LATE GLACIAL/ EARLY HOLOCENE CLIMATE TRENDS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN BASED ON FORAMINIFERAL ASSEMBLAGES

Changes in the climate system have been documented in Earth’s history and are the subject of much interest today. The rates and extent of past climate changes have not previously been determined with high resolution in areas where social changes occurred, notably the first development of agriculture. Precisely assessing the magnitude, duration, and timing of abrupt climatic events, including the Younger Dryas and other climate events in the early Holocene, provides the necessary information to determine whether social reorganizations correlated with these changes. Many studies hypothesize that abrupt climatic events in the past have coincided with social reorganizations. Hence, an understanding of abrupt climate changes in the past may help modern humans adjust to present climate changes.

The Mediterranean Sea is a small and marginal basin that registers and amplifies climatic variations occurring at the mid-latitudes. The Mediterranean is an ideal location for this study because it is located in a transition zone between a humid climate to the north and an arid climate to the south, and is therefore particularly sensitive to changes in the natural environments. In addition, the record of human history in this area is extensive.

Faunal techniques are being used to obtain high-resolution records of environmental conditions from the Mediterranean during the late Glacial and early Holocene. Preliminary records of SST determined from faunal assemblages from a core in the Tyrrhenian Sea indicate a general warming trend through time with several sharp climatic changes in the Early Holocene.