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Changes in the flux of Saharan dust to the East Mediterranean Sea since the last glacial maximum as observed through Sr-isotope geochemistry

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 July 2018

M. R. Box
Affiliation:
The Faculty of Earth Sciences, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
M. D. Krom
Affiliation:
The Faculty of Earth Sciences, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
R. Cliff
Affiliation:
The Faculty of Earth Sciences, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS2 9JT, UK
A. Almogi-Labin
Affiliation:
The Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel
M. Bar-Matthews
Affiliation:
The Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel
A. Ayalon
Affiliation:
The Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel
B. Schillman
Affiliation:
The Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel
M. Paterne
Affiliation:
LSCE-CNRS-CEA, Gif sur Yvett, France

Abstract

We present a dust flux (g m-2yr-1) record for the East Mediterranean Sea constructed using 87Sr/86Sr ratio measurements on the fine fraction of carbonate-free sediment from core 9501 from the north Levantine basin. The Saharan dust flux profile shows a first order correspondence with Atlantic dust-flux records in showing: (1) small dust fluxes during the last glacial maximum, a dust pulse associated with the Heinrich 1 (H1) event; (2) a small peak corresponding with the younger dryas (YD); (3) a decrease during the African Humid Period (AHP); and (4) an abrupt return to dustier conditions between ~5.7—5.2 ky BP.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Mineralogical Society of Great Britain and Ireland 2008

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