Browsing by Author "Flores, Jose-Abel"
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- Reconstruction of surface water dynamics in the North Atlantic during the Mid-Pleistocene (similar to 540-400 ka), as inferred from coccolithophores and planktonic foraminiferaPublication . Martinez-Sanchez, Marta; Flores, Jose-Abel; Palumbo, Eliana; Alonso-Garcia, Montserrat; Sierro, Francisco-Javier; Amore, Filomena OrnellaChanges in paleoclimate and paleoproductivity patterns have been identified by analyzing the coccolithophore assemblages from the IODP Site U1314, located in the subpolar North Atlantic, together with other proxy data available during the time interval from the Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 14 to MIS 11 (ca. 540 to 400 ka). The comparison of this data with that of MD03-2699, located off the Iberian Margin, allowed us to study their common response to environmental changes in terms of paleoproductivity and temperature variability. Statistical analyses of the composition of coccolithophore assemblages revealed that the calcareous plankton dynamics were mainly driven by eccentricity, which controlled the alternating migration of the Polar Front (PF) and the North Atlantic Current (NAC) at glacial-interglacial timescales. The high frequency variability of paleoproductivity, over imposed onto glacial/interglacial variability at both sites, were related to NAC intensifications on a precessional timescale. The northward (southward) migration of the PF caused a strengthening (weakening) of the NAC, which created an intensification (weakening) of the Irminger Current (IC) at Site U1314 and the Portugal Current (PC) at MD03-2699. Furthermore, low-latitude processes have been shown to influence climate in the high-latitude during the late Pleistocene. During MIS 14 and 12, enhanced glacial strength affected both coccolithophores and planktonic foraminifera, indicating a southward movement of the NAC. Using the same proxies, a northward movement of the NAC is recorded during MIS 13 and 11. Alternatively, the spectral analyses performed on calcareous plankton assemblages allowed the identification of a pattern of periodic response of the plankton at the orbital and, in some cases, millennial level, as well as abrupt Heinrich-type time-scale variability during Termination V (TV). This was the most extreme event and was related to a massive iceberg discharge from high to mid-latitudes.
- The Mesolithic-Neolithic transition in southern IberiaPublication . Cortes Sanchez, Miguel; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco J.; Simon Vallejo, Maria D.; Gibaja Bao, Juan; Carvalho, António Faustino; Martinez-Ruiz, Francisca; Rodrigo Gamiz, Marta; Flores, Jose-Abel; Paytan, Adina; Lopez Saez, Jose A.; Pena-Chocarro, Leonor; Carrion, Jose S.; Morales Muniz, Arturo; Rosello Izquierdo, Eufrasia; Riquelme Cantal, Jose A.; Dean, Rebecca M.; Salgueiro, Emilia; Martinez Sanchez, Rafael M.; De la Rubia de Gracia, Juan J.; Lozano Francisco, Maria C.; Vera Pelaez, Jose L.; Llorente Rodriguez, Laura; Bicho, Nuno Gonçalo Viana Pereira FerreiraNew data and a review of historiographic information from Neolithic sites of the Malaga and Algarve coasts (southern Iberian Peninsula) and from the Maghreb (North Africa) reveal the existence of a Neolithic settlement at least from 7.5 cal ka BP. The agricultural and pastoralist food producing economy of that population rapidly replaced the coastal economies of the Mesolithic populations. The timing of this population and economic turnover coincided with major changes in the continental and marine ecosystems, including upwelling intensity, sea-level changes and increased aridity in the Sahara and along the Iberian coast. These changes likely impacted the subsistence strategies of the Mesolithic populations along the Iberian seascapes and resulted in abandonments manifested as sedimentary hiatuses in some areas during the Mesolithic-Neolithic transition. The rapid expansion and area of dispersal of the early Neolithic traits suggest the use of marine technology. Different evidences for a Maghrebian origin for the first colonists have been summarized. The recognition of an early North-African Neolithic influence in Southern Iberia and the Maghreb is vital for understanding the appearance and development of the Neolithic in Western Europe. Our review suggests links between climate change, resource allocation, and population turnover. (C) 2011 University of Washington. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.