Proliferation and demise of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean during the Younger Dryas Malcolm McCulloch a,d, ⁎, Marco Taviani b , Paolo Montagna c,1 , Matthias López Correa b,2 , Alessandro Remia b , Graham Mortimer d a ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australian, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia b ISMAR-CNR, via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy c LSCE, Av. de la Terrasse, 91198 Gif-sur-Yvette, France, ISMAR-CNR, via Gobetti 101, I-40129 Bologna, Italy d Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra, 0200, Australia abstract article info Article history: Received 28 February 2010 Received in revised form 10 July 2010 Accepted 13 July 2010 Available online 21 August 2010 Editor: M.L. Delaney Keywords: deep-sea corals U-series dating Younger Dryas prolific demise environment Uranium-series and radiocarbon ages are reported for deep-sea corals Madrepora oculata, Desmophyllum dianthus, Lophelia pertusa and Caryophyllia smithii from the Mediterranean Sea. U-series dating indicates that deep-sea corals have persisted in the Mediterranean for over 480,000 years, especially during cool interstadial periods. The most prolific period of growth however appears to have occurred within the Younger Dryas (YD) period from 12,900 to 11,700 years BP followed by a short (~330 years) phase of post- YD coral growth from 11,230 to 10,900 years BP. This indicates that deep-sea corals were prolific in the Mediterranean not only during the return to the more glacial-like conditions of the YD, but also following the rapid deglaciation and transition to warmer conditions that followed the end of the YD. Surprisingly, there is a paucity Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) coral ages, implying they were largely absent during this period when cold-water conditions were more prevalent. Radiocarbon ages show that the intermediate depth waters of the Mediterranean generally had Δ 14 C compositions similar to surface waters, indicating that these waters were extremely well ventilated. The only exception is a narrow period in the YD (12,500 ± 100 years BP) when several samples of Lophelia pertusa from the Ionian Sea had Δ 14 C values falling significantly below the marine curve. Using a refined approach, isolation ages (τ isol ) of 300 years to 500 years are estimated for these intermediate (800–1000 m) depth waters relative to surface marine waters, indicating a reduction or absence of deep-water formation in the Ionian and adjacent Adriatic Seas during the YD. Contrary to previous findings, we find no evidence for widespread intrusion of low Δ 14 C Atlantic waters into the Mediterranean. Prolific growth of deep-sea corals in the Mediterranean ended abruptly at ~10,900 years BP, with many of the coral-bearing mounds on the continental slopes being draped in a thin veneer of mud. Their demise is attributed to a number of factors, including the direct loss of habitat due to high sedimentation that accompanied glacial meltwater pulses, together with rising temperatures that would have finally pervaded the deeper water of the Mediterranean following the onset of Holocene warming. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Deep-sea, cold-water corals have been recognized in the Mediter- ranean for some time (e.g. Pérès and Picard, 1964; Sartori, 1980; Zibrowius, 1980; Delibrias and Taviani, 1985), but only recently have oceanographic surveys begun to reveal their full extent and distribution (Taviani et al., 2005a; Freiwald et al., 2009 and references therein). While the majority of the Mediterranean cold-water corals are sub-fossil, an increasing number of living bathyal cold-water coral sites have been discovered in particular topographic and oceano- graphic settings, such as submarine highs and banks (e.g. Apulian bank), sea straits (e.g. Strait of Sicily), and near canyon heads (e.g. E- Iberian and Catalan/S-French margin) (Zibrowius, 1980; Tunesi and Diviacco, 1997; Galil and Zibrowius, 1998; Mastrototaro et al., 2002, 2010; Tursi et al., 2004; Álvarez Pérez et al., 2005; Remia and Taviani 2005; Taviani et al., 2005b; Schembri et al., 2007; Freiwald et al., 2009; Orejas et al., 2009; Malinverno et al., 2010; Rosso et al., 2010; Vertino et al., 2010 and references therein). In Recent and fossil occurrences the main cold-water coral mound framebuilders are the colonial corals Madrepora oculata and Lophelia pertusa, which are often accompanied by the solitary coral Desmophyllum dianthus (Taviani et al., 2005a; Freiwald et al., 2009 and references therein). Earth and Planetary Science Letters 298 (2010) 143–152 ⁎ Corresponding author. ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, School of Earth and Environment, The University of Western Australian, Crawley, 6009, Western Australia. E-mail address: malcolm.mcculloch@uwa.edu.au (M. McCulloch). 1 Present address: LDEO, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY, USA. 2 Present address: GZN, GeoZentrum Nordbayern, Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Loewenichstr. 28, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany. 0012-821X/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2010.07.036 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Earth and Planetary Science Letters journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/epsl