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Nature Geoscience 1, 606–610 (1 September 2008) | doi:10.1038/ngeo283

Synchronous basin-wide formation and redox-controlled preservation of a Mediterranean sapropel

Gert J. De Lange , John Thomson , Anja Reitz , Caroline P. Slomp , M. Speranza Principato , Elisabetta Erba & Cesare Corselli

Organic-rich sedimentary units called sapropels have formed repeatedly in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in response to variations of solar radiation. Sapropel formation is due to a change either in the flux of organic matter to the sea floor from productivity changes or in preservation by bottom-water oxygen levels.