Fig. (1) Bathymetric map of the Mediterranean Sea, surface water circulation in winter [17, 23] and Mediterranean cores’ location. Black circles and ellipses indicate: 1: ODP Site 963 cores; 2: LIW formation area [22, 23]; 3: MD95-2043 and ODP Site 977 cores [7, 51]; 4: MD01-2434 and MD01-2472 cores [60].