Grainsizeandmineralcompositionofcoresedimentswereusedtoinvestigateinfluencesofvariousterrestrialandmarineconditions,whichhaveprevailedonthesouthwesternBlackSeashelfduringtheHolocene.Siliciclasticmudwithsmallamountsofsandandgravelfromnearbycoastalhinterlandistheprincipalsedimenttype,whereassedimentsdepositedneartheshelfedgeandthe(I)stanbulStraitandofftheDuruLake(apaleo-rivermouth)constituedlargequantitiesofsandandgravelofbothbiogenicandterrigenicorigin.Variableamountsofaragonite,1nm-micas,quartz,feldspars,calciteanddolomiteconstitutethedominantnon-claymineralsinbulksediments.Theclaymineralassemblageinthe＜2μmfractionismadeupofsmectite,illite,kaoliniteandchlorite.Aragoniteandcalcitearemainlyderivedfrombenthicaccumulations,whereasfeldspars(mainlyplagioclase)andsmectitereflectmagmaticvolcanicprovenanceandthedistributionof1nm-micasandchloritecorrelatewithnearbymetamorphicsourcesonland.Nevertheless,grainsizeandmineraldistributiongenerallyindicateacombinationofeffectsofwindandwaveclimate,longshoreandoffshorecycloniccurrents,changingsea-levelstandsandnearbysourcerockandmorphologicalconditions.ItisalsosuggestedthatatleastpartofclaymineralscouldbederivedfromthenorthwesterlyDanubeRiverinput.
