Abstract
Previous studies of the Red Sea demonstrated that glacial surface-and bottom-water salinities in the basin were significantly higher than at present. The very low abundance of planktonic foraminifera, the so-called 'aplanktonic zone', during the last glacial indicates that surface-water conditions approached or exceeded the tolerance limits of this plankton group1,2. Glacial sediments are also characterized by high concentrations of magnesian calcite3,4, dolomite3, inorganically precipitated aragonite4,5 and benthic foraminifera typical of hypersaline environments3,6. Additional evidence from oxygen isotope records of planktonic2,7 and benthic foraminifera8,9, as well as pteropods2, demonstrate that glacial–interglacial contrasts in the Red Sea have an amplitude much larger than typically observed in open ocean records. Here we use both oxygen isotope data and a 'fractional overmixing' model to estimate the impact of the most recent (18,000 yr BP) Pleistocene glacio-eustatic sea-level lowering on Red Sea salinity. We estimate that during the last glacial maximum, surface salinities in the central Red Sea were more than 10.0‰ higher than at present. Deep-water salinities were also higher during the last glaciation and remained unusually high through deglaciation. The combination of very high bottom salinities and the onset of pluvial conditions during deglaciation in the Red Sea region prevented ventilation of Red Sea bottom waters and resulted in the accumulation of organic-rich sediments.
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Thunell, R., Locke, S. & Williams, D. Glacio-eustatic sea-level control on Red Sea salinity. Nature 334, 601–604 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334601a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/334601a0
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