Constraints on the magnitude and patterns of ocean cooling at the Last Glacial Maximum
Observation-based reconstructions of sea surface temperature from relatively stable periods in the past, such as the Last Glacial Maximum, represent an important means of constraining climate sensitivity and evaluating model simulations(1). The first quantitative global reconstruction of sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum was developed by the Climate Long-Range Investigation, Mapping and Prediction (CLIMAP) project in the 1970s and 1980s (refs 2,3). Since that time, several shortcomings of that earlier effort have become apparent(4). Here we present an updated synthesis of sea surface temperatures during the Last Glacial Maximum, rigorously defined as the period between 23 and 19 thousand years before present, from the Multiproxy Approach for the Reconstruction of the Glacial Ocean Surface (MARGO) project(5). We integrate microfossil and geochemical reconstructions of surface temperatures and include assessments of the reliability of individual records. Our reconstruction reveals the presence of large longitudinal gradients in sea surface temperature in all of the ocean basins, in contrast to the simulations of the Last Glacial Maximum climate available at present(6,7).
(Nature Geoscience. vol. 2, n° 1752-0894, pp. 127-132, 01/02/2009)
PALEOCEAN, LSCE, UVSQ, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DRF (CEA), CEA, ICTA, UAB, ICREA, SCIB - UMR E3, INAC, CEA, UGA [2016-2019], CNRS, CEREGE, IRD, AMU, CdF (institution), INSU - CNRS, CNRS, INRAE, UB, LSCE, UVSQ, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DRF (CEA), CEA, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, BCCR, BIO / UiB, UiB, AWI, CALTECH, GEOTOP, EPM, UdeM, UQAT, UQAR, UQAM, FSS, CEBC, CNRS, MARUM, NOC
Development of a multimetric approach to assess perturbation of benthic macrofauna in Zostera noltii beds
Biotic indices based on soft-bottom macrozoobenthic communities are currently used throughout Europe to assess the ecological quality of coastal and transitional water bodies according to the European Water Framework Directive. However, the performance of the currently available biotic indices still has to be tested against a variety of different impact sources. In particular, physical perturbations have received much less attention than other kind of disturbances. This study consisted in testing the capacity of currently available uni- (BOPA, AMBI and BENTIX) and multivariate (M-AMBI) Biotic Indices to assess the ecological impact of the destruction of a Zostera noltii seagrass bed in Arcachon Bay (France) following sediment deposits. Changes of habitat after this physical perturbation were hardly assessed by any of these Biotic Indices whereas analysis of the benthic community showed drastic changes of structure following the perturbation and no recovery after 15 months. This study demonstrates that these Biotic Indices must be integrated into a multimetric approach which describes better the biological integrity of the benthic community by including a complementary set of metrics. A new multimetric approach, named MISS (Macrobenthic Index of Sheltered Systems) is proposed. MISS correctly highlighted the destruction of the seagrass beds, by using 16 metrics describing the biological integrity of the macrofauna.
(Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. vol. 368, n° 0022-0981, pp. 101-112, 31/01/2009)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Distance decay of similarity among parasite communities of three marine invertebrate hosts
The similarity in species composition between two communities generally decays as a function of increasing distance between them. Parasite communities in vertebrate definitive hosts follow this pattern but the respective relationship in intermediate invertebrate hosts of parasites with complex life cycles is unknown. In intermediate hosts, parasite communities are affected not only by the varying vagility of their definitive hosts (dispersing infective propagules) but also by the necessary coincidence of all their hosts in environmentally suitable localities. As intermediate hosts often hardly move they do not contribute to parasite dispersal. Hence, their parasite assemblages may decrease faster in similarity with increasing distance than those in highly mobile vertebrate definitive hosts. We use published field survey data to investigate distance decay of similarity in trematode communities from three prominent coastal molluscs of the Eastern North-Atlantic: the gastropods Littorina littorea and Hydrobia ulvae, and the bivalve Cerastoderma edule. We found that the similarity of trematode communities in all three hosts decayed with distance, independently of local sampling effort, and whether or not the parasites used the mollusc as first or second intermediate host in their life cycle. In H. ulvae, the halving distance (i.e. the distance that halves the similarity from its initial similarity at 1 km distance) for the trematode species using birds as definitive hosts was approximately two to three times larger than for species using fish. The initial similarities (estimated at 1 km distance) among trematode communities were relatively higher, whereas mean halving distances were lower, compared to published values for parasite communities in vertebrate hosts. We conclude that the vagility of definitive hosts accounts for a high similarity at the local scale, while the strong decay of similarity across regions is a consequence of the low probability that all necessary hosts and suitable environmental conditions coincide on a large scale.
(Oecologia. vol. 160, n° 0029-8549, pp. 163-173, 01/01/2009)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
At environmental doses, dietary methylmercury inhibits mitochondrial energy metabolism in skeletal muscles of the zebra fish (Danio rerio).
The neurotoxic compound methylmercury (MeHg) is a commonly encountered pollutant in the environment, and constitutes a hazard for human health through fish eating. To study the impact of MeHg on mitochondrial structure and function, we contaminated the model fish species Danio rerio with food containing 13 μg of MeHg per gram, an environmentally relevant dose. Mitochondria from contaminated zebrafish muscles presented structural abnormalities under electron microscopy observation. In permeabilized muscle fibers, we observed, a strong inhibition of both state 3 mitochondrial respiration and functionally isolated maximal cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity after 49 days of MeHg exposure. However, the state 4 respiratory rate remained essentially unchanged. This suggested a defect at the level of ATP synthesis. Accordingly, we measured a dramatic decrease in the rate of ATP release by skinned muscle fibers using either pyruvate and malate or succinate as respiratory substrates. However, the amount and the assembly of the ATP synthase were identical in both control and contaminated muscle mitochondrial fractions. This suggests that MeHg induced a decoupling of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in the skeletal muscle of zebrafish. Western blot analysis showed a 30% decrease of COX subunit IV levels, a 50% increase of ATP synthase subunit α, and a 40% increase of the succinate dehydrogenase Fe/S protein subunit in the contaminated muscles. This was confirmed by the analysis of gene expression levels, using RT-PCR. Our study provides a basis for further analysis of the deleterious effect of MeHg on fish health via mitochondrial impairment.
(International Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology. vol. 41, n° 1357-2725, pp. 791-799, 01/01/2009)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, U1211 INSERM/MRGM, UB, INSERM, IBGC, UB, CNRS
Sediment transport particular events and beach profile response
A field campaign was carried out as part of the ECORS project on the macro-tidal beach of Truc Vert (France, March-April 2008). Velocities, sediment concentrations and bed evolutins recorded at the mid intertidal zone are presented, covering calm (Hs~0.5m)and energetic (Hs~1m) conditions. Cross-shore transport rates were estimated using the BAILARD (1981) model for the total load transport, beach profile changes for the net transport and suspended sediment fluxes. Under energetic wave forcing the undertow was large and sediment transport was directed offshore whereas under calm conditions the undertow was weaker and sediment transport was directed onshore.
(Journal of Coastal Research, n° 0749-0208, pp. pp 1766-1770, 01/01/2009)
LCPC/EAU, LCPC, UNAM, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, LEGI, UJF, Grenoble INP, CNRS
Treatment of topographic and bathymetric data acquired at the Truc-Vert Beach during the ECORS Field Experiment
The aim of this paper is to present the topographic and bathymetric surveys acquired during the international ECORS mission (March-April 2008) at Truc Vert Beach, SW of France. Topographic surveys have been done with an accuracy of about 2.5cm in the horizontal directions and 3cm for the elevation. Using both a GPS kinematics (by foot or implemented on a quad) and a theodolite, an area extending from the dune to the nearshore region was covered. In this paper, we present the methods developed in order to merge the different dataset. The acquisition and treatment of this large dataset was made possible thanks to the coordination of a large work force available on the field comprising numerous international institutions. From this work, together with the lower sample rate topographic data gathered over the last 10 years, Truc Vert Beach is the most documented beach of the French Coast.
(Journal of Coastal Research. vol. II, n° 0749-0208, pp. 1786-1790, 01/01/2009)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, LEGEM, UPVD, UPVD, SHOM, BRGM, LAB, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Evidence from wavelet analysis for a mid-Holocene transition in global climate forcing
A strong mid-Holocene transition has been identified by wavelet analyses in several sea ice cover records from the circum-Antarctic area, ice core records (Taylor dome, Byrd) and tropical marine records. The results are compared with those previously published in a synthesis of North Atlantic records and with 4 new records from the Norwegian and Icelandic seas and from a coastal site in Ireland. These new records confirm the previous pattern for the North Atlantic area, extend this pattern nearly to the Arctic Circle, and include a continental record. We further tested the possibility of extending this scheme using continental records from South America. The Holocene pattern proposed here confirms the importance of external forcing during the Early Holocene (solar activity: 1000 years cyclicity and 2500 years during the entire Holocene), even if the signal is disturbed by meltwater fluxes. The second part of the Holocene is then marked by the gradual appearance of internal forcing (thermohaline circulation around 1500 years), associated with a stabilisation of the signal. Coupling between ocean and atmosphere seems to play a fundamental role in the observed frequencies which vary accordingly in the Atlantic, circum-Antarctic and Pacific areas. The North Atlantic area seems to be the instigator of thermohaline circulation as shown by its sensitivity to meltwater discharges during the Early Holocene, even though each sector is independent with regards to its frequency content (around 1600 years for Atlantic Area; around 1250 years for Antarctica). The Holocene methane pattern, still under debate [Ruddiman, W.F., 2003a. Orbital insolation, ice volume and greenhouse gases. Quaternary Science Review 22, 1597-1629; Ruddiman, W.F., 2003b. The anthropogenic greenhouse era began thousands of years ago. Climatic Change 61, 261-293], could be explained by a more efficient thermohaline circulation around the mid-Holocene with an anthropogenic effect initiated at not, vert, similar2500 BP as shown by the inter-hemispheric gradient.
(Quaternary Science Reviews. vol. 28, n° 0277-3791, pp. 2675-2688, 26/08/2026)
LGGE, OSUG, UJF, Grenoble INP, INSU - CNRS, IRSTEA, USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry], CNRS, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, M2C, UNICAEN, NU, INSU - CNRS, UNIROUEN, NU, CNRS, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, ISTO, BRGM, INSU - CNRS, UO, CNRS, PBDS, INSU - CNRS, CNRS
Influence of the mode of macrofauna-mediated bioturbation on the vertical distribution of living benthic foraminifera : first insight from axial tomodensitometry
We investigated the influence of bioturbation by macrofauna on the vertical distribution of living (stained) benthic foraminifera in marine intertidal sediments. We investigated the links between macrofaunal bioturbation and foraminiferal distribution, by sampling from stations situated on a gradient of perturbation by oyster-farming, which has a major effect on benthic faunal assemblages. Sediment cores were collected on the French Atlantic coast, from three intertidal stations: an oyster farm, an area without oysters but affected by oyster biodeposits, and a control station. Axial tomodensitometry (CT-scan) was used for threedimensional visualization and two-dimensional analysis of the cores. Biogenic structure volumes were quantified and compared between cores. We collected the macrofauna, living foraminifera, shells and gravel from the cores after scanning, to validate image analysis. We did not investigate differences in the biogenic structure volume between cores. However, biogenic structure volume is not necessarily proportional to the extent of bioturbation in a core, given that many biodiffusive activities cannot be detected on CT-scans. Biodiffusors and larger gallery-diffusors were abundant in macrofaunal assemblage at the control station. By contrast, macrofaunal assemblages consisted principally of downward-conveyors at the two stations affected by oyster farming. At the control station, the vertical distribution of biogenic structures mainly built by the biodiffusor Scorbicularia plana and the large gallery-diffusor Hediste diversicolor was significantly correlated with the vertical profiles of living foraminifera in the sediment, whereas vertical distributions of foraminifera and downward-conveyors were not correlated at the station affected by oyster farming. This relationship was probably responsible for the collection of foraminifera in deep sediment layers (N6 cm below the sediment surface) at the control station. As previously suggested for other species, oxygen diffusion may occur via the burrows built by S. plana and H. diversicolor, potentially increasing oxygen penetration and providing a favorable microhabitat for foraminifera in terms of oxygen levels. By contrast, the absence of living foraminifera below 6 cm at the stations affected by oyster farming was probably associated with a lack of biodiffusor and large gallery-diffusor bioturbation. Our findings suggest that the effect of macrofaunal bioturbation on the vertical distribution of foraminiferal assemblages in sediments depends on the effects of the macrofauna on bioirrigation and sediment oxidation, as deduced by Eh values, rather than on the biogenic structure volume produced by macrofauna. The loss of bioturbator functional diversity due to oyster farming may thus indirectly affect infaunal communities by suppressing favorable microhabitats produced by bioturbation.
(Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. vol. 371, n° 0022-0981, pp. 20-33, 26/08/2026)
CRELA, IFREMER, ULR, CNRS, BIAF, UA, LIENSs, INSU - CNRS, ULR, CNRS, IRD [Nouvelle-Calédonie], EHF, UCBL, CNRS, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, UN
High frequency sea level fluctuations recorded in the Black Sea since the LGM
This paper presents a 3D geometric interpretation of very high resolution seismic Chirp profiles acquired on the Romanian shelf during ASSEMBLAGE European Project. The results provide a solid record of the Black Sea Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) water level fluctuations. This pseudo-3D seismic interpretation shows that the Black Sea lacustrine shelf deposits form a significant basinward-prograding wedge system. On top of these prograding sequences is a set of sand dunes that delineates a wave cut-terrace like feature around the isobath − 100 m. Landward of this dune field are small depressions containing barkhan-like bodies. The upper part of the last prograding sequence is incised by anastomosed channels which end in the Danube (Viteaz) canyon which are also built on the lacustrine prograding wedge. Ten stratigraphic units were distinguished and correlated with analyses of cores retrieved from this area. The results demonstrate that the first eight sequences represent lacustrine prograding wedges, the ninth sequence is the dune system itself and the tenth is a marine mud drape which covers the entire continental shelf. The lacustrine prograding wedges represent a lowstand deposit characterised by forced regression-like reflectors mapped from the pseudo-3D seismic data. Their hinge point corresponds to the wave erosion surface mapped around − 100 m isobath on the multibeam mosaic. Dated cores give age control on this lowstand period, which lasted from 11 to 8.5 kyr 14C BP as implied by: (1) the continuously dry climatic conditions in the region inferred by high percentages of herbs and steppe elements determined from ASSEMBLAGE cores and, (2) the formation of dunes between 10 and 8.5 kyr 14C BP on the desiccated north-western Black Sea shelf at − 100 m and (3) all of these covered by a marine mud drape confirming that the dune system is no longer active. The buried, anastomosed fluvial channels that suddenly disappear below 90 m depth, and a unique wave-cut terrace between 95 and 100 mbsl on the outer shelf are also consistent with a major lowstand base-level at around − 100 m water depth. Preservation of sand dunes and the occurrence of small, buried incised valleys mark a rapid transgression within less than a century during which ravinement processes related to the water level rise had no time to significantly erode the seafloor.
(Global and Planetary Change. vol. 66, n° 0921-8181, pp. 65-75, 26/08/2026)
IFREMER, UCD, EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, LSCE, UVSQ, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DRF (CEA), CEA, PALEOCEAN, LSCE, UVSQ, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, DRF (CEA), CEA
IOP from reflectance measurements to obtain the Kd coefficient: application to the Gabon and Congo coastal waters
(. vol. 7459, pp. Vol. 7459, 74590A, doi:10.1117/12.828851, 26/08/2026)
EPOC, EPHE, PSL, UB, INSU - CNRS, CNRS, SHOM, CRC, UB, CNRS