late holocene coastline and landscape changes to the west of ephesus turkey abstract palaeogeographical research regarding coastline and landscape changes has been conducted in the kucuk menderes graben and the environs of the ancient city of ephesus in western turkey for a few decades based on geophysical data multi proxy and microfaunal analyses of sediment cores 14 c ams age estimates and diagnostic ceramics this study presents for the first time results of an area close to the present coastline where a byzantine church is located on top of a small hill the results reveal that this mica schist hill turned into an island during the 2nd 1st millennium bce it was reconnected to the mainland via a tombolo during the 5th century ce drill cores and geophysical measurements surrounding the hill show massive stone layers which were deposited intentionally during the 5th 6th century ce when the byzantine church was built geophysical images point to wall structures in the surroundings of the hill the area to the northeast hosts a small harbour site when the coastline continued to shift further to the west this site was still connected to the sea by the kucuk menderes river

late holocene environmental change and the record of human impact at gravgaz near sagalassos southwest turkey this paper presents the palaeoecological analysis of a sediment core extracted from the marsh of gravgaz in the pisidian lake district southwest turkey the sediments are late holocene dating back toc 3300 bp the research is part of an inter disciplinary project aiming to reconstruct the palaeoenvironment of the sagalassos territory and to determine the impact of the former inhabitants of the area on the landscape the late holocene pollen diagram shows four pollen assemblage zones a phase with dominance of pine forest zone a c 3300 3200 bp cal 1640 1520 bc till 1520 1430 bc a deforestation phase zone b c 3200 2300 bp cal 1520 1430 bc till 410 240 bc an important cultivation phase zone c c 2300 1300 bp cal 410 240 bc tillad 660 770 and a final reforestation phase zone d from c 1300 bp cal ad 660 770 till the present day the results are complimented with archaeological and sedimentological data

evidence of lateglacial and holocene climatic change and human impact in eastern anatolia high resolution pollen charcoal isotopic and geochemical records from the laminated sediments of lake van turkey annually laminated sediments from lake van spanning about 13000 varve years were sampled for stable isotopic geochemical pollen and charcoal analyses in order to find evidence of past regional climatic changes and human impact in the semi arid region of eastern anatolia turkey the lateglacial period was cold and dry with steppe vegetation and saline lake water during the younger dryas the lake level dropped dramatically and the vegetation turned to a semi desert geochemical and isotopic records indicate a strong increase in moisture at the onset of the holocene and artemisia chenopod steppes were partly replaced by grass steppe and pistachio scrub a delay of about 3000 years in the expansion of deciduous oak woodlands and high steppe fire frequencies suggest dry spring and summer weather during the early holocene at 8200 yr bp a shift in the regional climate regime facilitated the transport of more moisture into the interior areas of the taurus mountains and caused a change in the seasonal distribution of precipitation the steppe forests dominated by quercus advanced and reached their maximum extention at about 6200 yr bp all the proxy data indicate optimum climatic conditions low water salinity and high lake level between 6200 and 4000 yr bp after 4000 yr bp aridity increased again and the modern climatic situation was established human impact in the catchment of lake van started at 3800 yr bp and was intensified during the last 600 years

new insights into the initiation and venting of the bronze age eruption of santorini greece from component analysis the late seventeenth century bc minoan eruption of santorini discharged 30 60 km3 of magma and caldera collapse deepened and widened the existing 22 ka caldera a study of juvenile cognate and accidental components in the eruption products provides new constraints on vent development during the five eruptive phases and on the processes that initiated the eruption the eruption began with subplinian phase 0 and plinian phase 1 phases from a vent on a ne sw fault line that bisects the volcanic field during phase 1 the magma fragmentation level dropped from the surface to the level of subvolcanic basement and magmatic intrusions the fragmentation level shallowed again and the vent migrated northwards during phase 2 into the flooded 22 ka caldera the eruption then became strongly phreatomagmatic and discharged low temperature ignimbrite containing abundant fragments of post 22 ka pre minoan intracaldera lavas phase 3 phase 4 discharged hot fluidized pyroclastic flows from subaerial vents and constructed three main ignimbrite fans northwestern eastern and southern around the volcano the first phase 4 flows were discharged from a vent or vents in the northern half of the volcanic field and laid down lithic block rich ignimbrite and lag breccias across much of the nw fan about a tenth of the lithic debris in these flows was subvolcanic basement new subaerial vents then opened up probably across much of the volcanic field and finer grained ignimbrite was discharged to form the e and s fans if major caldera collapse took place during the eruption it probably occurred during phase 4 three juvenile components were discharged during the eruption a volumetrically dominant rhyodacitic pumice and two andesitic components microphenocryst rich andesitic pumices and quenched andesitic enclaves the microphenocryst rich pumices form a textural mineralogical chemical and thermal continuum with co erupted hornblende diorite nodules and together they are interpreted as the contents of a small variably crystallized intrusion that was fragmented and discharged during the eruption mostly during phases 0 and 1 the microphenocryst rich pumices hornblende diorite andesitic enclaves and fragments of pre minoan intracaldera andesitic lava together form a chemically distinct suite of ba rich zr poor andesites that is unique in the products of santorini since 530 ka once the minoan magma reservoir was primed for eruption by recharge generated pressurization the rhyodacite moved upwards by exploiting the plane of weakness offered by the pre existing andesite diorite intrusion dragging some of the crystal rich contents of the intrusion with it

environmental change in crete a 9000 year record of holocene vegetation history and the effect of the santorini eruption palynological investigations were carried out in the coastal lowland of northwestern crete in the area of lake kournas results comprise the longest continuous vegetation record 9000 radiocarbon years for crete from about 8500 to 7500 bp open deciduous oak forest occurred and appears to reflect the driest conditions of the holocene after 7500 bp tree pollen numbers increase some of these tree species are thought to be autochthonous but for at least six species this is doubted and the presence of their pollen is ascribed to long distance transport up to 6000 bp the local vegetation included deciduous and evergreen oaks pistacia phillyrea and a variety of herbs only after 7000 bp some species e g mercurialis annua cynocrambe and spores of pteridium might indicate the effects of neolithic habitation towards 6000 bp plane tree and styrax storax appear from about 6000 bp olive is present and human activity becomes more evident slowly pollen types indicative of the exploitation of present day mediterranean vegetation e g poterium and ericaceae appear and the presence of the alga gloeotrichia indicates a rise in phosphate a striking aspect of the sediment core nearest to the sea is a pumice layer originating from the theran santorini eruption from the manner of its deposition it is concluded that no tsunami met the cretan beach influence of the eruption from thera on the vegetation is hardly visible decrease of economically important cultivated plants e g olive already took place decades up to about a century before the volcanic eruption around the time of the eruption the values of some pollen types hardly changed others increased and another group decreased this pollen behaviour appears to be explained rather by socio economic changes such as withdrawing of the inhabitants to the interior for reasons other than volcanic effects it is concluded from the pollen cores that no major climatic changes affected northwestern crete during the holocene but the first two millennia of the holocene tended to be drier than the following period when there was an increase in moisture demanding trees it is difficult to assign changes in the cretan vegetation to climatic effects in a period when human impact was gathering strength

first evidence of a distal early holocene ash layer in eastern mediterranean deep sea sediments derived from the anatolian volcanic province article i nfo a hitherto unknown distal volcanic ash layer has been detected in a sediment core recovered from the southeastern levantine sea eastern mediterranean sea radiometric stratigraphic and sedimentological data show that the tephra here termed as s1 tephra was deposited between 8970 and 8690 cal yr bp the high silica rhyolitic composition excludes an origin from any known eruptions of the italian aegean or arabian volcanic provinces but suggests a prevailing central anatolian provenance we compare the s1 tephra with proximal to medial distal tephra deposits from well known mediterranean ash layers and ash fall deposits from the central anatolian volcanic field using electron probe microanalyses on volcanic glass shards and morphological analyses on ash particles we postulate a correlation with the early holocene dikkartin dome eruption of erciyes dag volcano cappadocia turkey so far no tephra of the central anatolian volcanic province has been detected in marine sediment archives in the eastern mediterranean region the occurrence of the s1 tephra in the south eastern part of the levantine sea indicates a wide dispersal of pyroclastic material from erciyes dag more than 600 km to the south and is therefore an important tephrostratigraphical marker in sediments of the easternmost mediterranean sea and the adjacent hinterland

correlated millennial scale changes in surface hydrography and terrigenous sediment yield inferred from last glacial marine deposits off northeastern brazil abstract the stable isotope composition of planktonic foraminifera correlates with evidence for pulses of terrigenous sediment in a sediment core from the upper continental slope off northeastern brazil stable oxygen isotope records of the planktonic foraminiferal speciesglobigerinoides sacculiferandglobigerinoides ruber pink reveal sub milankovitch changes in sea surface hydrography during the last 85 000 yr warming of the surface water coincided with terrigenous sedimentation pulses that are inferred from high xrf intensities of ti and fe and which suggest humid conditions in northeast brazil these tropical signals correlate with climatic oscillations recorded in greenland ice cores dansgaard oeschger cycles and in sediment cores from the north atlantic heinrich events trade winds may have caused changes in the north brazil current that altered heat and salt flux into the north atlantic thus affecting the growth and decay of the large glacial ice sheets

itrax description and evaluation of a new multi function x ray core scanner a new automated multi function core scanning instrument named itrax has been developed that records optical radiographic and elemental variations from sediment half cores up to 1 8 m long at a resolution as fine as 200 m an intense micro x ray beam focused through a flat capillary waveguide is used to irradiate samples to enable both x radiography and x ray fluorescence xrf analysis data are acquired incrementally by advancing a split core via a programmable stepped motor drive through the flat rectangular section x ray beam traditional xrf determination of element composition in sediments provides high quality data but it takes a considerable time and normally consumes gram quantities of material that is often only available in limited quantities the itrax core scanner non destructively collects optical and x radiographic images and provides high resolution elemental profiles that are invaluable for guiding sample selection for further destructive detailed sampling this paper presents a description of the construction characteristics and capabilities of the itrax system high resolution itrax data obtained from sediment cores are also presented and compared with results from traditional wavelength dispersive xrf analysis at lower resolution finally some recent technical developments linked to the second generation itrax are presented

records of repeated drought stages during the holocene lake iznik turkey with reference to beachrock abstract the cement fabrics subsurface nature and optically stimulated luminescence age of beachrocks along the shores of lake iznik in nw turkey were studied within the context of holocene lake level changes with a maximum thickness of 1 5 m the low angle average 5 10 beds are composed of coarse grains and small gravels and extend up to 5 m offshore at their most lakeward extremities cement textures on and around the poorly rounded grains are made up of micrite envelopes and meniscus bridges as well as acicular aragonite rims geoelectrical resistivity sections taken from a representative location along the beach where the beds have maximum thickness showed that the sand buried beds are followed up to about 24 m landward based on the osl ages of 33 samples the cemented beds occurred at four drier periods of the following pre and early holocene dated to 15 9 ka holocene climatic optimum 7 9 5 6 ka middle holocene 4 9 ka 2 8 ka and late holocene 2 0 ka 0 9 ka

the harbour of elaia a palynological archive for human environmental interactions during the last 7500 years abstract elaia the harbour city for ancient pergamon western turkey was investigated using geoarchaeological methods the rise and fall of elaia were closely linked to the flourishing period of pergamon which ruled wide parts of today s western turkey in hellenistic times in the framework of this research the palynological analysis of a 9 m sediment core ela 70 retrieved from the enclosed harbour of the city was carried out to reconstruct the vegetation and environmental history of the wider gulf of elaia region an age depth model based on 11 calibrated radiocarbon ages starting from 7 5 ka bp provides the basis for the high resolution study of sediments from the hellenistic period as well as before and after the lower part of the pollen diagram is characterised by high percentages of deciduous oaks and pines suggesting the dominance of open forests close to the coring site the change from oak forests to a cultural landscape with olive pistachio walnut and grape started around 850 bc reaching a maximum ca 250 bc and continuing to ca ad 800 this period is characterised by increase of fire activity soil erosion intensity and pastoral farming such long lasting intensive land use likely led to the climax ecosystem turnover from open deciduous oak forests to pine stands while salt marshes developed around the coring site the discovery of the dinoflagellate cysts of peridinium ponticum a black sea endemic species in the harbour of elaia evidences maritime trade between the aegean sea and the black sea its first occurrence coincides with the time of the mithridatic wars 1st century bc in conclusion palynological data in addition to historical and archaeological records provide a deeper insight into human environmental interactions as derived from the geoarchaeological archive of the harbour of elaia

marine tephra from the cape riva eruption 22 ka of santorini in the sea of marmara abstract a discrete tephra layer has been discovered in three marine sediment cores from the sea of marmara eastern mediterranean the rhyodacitic glass chemistry and the stratigraphical position suggest a santorini provenance and in particular a correlation with the marine y 2 tephra that is known from the southern aegean sea and eastern levantine basin this tephra represents the distal facies of the cape riva eruption of santorini which has been dated by 14c on land at 21 950 cal yr bp hitherto the y 2 tephra has been detected only in marine sediment cores recovered south to southeast of its volcanic source the new occurrence in the sea of marmara approximately 530 km nne of the santorini eruptive centre suggests a more north easterly dispersal of fallout products of the cape riva eruption than previously supposed

mid to late holocene climate change in central turkey the tecer lake record the mineralogy and grain size distribution of sediments from tecer lake in central anatolia provides a 6000 year record of mid to late holocene climate trends and events correspondences between k

early to mid holocene lake level and temperature records from the terraces of lake sunnet in nw turkey abstract lake sunnet a freshwater landslide dammed lake in nw anatolia comprises a10 m thick widespread of early to mid holocene deltaic sediments paleo environmental interpretation of these deposits coupled with a high resolution data 18 yrs sample of stable o and c isotopes magnetic susceptibility and total organic and carbonate contents allows an understanding of the nature of the mid holocene climatic transition as well as the short duration extreme events in relatively humid nw turkey detailed sedimentological logging showed that four phases of progradation of deltaic sand bodies over pro delta muds occurred it is suggested that they correspond to phases of increased precipitation a sudden vertical transition from lacustrine muds to subaerial colluvial facies at 5 9 ka cal bp is considered to be due to lake level drop related to water deficit oxygen isotope data suggest that the mid holocene transition with high mean summer temperatures initiated at 7 3 ka cal bp and continued until the end of the section with an interruption by a humid event between 6 8 and 6 0 ka cal bp centennial extreme events characterized by sharp 18o positive shifts 1 2 permil are also encountered at 9 2 8 9 8 2 and 7 6 ka cal bp a comparison of the lake sunnet record with previous aegean and sea of marmara palynological and sea surface temperature data shows a good fit in terms of the timing and nature of mid holocene transition and early holocene cold events the lake sunnet stable isotope record particularly suggests gradually increasing summer temperatures and hence continentality during the mid holocene cooling in the mediterranean

holocene aeolian phases and human settlements along the atlantic coast of southern spain a combined geomorphological radiocarbon dating archaeological and historical approach permits a refining of the age of the coastal dune systems related to estuaries in the gulf of cadiz three dune systems are distinguished in this paper the oldest one d1 which accumulated under prevailing wsw winds during the first millennium bc overlays both the occupational horizons of late neolithic early copper age fourth millennium bc and the lithic workshop levels fourth to second millennia bc the middle dune system d2 containing both roman and medieval remains accumulated between the thirteenth or fourteenth centuries and the seventeenth century ad the youngest d3 system is associated with the time of building of watchtowers in the seventeenth century ad but extends to the present it is related to sw prevailing winds we explain the absence of aeolian deposits prior to 2700 cal bp as the result of trapping of a large part of the sediment supply in the estuaries which starved the neighbouring beaches and aeolian settings aeolian accumulation reached significant values when sedimentation in the coastal zone changed from being mainly aggradational in the estuaries 6500 2700 cal bp to mainly progradational in spit barriers and related dunes post 2700 cal bp the present analysis of aeolian systems suggests a non direct correlation at least in some cases between coastal progradation of spit barriers and aridity

santorini eruption radiocarbon dated to 1627 1600 b c precise and direct dating of the minoan eruption of santorini thera in greece a global bronze age time marker has been made possible by the unique find of an olive tree buried alive in life position by the tephra pumice and ashes on santorini we applied so called radiocarbon wiggle matching to a carbon 14 sequence of tree ring segments to constrain the eruption date to the range 1627 1600 b c with 95 4 probability our result is in the range of previous less precise and less direct results of several scientific dating methods but it is a century earlier than the date derived from traditional egyptian chronologies

holocene environmental change and its impact on sediment dynamics in the eastern mediterranean abstract investigators have studied past environmental change in the eastern mediterranean region from a number of perspectives while climate reconstructions and palynological research have focused on forces that drive the geomorphologic system many researchers have attempted to use sediment archive studies to identify periods of change in sediment dynamics due to the large variability in environmental parameters and the variety of landscapes present in the eastern mediterranean region research has focused on sediment archives ranging from small colluvial sites to deltas of large rivers on the mediterranean coast as the cultural record for the region is extremely rich the main goal of palaeo environmental research in the eastern mediterranean has been to identify the relative importance of human impact on the landscape nevertheless sediment archives have significant limitations chronological control for many palaeo environmental records is highly uncertain and rates of landscape change are oftentimes difficult to assess most palaeo environmental research has been conducted on or near archeological sites where direct human impact may obscure the indirect impact on sediment dynamics through land use changes quantification and modeling of sediment dynamics in the eastern mediterranean environment offer one solution when erosion and sediment transport rate analyses are incorporated periods of relatively important change can be identified using multiple approaches the relative importance of the main driving forces climate and land use become distinguishable since field based data from the actual sediment archives remain vital an overview of numerous studies in the eastern mediterranean is provided in order to draw a general picture for different time periods and the relative scale of regional landscape development during the holocene a comparison of sediment dynamics with the record of driving forces indicates that while climate was the main driver of the geomorphic system during the early holocene at some point human impact became widespread and began to dictate sediment dynamics to a large extent from the byzantine period onward soil properties seem to play an increasingly important role as the hillslope soil reservoir in the eastern mediterranean was progressively depleted during the late holocene

holocene climate change in the eastern mediterranean region a comparison of stable isotope and pollen data from lake golhisar southwest turkey stable isotope and pollen data from golhisar golu a small intramontane lake located in southwest turkey provide complementary records of holocene climate change modern oxygen and hydrogen isotope water data are used as a means of comparing present day isotope composition of the lake water to the past oxygen isotope composition of the lake water as calculated from 18o 16o ratios in calcite precipitated in the summer months despite the lake system being chemically dilute the modern isotope data clearly establish that the lake water is evaporated in relation to its spring input suggesting that the palaeo data can be interpreted primarily in terms of changing precipitation evaporation ratios 18o and 13c values from authigenic calcite through the holocene show predominantly negative values indicating climatic conditions wetter than today particularly notable are low depleted isotope values during the earliest holocene ca 10 600 8800 cal yr bp a period for which pollen data imply drier conditions than at present this divergence between pollen inferred and stable isotope palaeoclimate data is found in other east mediterranean lake sediment records and suggests that vegetation may have taken several millennia to reach climatic equilibrium at the start of the holocene isotopic fluctuations during the early to mid holocene 8800 5100 cal yr bp suggest oscillations between aridity and humidity higher 18o and 13c values for the second half of the holocene indicate generally drier conditions than during the period before ca 5100 cal yr bp although there is some evidence for increased humidity coinciding with pollen evidence for increasing human impact and intensification of agriculture notably during the so called beyehir occupation phase classical and early byzantine periods the modern trend towards aridity started about 1300 yr ago

the environmental impact of the minoan eruption of santorini thera statistical analysis of palaeoecological data from golhisar southwest turkey eastwood w j tibby j roberts n birks h j b lamb h f 2002 the environmental impact of the minoan eruption of santorini thera statistical analysis of palaeoecological data from golhisar southwest turkey holocene 12 4 431 444

origin and evolution of ore forming fluids of the larong w mo deposit eastern tibet constraints from fluid inclusions h o isotopes and scheelite geochemistry abstract the larong porphyry w mo deposit formed in the main collisional orogenic stage of lhasa and qiangtang terranes is the first discovered giant w mo deposit in the leiwuqi zogang metallogenic belt sanjiang region the w mo mineralization occurs as veins and stock works mainly hosted in the granodiorite porphyry monzogranite porphyry biotite granite porphyry and surrounding schist four types of fluid inclusions fis including pc type pure vapor co2 c type co2 h2o w type aqueous two phase and l type pure liquid h2o fis have been identified from stage i quartz scheelite alkaline feldspar veins stage ii including three sub stages quartz molybdenite pyrite chalcopyrite veins and stage iii quartz calcite pyrite veins the total homogenization temperatures of fis vary widely 187 437 c with multiple peaks indicating multistage fluid activities the ore forming fluids of the main mineralization stages are characterized by co2 enrichment high medium temperature 270 440 c and medium low salinity 2 4 14 4 wt nacl equiv the homogenization temperature of w type inclusions is obviously higher than that of c type inclusions and the salinity is relatively lower implying multiple immiscibility of fluids with continuous escape of co2 h o isotopic compositions suggest that the primary ore forming fluids dominantly originated from magma water mo concentrations and eu values in scheelite indicate a decreasing trend of redox state of ore fluids from stage i to stage ii to stage iii the relatively higher temperature co2 rich and oxidized fluids gradually evolved into relatively lower temperature co2 poor and reduced fluids here we propose that the decrease of temperature and oxygen fugacity and increase of s2 activity and ph values of the ore fluids caused by continuous fluid rock interaction and loss of co2 could account for the successive mineralization of w and mo at the larong deposit

recognition of the minoan tephra in the acigol basin western turkey implications for inter archive correlations and fine ash dispersal here we report the recognition of the minoan tephra layer in the acigol basin western turkey which represents the most eastward occurrence of this tephra on land and the first in continental deposits out of lacustrine sediments in mainland turkey the correlation is supported by glass and mineral geochemistry which includes solution and laser ablation icp ms data for trace and rare earth elements thickness and grain size data allow the extension of already described occurrences to an area of about 359 000 km 2 from the eastern mediterranean to black sea throughout central western turkey coupling dispersal area and grain size data suggests the joint influence of high and low atmosphere dynamics in dispersal of fine ash during volcanic eruptions the thickness and lateral continuity of the minoan tephra in the acigol basin testifies to the widespread impact on the late bronze age environment of mainland turkey of this important ash deposit copyright 2013 john wiley sons ltd

human environment interaction in the hinterland of ephesos as deduced from an in depth study of lake belevi west anatolia abstract lacustrine sediments are important archives for high resolution palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of the holocene despite the density of ancient cities and settlements along the western coast of turkey the archives from coastal lakes in this area have until now not been recognized to their fullest potential and are therefore only poorly studied the exceptional geo bio archive of lake belevi is located close to the ancient city of ephesos in western turkey two sediment cores have been analysed using geochemical sedimentological microfaunal palynological and archaeoparasitological methods the in depth study of these holocene deposits is supported by a robust age depth model that used 33 radiocarbon dates and tephrochronology the results reveal the existence of a freshwater lake in the early holocene which turned brackish when the rising sea level connected it with the sea the delta evolution of the kucuk menderes led to the re establishment of a freshwater lake the natural vegetation was represented by open oak woodlands there are hints for first agricultural activities in the environs of belevi as early as 8000 cal yr bp intensive cultivation of olea is proven since 3000 cal yr bp starting during the 3rd millennium bp the human impact with enhanced deforestation activities and correlative high sedimentation rates is attested for sites such as belevi ephesos elaia pergamon and miletos for the first time tephra from the eruption of minoan santorini has been identified in the environs of ephesos this ash covered the vegetation by a thick layer wherefore low growing plants were strongly affected the comparison between the results from the quasi natural area of lake belevi and the area around the city of ephesos gives insights into the development and use of the landscapes the environmental changes as well as the duration and intensity of the human impact

geochemistry of marmara lake sediments implications for holocene environmental changes in western turkey abstract beginning from the early holocene marked environmental changes have been revealed by a multi proxy study of two radiocarbon dated sediment cores from lake marmara both cores are composed of fine clastic sediments deposited over the last 1845 years the core taken from the western depocentre supplementary consists of a 20 cm thick interval which represents a time period of 10 28 to 8 28ka yrbp a desiccation event caused 6435 year hiatus in the sedimentary record the lake was established again at 1 85ka yrbp after a transitional humid phase at the beginning of the late holocene overall arid conditions were continuously effective especially the difference between the geochemical composition of early and late holocene sediments indicates distinctive environmental conditions respective humid phases took place in between 10 28 and 8 28ka yrbp early holocene and 1 85 to 1 72ka yrbp late holocene the early holocene phase is characterized by higher fluvial activity controlled by the humid climate and active tectonics right after the middle holocene droughts a short termed tendency to relatively fresh and oxic conditions prevailed however the small surface area of the lake and its shallow conditions caused fast variations of hydrology oxidation level salinity and organic productivity during the last 1850 years we suggest that a combination of the instability of the eastern mediterranean climate and local conditions is the main control on the changing paleo environment during the study period

human impact on holocene sediment dynamics in the eastern mediterranean the example of the roman harbour of ephesus during the past millennia many erosion and accumulation processes have been modified by anthropogenic impact this holds especially true for the environs of ancient settlements and their harbours along the mediterranean coasts our multi proxy investigations in the roman harbour and the harbour canal of ephesus western turkey reveals that humans have significantly triggered soil erosion during the last three millennia since the eighth century bc and especially since the hellenistic period a high sed imentation rate indicates fast alluviation and delta progradation of the kucuk menderes deforestation agriculture especially ploughing and grazing especially goats were the main reasons for erosion of the river catchment area one consequence was significant siltation of the hellenistic roman harbour basin this sediment trap archives the human impact which was strongly enhanced from hellenistic roman to byzantine times second first centuries bc to the sixth seventh centuries ad evidenced by high sedimentation rates raised values of heavy metal contaminations lead pb copper cu the occurrence of fruit tree pollen and of intestinal parasites from the middle to the end of the first millennium ad the influence of ephesus declined which resulted in a decrease of human impact studies of several ancient settlements around the mediterranean sea tell a comparable story they also confirm that during their most flourishing periods the human impact totally overprinted the climatic one to detect the latter geo bio archives of relatively pristine areas have to be investigated in detail

pollen analysis of core ds7 1sc dead sea showing intertwined effects of climatic change and human activities in the late holocene the dead sea sediment holds the archives of a complex relationship between ever changing nature and ancient civilisations here the detailed pollen analyses of core ds7 1sc off ein gedi are presented for the first time the record covers the last 2500 years the facies changes from halite when no freshwater flows in the dead sea to laminites when rainfall provides sufficient inflow for the jordan and subsidiary rivers a couple of times through the record the pollen diagram supported by the facies change shows a wetter roman byzantine period which allowed intensive arboriculture and a wetter period at the end of the xixth and beginning of the xxth centuries the latter in good relation with historical and instrumental data based on radiocarbon chronologies on several pollen diagrams along the western dead sea shore the transition to drier climates and the transition to pastoralism are suggested to take place between a few decades before the islamic period and close to this transition a high resolution palynological study of the individual laminae forming the laminites aragonite and gypsum in the summer versus detritics in winter confirms the seasonal character of the laminae but throws a note of caution as for their regular annual character

the geodynamics of the aegean and anatolia introduction the complexity of the plate interactions and associated crustal deformation in the eastern mediterranean region is reflected in many destructive earthquakes that have occurred throughout its recorded history many of which are well documented and intensively studied the eastern mediterranean region including the surrounding areas of western turkey and greece is indeed one of the most seismically active and rapidly deforming regions within the continents fig 1 thus the region provides a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of the complexities of continental tectonics in an actively collisional orogen the major scientific observations from this natural laboratory have clearly been helping us to better understand the tectonic processes in active collision zones the mode and nature of continental growth and the causes and distribution of seismic volcanic and geomorphological events e g tsunamis and their impact on societal life and civilization the tectonic evolution of the eastern mediterranean region is dominated by the effects of subduction along the hellenic aegean arc and of continental collision in eastern turkey anatolia and the caucasus northward subduction of the african plate beneath western turkey and the aegean region is causing extension of the continental crust and volcanism in the overlying aegean extensional province eastern turkey has been experiencing crustal shortening and thickening as a result of northward motion of the arabian plate relative to eurasia and the attendant postcollisional magmatism taymaz et al 1990 1991a b mcclusky et al 2000 2003 dilek pavlides 2006 and references therein fig 2 the resulting combination of forces the pull from the subduction zone to the west and push from the convergent zone to the east is causing the turkish plate to move southwestward bounded by strike slip fault zones the north anatolian fault zone nafz to the north and the east anatolian fault zone eafz to the south interplay between dynamic effects of the relative motions of adjoining plates thus controls large scale crustal deformation and the associated seismicity and volcanism in anatolia and the aegean region taymaz et al 2004

the environs of elaia s ancient open harbour a reconstruction based on microfaunal evidence during hellenistic and roman times elaia the harbour city of ancient pergamum was an important place of trading and traffic intense mercantile and military activities are documented by literary sources and archaeological evidences geomagnetic and geoelectric investigations detected building structures close to the ancient coastline which are interpreted as ship sheds the aim of this study was to reconstruct the coastal evolution particularly with regard to harbour related facilities for that purpose a 10 m long sediment core was drilled in the area of the ancient open harbour immediately in front of the supposed ship sheds it was studied with the tools of micropalaeontology geophysics sedimentology and geochemistry to improve the reconstruction of the palaeoenvironmental conditions reference samples of modern environments of the area were analysed as indicated by marine ostracod and foraminifer taxa the sediment core shows from bottom to top that the initially fully marine conditions changed to a more restricted fauna indicative for a more sheltered bay with brackish waters this layer dates to hellenistic times it can however be shown that the siltation process had produced a lagoon system already several hundred years bc the elaia embayment was first used as a natural harbour it was equipped with breakwaters in the hellenistic period the progressive siltation caused the abandonment of the harbour in late roman times

the discovery of santorini minoan tephra in western turkey dispersal of volcanic ash from the violent bronze age minoan eruption of the santorini volcano in the southern aegean has been the subject of much research1 6 a sediment core taken from a small mountain lake in western turkey contains a layer of tephra from the minoan eruption the santorini origin is established by refractive index major glass chemistry and stratigraphic position the lake is located north of the recognized dispersal area for the tephra this deposit provides evidence for dispersal of the minoan tephra well to the northeast of santorini and implies that the west coast of asia minor must have experienced heavy tephra fallout from the bronze age eruption the minoan tephra has not previously been identified from sites in turkey

discovery of minoan tsunami deposits the hellenic arc is a terrane of extensive quaternary volcanism one of the main centers of explosive eruptions is located on thera santorini and the eruption of the thera volcano in late minoan time 1600 1300 b c is considered to have been the most significant aegean explosive volcanism during the late holocene the last eruptive phase of thera resulted in an enormous submarine caldera which is believed to have produced tsunamis on a large scale evidence suggesting seawater inundation was found previously at some archaeological sites on the coast of crete however the cause of the tsunami and its effects on the area have not been well understood on the aegean sea coast of western turkey didim and fethye and crete gouves we have found traces of tsunami deposits related to the thera eruption the sedimentological consequences and the hydraulics of a thera caused tsunami indicate that the eruption of thera volcano was earlier than the previous estimates and the tsunami did not have disruptive influence on minoan civilization

the ground based insar monitoring system at stromboli volcano linking changes in displacement rate and intensity of persistent volcanic activity stromboli volcano aeolian archipelago southern italy experienced an increase in its volcanic activity from late december 2012 to march 2013 when it produced several lava overflows major strombolian explosions crater wall collapses pyroclastic density currents and intense spatter activity an analysis of the displacement of the ne portion of the summit crater terrace and the unstable nw flank of the volcano sciara del fuoco depression has been performed with a ground based interferometric synthetic aperture radar gbinsar by dividing the monitored part of the volcano into five sectors three in the summit vents region and two in the sciara del fuoco changes in the displacement rate were observed in sectors 2 and 3 field and thermal surveys revealed the presence of an alignment of fumaroles confirming the existence of an area of structural discontinuity between sectors 2 and 3 high displacement rates in sector 2 are interpreted to indicate the increase in the magmastatic pressure within the shallow plumbing systems related to the rise of the magma level within the conduits while increased displacement rates in sector 3 are connected to the lateral expansion of the shallow plumbing system the increases and decreases in the displacement rate registered by the gbinsar system in the upper part of the volcano have been used as a proxy for changes in the pressure conditions in the shallow plumbing system of stromboli volcano and hence to forecast the occurrence of phases of higher intensity volcanic activity

holocene environmental change in southwest turkey a palaeoecological record of lake and catchment related changes percentage concentration and accumulation pollen data together with diatom and non siliceous microfossil data are presented for the site of go lhisar go l u 37i8 n 29i36 e elevation 930 m a small intramontane lake in burdur province southwest turkey microfossil assemblages from the longest sediment core gha 813 cm record changes in local and regional vegetation and lake productivity over the last 9500 years pollen spectra indicate that vegetation progressed from an open landscape with an increase in arboreal pollen occurring 8500 bp to mixed forest comprising oak pine and juniper until around 3000 bp cal 1240 bc when a human occupation phase becomes discernible from the pollen spectra this occurs shortly after the deposition of a volcanic tephra layer which originated from the minoan eruption of santorini thera and radiocarbon dated to 3330 70 yr bp cal 1600 bc this human occupation phase is comparable to the beys ehir occupation phase recorded at other sites in southwest turkey and involved forest clearance and the cultivation of fruit trees such as olea juglans castanea and itis together with arable cereal growing and pastoralism the presence of pollen types associated with the beys ehir occupation phase in deposits above the santorini tephra layer confirms a late bronze age early anatolian dark age date for its commencement since 3000 bp notable changes in aquatic ecology associated with tephra deposition and subsequent nutrient and sediment flux from the lake catchment are recorded the beys ehir occupation phase at go lhisar go l u came to an end around 1300 bp cla ad 700 when pine appears to have become the dominant forest tree 1999 elsevier science ltd all rights reserved

tracking the hydro climatic signal from lake to sediment a field study from central turkey palaeo hydrological interpretations of lake sediment proxies can benefit from a robust understanding of the modern lake environment in this study we use nar golu a non outlet monomictic maar lake in central turkey as a field site for a natural experiment using observations and measurements over a 17 year monitoring period 1997 2014 we compare lake water and sediment trap data to isotopic chemical and biotic proxies preserved in its varved sediments nar golu underwent a 3 m lake level fall between 2000 and 2010 18olakewater is correlated with this lake level fall responding to the change in water balance endogenic carbonate is shown to precipitate in isotopic equilibrium with lake water and there is a strong relationship between 18olakewater and 18ocarbonate which suggests the water balance signal is accurately recorded in the sediment isotope record over the same period sedimentary diatom assemblages also responded and conductivity inferred from diatoms showed a rise shifts in carbonate mineralogy and elemental chemistry in the sediment record through this decade were also recorded intra annual changes in 18olakewater and lake water chemistry are used to demonstrate the seasonal variability of the system and the influence this may have on the interpretation of 18ocarbonate we use these relationships to help interpret the sedimentary record of changing lake hydrology over the last 1725 years nar golu has provided an opportunity to test critically the chain of connection from present to past and its sedimentary record offers an archive of decadal to centennial scale hydro climatic change

the upper and lower nisyros pumices revisions to the mediterranean tephrostratigraphic record based on micron beam glass geochemistry abstract the greek island of nisyros is the source of tephra found in distal settings throughout the aegean in this contribution we define geochemical fingerprints for the lower and upper pumice eruptions of nisyros based on micron beam major empa and trace la icp ms element data these two eruptions are compositionally distinct from each other the high phenocryst content of proximal lower and upper pumice tephra means that the differences between the two magmas are masked in whole rock analyses we demonstrate that all previous reports of distal marine and continental tephras correspond to the younger upper pumice not the older lower pumice this has important implications for the marine tephrochronology of the mediterranean and for the age of the upper and lower pumice eruptions we suggest an age of at least 47 ka for the upper pumice and an older unconstrained age for the lower pumice

harbor areas at ancient troy sedimentology and geomorphology complement homer s iliad for at least two thousand years scholars have debated the location of troy and the events and geographic features described in homer s iliad geologic evidence is used to present a series of maps of the trojan plain that show the geomorphic changes over the past six millennia the geologic evidence correlates very well with the relevant homeric geography

a review of the delta po evolution italy related to climatic changes and human impacts abstract climate changes and sea level rise are important issues especially for deltas such as the po delta italy the evolution of the po delta shows a succession in space and a superposition in time of complex environmental natural processes during the last few centuries anthropogenic action has played a major role the formation of the po delta began about 2000 years ago and has undergone many phases of development between 1500 ad and 1600 ad the venetian technicians diverted the po river course with these interventions the renaissance delta was cut off from the hydraulic network and the modern delta began to form until the middle of the 20th century progradation of the delta was noticeable due to the abundant sediment supply in the following decades coastal erosion occurred this was caused by the reduction of the solid supply of the po due to dam and barrier construction and to river bed excavation these and other interventions e g reclamation methane extractions from superficial ground water table have deeply modified the physical and ecological characteristics of the po delta the morphological characteristics of the po delta make the largest italian wetland particularly unstable and very fragile when subjected to human pressure furthermore the delta evidences multiple threats that will probably be exacerbated in the following decades by the effects of expected climatic changes only the application of careful policies concerning coastal defence flood mitigation anthropogenic subsidence reduction and salt wedge intrusion control will allow reduction of the present or predicted negative effects this paper reviews how natural and human factors have controlled the po delta through time and discusses management strategies taking into account the importance of the human factor and the potential effects of climatic changes

in search of the harbours new evidence of late roman and byzantine harbours of ephesus abstract ephesus greek name ephesos in western turkey was an important harbour city during antiquity the progradation of the kucuk menderes delta has continuously shifted the coastline westwards thus along with the delta progradation new harbour sites had to be established in a western direction historical sources refer to different harbours while much is known about the roman and older ones the exact location of the ports and the coastline in late roman and byzantine times is still an open question this article presents the results of geoarchaeological research in the area located along the southern flank of the kucuk menderes graben near ephesus sediments from cores were examined with geochemical sedimentological and microfaunal analyses these data were combined with the study of ancient maps and satellite images the chronological framework was rendered by ams 14 c ages and diagnostic ceramics the farthermost inland shoreline dates from 5000 bc since then delta progradation has continuously shifted the shoreline westwards canakgol today a little lake to the west of the city of ephesus is identified as the harbour site in late roman and byzantine times this harbour persisted at least until the 16th century ad further a landing site with a pier was discovered west of canakgol presumably dating to the late byzantine ottoman times

tectonics and recent seismicity near flathead lake montana abstract since 1900 more than 290 earthquakes have been reported near flathead lake montana surprisingly none has exceeded magnitude 5 to 5 1 2 most recent earthquake swarms appear to result from east west or northwest southeast extension along short fault segments west and north of the lake major normal faults like the swan and mission faults east of the lake may pose higher risk but they appear dormant today deformation of sediments in flathead lake may be caused by several large earthquakes more than 10 000 years ago but is more probably due to glacial processes accompanying the last retreat of the cordilleran ice sheet