Palaeoecological setting of the western Black Sea area during the last 15000 years

Abstract

Analysis of pollen, dinoflagellate cysts and lithology was carried out on ten cores from the western deep Black Sea and combined with radiocarbon dating to reconstruct the vegetation, climate and palaeoecological conditions. All the cores record a consistent sequence of Lateglacial and early Holocene steppe vegetation, which persisted until about 7100-7500 yr BP when Quercus, Corylus, Tilia and other temperate trees expanded, at about the same time as the influx of Mediterranean waters that resulted in sapropel deposition in the deep Black Sea. The sequence implies dry climatic conditions and a low level of the Black Sea during the early Holocene.