Éditeur(s) : Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh
Résumé : From 10 to 8 ka BP (thousand years before present), paleoclimate records show an atmospheric and oceanic cooling in the high latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. During this interval, temperatures estimated from proxy data decrease by 0.8 degrees C over Antarctica and 1.2 degrees C over the Southern Ocean. In order to study the causes of this cooling, simulations covering the early Holocene have been performed with the climate model of intermediate complexity LOVECLIM constrained to follow the signal recorded in climate proxies using a data assimilation method based on a particle filtering approach. The selected proxies represent oceanic and atmospheric surface temperature in the Southern Hemisphere derived from terrestrial, marine and glaciological records. Two mechanisms previously suggested to explain the 10-8 ka BP cooling pattern are investigated using the data assimilation approach in our model. The first hypothesis is a change in atmospheric circulation, and the second one is a cooling of the sea surface temperature in the Southern Ocean, driven in our experimental setup by the impact of an increased West Antarctic melting rate on ocean circulation. For the atmosphere hypothesis, the climate state obtained by data assimilation produces a modification of the meridional atmospheric circulation leading to a 0.5 degrees C Antarctic cooling from 10 to 8 ka BP compared to the simulation without data assimilation, without congruent cooling of the atmospheric and sea surface temperature in the Southern Ocean. For the ocean hypothesis, the increased West Antarctic freshwater flux constrainted by data assimilation (+100 mSv from 10 to 8 ka BP) leads to an oceanic cooling of 0.7 degrees C and a strengthening of Southern Hemisphere westerlies (+6 %). Thus, according to our experiments, the observed cooling in Antarctic and the Southern Ocean proxy records can only be reconciled with the reconstructions by the combination of a modified atmospheric circulation and an enhanced freshwater flux.
Climate Of The Past (1814-9324) (Copernicus Gesellschaft Mbh), 2013 , Vol. 9 , N. 2 , P. 887-901

Droits : Author(s) 2013. CC Attribution 3.0 License.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29203/27584.pdf
DOI:10.5194/cp-9-887-2013
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29203/

Éditeur(s) : Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd
Résumé : Quantitative analyses on calcareous nannofossil assemblages on high temporal resolution (600-800 years) have been carried out from Core KC01B in the Ionian Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) throughout Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13-9, between 500 and 300 ka. This is an interval of considerable climate changes, known as the Mid-Brunhes event, which includes MIS 11, considered as a possible analogue for future interglacial conditions. In the Mediterranean core, the interval is characterized by the dominance of Gephyrocapsa spp., as also known from ocean records. Calcareous nannofossil abundance fluctuations have been interpreted in terms of modification of sea surface primary productivity/water stratification and temperature. Specifically, the increase in abundance of Gephyrocapsa caribbeanica and small Gephyrocapsa coupled with decreases of Florisphaera profunda, Syracosphaera spp. and Rhabdosphaera spp. suggests enhanced primary productivity/mixed surface waters during interglacial stages and at the Terminations, which can be interpreted in terms of interaction between climate changes and mesoscale oceanographic circulation. On the other hand, distributions of Calciosolenia spp., Oolithotus spp. and Umbilicosphaera sibogae, which are in phase with delta O-18 curve showing higher abundances at the lighter values of the marine isotope record, are considered as warm-water indicators. Biotic proxies point to peculiar climate dynamics through the MIS 12-11 transition (i.e. Termination V). High productive, cool, low salinity and turbid surface waters characterize the early MIS 11(421-408 ka) and likely reflect enhanced continental humidity/monsoon activity over North Africa and increased runoff into the basin. A late surface water warming with respect to Termination V is established at about 403 ka, during a period of low insolation forcing, almost coeval with the deposition of sapropel S11. A climate optimum, lasting about 15 ky (403-389 ka), is then recorded during a period of low insolation forcing centred at 398 ka. The later part of MIS 11 is characterized by climate deterioration at about 389 ka. Comparison with results from subtropical to polar Atlantic records suggests a remarkable relation between Mediterranean and Atlantic climate regimes.
Quaternary International (1040-6182) (Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd), 2013-03 , Vol. 288 , P. 97-111

Droits : 2011 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29194/27593.pdf
DOI:10.1016/j.quaint.2011.12.007
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00181/29194/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Climate models project that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations will increase the frequency and the severity of some extreme weather events. The flood events represent a major risk for populations and infrastructures settled on coastal lowlands. Recent studies of lagoon sediments have enhanced our knowledge on extreme hydrological events such as palaeo-storms and on their relation with climate change over the last millennium. However, few studies have been undertaken to reconstruct past flood events from lagoon sediments. Here, the past flood activity was investigated using a multi-proxy approach combining sedimentological and geochemical analysis of surfaces sediments from a southeastern Tunisian catchment in order to trace the origin of sediment deposits in the El Bibane Lagoon. Three sediment sources were identified: marine, fluvial and aeolian. When applying this multi-proxy approach on core BL12-10, recovered from the El Bibane Lagoon, we can see that finer material, a high content of the clay and silt, and a high content of the elemental ratios (Fe ∕ Ca and Ti ∕ Ca) characterise the sedimentological signature of the palaeo-flood levels identified in the lagoonal sequence. For the last century, which is the period covered by the BL12-10 short core, three palaeo-flood events were identified. The age of these flood events have been determined by 210Pb and 137Cs chronology and give ages of AD 1995 ± 6, 1970 ± 9 and 1945 ± 9. These results show a good temporal correlation with historical flood events recorded in southern Tunisia in the last century (AD 1932, 1969, 1979 and 1995). Our finding suggests that reconstruction of the history of the hydrological extreme events during the upper Holocene is possible in this location through the use of the sedimentary archives.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01571962/file/affouri2017.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-13-711-2017

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Big storm events represent a major risk for populations and infrastructures settled on coastal lowlands. In the Western Mediterranean, where human societies colonized and occupied the coastal areas since the Ancient times, the variability of storm activity for the past three millennia was investigated with a multi-proxy sedimentological and geochemical study from a lagoonal sequence. Mappings of the geochemistry and magnetic susceptibility of detrital sources in the watershed of the lagoon and from the coastal barriers were undertaken in order to track the terrestrial or coastal/marine origin of sediments deposited into the lagoon. The multi-proxy analysis shows that coarser material, low magnetic susceptibility, and high strontium content characterize the sedimentological signature of the paleostorm levels identified in the lagoonal sequence. A comparison with North Atlantic and Western Mediterranean paleoclimate proxies shows that the phases of high storm activity occurred during cold periods, suggesting a climatically-controlled mechanism for the occurrence of these storm periods. Besides, an in-phase storm activity pattern is found between the Western Mediterranean and Northern Europe. Spectral analyses performed on the Sr content revealed a new 270-year solar-driven pattern of storm cyclicity. For the last 3000 years, this 270-year cycle defines a succession of ten major storm periods (SP) with a mean duration of 96 ± 54 yr. Periods of higher storm activity are recorded from >680 to 560 cal yr BC (SP10, end of the Iron Age Cold Period), from 140 to 820 cal yr AD (SP7 to SP5) with a climax of storminess between 400 and 800 cal yr AD (Dark Ages Cold Period), and from 1230 to >1800 cal yr AD (SP3 to SP1, Little Ice Age). Periods of low storm activity occurred from 560 cal yr BC to 140 cal yr AD (SP9 and SP8, Roman Warm Period) and from 820 to 1230 cal yr AD (SP4, Medieval Warm Period).
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-01277796
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01277796
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2015.10.009

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD European Geosciences Union (EGU)
Résumé : International audience
Storms and tsunamis, which may seriously endanger human society, are amongst the most devastating marine catastrophes that can occur in coastal areas. Many such events are known and have been reported for the Mediterranean, a region where high-frequency occurrences of these extreme events coincides with some of the most densely populated coastal areas in the world. In a sediment core from the Mar Menor (SE Spain), we discovered eight coarse-grained layers which document marine incursions during periods of intense storm activity or tsunami events. Based on radiocarbon dating, these extreme events occurred around 5250, 4000, 3600, 3010, 2300, 1350, 650, and 80 years cal BP. No comparable events have been observed during the 20th and 21st centuries. The results indicate little likelihood of a tsunami origin for these coarse-grained layers, although historical tsunami events are recorded in this region. These periods of surge events seem to coincide with the coldest periods in Europe during the late Holocene, suggesting a control by a climatic mechanism for periods of increased storm activity. Spectral analyses performed on the sand percentage revealed four major periodicities of 1228 ± 327, 732 ± 80, 562 ± 58, and 319 ± 16 years. Amongst the well-known proxies that have revealed a millennial-scale climate variability during the Holocene, the ice-rafted debris (IRD) indices in the North Atlantic developed by Bond et al. (1997, 2001) present a cyclicity of 1470 ± 500 years, which matches the 1228 ± 327-year periodicity evidenced in the Mar Menor, considering the respective uncertainties in the periodicities. Thus, an in-phase storm activity in the western Mediterranean is found with the coldest periods in Europe and with the North Atlantic thermohaline circulation. However, further investigations, such as additional coring and high-resolution coastal imagery, are needed to better constrain the main cause of these multiple events.
ISSN: 1814-9324

hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199v2/document
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01357199/file/cp-12-1389-2016.pdf
DOI : 10.5194/cp-12-1389-2016

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : We present high-resolution bulk sedimentary δ 15N data from the southern edge of the present-day oxygen minimum zone of the eastern South Pacific. The record is interpreted as representing changes in water column nitrogen removal during the last 70,000 years. We found significant fluctuations in the isotopic signal that suggest major reorganizations of the oxygen minimum zone at millennial timescales. These fluctuations were not related to other millennial-scale changes like the Northern Hemisphere's Dansgaard-Oeschger climate swings or local changes in primary productivity, so appear to be dictated by the Southern Hemisphere's climate rhythm. This is preliminarily corroborated by an overall agreement between our δ 15N data and the sedimentary proxy of ice sheet dynamics in Patagonia, which is in turn correlated with surface water properties at the midlatitude subduction region of the eastern South Pacific intermediate waters. Finally, potential implications on late Quaternary changes in atmospheric CO2 concentrations are discussed.
Paleoceanography / PALEOECEANOGRAPHY

hal-00407260
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407260
DOI : 10.1029/2006PA001308

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : International audience
Multiproxy analyses were performed on core MS27PT recovered in hemipelagic sediments deposited on the Nile margin in order to reconstruct Nile River palaeohydrological fluctuations during the last 100,000 years. The strontium and neodymium isotope composition of the terrigenous fraction and the major element distribution reveal large and abrupt changes in source, oscillating between a dominant aeolian Saharan contribution during arid periods and a dominant Nile River contribution during pluvial periods. Iron content shows a strong correlation with strontium and neodymium isotopes. This allows the use of a high-resolution continuous Fe record as a proxy of Blue Nile sediment input over the last 100,000 years. The detailed Fe record, with approximately 10 years resolution during pluvial periods, is consistent with subtropical African records of well-dated lake level fluctuations and thus constitutes a first continuous high resolution record of the East African monsoon regime intensity over Ethiopia.;The detailed Fe record shows the two main known pluvial periods attributed to strengthening of the African monsoon over Ethiopia, the Nabtian period from 14 to 8 ka cal BP and the Saharan period from 98 to 72 ka BR For the first time, the last glacial period (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2,3 and 4) is documented with a continuous record showing large oscillations between high and low East African palaeo-monsoon regimes.;The end of the Nabtian period occurred at 8 ka in core MS27PT, i.e. much earlier than on the East Equatorial African region where it ended around 5.5 ka. We interpret this as evidence that the southward shift of the rain belt occurred 3000 years earlier over the Eastern Ethiopian Highland and propose that the gradual southward migration of the rain belt was associated with highly variable intensity and longer rainy seasons from 8 to 5 ka. During the last glacial period, two wet periods are present around 60-50 ka BP and 38-30 ka BP. These two humid periods are in phase with the rise of atmospheric CH4 concentrations suggesting that wetland tropical African area was one of the sources of the atmospheric CH4 during the MIS 3. During the Last Glacial Maximum and MIS 4, high Saharan aeolian influxes in phase with records of aeolian dust deposited in East Antarctica are documented. This study highlights the importance of reconstructions of monsoon rainfall fluctuation at high temporal resolution to better understand the link between low- and high-latitude climate variability at millennial timescales.
ISSN: 0277-3791

hal-00496481
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00496481
DOI : 10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.02.006

Éditeur(s) : American Geophysical Union
Résumé : Noise with periods 3 to 10 s, ubiquitous in seismic records, is expected to be mostly generated by pairs of ocean wave trains of opposing propagation directions with half the seismic frequency. Here we present the first comprehensive numerical model of microseismic generation by random ocean waves, including ocean wave reflections. Synthetic and observed seismic spectra are well correlated (r > 0.85). On the basis of the model results, noise generation events can be clustered in three broad classes: wind waves with a broad directional spectrum (class I), sea states with a significant contribution of coastal reflections (class II), and the interaction of two independent wave systems (class III). At seismic stations close to western coasts, noise generated by class II sources generally dominates, but it is intermittently outshined by the intense class III sources, limiting the reliability of seismic data as a proxy for storm climates. The modeled seismic noise critically depends on the damping of seismic waves. At some mid-ocean island stations, low seismic damping is necessary to reproduce the observed high level and smoothness of noise time series that result from a spatial integration of sources over thousands of kilometers. In contrast, some coastal stations are only sensitive to noise within a few hundreds of kilometers. This revelation of noise source patterns worldwide provides a wealth of information for seismic studies, wave climate applications, and new constraints on the possible directional distribution of wave energy.
Journal of Geophysical Research ( JGR ) - Oceans (0148-0227) (American Geophysical Union), 2011-09 , Vol. 116 , N. C09004 , P. 21 p.

Droits : 2011 by the American Geophysical Union
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00044/15531/12926.pdf
DOI:10.1029/2011JC006952
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00044/15531/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Elsevier
Résumé : This study analyzes the records of several trace metals sensitive to redox conditions in continental shelf sediments off Concepcion, Chile (36 degrees S). The continental margin off Concepcion (36 S; 73 W) lies beneath an important upwelling center characterized by high primary production rates and, consequently, high fluxes of organic matter. In spring and summer, this material settles to the seafloor where it decays, producing periods of very low oxygen content in bottom waters (<1 mL L-1). In addition, an oxygen minimum zone develops at similar to 100-400 m water depth, where dissolved oxygen levels are <0.5 mL L-1. This situation changes during strong El Nino events, when dissolved oxygen at the bottom increases drastically (>1 mL L-1).;The goals of this study were to determine the input of trace metals to the sediment and to decipher how this information can be used to reveal variations in primary productivity or bottom oxygenation. Gravity cores collected at two stations - VG06-2 over the mid-shelf station (88 m water depth, upper boundary of the oxygen minimum zone) and VG06-3 over the outer shelf (120 m water depth, within the oxygen minimum zone) - were sampled for high resolution profiles (1 cm) of trace metals, biogenic opal, stable isotopes, and total organic carbon. The results suggest that the variability in the trace metal distribution on the continental shelf off Concepcion is determined by redox conditions and the organic carbon flux to the bottom. Some sections of the sediment cores from the outer shelf showed appreciable authigenic enrichment of U, Cd, and Mo (EF: 5-10, 2-5, and 10-16 respectively) along with heavier values of delta N-15, suggesting periods of suboxic conditions. During these periods, fluxes of organic material to the bottom were higher, as indicated by elevated TOC and opal contents. Alternating periods of higher and lower trace metal contents were not observed mid-shelf as they were on the outer shelf. Rather, the mid-shelf samples showed authigenic enrichment of U, Cd, and Mo (EF: 1-6, 4-5, and 10-20, respectively) throughout the core except in a 10-cm-thick gray layer. In general, authigenic enrichment of U. Mo, and Cd occurred at both sites, coincident with olive green layers in the cores. These layers were associated with periods of elevated primary productivity and suboxic conditions. Such periods did not seem to last as long as the oxygenated periods, which had higher inputs of refractive detrital material, coincident with the occurrence of distinct gray sediment layers.
ISSN: 0079-6611

hal-00682159
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00682159
DOI : 10.1016/j.pocean.2011.07.010

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
A temporary network of 10 broad-band seismic stations has been installed in French Polynesia for the Polynesian Lithosphere and Upper Mantle Experiment (PLUME). All the seismic stations were installed either on volcanic islands or on atolls of the various archipelagos of French Polynesia in a manner which complements the geographic coverage provided by the regional permanent stations. The primary aim of PLUME is to image the upper mantle structures related to plate motion and hotspot activity. However, because of its proximity to all sites, the ocean is responsible for a high level of noise in the seismic data and we show that these data can also be used to analyse ocean wave activity. The power spectral density (PSD) analyses of the seismic data recorded in French Polynesia show clear peaks in the 0.05– 0.10 Hz band (periods between 10 and 20 s), which corresponds to swell frequencies. Clear peaks in this frequency band are also observed in infrasonic data recorded on Tahiti. Ground motion analysis shows that the swell-related seismic noise (SRSN) is linearly polarized in the horizontal plane and its amplitude decreases rapidly with the distance from the shore. The microseismic and the infrasonic 'noise' amplitudes show very similar variations from station to station and both are strongly correlated with the swell amplitudes predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), wind-forced, 'WaveWatch' models. The swell direction can be estimated from SRSN polarization analysis but this has to be done with care since, for some cases, the ground motions are strongly controlled by the islands' anisometric shapes and by swell refraction processes. We find cases, however, such as Tahiti or roughly circular Tuamotu atolls, where the azimuth of the swell is in good agreement with the seismic estimates. We, therefore, demonstrate that the SRSN and the infrasonic signal observed in French Polynesia can be used in such cases as a proxy for swell amplitude and azimuth. From the continuous analysis of the data recorded in 2003 at the permanent seismic station PPTL in Tahiti, transfer functions have been obtained. This could provide a way to quantify the swell activity during the last two decades and, therefore, assist in the investigation of climate changes.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01388809
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388809
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388809/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01388809/file/Barruol_swell_GJI2006.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02871.x

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oxford University Press (OUP)
Résumé : International audience
A temporary network of 10 broad-band seismic stations has been installed in French Polynesia for the Polynesian Lithosphere and Upper Mantle Experiment (PLUME). All the seismic stations were installed either on volcanic islands or on atolls of the various archipelagos of French Polynesia in a manner which complements the geographic coverage provided by the regional permanent stations. The primary aim of PLUME is to image the upper mantle structures related to plate motion and hotspot activity. However, because of its proximity to all sites, the ocean is responsible for a high level of noise in the seismic data and we show that these data can also be used to analyse ocean wave activity. The power spectral density (PSD) analyses of the seismic data recorded in French Polynesia show clear peaks in the 0.05– 0.10 Hz band (periods between 10 and 20 s), which corresponds to swell frequencies. Clear peaks in this frequency band are also observed in infrasonic data recorded on Tahiti. Ground motion analysis shows that the swell-related seismic noise (SRSN) is linearly polarized in the horizontal plane and its amplitude decreases rapidly with the distance from the shore. The microseismic and the infrasonic 'noise' amplitudes show very similar variations from station to station and both are strongly correlated with the swell amplitudes predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), wind-forced, 'WaveWatch' models. The swell direction can be estimated from SRSN polarization analysis but this has to be done with care since, for some cases, the ground motions are strongly controlled by the islands' anisometric shapes and by swell refraction processes. We find cases, however, such as Tahiti or roughly circular Tuamotu atolls, where the azimuth of the swell is in good agreement with the seismic estimates. We, therefore, demonstrate that the SRSN and the infrasonic signal observed in French Polynesia can be used in such cases as a proxy for swell amplitude and azimuth. From the continuous analysis of the data recorded in 2003 at the permanent seismic station PPTL in Tahiti, transfer functions have been obtained. This could provide a way to quantify the swell activity during the last two decades and, therefore, assist in the investigation of climate changes.
ISSN: 0956-540X

hal-01323691
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01323691
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01323691/document
http://hal.univ-reunion.fr/hal-01323691/file/Barruol_et_al_2006.pdf
DOI : 10.1111/j.1365-246X.2006.02871.x