Abstract Carbonate sediments have been produced and deposited in areas of active volcanism since at least the Paleoarchean. Despite early recognition of a significant relationship between volcanism and marine carbonate systems, research in this field has been largely neglected. With increasing recognition of the accelerating effects and significance of anthropogenically driven climate change on the ocean–atmosphere system, the time is ripe for studying volcanism-influenced carbonates as a natural analogue for future environmental scenarios. We undertake a detailed assessment of the state-of-the-science in our understanding of these systems. We identify significant bilateral division in approaches, with the geological and biological communities rarely interacting. The study of ancient volcanic-carbonate systems, in particular, appears to have ‘fallen between two stools’ with both the volcanic and sedimentological communities shying away from studying these cross-disciplinary systems. Observations of recent volcanic–carbonate interactions are challenging; long periods of volcanic quiescence are punctuated by brief episodes of activity. Recent developments in robust remotely deployable instrumentation offer an opportunity to safely undertake sustained monitoring of these systems before, during and after eruptions. Informed assessment of the likely responses of carbonate ecosystems to future climatic challenges requires the initiation of an integrated, collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach to studying the complex interactions within these challenging mixed depositional systems.

Previous palynological studies of the Caspian–Black Sea–Mediterranean corridor primarily focused on pollen and spores for paleoecological and chronostratigraphic studies. Until recently, there has been less emphasis on the nonpollen palynomorphs, such as dinoflagellate cysts, algal and fungal spores, and animal remains. New studies of nonpollen palynomorphs in land-locked seas, estuaries, and lakes reported here indicate that they are important markers of salinity, nutrient loading, and human activity, including ballast discharge, farming, and soil erosion. We describe the nonoxidative laboratory processing methods necessary to extract nonpollen palynomorphs from marine- and brackish-water sediment samples. We list 48 nonpollen palynomorphs taxa from 37 surface sediments (including the past millennium) for cores along the salinity gradient from <16‰ off the Danube Delta to >39‰ in the Aegean, Mediterranean, and Red Seas, for two Crimean saline lakes, the Caspian and Aral Seas, and for lakes in Iran and Kazakhstan. The main nonpollen palynomorphs taxa are illustrated and listed systematically to provide a baseline for future collaborative studies among Black Sea corridor palynologists. We outline the biological affinities of some nonpollen palynomorphs and discuss the initial results of the study in terms of what nonpollen palynomorphs may reveal about the history of the salinity in the Black Sea corridor and the impact of humans on soil erosion, plankton production, and harmful algal blooms.

Abstract Devonian reef systems are thought to represent the greatest phase of global reef development in the Phanerozoic. Despite this, ecological and environmental controls on the sedimentary nature of these vast systems have scarcely been investigated and remain enigmatic. The Late Devonian (Frasnian) Alexandra Reef System, exposed in the Northwest Territories of Canada, developed on a ramp that was situated on the western margin of Laurussia. The system consists of two reef complexes. The second reef complex developed basinwards of the first after sea level fell ~ 17 m. In contrast to stromatoporoid (± coral)-dominated reef facies in the first reef complex and the upper part of the second reef complex, reef facies in the lower part of the second reef complex are dominated by stromatoporoid-microbe associations. These include significant renalcid boundstone and stromatolite accumulations that are not found elsewhere in the reef system. It is concluded that the occurrence of the stromatoporoid-microbe reef facies indicates that a shift in the reef environment from oligotrophic to mesotrophic conditions took place. The mechanisms of nutrification were linked to the platform geometry, sea-level position, and oceanographic system, indicating that on carbonate ramps, systems tracts of falling sea level (forced regression) and sea-level lowstand may be particularly susceptible to nutrification. A nutrient-gradient model developed to explain different types of reef facies in the Alexandra Reef System indicates that trophic resources were an important control on the composition of Devonian reef-building communities, and that Devonian reefs and carbonate platforms were not highly susceptible to nutrient-invoked drowning.