Vegetation markers of palaeoclimate cyclical changes in the Pliocene of Punta Piccola (Sicily, Italy)

Astronomically driven climate changes are recorded in mineralogical composition of marine sediments. In order to view the implications of precession cycles on continental vegetation, high-resolution records of pollen and fresh water algae are presented in five precession cycles (no. 104–108, age 3.00–2.92 Ma) from the central Mediterranean Punta Piccola section (Pliocene). Each cycle has been subdivided into four phases based on the pollen composition. Three phases represent the brown, laminated part of the cycle (formed during precession minima). Their pollen associations suggest relatively heavy precipitation and high temperatures. The fourth phase represents the light, carbonate-rich part of the precession cycles, and its pollen associations express arid conditions. This phase also experiences maxima in percentages of palygorskite and higher pollen input from the South.