Variability in Alboran Sea benthic foraminifera faunas during Heinrich 6 event

Heinrich events are cold periods during which icebergs discharge took place in the North Atlantic Ocean. Those cold events modified both the surface water temperature and the North Atlantic deep water formation, thus influencing bottom water ventilation. The present study has been carried out in core ODP 977 from the Alboran Sea in order to analyze the variations in the deep sea water formation in the Western Mediterranean Sea during Heinrich Event 6. During non-Heinrich events benthic foraminifera Cibicidoides pachyderma and Globobulimina spp. dominated the foraminifer association, but during Heinrich Events modification in the amount of the oxygen and organic matter in the environment ocurred, with the consequence of an uprise in the Cassidulina laevigata presence. Those observed changes during Heinrich Event 6 in Western Mediterranean Sea are similar to those previously described by other authors in North Atlantic sediment