The southern Red Sea is a key region for investigating the effect of climate forces on a semi-closed basin. Detailed micropaleontological (planktic foraminifera) and isotopic (δ¹⁸Ο, δ¹³C) analyses along with reconstructions of sea surface temperature and salinity on a sediment core from the Farasan banks revealed the imprints of sea level changes and the South Asian Monsoon on the area. Comparison with surrounding records provided insights on the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden (GoA)-Northwestern Arabian Sea (NWArS) water exchange pattern over the last 30 ka. During glacial sea-level lowstand, flow of water from the GoA prevented hypersalinity in the southern Red Sea. Deglacial sea level rise improved water mass exchange between the NWArS, GoA and the entire Red Sea, resulting in relatively similar surface water conditions during the early Holocene when sea-level rise slowed. Thus, sea level change is the major driver of Red Sea δ¹⁸O variability. Southwest Monsoon (SWM), which was dominant during the late glacial and Early–Middle Holocene, enhanced surface productivity in the southern Red Sea. Northeast Monsoon (NEM) dominated around Heinrich stadial 1, as indicated by a nearly aplanktonic zone that was probably caused by restricted GoA inflow and low productivity.

Expedition 381 facies associations

The Patras Gulf Pockmark field is located in shallow waters offshore Patras City (Greece) and is considered one of the most spectacular and best-documented fluid seepage activities in the Ionian Sea. The field has been under investigation since 1996, though surveying was partially sparse and fragmentary. This paper provides a complete mapping of the field and generates new knowledge regarding the fluid escape structures, the fluid pathways, their origin and the link with seismic activity. For this, data sets were acquired utilising high-resolution marine remote sensing techniques, including multibeam echosounders, side-scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers and remotely operated vehicles, and laboratory techniques focusing on the chemical composition of the escaping fluids. The examined morphometric parameters and spatial distribution patterns of the pockmarks are directly linked to tectonic structures. Acoustic anomalies related to the presence of gas in sediments and in the water column document the activity of the field at present and in the past. Methane is the main component of the fluids and is of microbial origin. Regional and local tectonism, together with the Holocene sedimentary deposits, appear to be the main contributors to the growth of the field. The field preserves evidence that earthquake activity prompts the activation of the field.

The Corinth rift is counted among the most active tectonic grabens in the world, with extension rates up to 15 mm/yr (Western part). These high extension rates are associated with very strong seismic events that are, occasionally, responsible for submarine mass movements. These movements, their consequential bottom currents, and the differential river-discharging sediment accumulation in the whole gulf, strongly affect the modern marine sedimentary processes. The definition and understanding of these processes is the main aim of this project. This is attempted through via sedimentological, mineral and geochemical analyses on sediment samples from two ~1.1 m long, sediment cores from a WE submarine canyon (10 km long, 3 km wide) that lies in the Western tip of the gulf. The general sedimentation motif reveals the presence of hemipelagic deposits which are occasionally interrupted by sandy turbidites. Occasionally, these turbidites seem to have seismic origin. The sedimentation rates range between 2.57 mm/yr in the western part and 0.67 mm/yr in the eastern part.