Aridity events during the last 4000 years in Western Mediterranean marshes (Almenara and Benicasim marshes, E Spain)

Facies and geochemical analysis applied to marsh deposits are useful proxies for the reconstruction of aridity for the last millennia. The comparison of facies and geochemical records among cores from the Almenara and Benicasim marshes allows to identify changes in water level (Si/Al, Al, Ca) and sa...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mediato Arribas, José Francisco, Santisteban Navarro, Juan Ignacio, del Moral González, Begoña, Dabrio González, Cristino José
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM)
Repositorio:Docta Complutense
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/6265
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/6265
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:551.7"628.64"(460.358)
Mediterranean coastal marshes
Geochemical and facies proxies
Aridity events
Sea level
Holocene
Geología estratigráfica
Hidrología
2506.19 Estratigrafía
2508 Hidrología
Descripción
Sumario:Facies and geochemical analysis applied to marsh deposits are useful proxies for the reconstruction of aridity for the last millennia. The comparison of facies and geochemical records among cores from the Almenara and Benicasim marshes allows to identify changes in water level (Si/Al, Al, Ca) and salinity of the feeding waters (Mg/Al, Na/Al, S/Al). These changes, in turn, represent fluctuations in the position of the saline-fresh groundwater boundary, which can be related to variations in sea level and rainfall. For the last 4000 years, three events recording higher salinity conditions (ca. 3.4 ka BP, ca. 3 ka BP and ca. 1.8 ka BP) are noticeable in the record. Comparison to other studies around the Western Mediterranean basin allows us to correlate these events to arid episodes and to identify their forcing mechanisms. These aridity events are correlative to small falls in solar activity and Surface Sea Temperature (SST) during positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) periods. Despite the small magnitude of these changes, the sensitivity of the system amplified the result providing a conspicuous signal.