WATER MASSES EXCHANGE THROUGH THE STRAIT OF SICILY DURING THE LAST DEGLACIAL PERIOD AND THE HOLOCENE

The main goal of this thesis is to explore the inter-basin connection between the eastern and the western Mediterranean (E- and W-Med, respectively) during the last deglacial and Holocene periods (last 15 kyr). The thesis is based on the study of a sediment core recovered at the west flank of Sicily channel (W-Sicily), strategically located under the current path of the surface Atlantic waters and directly below the present-day hydrographic boundary layer between the Eastern Mediterranean Sourced Water (EMSW) and the Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW). This key location allow to explore past changes in both surface and deep water exchange between the E and the W-Med. In this thesis, a …