On the late Pleistocene-Holocene sapropel record of climatic and oceanographic variability in the eastern Mediterranean

Sapropels and intercalated marls in a piston core from the eastern Mediterr anean are chemically and mineralogical distinct: kaolinite, smectite, and t otal S contents, Fe/Al, Ba/Al, Co/Al, Mo/Al, and V/Al are higher, whereas q uartz, Mg calcite, illite contents, Si/Al, Ti/Al, K/Al, Rb/Al, and Zr/Al ar e lower in the sapropels. Missing and "ghost" sapropels are identified by m ineralogical and chemical properties that are not prone to diagenesis. Prim ary production was higher (Ba/Al) and bottom water and/or interstitial oxyg enation was lower (Co/Al, Mo/Al, Ni/Al, and V/Al) during sapropel formation . Wind speeds (quartz/clay, Si/Al, and Zr/Al) and bottom water salinities ( Mg calcite/calcite) were higher during periods of marl formation. Sapropels represent a fundamentally different sedimentary facies whose formation is linked to changes in the hydrological balance in the basin, driven by prece ssionally modulated changes in monsoon strength and subtropical precipitati on changes, which altered circulation, production, and sediment source area s.