and iskenderun basins northeast mediterranean sea detailed single channel airgun and 3 5 khz profiles from the northeastern mediterranean sea show that the continental shelf is formed by superimposed deltaic successions depositional sequences separated by major erosional unconformities each depositional sequence is composed of a sigmoid prograding package overlain by an oblique prograding package representing respectively delta progradation during high and low sea levels of interglacial and subsequent glacial stages during the glacio eustatic lowstands of sea level deltas prograded seaward the present day shelf break denotes the topset to forest transition at maximum progradation during the last glacial period during post glacial transgressions the deltas initially lost their dynamic equilibrium with the environment and rapidly retreated landward leading to the deposition of a thin veneer of sediments originating from reworking of formerly coastal sediments at the highstand position the deltas were re established in the ancestral adana bay and foreset progradation started chronology suggests that the cilicia and iskenderum basins are subsiding at rates of 0 38 m 1000 yr 1 and 0 33 m 1000 yr 1 respectively seismic reflection profiling shows that delta architecture in the adana cilicia and iskenderun basins is mainly controlled by glacio eustatic sea level fluctuations and continuous basin subsidence

late glacial to holocene benthic foraminifera in the marmara sea implications for black sea mediterranean sea connections following the last deglaciation benthic foraminifera were studied from four gravity cores that penetrated holocene marine sediments in the marmara sea morphogroup and assemblage analyses reveal that the holocene sea level rise did not result in a catastrophic flooding event as proposed by w b f ryan and others whereby well oxygenated saline mediterranean waters rapidly inundated a low lying low salinity black sea lake at v7 15 ka popularly known as the noah s flood hypothesis rather the benthic foraminiferal data confirm the hypothesis that the dardanelles sill was breached by the mediterranean at v12 ka allowing saline waters to penetrate the marmara sea these saline waters reached the level of the bosphorus sill at v9 5 ka but were unable to penetrate into the black sea until after v9 1 ka because of the persistent strong outflow of brackish to fresh water from the black sea the initial colonisation of the marmara sea by benthic foraminifera is essentially synchronous with the re establishment of marine connections through the dardanelles strait at v12 ka by v10 ka ammonia dominated faunas developed on the strait exit delta v1 at the southern end of the bosphorus and at v9 1 ka the appearance of fully marine species documents the establishment of a more stratified water column over v1 finally the increase in abundance of planktonic foraminifera at the southern exit of the bosphorus after v6 1 ka reflects a decreased volume of outflow water from the black sea quantitative analysis of benthic foraminiferal morphogroups reveals that the oxygen content of subhalocline water was low below v1 5 ml l throughout the holocene and the occurrence of sapropel sediment in the deeper part of the basin suggests bottom waters may have been anoxic at times after v4 5 ka an increase in benthic foraminiferal oxic morphotypes suggests a reduction in black sea outflow and weakening of the halocline the strong and persistent stratification of the water column in the marmara sea throughout the holocene is entirely incompatible with the noah s flood hypothesis 2002 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

late glacial holocene paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic evolution of the aegean sea micropaleontological and stable isotopic evidence abstract late glacial to holocene paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic changes are examined using records of calcareous and organic walled marine microfossils pollen and terrestrial spores and oxygen isotope data in cores from the aegean sea basins planktic foraminiferal coccolith and dinoflagellate data show that the late glacial holocene transition in the region was associated with a large warming of surface water mediterranean based paleotransfer functions for planktic foraminifera show a 5 10 c increase in surface water temperature from 14 000 to 9600 yr b p estimates of surface water oxygen isotopic composition 18 o w derived from planktic foraminiferal oxygen isotopic and transfer function data indicate that this warming was associated with a 2 0 to 2 5 reduction in 18 o w transfer function results indicate corresponding 1 0 to 1 5 salinity reductions for this tim ca 6400 9600 yr b p throughout the aegean sea pollen dinoflagellate and isotopic data show that the early holocene excess fresh water originated from rapid melting of the northern european and siberian ice sheets supplied primarily from the black sea by the opening of bosphorus and dardanelles channels during the post glacial sea level rise and supplemented by major rivers entering the aegean sea continuous outflow of fresh water into the aegean sea provided a low salinity surface lid preventing the ventilation of the deep water benthic foraminifera shows a major turn over that indicates low dissolved oxygen however bottom waters were not anoxic sapropel level s1 resulted from a combination of stagnant deep water in isolated depressions increased terrigenous organic matter and periods of high primary productivity as indicated by pollen and dinocysts respectively the surface water temperature and salinity reached present day values at 6400 yr b p with little subsequent change despite the major deforestation onshore