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09.09.2026High precision isotopic analysis key to a new study that questions the origin of the formation of Sapropel 1 in the eastern Mediterranean
The Atomic and Molecular Spectroscopy (EAM) and Mass Spectrometry – Isotopic Analysis (EMAI) units of the CCiTUB have collaborated in a study led by researchers from the Faculty of Earth Sciences of the University of Barcelona, in collaboration with the University of the Aegean and the Hellenic Centre for Marine Research (HCMR), which questions the mechanisms that led to the formation of an organic rich layer in the sediments of the eastern Mediterranean, known as Sapropel 1, between 11,000 and 6,000 years ago. This work has been published in Communications Earth & Environment, part of the Nature Portfolio.
The formation of Sapropel 1 has traditionally been attributed to a greater discharge of freshwater into the eastern Mediterranean from North African rivers and to increased precipitation in coastal areas of the northeastern Mediterranean, which led to stagnation and deoxygenation of deep waters and ultimately to the deposition and preservation of large amounts of organic matter on the seafloor.
This study, based on the analysis of several tracers in marine sediment samples from a core in the central Aegean Sea, questions this origin. Among these tracers are some analysed with CCiTUB instrumentation. In particular, Nd and Sr isotopes were measured with the multi collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer Plasma 3 (Nu Instruments), while δ18O and δ13C were analysed with the Finnigan MAT 252 mass spectrometer.
The different tracers analysed provide information on the provenance of the sediments or the hydrographic conditions of the area, which has made it possible to demonstrate that the intrusion of Black Sea water into the Aegean Sea had a much more significant impact than previously thought on the formation of Sapropel 1. In this regard, the high precision measurements of Nd and Sr isotopes as well as δ18O and δ13C were critical to reaching these conclusions.
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