A late pleistocene-holocene sapropelic layer in the Northwest Aegean Sea, Eastern Mediterranean

Sedimentological, geochemical, and micropaleontological analyses of nine gravity and two piston cores from the northwest Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean, revealed the presence of five lithologies deposited during the last 18,000 years. These are a Continental Shelf Unit, a hemipelagic-turbiditic Upper Unit, a hemipelagic-turbiditic Middle Unit, a marine transgression Lower Unit, and within the Middle Unit, a Sapropelic layer. Deposition of the Sapropelic layer took place beneath a water column depleted in dissolved oxygen, and reduced in salinity and temperature compared to existing conditions today. The main input for the organic matter preserved was fluvial, issuing from the Greek mainland.