The distribution pattern of Helicosphaera inversa (Gartner) Theodoridis is examined from a mid-latitude North Atlantic core (MD01-2446) and two Mediterranean cores (Ocean Drilling Program-ODP Site 975 and Core KC01B) throughMarine Isotope Stage (MIS) 13 to 9. The earliest rare occurrences are observed from the uppermost part of MIS 12, while common and continuous abundances characterize MIS 11. The paleoenvironmental framework of the study cores suggests that the taxon thrived in warm surface waters. Correlation with new data fromplanktonic foraminifera also suggests that H. inversa may have only flourishedwithin a limited salinity range. Comparison with previous findings highlights major diachrony in the FO of the taxon between low and mid-latitude records. It first occurred at lower latitude in the Pacific as early as 0.8 Ma, while in the mid-latitude North Atlantic regions, it is not recorded before 0.51 Ma. The distribution of the taxon in the North Atlantic Ocean also apparently varies in relation with surface water masses and hydrographic fronts. The results suggest that the FO of H. inversa is ecologically controlled and needs to be used with caution in worldwide stratigraphic correlation.Nevertheless, the distribution of the specieswithin theMediterranean Basin can produce an invaluable ecostratigraphical signal.

Geomagnetic dipole moment (GDM) lows associated with polarity reversals or geomagnetic excursions induce significant modulation of the cosmogenic nuclide Beryllium-10 (10Be) production. Hence, the reconstruction of atmospheric 10Be production rates from natural archives such as marine sedimentary sequences or ice cores constitutes a complementary approach, independent from paleomagnetic measurements, to decipher past GDM fluctuations. This is particularly important in the Montalbano Jonico succession (South Italy) since it is candidate to host the Global Stratotype Section and Point of the Middle Pleistocene Stage but where the magnetostratigraphic positioning of the Matuyama–Brunhes boundary (MBB) has not been available up to now. This study presents (1) original authigenic 10Be cosmogenic nuclide and 9Be stable isotope results, and (2) new high-resolution benthic oxygen isotope record covering termination IX and Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 19. A robust chronological framework is established on the basis of (i) our oxygen isotope stratigraphy, using the strong analogies between MIS 1 and MIS 19c in terms of orbital forcing and CO2level, and (ii) one precise 40Ar/39Ar date obtained in the tephra layer V4. The authigenic 10Be/9Be ratio record marks the atmospheric 10Be overproduction linked to the dipole low accompanying the MBB transition, with a characteristic twofold increase of the 10Be production at the end of MIS 19c and early MIS 19b. This signature is similar to those described in both marine and ice core records. The detailed chronostratigraphy constrained by a radiometrically-dated tephra layer (773.9 ±1.3ka) within the MBB interval, makesit possible to discuss the structure and to assess the timing of the 10Be-production changes, and thus the MBB geomagnetic variations, with an unprecedented accuracy for a marine archive (sedimentation rates ∼80cm/ka). These new cosmogenic nuclide production signatures provide the only missing constraint required for retaining the Montalbano Jonico succession as a global-scale correlation reference section for the Early–Middle Pleistocene boundary.

The paleoenvironmental conditions through MIS 15-9 at the Mediterranean Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 975 were interpreted by high resolution study of calcareous plankton assemblages compared with available δ18O and δ13C records and high resolution paleoclimate proxies from the Atlantic Ocean. Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) have been estimated fromplanktonic foraminiferal assemblages using the artificial neural networks method. Calcareous plankton varied dominantly on a glacial–interglacial scale as testified by the SST record, foraminiferal diversity, total coccolith abundance and changes in warm-water calcareous nannofossil taxa. A general increase in foraminiferal diversity and of total coccolith abundance is observed during interglacials.Warmest SSTs are reached during MIS 11, while MIS 12 and MIS 10 represent the coldest intervals of the studied record. During MIS 12, one of the most extreme glacials of the last million years, occurrence of Globorotalia inflata and of neogloboquadrinids indicates a shoaling of the interface between Atlantic inflowing and Mediterranean outflowing waters. Among calcareous nannofossils the distribution of Gephyrocapsa margereli–Gephyrocapsa muellerae N 4 μm also supports a reduced Atlantic–Mediterranean exchange during MIS 12. Superimposed on glacial–interglacial variability, six short-term coolings are recognized during MIS 12 and 10, which appear comparable in their distribution and amplitude to the Heinrich-type events documented in the Atlantic Ocean in the same interval. During these H-type events, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s) and G. margereli– G.muellerae N 4 μmincrease as a response to the enhanced inflow of cold Atlanticwater into theMediterranean via the Strait of Gibraltar. Mediterranean surfacewater hydrography appears to have beenmost severely affected at Termination V during the H-type event Ht4, possibly as a response to a large volume of Atlantic meltwater inflow via the Strait of Gibraltar and/or to freshwater/terrigenous input deriving from local mountain glaciers. Three additional SST coolings are recorded through MIS 14–16, but these are not well correlated with Heinrich-type events documented in the Atlantic Ocean in the same interval; during these cooling episodes only the subpolar Turborotalita quinqueloba increases. These results highlight the sensitive response of the Mediterranean basin to millennial-scale climate variations related to Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet instability and support the hypothesis that the tight connection between high latitude climate dynamics andMediterranean sea surface water features can be traced through the Middle Pleistocene.

The study of otolith assemblages from the preevaporitic Messinian deposits allows the reconstruction of a fauna of 79 taxa of which 35 could be identiWed at the speciWc level. Three of these are new: Diaphus rubus, Myctophum coppa, and Uranoscopus ciabatta. The assemblages reXect mainly a neritic environment inXuenced by the oceanic realm. Analysis of the global present-day geographic distribution of 42 of the recognised Messinian genera indicates that 88% of these are still living in the Mediterranean, 98% in the Atlantic and 78% in the Indo-PaciWc realm. These results are in good agreement with the evolutionary trends documented for the Oligocene and Miocene teleost fauna, speciWcally an increase in percentage of genera inhabiting the modern Mediterranean, a very high percentage of Atlantic and Indo-PaciWc genera, and a slight fall of the importance of present-day Indo-PaciWc genera from the Rupelian up to the Late Miocene. Analysing the composition of the Early Messinian fauna at the level of nominal species indicates that about 53% of the species represented in the assemblages are still living in the Recent Mediterranean, and that a signiWcant number of these were already present in the Tortonian. It is interesting that these species are mainly neritic. This seems to conWrm that the close aYnity of the fossil assemblage with the present-day Mediterranean neritic fauna, which was already recorded at the genus level for the Rupelian fauna, persists during the Neogene and continues until the Pleistocene.

Fish otoliths arc herein used to estimate the depositional depth of the Early - Middle Pleistocene deposits at SE Zakynthos and SW Kephallonia Islands (Ionian Sea, Western Greece), through comparison with the modern bathymetric distributions of the identified fish taxa. These estimates provide a more detailed picture of the depth variations for the Gelasian - Ionian stage interval in the study areas. The Lower Pleistocene marine deposits of the Gerakas Formation (SE Zakynthos Island, Ionian Sea) were deposited at average depths of 400-450 meters, with eustacy playing an important role in the depth variability, between 1.95-1.73 Ma. An uplifting episode, followed by subsidence takes place between 1.73-1.66 Ma, taking the area to 200-300 meters of depth, and then back to 400-500 meters. However, the area seems uplifted again to 200-400 meters later on in the Calabrian stage (1.25-0.97 Ma). Sedimentation of the Akrotiri deposits (NW Kephallonia Island, Ionian Sea), during the same chronostratigraphic interval, took place in a similar setting. At the Early Pleistocene (1.95-1.73 Ma) this basin reached depths of 400-450 meters, with uplift and following subsidence taking place between 1.73-1.66 Ma. Overall, the application of fish otolith paleobathymetry in the study areas provide a detailed picture of the depth variations for the Early Quaternary interval and refine the currently hypothesized pattern of tectonic movements.

Integrated high resolution data from calcareous plankton assemblages (foraminifera and nannofossils) together with geochemical and mineralogical investigations have been collected at the on-land Montalbano Jonico section (southern Italy) in order to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental changes through Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 23–37. Time-series analysis on Globigerina bulloides and Cassidulina carinata δ18O records and on selected calcareous plankton proxies mainly revealed the occurrence of precession and obliquity forcing. The deposition of sapropel layers, which are interbedded in the Montalbano Jonico section, was driven by water column stratification (insolation cycle i-104) and enhanced sea surface water productivity (insolation cycle i-112, i-102 and i-86). Different paleoenvironmental conditions mark the sedimentary evolution of the section. From 1240 to 1082 ka (MIS 37–MIS 32), high percentage abundances of warm and oligotrophic planktonic foraminifera and calcareous nannofossil taxa indicate the establishment of oligotrophic and stratified surface water conditions. A key paleoenvironmental change occurred during MIS 31 (from about 1080 to 1065 ka),which was a very warminterglacial characterized by an increase of tropical–subtropical (Globigerinoides ruber group and Globigerinoides trilobus) and low salinity (Braarudosphaera bigelowii) sea surface water taxa. During this interval, more humid climate conditions coupled with changes in local paleomorphology may have triggered a higher and unusual freshwater input and the creation of a new entry point for sediment supply into the basin from a different drainage area. From about 1065 to 1010 ka (MIS 30– MIS 29), a cool and dry climate prevailed in the circum-Mediterranean area during a time of precession maxima. This favored lowered sea surface temperatures and an increase of polar-water Neogloboquadrina pachyderma left coiling. There are also indications of a reduction of the terrigenous input fromthe newsource area. From1010 ka upward (MIS 28–MIS 23), the higher abundances of Globigerina bulloides, Turborotalita quinqueloba and Calciosolenia spp. indicate enhanced productivity conditions probably related to high turbidity of sea surface waters triggered by a more conspicuous sediment input from land. Analysis of the long-term trends in the multiproxy patterns suggests that themajor paleoenvironmental changes occurred as a consequence of the combined effect of orbitally-controlled global climate and regional processes.

The early Quaternary stratigraphic and geographic distribution of teleostean fishes in the Ionian Sea (eastern Mediterranean) is examined based on the fossil otolith record. Through comparison between the western and the eastern Ionian early–middle Pleistocene deep-sea ichthyofauna, the stratigraphic distributions of nineteen taxa are revised. A new method of assemblage analysis is attempted, in order to discern the palaeoceanographic conditions prevailing at this time. The relative contributions of tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subpolar taxa to the surface, intermediate, and deepwater fish palaeofauna are calculated, using fossil material from Akrotiri (Kephallonia Island, Greece), Gerakas (Zakynthos Island, Greece) and Montalbano Jonico (Italy) sections, which span the Gelasian–Ionian time interval. Eleven distinct phases in the Ionian Sea palaeoceanographic evolution are distinguished, from prior 1.95 Ma to 0.61 Ma. Furthermore, a case study is conducted, to test the hypothesis that palaeoichthyofauna can be used to draw conclusions regarding the palaeocirculation patterns and their variability. In the Ionian Sea, the local production and/or Atlantic origin of the deep cold waters is registered already during the Gelasian. The presence of oceanic fish in the eastern Ionian can be explained by the existence of a strong anticyclonic gyre in the area during the early Quaternary, further indicating that the basin's geometry exhibited sufficient bathymetric variation to allow for the activation of the gyre.

A unique composite record from the Mediterranean area exposed on land and spanning the entire time interval of the Calabrian Stage is presented. The record is composed of the Vrica-Crotone section (Calabria, southern Italy) and the Montalbano Jonico section (Basilicata, southern Italy). The Vrica-Crotone section contains the proposed Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Calabrian Stage and extends from Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 65 to 37 for its Calabrian portion. The Montalbano Jonico section extends from MIS 37 to 17-16. Its upper portion contains MIS 19, which is known to occur close to the Matuyama/Brunhes reversal, and may represent a suitable horizon for the definition of the GSSP of the ‘Ionian’ Stage. Both sections are astronomically tuned, thus providing accurate ages for the bioevents. New biostratigraphic results and radiometric data on volcaniclastic layer V3 of the Montalbano Jonico section are presented together with an updated tuning of the section. A comparison with several Mediterranean and north Atlantic deepsea cores is also shown to verify the consistency and reliability of the biostratigraphic data. The Vrica-Crotone and Montalbano Jonico sections can be considered a suitable composite record for the Calabrian unitstratotype and support the revaluation of the unitstratotype concept in addition to the GSSP approach.