Paleogeography of the Sea of Azov region in the Late Holocene (reconstruction by diatom and pollen data from marine sediments)

This paper presents new available high-resolution pollen and diatom evidences, relief and sedimentation processes during the New-Azov stage of the sea development, as well as the reconstruction of environmental changes in the Late Holocene. According to data obtained from the southern steppe landscapes that are similar to the modern ones, were widespread in the area adjacent to the sea of Azov during the formation of the New Azov layers (the last three thousand years). However, the Late Holocene trend to climate aridization was interrupted by three phases of cool and more humid conditions: late Subboreal (3000-2300 cal. (calendar years) BP), middle Subatlantic (2000-1700 cal. BP) and the Little Ice Age (600-150 cal. BP). Diatom data suggest that during the first and second phases of cooling, the Sea of Azov was characterized by conditions of shallow waters with relatively high salinity and specific hydrodynamics. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.