KADiR HAS UNIVERSITY . " .CIBALI CAMPUS

HALiC;, iSTANBUl- TURKEY

8 - 15 OCTOBER 2005

UNESCO - JGCP - IUGC The International Geoscience Programme

1st PLENARY MEETING AND FIELD TRIP OF PROJECT IGCP - 521 BLACK SEA-MEDITERRANEAN CORRIDOR DURING THE LAST 30 KY:

SEA LEVEL CHANGE AND HUMAN ADAPTATION (2005 - 2009)

http://www .av lon-institute.org/IGCP http:/ /www.khas.edu.tr

IGCP 521 "Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridor during last 30 ky: Sea level change and human adaptation", First Plenary Meeting, Istanbul, Turkey, October 8-15, 2005

The newest geological history of the Black Sea and problem about the flood

Oimitrov O. p' 1, Oifnitrov p. S.2, So/akov D. P. 3 and Peychev V. 0. 4

1,2.3.4Institute of Oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria, margeo@io-bas.bg

Keywords: marine geology, Black sea, Quaternary , Flood, sapropel

Shorelines in the Black Sea basin have shifted frequently during the Quaternary Over the last two million years, the Mediterranean Sea has been in constant exchange with the At­lantic Ocean , but its connection with the Black Sea through the Bosphorus has been dis­rupted and then re-established many times. During the period of continental glaciations, the level of the Black Sea would fall below the Bosphorus sill , whereupon the waters would freshen and the Sea would turn into a large inland lake. During the interglacial peri­ods, rising water in the Mediterranean Sea and Sea of Marmara would restore the con­nection , resulting in the creation of sapropels, sediments that result from the catastrophic event in the Black Sea environment which happened 8 thousand years ago.

Ancient coastlines have left permanent traces along the continental shelf and slope, and they exist today as relict seafloor features and offshore deposits that together create a well defined sea complex in the littoral relief. The oldest basin coastline is located along the upper continental slope at depths between 155-170 m. It is represented by coastal gravel deposits that were intensely lithified with fragments of Upper Pliocene mollusks during the Gunz glacial period. The saline (marine) Chaudinian basin occupied the areas of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Its sedi­ments formed at the time of the Gunz-Mindel interglacial period.

The Old Euxinian and Usunlarian (Paleothyren) coastlines are representative of the con­trasting character of climatic and geological events during the Riss-Wurm interglacial and Wurm glacial periods. The Karangatian transgression left clear evidence along the mod­ern Black Sea and Mediterranean Sea coast. There are two terraces preserved along the Bulgarian coast -at depths of 10-12 m and 20-25 m, respectively. Karangatian deposits from the Lake of Varna are dated between 90,000-120,000 years BP. Post-Karangatian or Neoeuxinian regressions occurred during the Wurm glaciation. The freshwater of the Black Sea basin flowed out into the Mediterranean Sea between 14,000-12,000 years BP. Subsequently, the lake level decreased rapidly to 90-120 m below the contemporary level. As global sea level continued to rise, the Mediterranean Sea level rose above the Black Sea level , ultimately resulting in a catastrophic inflow of seawater about 7,500 years BP The Neoeuxinian coastline was submerged, and the Black Sea level equilibrated with the Mediterranean Sea level.

There is both geological and archaeological evidence for the Black Sea flood. This gives us a reason to suggest that the flood described in the Bible and in the Sumerian epics may have occurred in the Black Sea. The ancient Black Sea coastlines are products of transgressive and regressive cycles during the Pleistocene, and they were formed by wave erosion, sediment transport, and depositional processes occurring on the shelf.

References

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IGCP 521 "Black Sea-Mediterranean Corridor during last 30 ky: Sea level change and human adaptation", First Plenary Meeting, Istanbul, Turkey, October 8-15, 2005

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