Pliocene-Pleistocene stable isotope record for Ocean Drilling Program Site 653, Tyrrhenian basin: implications for the paleoenvironmental history of the Mediterranean Sea

Planktonic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotope analyses from Tyrrhenian Sea Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 653 provide a continuous record of the Pliocene-Pleistocene paleoceanographic history of the Mediterranean. Long-term trends in oxygen isotopes primarily reflect changes in global climatic conditions, with a more local or regional signal superimposed on this record. In contrast to most open-ocean results, the early Pliocene δ18O record of Site 653 exhibits high-amplitude fluctuations indicative of very unstable climatic conditions in this region. Another unique aspect of this Mediterranean δ18O record is the pronounced cooling at the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary. -from Authors