Sulphidic Mediterranean surface waters during Pliocene sapropel formation

Hilde F. Passier (), Hendrik-Jan Bosch, Ivar A. Nijenhuis, Lucas J. Lourens, Michael E. Böttcher, Anke Leenders, Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté, Gert J. de Lange and Jan W. Leeuw
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Hilde F. Passier: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Hendrik-Jan Bosch: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Ivar A. Nijenhuis: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Lucas J. Lourens: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Michael E. Böttcher: Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Marine Environment (ICBM), Oldenburg University
Anke Leenders: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Jaap S. Sinninghe Damsté: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Gert J. de Lange: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University
Jan W. Leeuw: Institute of Paleoenvironments and Paleoclimate Utrecht (IPPU), Geochemistry and Micropaleontology, Utrecht University

Nature, 1999, vol. 397, issue 6715, 146-149

Abstract: Abstract Sapropels—organic-matter rich layers—are common in Neogene sediments of the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The formation of these layers has been attributed to climate-related increases in organic-matter production1,2,3 and increased organic-matter preservation due to oxygen depletion in more stagnant bottom waters2,3. Here we report that eastern Mediterranean Pliocene sapropels4 contain molecular fossils of a compound (isorenieratene) known to be synthesized by photosynthetic green sulphur bacteria, suggesting that sulphidic (euxinic)—and therefore anoxic—conditions prevailed in the photic zone of the water column. These sapropels also have a high trace-metal content, which is probably due to the efficient scavenging of these metals by precipitating sulphides in a euxinic water column. The abundance and sulphur-isotope composition of pyrite are consistent with iron sulphide formation in the water column. We conclude that basin-wide water-column euxinia occurred over substantial periods during Pliocene sapropel formation in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and that the ultimate degradation of the increased organic-matter production was strongly influential in generating and sustaining the euxinic conditions.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/16441

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