Transportation of coniferous bisaccate pollen from land to sea and deposition along the shelf off Erdemli (Turkey), N.E. Mediterranean Sea

Transportation and deposition of coniferous bisaccate pollen grains from high in the coastal mountains to the Turkish coastal shelf waters in the northeastern Mediterranean Sea are investigated using seawater, atmospheric dust, river water, and core sediment samples. Bisaccate coniferous pollen grains are transported from the hinterland by the coastal land-breeze system and by coastal river-runoff into the Mediterranean Sea during the pollen dispersal period (April and May) each year. These pollen grains are also concentrated along the coastal zone by sea to land winds and dispersed over the sea surface by the land to sea winds. Pollen distribution patterns in core sediments along the shelf are dependent mainly on the recent climatic oscillations, the coastal urbanization density, and the energy level of the shelf water. Calculated recent bulk sedimentation rates in the region average 0.53 cm/year for the last 34 years along the Turkish shelf of the N.E. Mediterranean Sea.