The Paleoceanography of the Red Sea during the Late Holocene based on Stable Isotope and Faunal Records
by
A. Almogi-Labin
Geological Survey of Israel
Coauthors: Almogi-Labin, A. (Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem 95501), Edelman-Furstenberg, Y. (Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904), Hemleben, Ch. (Institut und Museum fuer Geologie und Palaeontologie, Tuebingen D-72076, Germany)

The oxygen isotope record of the planktic foraminifera G. ruber and G. sacculifer and of the benthic foraminifera Cibicides spp. was determined in five radiocarbon-dated cores from the central part of the Red Sea, in order to reconstruct the paleoceanogaphic variability during the last ~6000 years. Surface water conditions are recorded by G. ruber, G. sacculifer represents the transition zone between the mixed layer and the intermediate water mass and the bottom water by the epifaunal benthic foraminifera Cibicides spp.. The oxygen content below 100 m decreases rapidly at the central Red Sea and reaches a minimum between 200-650 m depth. The concentration at the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) is < 0.5 ml O2/l. The thermohaline deep-water circulation is driven by the winter renewal in the extreme north. Convection of highly oxygenated dense surface water of the Gulf of Suez contribute to the renewal of the bottom water, while intermediate waters are renewed by the entraining of near surface cooler and denser waters of the northernmost Red Sea, as well as by Gulf of Aqaba deep water and intermediate depth waters. Convection events which occur every few years cause the renewal of deep waters which become cooler, with its oxygen content increasing significantly. The variability in the degree of ventilation of the intermediate water mass is the key factor in the reconstruction of the paleoclimate of the Red Sea region during the Holocene. During the last 6, 000 years the \delta¹8O

Date received: March 29, 2001

Copyright © 2001 by the author(s). The author(s) of this document and the organizers of the conference have granted their consent to include this abstract in Atlas Conferences Inc. Document # cagc-64.