Incremento de las tormentas al final del Último Interglaciar. ¿Está volviendo a ocurrir?

Abstract

Paleontological, geomorphologic and sedimentological analyses obtained over the last 30 years on the Spanish Mediterra- nean coast show a significant change in the weather at the end of the last interglacial period (MIS 5e). The warmest peak of MIS5e (135-120 ka; Hearty et al., 2007) has been dated on 135ka on the Spanish Mediterranean coast (Zazo et al., 2003). Between Cape of Gata and Cape of La Nao (Bardají et al., 2009) and on Formentera, this peak is characterised by the deve- lopment of beach-dune systems with oolitic facies, and by the presence of warm fauna (Strombus bubonius =Persististrombus latus) pointing to a warm climate with mild wind and wave conditions. At the end of the interglacial (117ka), the meteorologi- cal conditions change drastically, as can be seen by the high-energy facies, conglomerates with reddish clayey matrix, what indicates a greater intensity of rain and storms (Bardají et al., 2009), but still under the warm conditions that characterise this interglacial that allow the survival of S.bubonius. The increase in storms that have occurred recently along the Medite- rranean coast could be indicative of a situation similar to that of the last interglacial along our coasts.