Paleoenvironmental changes and sea-level fluctuations record at Punta de s’Avançada, Mallorca Island

Abstract

Coastal landscapes are the most sensitive system to abrupt climate changes and important archives of past changes and can be used to reconstruct possible future scenarios potentially undergoing recurrent extreme climatic events. Evidence of this change can be observed in the study area of this paper, Punta de s’Avançada in Pollença, Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Spain). The stratigraphic record from the Punta de s'Avançada outcrop in North Mallorca provides valuable insights into the paleoenvironmental changes driven by Heinrich (HE) and Dansgaard-Oeschger (DO) events during the late Pleistocene. Detailed analysis of six distinct sedimentary units (U1-U6) reveals the significant impact of abrupt climatic shifts on sediment supply, depositional environments, and sea-level fluctuations. The cold, arid conditions during HE events, particularly H4 and H5, promoted extensive dune formation in Units U4 and U6, while the warmer, wetter conditions during DO events facilitated alluvial and colluvial deposition in Units U1 and U5. By integrating OSL dating with climatic oscillations, this study demonstrates the influence of millennial-scale HE and DO events on sedimentary processes in coastal landscapes of the western Mediterranean. The results show ages between 34 and 91 ka, suggesting a time interval between MIS 3 and MIS 5a. The findings underline the dynamic interplay between climate, sea level, and sedimentation in shaping Pleistocene coastal environments, contributing to a deeper understanding of the region response to glacial cycles and abrupt climate events.