Résumé
Clay mineralogy, pollen record and pollen-based reconstructions were performed over the last climatic cycle on the Site ODP 976 (Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean). These proxies show that several droughts occurred during the past 50 kyr. Enhanced contribution of wind-blown palygorskite and development of the semi-arid vegetation (Artemisia rich) occurs during the North Atlantic Cold climatic events (Heinrich events). The peculiar clay mineral association and the presence of Argania pollen grains pinpoint Western Morocco as a major source for wind-blown particles during the Heinrich events. Clay mineral and pollen associations indicate the development of semi-desert environment and the intensification of winds favoring dust erosion and transport from Sahara toward the Alboran Sea during the North Atlantic Heinrich events. Quantitative climate reconstructions performed on the ODP976 pollen record have yielded the reconstruction of ombrothermic diagrams for past key periods. They reveal that annual precipitations regime in the west Mediterranean area were rather different during Heinrich events than today with drastic drought during the whole year. As a comparison, the reconstructed Holocene and stadials annual climatic cycles are very similar to present-day distribution, with dry conditions restricted to summertime. During these cold climatic events, the drastic fall in both precipitations and temperatures suggest cold and arid continental conditions in the West Mediterranean area. These regions were suffering from reduced precipitations not only during winter but also during spring and fall usually experiencing wet conditions. Such a major modification, with repetitive cold and dry-conditions in both winter and spring, should have deeply affected the development of temperate forest -sensitive to precipitation amount- and of the Mediterranean forest which lives under warm-dry summer and mild-humid winter conditions. These clay- and pollen-based reconstructions imply atmospheric conditions close to the present day positive situation of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) during these droughts that resulted in high-pressure stability over the west Mediterranean and favored meridian wind transport from the South.