An integrated micropalaeontological approach applied to Late Pleistocene-Holocene palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental changes (Gaeta Bay, Tyrrhenian Sea)

Abstract

Abstract An integrated micropalaeontological approach has been used to characterize the last climatic cycle in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Three gravity cores, drilled in the Gaeta Bay continental shelf, have been analysed by means of quantitative methods applied to different taxonomic groups. In particular, calcareous nannofossils, planktonic Foraminifera, ostracods and palynomorphs have been studied to detect palaeoclimatic trends. The Last Glacial period has been identified in the lower part of two cores (C8 and C9), and an older cold period is represented in the lower part of the more proximal core (C5). The upper part of all the cores clearly records the Holocene period, whereas the Late Glacial period is not always easily detectable. Pollen seems to precede the Holocene climatic optimum. Climatic curves have been reconstructed for all the taxonomic groups and high-resolution palaeobathymetric reconstruction has been inferred on the basis of the ostracod assemblages.