Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene vegetation and climate changes at the European scale: Long pollen records and climatostratigraphy

The biostratigraphically calibrated long pollen record at DSDP Site 380 (southwestern Black Sea) displays a high-resolution continuous and contrasted evolution of the vegetation in the region for the entire Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene. An accurate correlation is established with the reference global oxygen isotopic curve and with the Northwestern European climatostratigraphy. Climatostratigraphic relationships are evident at the latitudinal and longitudinal scale of Europe, confirming the extensive strength of pollen analysis as a tool for correlations over large distances.