Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of sediment drift accumulation in the Malta Graben (central Mediterranean Sea)

Ferraro, Serena; Sulli, Attilio; Stefano, Enrico Di; Giaramita, Luigi; Incarbona, Alessandro; Mortyn, P. Graham; Sprovieri, Mario; Sprovieri, Rodolfo; Tonielli, Renato; Vallefuoco, Mattia; Zizzo, Elisabetta; Tranchida, Giorgio

doi:10.1007/s00367-018-0534-x

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…The elongated mounded packages of sub-parallel, convex upward reflectors, both continuous and discontinuous (Figures 4a,b, 5a,b and 6), are very similar to those reported along the Tyrrhenian Sea [22,24], Sicily Channel [25][26][27], and the western Ionian Basin [28,66,68]. Due to this fact and their seismic facies, they have been interpreted as of contouritic origin [1,16,20,69,70].…”

Section: Interpretation Of Seismic Faciessupporting

confidence: 76%

“…Elongated mounded drifts and sheeted drifts are the most widespread types of contourite drifts worldwide as well as in the continental margins of the central Mediterranean Sea [6,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28]. Within the semi-enclosed and tectonically active central Mediterranean Sea, contourite systems are generally small and usually related to the path of the Levantine Intermediate Water (LIW, hereafter) [17,[29][30][31][32].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First Evidence of Contourite Drifts in the North-Western Sicilian Active Continental Margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Spatola

Sulli

Casalbore

et al. 2021

JMSE

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We present the results of an integrated geomorphological and seismo-stratigraphic study based on high resolution marine data acquired in the north-western Sicilian continental margin. We document for the first time five contourite drifts (marked as EM1a, EM2b, EM2, EM3a, and EM3b), located in the continental slope at depths between ca. 400 and 1500 m. EM1a,b have been interpreted as elongated mounded drifts. EM1a,b are ca. 3 km long, 1.3 km wide, and have a maximum thickness of 36 m in their center that thins northwards, while EM1b is smaller with a thickness up to 24 m. They are internally characterized by mounded seismic packages dominated by continuous and parallel reflectors. EM2 is located in the upper slope at a depth of ca. 1470 m, and it is ca. 9.3 km long, more than 3.9 km wide, and has a maximum thickness of ca. 65 m. It consists of an internal aggradational stacking pattern with elongated mounded packages of continuous, moderate to high amplitude seismic reflectors. EM2 is internally composed by a mix of contourite deposits (Holocene) interbedded with turbiditic and/or mass flow deposits. EM1a,b and EM2 are deposited at the top of an erosional truncation aged at 11.5 ka, so they mostly formed during the Holocene. EM3a,b are ca. 16 km long, more than 6.7 km wide, and have a thickness up to 350 m. Both EM2 and EM3a,b have been interpreted as sheeted drift due to their morphology and seismic features. The spatial distribution of the contourite drifts suggests that the drifts are likely generated by the interaction of the LIW, and deep Tyrrhenian water (TDW) on the seafloor, playing an important role in the shaping this continental margin since the late Pleistocene-Holocene. The results may help to understand the deep oceanic processes affecting the north-western Sicilian continental margin.

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Section: Interpretation Of Seismic Faciessupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First Evidence of Contourite Drifts in the North-Western Sicilian Active Continental Margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Spatola

Sulli

Casalbore

et al. 2021

JMSE

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“…The results of the WBF period simulation suggest also that, in the Sicily Strait, the western basin feeds the eastern with denser waters (Figure 5). This functioning could be an explanation for the total lack of sand grains and layer barren of foraminifera in Malta Graben (Ferraro et al, 2018), which indicates different processes on the seafloor.…”

Section: Comparison Of Wbf Results To S1a Sapropel Deposition Periodmentioning

confidence: 93%

Investigation of the Inherent Variability of the Mediterranean Sea Under Contrasting Extreme Climatic Conditions

et al. 2021

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The internal variability of the thermohaline circulation of the Mediterranean Sea is examined under contrasting extreme thermal and mass atmospheric forcing conditions. Three millennium-long numerical simulation experiments were performed under: (a) the current climatology, (b) a strong buoyancy forcing (SBF) scenario due to cold and dry conditions resembling the Younger Dryas event, and (c) a weak buoyancy forcing (WBF) scenario due to S1a sapropel deposition-like conditions (warm and wet). To isolate the inherent variability of the system, independent of interannual atmospheric forcing variability, the latter was defined as a perpetual year pertinent to each experiment. Self-diagnosed heat and salt fluxes, consistent to sea-surface characteristics of the above periods, forced three millenium-long, relaxation-free numerical experiments. These simulations were preceded by initial spin-up periods. The inherent spatiotemporal variability of the Mediterranean Sea was analyzed using the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) and spectral analysis on the simulated density fields. Our results revealed that the Mediterranean Sea exhibits high sensitivity to climatic conditions, allowing its circulation to change from anti-estuarine (for the SBF scenario, leading to a buoyancy loss to the atmosphere) to estuarine (for the WBF scenario, corresponding to a buoyancy gain from the atmosphere). In all three experiments, the interannual and decennial variabilities dominate in upper layers, and the decennial variability dominates in the Gibraltar and Sicily Straits. Under current climatic conditions the first two EOF modes express only 60% of the density variability in the deep layers. This contribution exceeds 90% under more extreme conditions. Moreover, the first EOF modes correspond to a basin-wide in-phase variability of the deep layers under the reference and WBF conditions. During SBF conditions the first modes reveal a vertical buoyancy exchange between upper and deeper layers. The second EOF mode of deep waters under both extreme scenarios showed that the western and eastern basins exchange buoyancy in decennial (for the cold/dry) and interdecennial (for the warm/humid) timescales. The residence time of the Eastern Mediterranean deep water was diagnosed to be centennial, semicentennial, and intercentennial for the cases of current period, SBF, and WBF, respectively.

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“…Recentemente, alcuni autori (Sprovieri et al, 2003;Ferraro et al, 2018;Lirer et al, 2013;Margaritelli et al, 2016) hanno documentato in record marini del Mediterraneo centrale e occidentale, dopo l'intervallo di tempo cronologico relativo alla deposizione di Sapropel S1 nel Mar Mediterraneo orientale, un forte aumento nell'abbondanza della specie a foraminiferi planctonici Globorotalia truncatulinoides ad avvolgimento sinistrorso.…”

Section: Il Gssp Del Tardo Olocene Nel Bacino Del Mediterraneo Esistono Bioeventi Che Permettono DI Identificare La Base Del Meghalayan Iunclassified

4° Convegno dei Geologi Marini Italiani

2021

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Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of sediment drift accumulation in the Malta Graben (central Mediterranean Sea)

Cited by 7 publications

References 104 publications

First Evidence of Contourite Drifts in the North-Western Sicilian Active Continental Margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

First Evidence of Contourite Drifts in the North-Western Sicilian Active Continental Margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea)

Investigation of the Inherent Variability of the Mediterranean Sea Under Contrasting Extreme Climatic Conditions

4° Convegno dei Geologi Marini Italiani

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