Late Pleistocene-Holocene evolution of the northern shelf of the Sea of Marmara

Two brief lacustrine episodes during MIS-5 suggest that the level of the Çanakkale outlet might have been as shallow as − 50 m in the past, a likelihood supported by submerged terraces along its margins bounding the modern central channel and the presence of an euryhaline biofacies in Unit L4.1 corresponding to MIS-5b. δ18O profiles and carbon-14 dating show that salinification of the SoM and the blossoming of bioherms evolved rapidly after the latest connection with the Mediterranean at 12 ka bp. However, freshening proceeded more slowly once the connection was severed.