DATE2018-06-28 11:27:12
IDABSTRACT20180628112712-0262
CONTACTagogou@hcmr.gr
PRESENTATIONPOSTER
INVITED0
IDSESSION2
TITLEA 300 YEARS OLD HIGH RESOLUTION PALAEOENVIRONMENTAL RECORD FROM THE GULF OF ELEFSIS, ATTICA, SOUTH GREECE
AUTHORSA PAPAIOANNOU (1,2), K KOULI (1), CS PARINOS (2), M DIMIZA (1), M TRIANTAPHYLLOU (1), M. DASENAKIS (1), K MIARITIS (1), A GOGOU (2)
AFFILIATIONS
  1. National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, GREECE
  2. HCMR, Institute of Oceanography, Anavyssos, GREECE
ABSTRACTIn this study we present the first high resolution palaeoenvironmental record of the last 300 years from the area of Attica,South Greece. Despite the increasing number of marine palaeoenvironmental archives from Greece during the last decades, the veryrecent environmental changes and the imprint of human activity in such records are still poorly understood. Located in the northernSaronikos Gulf but with restricted communication -through two shallow straits-, the Elefsis bay is an extremely sensitive archive forthe study of both marine and terrestrial environmental variability. The multicore WFS2 was retrieved by the R/V AEGAEO (HCMR)from the deepest part of the Elefsis Bay. The 52-cm long core was sampled continuously at a sampling step of 0.5 cm. Age control isbased in combining 210Pb and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C dates. The sequence is a continuous, high resolutionpalaeoenvironmental archive of the last 300 years with its base dating back to 1660 AD (± 90).Based on the study of alkenone paleothermometry and a plethora of geochemical, micropaleontological and pollen proxy-indices obtained from the marine multi-core WFS2, we provide insights into the prevailing environmental and climatic dynamics inthis region (i.e. variability of temperature, salinity, humidity vs aridity patterns) as also as the development of the human-inducedanthropogenic signal (i.e. fossil fuel hydrocarbons and their combustion-derived compounds) throughout the Industrial RevolutionEra. Alkenone-derived SSTs at Elefsis Bay drop by more than 1 o C from the end of the 17 th to the beginning of the 18 th century. Thiscooling is probably synchronous to one of the coldest intervals (AD 1645–1715) of the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA), characterized by aprolonged episode of high volcanic and low solar activity known as ‘Maunder minimum’ (MM). After that and throughout the 18thcentury, SSTs stabilize at a mean of 23.8 o C until the first decades of the 19 th century when they drop again (1-2 o C). The latter SSTdrop pinpoints to a marked event (or a combination of events) which occurred at the first half of the 19th century and have thereafteraffected T and probably other physicochemical characteristics of the study area. During the 20 th century SST averages 22.4 o C andexhibits fluctuations which could be related to the prevailing atmospheric and oceanographic variability patterns.During the 2 nd half of the 19 th century, a significant population rise and the related urban activities in the Athens metropolitanarea, resulted to enhanced terrestrial inputs - as witnessed by rise in the abundance of all terrestrial markers - marking the entranceto the Industrial Era. During the same interval, the increasing trend in the abundance of all marine markers reflects higher productivityfrom algal species linked to enhanced continental inputs and thus increased nutrient supply to this coastal environment.Pollen assemblages record the existence of a diverse Mediterranean plant landscape with prominent signs of the humanactivities. Evergreen Quercus, accompanied by Pistacia and Phillyrea, are the most conspicuous taxa featuring the occurrence ofMediterranean macchia. Thermophilous deciduous oaks woodlands compose a noteworthy part of the vegetation, especially at thelower part of our record, while they start to retreat since the 19 th century. Olea is a major component of the vegetation throughout theentire record, demonstrating the landscape exploitation choices. Olive cultivation is intensified after the first quarter of the 18 th  centuryand seems to be one of the major human activities in the area. Since the last quarter of the 19 th  century and until the mid- 20 th  centurya gradual retreat of Pinus is recorded, probably associated with the start of the Industrial Period in Greece and the increasedrequirement for fuel like firewood.
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