evaporitic and biosiliceous cyclic sedimentation in the miocene of the gulf of suez depositional and diagenetic aspects abstract the middle to late miocene evaporite bearing formations which outcrop along the gebel zeit and gems highs in the southwestern gulf of suez egypt consist of thick calcium sulphate beds rhythmically interbedded with marlstones siltstones and claystones containing various amounts of biogenic silica as well as pure diatomites the calcium sulphate beds are composed mainly of gypsum and anhydrite subaqueous crustallisation in subpermanent brine ponds of marine origin predominated during deposition of the selenite and laminated gypsum early diagenetic interstitial growth of nodular anhydrite occurred episodically when the water level dropped in response to increasing salinity associated with the precipitation of halite in the deeper troughs nevertheless most of the nodular facies resulted from the burial conversion of gypsum to anhydrite which has been sometimes rehydrated into gypsum a last phase of gypsum dehydration has occurred at the surface related to the present hot and dry climatic conditions the biosiliceous deposits contain either well preserved opal a or diagenetically altered opal ct clinoptilolite quartz and even clays diatom frustules such diagenetic changes are commonly described in the oceanic biosiliceous deposits the fossil content of these diatomitic layers implies shallow marine conditions on the shelves of highs induced by block faulting the cyclic succession of evaporited and biosiliceous deposits recorded the alternation of high sea level stands associated with high organic productivity probably enhanced by seasonal input of nutrients and low sea level stands associated with hypersaline conditions and evaporite deposition locally the sharp contact between the diatomites and gypsum argues for a rapid evolution of salinity towards high concentration up to gypsum saturation and more the formation of finely laminated diatomitic sediments is known to require either high organic productivity or anoxic conditions in bottom intermediate waters and eventually both processes in the gebel zeit and gemsa areas a local association of the biosiliceous sediments with diagenetic carbonates and native sulphur resulting from processes of bacterial sulphate reduction confirms that anoxic conditions occurred in the deep water body or in the sediments large amounts of organic compounds were involved in these diagenetic processes immature organic matter was consumed during an early diagenetic stage of transformation it is assumed that this organic matter was supplied either by the biosilica rich interbeds or the organic rich laminated carbonates the initial organic content of the biogenic deposits was impoverished as early as the first stages of sedimentation and diagenesis although a large part of the organic matter could have been destroyed by these early diagenetic processes and further oxidation in outcrops these sediments can be considered as potential source rocks in nearby less exposed sequences

discrete plio pleistocene phases of tilting and counterclockwise rotation in the southeastern aegean arc rhodos greece early pliocene formation of the south aegean left lateral strike slip system the island of rhodos represents an uplifted block in the largely submerged southeastern aegean forearc it has a complex history of subsidence uplift and counterclockwise rotation during the plio pleistocene in response to the interplay between large scale geodynamic processes in this paper we present a new chronostratigraphic framework for the continental pliocene apolakkia basin of southwestern rhodos we combine these time constraints with recently published chronostratigraphic data from the marine plio pleistocene basins of northeastern rhodos to reconstruct rotational and vertical motions our palaeomagnetic results identify two rotation phases for rhodos c 10 9 6 counterclockwise ccw rotation between 3 8 and 3 6 ma and c 17 6 ccw rotation since 0 8 ma between these phases rhodos tilted to the se drowning the southeastern coast to a depth of 500 600 m between 2 5 and 1 8 ma then to the nw which resulted in the re emergence of the drowned relief between 1 5 and 1 1 ma we relate the rotations of rhodos to incipient formation of the south aegean sinistral strike slip system and the foundering of the rhodos basin the previously shown absence of messinian evaporites in the deep marine rhodos basin in combination with the 3 8 ma onset of ccw rotation of rhodos constrains the onset of the formation of the south aegean strike slip system between 5 3 and 3 8 ma the formation of this strike slip system is probably related to the interplay of oblique collision between the southeastern aegean region and the northward moving african plate the westward motion of anatolia gravitational spreading of the overthickened aegean lithosphere and the recently postulated southwestward retreat of the african subducted slab along a subduction transform edge propagator fault

event stratigraphy and paleoceanography in the fortuna basin southeast spain a scenario for the messinian salinity crisis the timing and duration of evaporitic deposition during the messinian in the mediterranean is poorly known to assist with this problem we have correlated sedimentological events at widely separated locations in the mediterranean and dated paleoceanographic events in the world ocean event stratigraphy our working hypothesis is as follows the messinian salinity crisis caused the formation of evaporites in a deep desiccated basin which implies that 1 the evaporites were deposited during a steady marine influx 2 multiple intervals of isolation led to drastic changes in the sediments and in the fauna of the mediterranean 3 the sea level of the mediterranean sea was mostly several hundreds of meters below that of the atlantic ocean and 4 the seaways betic and rif strait connecting the mediterranean with the atlantic during the late miocene were affected by eustatic sea level changes caused by antarctic glaciation we found supporting evidence in the sedimentological and paleoceanographic records in the betic strait fortuna and sorbas basins which was one of the sites of major inflow into the late miocene mediterranean sea drastic sea level changes and fluctuations during the late tortonian and messinian caused chronologically 1 the deposition of brackish sediments overlying marine deposits 2 the progradation of deltas 3 reef growth at lower levels and their destruction by erosion and coverage by conglomerates 4 evaporite deposition alternating with marine marls containing atlantic diatom assemblages and 5 five marine terrestrial cycles associated with coral reefs based on event stratigraphy the following scenario for the messinian salinity crisis is proposed the tripoli formation chron 6r1 5n2 5 93 5 7 ma the lower evaporites chron 5n2 5r 5 7 5 5 ma and the upper evaporites lowermost gilbert c 5 25 5 15 ma were deposited during influx of atlantic water into the mediterranean during this time a unidirectional circulation dominated from the atlantic through the betic strait only during the intra messinian inundation chron 5n1 into lowermost gilbert c 5 4 5 25 ma that occurred after a short intra messinian erosional event chron 5n1 5 5 5 4 ma was a normal bidirectional circulation pattern established this is reflected in the diatomites of the chicamo formation and the mediterranean site 124 as well as most likely in a reef on cyprus the marine record of the pliocene filling of the mediterranean is missing in these basins overall marine water inflow into the mediterranean through the betic strait dominated during the messinian the threefold marine terrestrial cyclicity with severe paleoceanographic changes in the fortuna and sorbas basins favor the deep desiccated basin model

neogene tectonics in the western mediterranean may have caused the messinian salinity crisis and an associated glacial event the messinian salinity crisis msc was a catastrophic event which led to the deposition of 106 km3 of evaporite in the mediterranean between 6 5 and 5 ma b p stratigraphic investigations have previously suggested that the progressive increase of salinity in the mediterranean leading to the msc may have been caused by tectonic narrowing and closure of seaways between the mediterranean and the atlantic detailed reconstruction of the tectonic history of the arc of gibraltar and adjacent alboran basin independently suggests 1 1 that the early miocene guadalquivir and alboran seaways closed and narrowed respectively near the end of the tortonian 7 ma b p and 2 2 that the tectonic arc of gibraltar progressively emerged above the sea level during the messinian 7 5 ma b p which caused together with a eustatic glacial lowering of the sea level the isolation and subsequent dessication of the mediterranean this is in agreement with a two stage history of the msc previously postulated on the basis of stratigraphical observations 1 1 deep basin deep water and 2 2 deep basin shallow water salt deposition the closure of the seaways between the mediterranean and the atlantic and the associated drop in world wide oceanic surface salinity may even have caused the kapitean optian glacial event about 5 5 ma b p

the tortonian salinity crisis of the eastern betics spain the late miocene depositional history of the lorca and fortuna basins both occupying an internal position in the eastern betics of spain is marked by a regressive sequence from open marine marls via diatomites and evaporites to continental sediments based on facies similarities these evaporites have often been correlated to the well known mediterranean evaporites of the messinian salinity crisis although this correlation was never substantiated by reliable chronological data in this paper we present an integrated stratigraphy of this regressive sequence which shows that the evaporites of the lorca and fortuna basins are entirely of late tortonian age and as such have no relation with the messinian salinity crisis the main phase of basin restriction resulting in deposition of diatomites and evaporites took place at 7 8 ma while the last marine deposits massive evaporites of the lorca basin are dated at 7 6 ma consequently this tortonian salinity crisis of the eastern betics had a duration of approximately 200 kyr while continental deposition prevailed throughout the entire messinian as also revealed by the fossil mammal record the tortonian salinity crisis of the eastern betics is obviously related to a local phase of basin restriction caused by uplift of the metamorphic complexes at the basin margins probably in concert with strike slip activity along sw ne trending fault systems the development of a submarine sill is of crucial importance for the increase in salinity because it allows marine waters to continuously enter the basin at the surface while it restricts or prevents the outflow of dense saline waters at depth furthermore we show that evaporite and diatomite cyclicity in these restricted basins is predominantly related to precession controlled circum mediterranean climate changes and that glacio eustatic sea level changes only play a minor role it is remarkable that the lithological sequence of the tortonian salinity crisis mimics in many aspects that of the messinian salinity crisis this suggests that the diatomaceous facies is an essential part of the lithological sequence associated with basin restriction fl 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

neogene tectonic evolution of the gibraltar arc new paleomagnetic constrains from the betic chain new paleomagnetic results from neogene sedimentary sequences from the betic chain spain are here presented sedimentary basins located in different areas were selected in order to obtain paleomagnetic data from structural domains that experienced different tectonic evolution during the neogene whereas no rotations have been evidenced in the late tortonian sediments in the guadalquivir foreland basin clockwise vertical axis rotations have been measured in sedimentary basins located in the central part of the betics the aquitanian to messinian sediments in the alcala la real basin and the tortonian and messinian sediments in the granada basin moreover counterclockwise vertical axis rotations associated to left lateral strike slip faults have been locally measured from sedimetary basins in the eastern betics the middle miocene to lower pliocene sites from the lorca and vera basins and locally the tortonian units of the huercal overa basin our results show that conversely from what was believed up to now paleomagnetic rotations continued in the betics after late miocene enhancing the role of vertical axis rotations in the recent tectonic evolution of the gibraltar arc

correlation of late miocene to early pliocene sequences between the mediterranean and north atlantic ocean drilling program odp site 982 in the north atlantic contains a complete latest miocene to early pliocene section that was tuned to the astronomical timescale by correlating the record of gamma ray attenuation gra bulk density to summer insolation at 65 n and the benthic 18o signal to orbital obliquity for the interval from 4 6 to 7 5 ma the astronomical tuning of the site 982 record permits a direct bed to bed correlation to the cyclostratigraphy of messinian sections in the mediterranean krijgsman et al 1999a 2001 the benthic 18o signal at site 982 records a latest miocene glacial period that lasted from 6 26 to 5 50 ma and consisted of 18 glacial to interglacial oscillations that were controlled by the 41 kyr cycle of obliquity although the intensification of glaciation at 6 26 ma may have contributed to the restriction of the mediterranean it preceded the depositional onset of the lower evaporite unit at 5 96 ma by some 300 kyr the transition from stage tg12 to tg11 at 5 5 ma marks the end of the latest miocene glacial period and precedes the miocene pliocene boundary by 170 kyr although benthic 18o values are relatively low and 18o of bulk carbonate reaches a minimum at the miocene pliocene boundary at 5 33 ma there is no single event that would indicate deglaciation and sea level rise as the cause of the reflooding of the mediterranean we conclude that glacioeustatic changes alone were not responsible for either the start or end of evaporite deposition during the messinian suggesting that tectonic or local climate changes in the mediterranean region were the dominant cause s

chronological overlap between humans and megafauna in sahul pleistocene australia new guinea a review of the evidence abstract over 60 faunal species disappeared from the australian continent during the middle late pleistocene most of these animals were large to gigantic marsupials birds and reptiles a terminal extinction date of 46 4 kyr has been proposed for the megafauna with all sites containing younger fossil megafauna dismissed by some researchers because of questions over stratigraphic integrity or chronologies the timing of the extinctions is argued to be broadly coincident with estimates of first colonization of the continent by modern humans and explanatory extinction models involving humans have subsequently gained currency however there is considerable evidence to suggest that in some parts of the continent people and some species of megafauna may have co existed well beyond 46 4 kyr in other places such as tasmania and the north of the continent there is no known record of a human megafauna temporal overlap a review of the available evidence indicates that only 13 species of megafauna were extant on human arrival in australia the archaeology of this period indicates that rather than a focus on big game hunting or firestick farming it was characterized by regional variability in subsistence strategies consistent with the range of environmental zones at the present time there is no substantive argument for a terminal extinction date of 46 4 kyr the current evidence indicating that there is no specific time period that correlates to any single mass extinction event on the basis of available evidence arguments for either human or climatic causation are entirely circumstantial and implicitly require acceptance of many unproven assumptions claims to have eliminated climate as a primary driver are premature and the recent focus on delivering proof of human causation in pleistocene faunal extinctions diverts attention from achieving a better understanding of the differential impacts of climate change and short term climatic flux in a land of environmental extremes

the abad composite se spain a messinian reference section for the mediterranean and the apts a high resolution integrated stratigraphy is presented for the abad marls of the sorbas and nijar basins in se spain preevaporitic messinian of the western mediterranean detailed cyclostratigraphic and biostratigraphic analyses of partially overlapping subsections were needed to overcome stratigraphic problems in particular encountered at the complex transition from the lower to the upper abad the resulting abad composite section contains a continuous stratigraphic record from the tortonian messinian boundary up to the transition to the messinian evaporites of the yesares member all together 18 calcareous plankton events were recognized which were shown to be synchronous throughout the mediterranean by means of detailed bed to bed cyclostratigraphic correlations the magnetostratigraphy allowed the identification of the four magnetic reversals of chron c3an in the upper abad details in the sedimentary cycle patterns allowed the abad composite to be astronomically calibrated this calibration to the 658n summer insolation curve of solution la90 1 1 yielded astronomical ages for all sedimentary cycles calcareous plankton bioevents ash layers and paleomagnetic reversals up to now the abad composite is the only astronomically well calibrated section that provided a reliable cyclostratigraphy magnetostratigraphy and calcareous plankton biostratigraphy as such it will serve as a reference section both for the pre evaporite messinian in the mediterranean as well as for the messinian interval in the astronomical polarity time scale q 2001 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

extending the astronomical polarity time scale into the miocene an astronomical time scale is presented for the late miocene based on the correlation of characteristic sedimentary cycle patterns in marine sections in the mediterranean to the 65 n summer insolation curve of la90 1 2 with present day values for the dynamical ellipticity of the earth and tidd dissipation by the moon this correlation yields ages for all sedimentary cycles and hence also for the recorded polarity reversals and planktonic foraminiferal and dinoflagellate events the tortonian messinian t m boundary placed at the first regular occurrence of the globorofuliu conomiozea group in the mediterranean is dated at 7 24 ma the duration of the messinian is estimated at 1 91 myr because the miocene pliocene boundary has been dated previously at 5 33 ma 3 the new time scale is confirmed by oar 3gar ages of volcanic beds and by the number of sedimentary cycles in the younger part of the mediterranean messinian

paleobathymetry in the backstripping procedure correction for oxygenation effects on depth estimates abstract this paper aims to provide a straightforward and easily applicable method for estimating the depositional depth evolution of marine basins vertical movements of the basin floor can be reconstructed from the sedimentary record and more accurately constrained when information from the sedimentary history is combined with palaeodepth estimates derived from fauna to this end we propose to extend an existing method based on the percentage of planktonic foraminifera with respect to the total planktonic and benthic foraminiferal association which is expressed as the percentage planktonics p the ratio between planktonic and benthic foraminifera is related to water depth and the p generally increases with increasing distance to shore however next to water depth the oxygen level of bottom waters has a profound effect on the abundance of benthic foraminifera and as such influences the p depending on basin configuration the oxygen level at the sea floor can vary on milankovitch time scales and is reflected by the fraction of benthic foraminiferal species that indicate an effect of oxygen stress on the biotic system these species can be used as stress markers and their percentage with respect to the total benthic population is here expressed as s to assess whether the effect of sea floor oxygenation impairs depth reconstructions we studied the percentage of planktonic foraminifera p in five well dated sedimentary successions from the lower pliocene of crete corfu and milos in greece additionally we assessed whether different foraminiferal size fractions and counting methods affect the determination of the percentage of planktonic foraminifera the palaeobathymetric evolution calculated for each basin was confirmed for all successions by an independent check on depth related occurrences of benthic foraminifera after correction for bathymetry changes of the basin due to sedimentation compaction and eustatic sea level variations the vertical movement history of the basin floor was inferred we propose a standard methodology for reconstructions of palaeobathymetry of marine sedimentary successions from foraminiferal associations

late miocene magnetostratigraphy biostratigraphy and cyclostratigraphy in the mediterranean a new chronology for the late miocene of the mediterranean is presented by combining magnetostratigraphic biostratigraphic planktonic foraminifera and dinoflagellates and cyclo stratigraphic data long and continuous upper miocene sections on gavdos metochia section and sicily gibliscemi section display cyclic alternations of homogeneous marls and sapropels and can be correlated on the basis of their distinct cyclic patterns the metochia section yields a good paleomagnetic signal and the position of 17 polarity reversals can be determined the resulting polarity sequence allows an unambiguous correlation to the geomagnetic polarity time scale gpts the paleomagnetic signal in the gibliscemi section is too weak to determine a reliable polarity sequence except for the lowermost part of the section detailed biostratigraphic analysis results in the identification of 13 planktonic foraminiferal and 9 dinoflagellate bioevents which can all be accurately dated the tortonian messinian boundary defined by the first regular occurrence fro of the g conomiozea group is determined in chron c3br 1r with an age of 7 12 ma according to the gpts ck95 of cande and kent 1

astrochronology for the messinian sorbas basin se spain and orbital precessional forcing for evaporite cyclicity the sorbas basin of se spain contains one of the most complete sedimentary successions of the mediterranean reflecting the increasing salinity during the messinian salinity crisis a detailed cyclostratigraphic study of these successions allows a correlation of the sedimentary cycle patterns to astronomical target curves here we present an astrochronological framework for the messinian of the central part of the sorbas basin this framework will form a solid basis for high resolution correlations to the marginal carbonate facies and to the central mediterranean area the early messinian abad member contains 55 precession induced sedimentary cycles marked by homogeneous marl opalrich bed alternations in the lower abad and by homogeneous marl sapropel alternations in the upper abad astronomical tuning results in an age of 5 96 ma for the transition to the yesares evaporites and thus for the onset of the messinian salinity crisis the marl sapropel cycles of the upper abad are replaced by gypsum sapropel cycles 14 in the yesares member indicating that the evaporite cyclicity is related to precession controlled oscillations in circum mediterranean climate as well as a consequence gypsum beds correspond to precession maxima insolation minima and relatively dry climate sapropelitic marls to precession minima insolation maxima and relatively wet climate an alternative glacio eustatic obliquity control for evaporite cyclicity can be excluded because the number of sedimentary cycles with a reversed polarity is too high sedimentation during the abad yesares and the overlying coastal sequences of the sorbas member took place in a continuously marine environment indicating that marine conditions in the sorbas basin prevailed at least until 5 60 5 54 ma according to our scenario deposition of the yesares and sorbas member took place synchronously with deposition of the lower evaporites in the central mediterranean finally the continental zorreras member consists of 8 sedimentary cycles of alternating reddish silts dry climate and yellowish sands wet climate which correlates very well with the upper evaporites and lago mare facies of the mediterranean q 2001 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

evolution of the late miocene mediterranean atlantic gateways and their impact on regional and global environmental change marine gateways play a critical role in the exchange of water heat salt and nutrients between oceans and seas as a result changes in gateway geometry can significantly alter both the pattern of global ocean circulation and associated heat transport and climate as well as having a profound impact on local environmental conditions mediterranean atlantic marine corridors that pre date the modern gibraltar strait closed during the late miocene and are now exposed on land in northern morocco and southern spain the restriction and closure of these miocene connections resulted in extreme salinity fluctuations in the mediterranean leading to the precipitation of thick evaporites this event is known as the messinian salinity crisis msc the evolution and closure of the mediterranean atlantic gateways are a critical control on the msc but at present the location geometry and age of these gateways are still highly controversial as is the impact of changing mediterranean outflow on northern hemisphere circulation here we present a comprehensive overview of the evolution of the late miocene gateways and the nature of mediterranean atlantic exchange as deduced from published studies focussed both on the sediments preserved within the fossil corridors and inferences that can be derived from data in the adjacent basins we also consider the possible impact of evolving exchange on both the mediterranean and global climate and highlight the main enduring challenges for reconstructing past mediterranean atlantic exchange

the monte carrubba formation messinian sicily and its correlatives new light on basin wide processes controlling sediment and biota distributions during the palaeomediterranean mediterranean transition abstract a little known marine miocene messinian succession in the hyblean region of south eastern sicily preserves a carbonate ramp sequence which developed on the tectonically stable foreland margins of the african plate pelagian block the ramp monte carrubba formation was distally steepened and contained a shoalwater barrier and lagoonal inner ramp complex the outer ramp is poorly preserved though distal deep water ramp facies tellaro formation in the south hyblean region preserve a full globorotalia mediterranea subzone and major part of the globigerina multiloba subzone succession this ramp sequence faithfully records the subtle interplay between the global eustatic curve and internal palaeomediterranean base level signatures for the late miocene the earliest second order palaeomediterranean lowstand occurred in the late tortonian at about 7 3 ma and a second occurred at about 6 75 ma within the early messinian g mediterranea subzone both were in the order of 40 m and global sea level was probably restored to the palaeomediterranean after the lowstands although the overriding control at the time was the global eustatic curve harmonic discrepencies between it and the palaeomediterranean curve resulted from constriction of the atlantic connection during the latest tortonian from about 6 4 ma until about 5 96 ma increasingly restricted conditions developed across the monte carrubba inner ramp these faithfully reflect many second order constriction driven palaeomediterranean sea level oscillations which were superimposed on to the falling global signal as the connecting atlantic seaways became constricted these oscillations resulted in major reductions in planktonic faunal diversity within the outer ramp followed by total emergence of the inner ramp by about 6 05 ma marine deposition continued until about 5 96 ma in the southern part of the hyblean region however between 6 05 ma and about 5 6 ma the amplitude of successive palaeomediterranean sea level oscillations increased to over 100 m causing prolonged periods of total palaeomediterranean isolation the hyblean carbonate suite also contains post messinian salinity crisis post msc lago mare highstand deposits which are developed unconformably above the monte carrubba formation the widespread distribution of hyposaline to near marine congeria faunas within the lago mare episode argues for high post msc mediterranean water levels in the central mediterranean late messinian in this article we draw together disparate regional evidence from this stable foreland setting and assimilate it with published data from regions lying on the european plate in order to demonstrate that the tectonically stable monte carrubba succession provides an unambiguous record of central palaeomediterranean base level change during the messinian furthermore the post msc sequence demonstrates a prolonged mediterranean base level rise throughout the late messinian leaving little readjustment necessary in order to restore mediterranean base level to global water levels in basal pliocene times

late miocene events in the mediterranean as recorded by carbonate evaporice relations the messinian stage in the mediterranean region is known mainly because of a major evaporitic event whose causes and global implications are still under discussion correlations between basinal evaporite bearing series and marginal carbonate platforms allow for improvement of the classical depostional models especially concerning the eustatic control of the environmental changes in the mediterranean these changes were controlled by the interplay of aperiodic and periodic factors 1 tectonics related to the relative motions of the african and eurasian plates and resultant linear increase in the basin restriction 2 sea level fluctuations that alternately aggravated the restriction or allowed marine replenishment and 3 climatic fluctuations that controlled the level of the mediterranean during stages of isolation the messinian sedimentary succession reflects a typical sequence of progressive isolation marine marls yields laminites yields transitional deposits yields evaporites yields lacustrine deposits the first stage of the so called salinity crisis was characterized by a mediterranean lowstand that resulted in erosion of former platforms and deposition of the lower evaporites during the next stage sea level rose tb3 3 cycle high enough to temporarily replenish the basin cyclic upper evaporites with development of stromatolite rich deposits finally the uppermost messinian freshwater to brackish lacustrine deposits reflect both themore cessation of sea water input maximum tectonic isolation low sea level and freshwater input related to increasing runoff less

sedimentological and paleoenvironmental scenario before during and after the messinian salinity crisis the san miguel de salinas composite section western mediterranean abstract a composite stratigraphic section ranging from the messinian to the pliocene recording the most important phases of the messinian salinity crisis is represented in the san miguel de salinas area bajo segura basin se spain detailed magnetostratigraphic and facies analyses and foraminifer and nannoplankton assemblage studies were carried out integration of the results has allowed the characterization of the pre evaporitic synthem messinian i syn evaporitic synthem messinian ii and post evaporitic phases synthem pliocene from a paleoenvironmental and chronostratigraphic standpoint the pre evaporitic phase is late messinian and records a shallowing upward trend the syn evaporitic phase took place in chron c3r and is characterized by laminated marls with intercalated selenitic gypsum beds and sandstones variations in foraminifer and nannoplankton assemblages together with episodic gypsum precipitation record major changes in water salinity in a stressed marine environment the pre and syn evaporitic phases are separated by the intra messinian unconformity represented by an erosional surface related with a sea level fall after the evaporitic phase a sea level fall generates the end messinian unconformity whose strongly erosional nature is evidenced by the deeply carved paleovalley of san miguel de salinas the post evaporitic phase begins in the earliest pliocene and records the re establishment of normal marine conditions in the basin since the san miguel de salinas composite section can be considered as a benchmark for the study of the evolution of marginal mediterranean basins during the messinian salinity crisis the detailed characterization of these different phases is of great importance in understanding this event

revised isotopic 40ar 39ar age for the lamproite volcano of cabezos negros fortuna basin eastern betics se spain abstract a new isotopic age of 7 71 0 11 ma 1 has been obtained with the 40ar 39ar incremental heating technique on phlogopites from the miocene volcanic rocks lamproites of the fortuna basin in southeast spain this age is significantly older than earlier reported k ar ages but confirms recent magnetostratigraphic ages on the sedimentary sequences of the eastern betics because the volcanic rocks are intercalated in the stratigraphic sequence of the fortuna basin directly above the transition from evaporitic to continental sediments it implies that the fortuna evaporites are older than 7 71 ma and thus of tortonian age in addition it shows that the volcanism in the fortuna basin must be attributed to a late tortonian deformation phase and not to messinian tectonics consequently these results form an important step towards a consistent chronological framework for the sedimentary tectonic and paleogeographic evolution of the fortuna basin during the late miocene

sedimentary and diagenetic markers of the restriction in a marine basin the lorca basin se spain during the messinian abstract the lorca basin southeastern spain is part of a chain of small marginal neogene basins located in the structurally active betic area the upper miocene messinian sequence is composed of a thick diatomite bearing series tripoli unit overlain by the main evaporites analogous to the classical succession that records the main events during the salinity crisis in the mediterranean region the shallow restricted conditions of this region amplified the sedimentary responses to local and global forcings an integrated approach using sedimentology micropalaeontology stable isotope geochemistry and organic geochemistry has been applied to the tortonian messinian succession of the lorca basin in order to obtain a continuous record of the environmental changes the sediments record two major events which affected the whole mediterranean 1 high levels of productivity that led to the formation of the diatomite bearing deposits in the early messinian tripoli and 2 the messinian salinity crisis with its two major stages represented by the halite and gypsum units both mainly precipitated from marine derived brines the rapid reflooding of the mediterranean by normal marine waters at the base of the pliocene did not reach the lorca basin nor other basins of this part of the betic area instead continental sediments were deposited as a consequence of the regional uplift of se iberia which started close to the messinian pliocene boundary the most prominent feature of this basin concerns the record of its restriction by the time of the deposition of the tripoli unit which led to intercalations of precursor evaporitic layers consisting of ca sulphate deposited in sub aqueous and sabkha conditions interbedded with diatomites this alternation of evaporites and diatomites proves that the lorca basin was periodically restricted and reflooded by marine waters a possible cause for this being relative sea level fluctuations in the mediterranean this strengthens evidence of diachronism that suggests that the onset of the first messinian evaporitic deposition was not synchronous but was dependent on bathymetry and local tectonics high productivity during the early messinian in this basin is demonstrated by the thick deposits of diatomites however stagnation episodes may have occurred during this interval as suggested by the preservation of high amounts of organic matter organic rich shales and the extent of bacterial sulphate reduction which apparently occurred during early diagenesis the formation of organo sulphur compounds replacement of sulphates by carbonates and the high levels of elemental sulphur are by products of diagenetic processes occurring in a restricted hypersaline environment

cyclically arranged storm controlled prograding lithosomes in messinian terrigenous shelves bajo segura basin western mediterranean abstract this work focuses on a messinian shallow marine terrigenous unit termed the la virgen formation which forms part of the sedimentary infill of the bajo segura basin betic margin of the western mediterranean this formation was deposited during a high sea level phase prior to the onset of the messinian salinity crisis stratigraphically it comprises a prograding stack of sandstone lithosomes alternating with marly intervals 1st order cyclicity these lithosomes are characterized by a homoclinal geometry that tapers distally and interfinger with pelagic sediments rich in planktonic and benthic microfauna torremendo formation an analysis of sedimentary facies of each lithosome reveals a repetitive succession of sandy storm beds tempestites which are separated by thin marly layers 2nd order cyclicity each storm bed contains internal erosional surfaces 3rd order cyclicity that delimit sets of laminae two categories of storm beds have been differentiated the first one includes layers formed below storm wave base swb characterized by traction structures associated to unidirectional flows the second category consists of layers deposited above the swb which display typical high regime oscillatory flow structures the 1st order cyclicity recorded in the la virgen formation corresponds to sapropel homogeneous marl precessional cycles formed in a pelagic basin context torremendo formation

post evaporitic restricted deposition in the middle miocene chokrakian karaganian of east crimea ukraine abstract in the middle miocene of east crimea gypsum evaporites formed in a shallow basin from mixed seawater nonmarine waters are overlain by marl siltstone and claystone which contain a few horizons of stromatolitic limestone the thickness and abundance of the stromatolitic horizons increase up the section in the siliciclastic portion of the section a very poor and taxonomically impoverished assemblage of benthic foraminifers jadammina nonion haynesina astrononion and eponides is recorded it is typical for a shallow water marsh or lagoon environment with a lowered salinity accordingly the brackish conditions prevailing during gypsum precipitation in east crimea continued afterwards although at the end of evaporite deposition the basin became desiccated and then it was rapidly reflooded by brackish water the impoverished biota and the occurrence of microbialites in the ptashkino section indicate extremely unfavourable conditions for most living organisms during the deposition of both the terrigenous and carbonate beds the water salinity thus was probably not only lowered but also anomalous in composition if compared to normal marine water the occurrence of carbonate stromatolitic horizons is probably related to the periodic shallowing of the basin caused by a drop of the lake water table driven by climatic factors the resulted changes allowed for a growth of the bizarre microbial serpulid communities that gave birth to most of the stromatolites in karaganian time the eastern paratethys was a huge lake isolated from the tethys this lake responded to any climatic fluctuation that in turn might lead to water level oscillations in humid climate periods the lake could be open with a surface outflow and when it was drier it could be a closed system without surface outflow gypsum evaporites and stromatolitic carbonates are clear evidence of strong evaporation in a dry climate that probably induced water level fall in the whole basin however all the time the environmental conditions were predominantly brackish even during gypsum precipitation as suggested by the chemical composition of fluid inclusions in gypsum similar conditions may be expected in other evaporite hosted predominantly brackish basins such as some messinian basins of the eastern mediterranean where some evaporites were deposited in the oligohaline to mesohaline conditions typical of the lago mare deposits

chronology causes and progression of the messinian salinity crisis the messinian salinity crisis is widely regarded as one of the most dramatic episodes of oceanic change of the past 20 or so million years 1 3 earliest explanations were that extremely thick evaporites were deposited in a deep and desiccated mediterranean basin that had been repeatedly isolated from the atlantic ocean1 2 but elucidation of the causes of the isolation whether driven largely by glacio eustatic or tectonic processes have been hampered by the absence of an accurate time frame here we present an astronomically calibrated chronology for the mediterranean messinian age based on an integrated high resolution stratigraphy and tuning of sedimentary cycle patterns to variations in the earth s orbital parameters we show that the onset of the messinian salinity crisis is synchronous over the entire mediterranean basin dated at 5 96 0 02 million years ago isolation from the atlantic ocean was established between 5 59 and 5 33 million years ago causing a large fall in mediterranean water level followed by erosion 5 59 5 50 million years ago and deposition 5 50 5 33 million years ago of non marine sediments in a large lago mare lake sea basin cyclic evaporite deposition is almost entirely related to circum mediterranean climate changes driven by changes in the earth s precession and not to obliquity induced glacio eustatic sea level changes we argue in favour of a dominantly tectonic origin for the messinian salinity crisis although its exact timing may well have been controlled by the 400 kyr component of the earth s eccentricity cycle

did glacio eustatic sea level drop trigger the messinian salinity crisis new evidence from ocean drilling program site 654 in the tyrrhenian sea it has long been speculated that glacio eustatic sea level drop may have caused or contributed to the isolation and consequent desiccation of the mediterranean in the late miocene the messinian salinity crisis ocean drilling program site 654 on the sardinia margin of the tyrrhenian sea is the first deep sea drill site to penetrate through upper messinian evaporites into lower messinian upper tortonian open marine sediments and thus offers a unique opportunity to date the onset of the salinity crisis a reexamination of the magnetostratigraphic biostratigraphic and stable isotope stratigraphic constraints on the preevaporite sediments of site 654 has yielded two possible ages for the contact between salinity crisis sediments and the underlying normal marine sediments one magnetostratigraphic interpretation plus the biostratigraphically determined position of the tortonian messinian boundary imply a date of about 6 2 ma for the youngest presalinity crisis sediments an alternative magnetostratigraphic interpretation plus the carbon isotope stratigraphy imply a date of about 5 2 ma the younger of these dates coincides with a 18o spike in open ocean sediments keigwin 1987 which is attributed to increased ice volume

palaeomagnetic constraints on the geodynamic evolution of the gibraltar arc subduction zone roll back was recently put forward as a convincing model to explain the geometry and evolution of the gibraltar arc for other subduction related arc systems of the mediterranean such as the calabrian arc and the hellenic arc palaeomagnetic rotation data from neogene extensional basins provided important constraints on geodynamic evolution models here we present the results of a palaeomagnetic study of 13 continuous sections that are located in e w transects across the neogene sedimentary basins of morocco and spain they provide evidence that no significant rotation about vertical axes has occurred in the gibraltar arc since the late tortonian comparison with other mediterranean arc systems shows strong similarities as regards geodynamic evolution the timing of rotation in the gibraltar arc is markedly older than in the calabrian and hellenic arcs and suggests that it is related to the first neogene extensional phase of the western mediterra

integrated stratigraphy and astrochronology of the messinian gssp at oued akrech atlantic morocco a much improved high resolution integrated stratigraphy calcareous plankton biostratigraphy magnetostratigraphy cyclostratigraphy is presented for the classic section of oued akrech atlantic morocco straddling the tortonian messinian boundary magnetobiostratigraphic correlations with time equivalent and astronomically dated sections in the mediterranean indicate that cyclic alternations of indurated light beige coloured marls and softer more clayey and reddish coloured marls are dominantly precession controlled characteristic sedimentary cycle patterns in particular those reflecting precession obliquity interference allow for one possible tuning thus providing accurate astronomical ages for cycles calcareous plankton events and magnetic reversals the tuning further indicates that the reddish layers are the equivalent of sapropels in the mediterranean the messinian global boundary stratotype section and point gssp has recently been formally defined at the base of the reddish layer of cycle no 15 in section oued akrech this level coincides closely with the first regular occurrence of the globorotalia miotumida group and is astronomically dated at 7 251 ma the global correlation potential is guaranteed by the straightforward calibration of the oued akrech magnetostratigraphy to the geomagnetic polarity time scale locating the gssp within c3br 1r in the marine realm the calcareous nannofossil genus amaurolithus provides a series of extremely useful events to delimit the boundary on a global scale the astronomical tuning guarantees a direct first order calibration of the messinian gssp to the standard geological time scale once as anticipated the late miocene part of the astronomical time scale has been incorporated fl 2000 elsevier science b v all rights reserved

neogene evolution of the sorbas basin se spain determined by paleostress analysis abstract the neogene subsidence history of the sorbas basin situated in the internal zone of the betic cordilleras of southeastern spain is strongly controlled by strike slip deformation the sedimentary sequence of the basin offers a good control on the timing of separate phases of fault activation the southern border of the sorbas basin is formed by a major east west trending fault zone the gafarillos fault zone which consists of intermixed slivers of pre neogene basement blocks and neogene basin sediments fault patterns and paleostress analysis both indicate that major displacement along this fault zone was dextral with a n310e oriented maximum principal stress axis strike slip movement along the east west oriented faults ended during the earliest messinian after a minimum of 6 ma of activation paleostress analysis indicates a subsequent phase of strike slip fault movement present in sites of up to early pliocene age the maximum principal stress axis orientation is n350e for this phase this deformation is synchronous with sinistral displacement along the palomares fault zone situated directly to the east of the study area subsequently our paleostress analysis indicates an extensional regime during the late pliocene to quaternary however extensional tensors were calculated at a number of sites possibly representing local stress regimes coexisting with the main strike slip deformation and sorbas basin subsidence folding of tortonian sediments points out that local compressional deformation took place as well during the neogene basin history observed wide ranges for the ellipsoid shapes of the calculated tensors support the existence of lateral stress variations

marine to non marine sedimentation in the upper miocene evaporites of the eastern betics se spain sedimentological and geochemical evidence abstract several neogene basins in the eastern betics contain a record of thick upper miocene evaporites the inner basins those located distal to the mediterranean coast include evaporite units ranging from the late tortonian to the early messinian whereas the marginal basins those located in the vicinity of the mediterranean coast include evaporite units corresponding to the late messinian that are linked to the salinity crisis the sedimentological and geochemical comparison of the evaporites in the inner and marginal basins enable us to show their differences in the modes of deposition under local structural controls and differentiated palaeogeography in the inner basins of the murcia alicante region a number of evaporite units have been differentiated whose gypsum lithofacies have 1 variable strontium contents with mean values primary gypsum between 1121 and 2380 ppm 2 isotopic compositions of sulphur 34 s ranging from those characteristic of the tertiary marine water 20 3 to 25 5 to those characteristic of the triassic sulphates 8 0 to 16 0 the latter suggesting recycling of the sulphate anion in meteoric waters intermediate values 17 4 to 19 6 are attributed to mixed mother brines and 3 strontium ratios 87 sr 86 sr comprised between 0 70804 and 0 70888 these values range from those of the tertiary marine water to those exceeding the triassic sulphates suggesting additional continental contributions from country rocks and hydrothermal solutions the comparison between the sulphur and strontium isotopic compositions of the sulphates together with the study of the biota present in the marls associated with the gypsum allows us to distinguish between marine continental and mixed units in the marginal basins of the eastern betics where single evaporite units characterized by selenitic gypsum prevail 1 the strontium contents are more homogeneous with mean values primary gypsum between 493 and 625 ppm 2 the isotopic compositions of oxygen 18 o and sulphur 34 s are comprised between 12 2 and 14 8 and between 22 0 and 23 5 respectively and 3 the strontium ratios 87 sr 86 sr vary from 0 70890 to 0 70895 all these isotopic values reveal a marine origin and the lack of contribution of significant continental water during the late messinian evaporite deposition in the betic strait these characteristics are similar to those of the lower evaporite

late miocene early pliocene planktonic foraminifer event stratigraphy of the bajo segura basin a complete record of the western mediterranean abstract the bajo segura basin eastern betic cordillera has one of the most complete late miocene early pliocene marine records of the western mediterranean an updated planktonic foraminifer zonal scheme based on recent astronomically tuned biozones is presented for this interval documenting a complete succession of biostratigraphic markers from biozone mmi9 earliest tortonian to mpl3 latest early pliocene of likely significance for regional scale correlation throughout the mediterranean the findings reveal a series of intrazonal events some unreported until now in the mediterranean neogene basin including the particularly interesting two influxes of the globorotalia miotumida group during the tortonian these biostratigraphic findings are the basis for a framework of the major allostratigraphic units in the basin based on planktonic foraminifer event stratigraphy synthems tortonian i tortonian ii tortonian messinian i messinian ii and pliocene in addition the timing of the main tectono sedimentary and palaeogeographic events throughout the basin s evolution has been further constrained our results suggest that at least in the bajo segura basin the late messinian barren interval non distinctive zone can be considered an ecobiostratigraphic zone cenozone characterized by dwarf fauna of planktonic foraminifera consequently the bajo segura composite section can be regarded as a biostratigraphic reference section for neogene basins in the betic cordillera and hence also in the western mediterranean

cyclostratigraphy and astrochronology of the tripoli diatomite formation pre evaporite messinian sicily italy the ongoing debate about the messinian salinity crisis in the mediterranean is fuelled in part by the lach of an adequate time control the most accurate and at the same time detailed constrains are nowadays provided by the astronomical dating technique here we present an astronomical age model for the cyclically bedded tripoli diatomite formation on scily pre evaporite messinian italy based on an intergrated stratigraphic study of three key sections falconara gibliscemi and capodarso characteristic sedimentary cycle pattenrs allow i the sections to be cyclostratigraphically correlated the bed to bed correlations being confirmed by high resolution planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphy and ii the tripoli cycles to thecalibrated to the astronomical record despite minor misfits the correctness of thetuning is evident from the match between precession obliquity interference in the astronomical target and its reflection in the sedimentary cycle record the tuning provides absolute astronomically dated at 7 005 ma indicating that the onset of diatomite formation is diachronous in the mediterranean since itstarted 300 000 years earlier on sicilt than on gavdos south of crete the top of the tripoli and thus the onset of the salinity crisis proper on sicily arrives at 5 98 ma

synchronous onset of the messinian evaporite precipitation first mediterranean offshore evidence the messinian salinity crisis msc was a major ecological crisis affecting shallow and deep water settings over the entire mediterranean basin however the evolution of the msc and its ecological impacts have mainly been explained on the basis of sediments from onshore outcrops lack of complete and physically connected records from onshore and offshore settings has inhibited comprehensive understanding of basin behaviour during the msc herein we present a continuous record from an intermediate depth basin on the balearic promontory that comprises late tortonian messinian marls and evaporitic beds from the first msc phase i e primary lower gypsum plg stage well log and biostratigraphic data allow us establishing a large scale calibration to the astronomical solutions and to correlate pre msc sediments with classical rhythmic successions outcropping onshore thickness and characteristic sedimentary patterns observed in the offshore evaporitic records resemble those from marginal plg sequences furthermore seismic reflectors from a bedded unit bu which corresponds to an evaporitic interval according to well to seismic ties are correlated with the onshore plg sequences this correlation constitutes the first attempt to link well known marginal sequences with intermediate depth offshore settings which have previously only been studied through seismic imaging our time calibration provides direct evidence supporting a synchronous onset of the plg phase between onshore and offshore settings along the southwestern balearic promontory margin those bu reflectors which were positively correlated to the plg were likely precipitated offshore the continental shelf at messinian times these results suggest that gypsum precipitation and or preservation was not always limited to 200 m water depths and could occur in non silled basins finally we only found a major erosion at the top of the plg sequences implying that the msc drawdown occurred after the precipitation of the onshore lower evaporites studied sequences provide new insights into the plg precipitation preservation settings as well as into the land sea correlations of msc units and thus could potentially help refine current msc models

stress field variation related to fault interaction in a reverse oblique slip fault the alhama de murcia fault betic cordillera spain abstract the interpretation of kinematic data from microstructural observations has led many authors to propose a complex dynamic development for the eastern betic cordillera from the late miocene to the present in which different and sometimes contradictory stress fields explain the generation of the same structures the main aim of this work is to determine whether the dynamic variability of the study area observed during the neotectonic period is coherent with a single regional stress field the structure of the area was analysed through the detailed mapping of the alhama de murcia fault amf and the associated structures further microtectonic data from shear veins in an interaction zone between the main and secondary faults were studied by the stress inversion method of reches tectonics 6 1987 849 a hierarchy is proposed for stress fields and their interpretation with respect to the interaction between structures of different scales relative movements of fault bounded blocks with different sizes produce this hierarchy these movements depend on boundary conditions of blocks and their position relative to the alhama fault zone the study shows that adequate cartography and understanding the context of micro and mesotectonic data is necessary for determining the dynamic significance of microtectonic data the use of stress inversion methods without taking the local tectonic context into consideration can give rise to incorrect interpretations incorrect processing of previous data and extrapolations inappropriate at other scales

mantle heterogeneity and off axis volcanism on young pacific lithosphere plate tectonics and mantle plumes explain most volcanism on earth but there are numerous actively forming linear volcanic chains in the middle of tectonic plates that are not explained by these theories using the multidisciplinary geophysical dataset of the melt and glimpse experiments we show that associated with 3 volcanic chains west of the east pacific rise there are low seismic velocities and densities in the asthenosphere that extend to the east pacific rise spreading center analogous to the hawaiian swell the low density anomalies produce swells beneath the volcanoes on young seafloor the associated gravity anomalies are part of a set of gravity lineaments that have been previously interpreted as being due to thermo elastic cracking of the lithosphere or small scale convection the correlation between the surface volcanism and subsurface density and velocity anomalies and their extension to the spreading center suggest that pre existing buoyant or fertile asthenospheric mantle heterogeneities are stretched in the direction of plate motion by shear between the plate and the underlying mantle these heterogeneities seed small scale convection producing upwelling and pressure release melting forming volcanic chains that extend nearly to the ridge axis

tectonic control for evaporite formation in the eastern betics tortonian spain tectonic uplift and sea level lowering are two proposed mechanisms to explain the development of thresholds in front of the widespread evaporite basins of the circum mediterrranean region during the miocene here we apply a multi disciplinary approach to the continuously marine sequences of the murcia cartagena basin to investigate which mechanism is responsible for the tortonian evaporites of the eastern betics first we develop a high resolution chronology for the venta de la virgen section by integration of biostratigraphic magnetostratigraphic and isotopic dating results next we construct palaeobathymetry and geohistory curves for this section and the abad composite of the sorbas basin we show that the apparent differential vertical motions between the two sections cannot be explained by sea level change but only by local tectonics the murcia cartagena basin shows significant tectonic uplift during the late tortonian and early messinian while the neighboring fortuna basin was rapidly subsiding we conclude that tectonic activity on the alhama de murcia fault was responsible for the emergence of a threshold that finally led to evaporite formation in the fortuna basin

early pliocene continental vertebrate fauna at puerto de la cadena se spain and its bearing on the marine continental correlation of the late neogene of eastern betics in this paper we synthesize sedimentological magnetostratigraphic and paleontological data from the continental vertebrate site of puerto de la cadena murcia se spain in order to clarify its age the study site is located on the northern edge of the carrascoy mountain range in the upper part of the cigarron unit the end messinian discontinuity has been detected at the base of this unit which indicates it has an early pliocene age abundant remains of small and large vertebrates including rodents lagomorphs primates carnivorans perissodactyls artiodactyls proboscideans testudines squamats and crocodiles have been found in this area some of these elements are of african origin such as debruijnimys sp macaca sp and sivatherium cf hendeyi and their presence is related to the messinian salinity crisis in addition remains found at this site verify the persistence of crocodylia in the european record beyond the late miocene the association includes typical elements of the early ruscinian terrestrial record mn14 like apocricetus cf barrierei sivatherium gazella aff baturra and hipparion fissurae the puerto de la cadena site is located in a reversed geomagnetic chron that has been correlated with c3n 3r from 4 997 to 4 896 ma according to this correlation the mn13 mn14 boundary has a minimum age of 4 9 ma

precession related sapropelites of the messinian sorbas basin south spain paleoenvironmental significance abstract the sorbas basin southern spain is a narrow and elongated basin located in the betic corridor that formed the northern connection between the atlantic and the paleomediterranean during the late miocene in the centre of the basin about 120 m of well preserved cyclic marine sediments crop out ranging in age from 7 2 to 6 myr these cycles make up the abad member and are an excellent example of precession control over sedimentation in the upper part of the sequence upper abad member the cycles include organic rich laminated brown marls sapropelites alternating with homogeneous marls displaying diatomite layers the om rich laminated marls are the westernmost sapropelites of the mediterranean this paper is a geochemical mineralogical sedimentological and micropaleontological analysis of three cycles with sapropelites the data enable us to distinguish two main climatic scenarios the climate which dominated each of these scenarios regulated the sedimentology and the physico chemistry of the water column resulting in the sapropelite homogeneous marl cyclic alternations the sapropelites developed during a climate characterised by a long period of temperate and humid conditions that occur at times of precession minima these climatic conditions changed progressively to a subarid and drier weather during which homogeneous sediments were deposited the changes between these scenarios were gradual as expected from precession dynamics our data suggest that the change from the subarid to the humid climate transition from homogeneous marls to laminated sapropelites took place at a faster rate or at least was recorded more rapidly by the sediments than the transition from the humid interval to the sub arid period

alternate interpretation of the messinian salinity crisis controversy resolved a high resolution chronology of the mediterranean messinian salinity crisis is proposed two types of evaporite deposition may be distinguished those in marginal areas vs those in basinal ones their diachroneity is deduced from the stratigraphic relationships linking these evaporites to a major messinian erosional surface a two step model is proposed for the evolution of the salinity crisis through time during the first phase from 5 75 to 5 60 ma the deposition of marginal evaporites took place in response to a modest sea level fall in the second interval from 5 60 to 5 32 ma the mediterranean basin became isolated during this later period the deposition of basinal evaporites and the cutting of the mediterranean canyons took place

strontium geochemistry of miocene primary gypsum messinian of southeastern spain and sicily and badenian of poland abstract the strontium contents of primary marine gypsum facies were studied in messinian upper miocene basins of se spain and sicily and in the badenian middle miocene carpathian foreland basin of poland the results obtained were interpreted on the basis of the findings reported for the gypsum facies of recent salinas in the western mediterranean coast the strontium profile obtained from the lower part of the gypsum deposit of the sorbas basin se spain has homogeneous strontium contents reflecting deposition under conditions of hydrological stability and relatively deep waters but the upper part has a more variable strontium content related in accordance with other sedimentological criteria to a shallowing of the basin this is consistent with data reported from other messinian basins of se spain san miguel de salinas and palma de mallorca in the caltanissetta basin sicily the section studied in eraclea minoa upper evaporite is made up of 6 8 gypsum cycles that have a facies evolution from fine grained laminar gypsum at the base of each cycle to selenites at the top accompanied by increasing strontium values this evolution is attributed to increasing salinity conditions and is consistent with geochemical data reported in the literature in the badenian basin the six gypsum sections studied are from different subbasins the gypsum deposits comprise two members in the lower member which is mainly selenitic two parts can be differentiated and a significant strontium increase attributed to a rise in salinity was recorded in the transition from the lower to the upper part in the upper member which is mainly clastic gypsum a general strontium decrease indicates a fall in salinity linked to a deepening or freshening of the platform in the badenian selenitic layers a lateral variation in the strontium contents exists higher and less homogeneous strontium contents were recorded in the marginal zones suggesting variable salinity conditions whereas in the deeper areas the gypsum layers show more homogeneous strontium values expected from more stable and less concentrated brines this distribution is in agreement with data reported from the messinian basin of san miguel de salinas se spain the strontium contents in both the messinian and badenian selenitic samples are lower than those in the selenitic crusts of the recent salinas these lower contents may be a result of a lower salinity of the mother brines at the steady state achieved during the precipitation of the thick selenitic sequences with respect to the highly concentrated with no reflux brines of the recent salinas our findings highlight the relevance of studying strontium contents in primary gypsum facies of marine formations as a tool for interpreting the paleogeography and the paleosalinity of the evaporitic enviroents and for correlating cyclic selenite formations this method could be especially helpful when combined with other geochemical indicators i e isotopic and or fluid inclusions composition

the messinian of the nijar basin se spain sedimentation depositional environments and paleogeographic evolution abstract the reconstruction of the depositional events related to the messinian salinity crisis msc of the mediterranean is generally hampered by an incomplete stratal record in the circum mediterranean basins the sediments of the northern part of the nijar basin however provide an excellent and continuous record of late messinian sediments because features of severe erosion are lacking especially the successions of the deeper part of the basin had sufficient accommodation space to warrant ongoing deposition and may thus serve as a testing ground for existing hypotheses regarding the msc conformable contacts with the overlying pliocene and good correlation possibilities with the adjacent astronomically dated messinian of the sorbas basin provide the necessary age constraints the main body of evaporites in the nijar basin yesares formation has been affected by local dissolution and erosion prior to deposition of the latest messinian lago mare facies pelitic float breccias show textures indicating flowage and or mass transport and include slumped and slided stratal packets due to foundering of the mixed evaporitic clastic margin increased runoff of meteoric waters probably played an important role as these packet slides are perfectly sealed by the hyposaline lago mare strata field observations show that marginal sediments commonly classified as the terminal carbonate complex tcc are a lateral equivalent of the basinal yesares evaporites the latest messinian deposits feos formation are characterized by a sedimentary cyclicity related to fluctuating base levels consisting of chalky marly laminitic strata alternating with continental coarser clastic intervals despite considerable w e facies changes and indications for discrete tectonic events a persistent sequential pattern of eight lago mare cycles is present which are interpreted as precession controlled variations in regional climate instead of one major desiccation event in the latest messinian the repeatedly fluctuating water levels of the lago mare episode may have been the cause of the widespread vigorous erosion and canyon cutting in the lower evaporites abrupt non erosional contacts with the normal marine pliocene take place above the continental interval of the last lago mare cycle indicating that flooding took place during a period of lowered water levels the paleogeographic configuration of the nijar sorbas and vera basins has changed considerably during the messinian separation of the formerly interconnected basins is thought to have started in the late yesares times by tectonic uplift of the basement complexes in the latest messinian of the nijar basin two different coarse clastic supply areas can be distinguished which point to the partial emergence of the sierra cabrera and the cabo de gata block and activity of the sierra alhamilla and carboneras faults concerning the overall regional tectonic activity tectonics were probably also instrumental for the restoration of the atlantic gateway in the basal pliocene

precessional variability of 87 sr 86 sr in the late miocene sorbas basin an interdisciplinary study of drivers of interbasin exchange we present the first subprecessional record of seawater 87sr 86sr isotope ratios for a marginal mediterranean subbasin the sediments contained in this interval three precessional cycles between 6 60 and 6 55 ma are important because they record conditions during the transition to the messinian salinity crisis msc 5 97 to 5 33 ma an event for which many details are still poorly understood the record derived from planktic foraminifera of the late miocene sorbas basin se spain shows brief excursions with precessional cyclicity to 87sr 86sr ratios higher than coeval ocean 87sr 86sr the hydrologic conditions required to generate the observed record are investigated using box modeling constrained using a new paleodepth estimate 150 to 250 m based on benthic foraminiferal assemblages the box model results highlight the role of climate driven interbasin density contrast as a significant driver of or impediment to exchange the results are particularly significant in the context of the msc where 87sr 86sr excursions have been interpreted purely as a consequence of physical restriction to replicate the observed temporal patterns of lithological variations and 87sr 86sr isotope excursions the sorbas basin box must have a mainly positive hydrologic budget in contrast with the mediterranean s negative budget during the late miocene this result has implications for the assumption of synchronous deposition of specific sedimentary layers sapropels between marginal and open mediterranean settings at subprecessional resolution a net positive hydrologic budget in marginal mediterranean subbasins may reconcile observations of freshwater inclusions in gypsum deposits

the depth dependency of planktonic benthic foraminiferal ratios constraints and applications abstract study of the ratio between planktonic and benthic foraminifera in a great number of areas shows that variation of this ratio with depth can be described using organic matter flux equations essentially the share of benthic foraminifera in the total association is inversely proportional to depth as is the amount of organic matter resulting from primary productivity reaching the sea bottom variation in the p b ratio from area to area appears to be strongly dependent on the amount of inbenthic living foraminifera if the ratios are corrected for this the regressions between the proportion of planktonic foraminifera p and depth appear to be near identical in the gulf of mexico the gulf of california the west coast of the usa and the adriatic sea this regression can be described by depth e 3 58718 0 03534 p a study of the behaviour of this function in nine cores from the adriatic upper quaternary reveals that the palaeodepth reconstructions are not influenced by fluctuations in productivity and temperature but that they are significantly influenced by redeposition of fine grained deposits

chronology of the late turolian deposits of the fortuna basin se spain implications for the messinian evolution of the eastern betics the magnetostratigraphy of the mammal bearing alluvial fan fan delta sequences of the fortuna basin se spain has yielded an accurate chronology for the late turolian messinian basin infill from early to late messinian at least between 6 8 and 5 7 ma the fortuna basin records the sedimentation of alluvial palustrine deposits over a confined shallow basin changing environmental conditions in the latest messinian are illustrated by the retreat of palustrine facies a rapid progradation of the marginal clastic wedges and the initiation of an efficient basin drainage at5 8 ma lower part of chron c3r most likely represents the onshore response to the drastic drop of base level taking place during the messinian salinity crisis this study further provides improved age estimates for the late turolian land mammal events in southern spain the oldest mn 13 locality in the studied sections is correlated to chron c3ar at an age of 6 8 ma the entry of camels and the murid paraethomys in southern spain occurs in chron c3an 1n at 6 1 ma and gives further support for land mammal exchange between africa and the iberian peninsula prior to the salinity crisis in good agreement with

the betic segment of the lithospheric trans alboran shear zone during the late miocene abstract the betic sinistral transcurrent shear zone betic cordilleras crosses the southeastern part of spain the study of the geodynamics of this area is approached from tectonic sedimentary magmatic and geophysical data large strike slip movements tectono sedimentary processes and magmatic events are seen at the boundary between two different lithospheric slabs they are located in a thinned compartment with a high geothermal gradient the large scale movements vertical and horizontal and the intensity of magmatic activity are the expression of the mechanical behaviour of this hot and thin crust all the geological events from the late miocene to recent are integrated in a crustal scale cross section which shows that the betic sinistral transcurrent shear zone widely affects the lithosphere it appears that subduction zones are not the only geodynamic context in which calc alkaline magmatism occurs

new age constraints on the western betic intramontane basins a late tortonian closure of the guadalhorce corridor several gateways connected the mediterranean with the atlantic during the late miocene but the timing of closure and therefore their role prior to and during the messinian salinity crisis 5 97 5 33 ma is still under debate the timing of closure of the guadalhorce corridor is especially disputed as the common lack of marine microfossils hampers precise age determination here we present new biostratigraphic age constraints on the sediments of the ronda antequera and arcos regions which formed the northern part of the guadalhorce corridor the general presence of globorotalia menardii 4 in the youngest deep marine sediments of all three regions indicates a late tortonian age older than 7 51 ma we conclude that the guadalhorce corridor closed during the late tortonian well before the onset of the messinian salinity crisis and that the late tortonian tectonic uplift of the eastern betics extended into the western betics

surface water dynamics and phytoplankton communities during deposition of cyclic late messinian sapropel sequences in the western mediterranean abstract distinctive precession scale sapropel marl sequences of late messinian age are found in several outcrops bordering the western mediterranean to examine the roles of stratification and productivity in driving this cyclic sedimentation we performed a high resolution analysis of calcareous nannofossil assemblages through four orbital sequences composed of sapropel marl diatomite marl from the sorbas basin in southern spain this effort also involved a detailed comparison between calcareous nannofossil abundances and other micropaleontological sedimentological and geochemical proxies to further understand the behaviour of some taxa for this period fluctuations in the depth and gradient of the pycnocline and the distribution and remobilization of nutrients seem to be the main factors controlling the calcareous nannoplankton assemblages with temperature of secondary importance in the sapropels the warm oligotrophic genus sphenolithus and discoaster are abundant especially significant is the progressive increase towards the top of discoaster pentaradiatus indicator of severe oligotrophic deep pycnocline conditions at the top of the sapropels peaks in reticulofenestra rotaria are interpreted here as the result of an increase of surface water temperatures although decreasing salinity may also play a role small reticulofenestra 5 m are more frequent in diatomites even considering conditions of extreme mixing and eutrophication occurred in the basin umbilicosphaera jafari peaks just after diatomites replacing small reticulofenestra probably as a response to an increase in salinity and or nutrient limitation species such as coccolithus pelagicus and helicosphaera carteri are abundant at the top of the diatomites and in the overlying marls indicating relatively mesotrophic and cool water conditions this succession shows similar characteristics in the four studied cycles allowing us to interpret surface water dynamics in this region on orbital time scales the top of the sapropel represents a warm low salinity and well stratified episode under a situation of maximum insolation a well developed pycnocline and oligotrophic conditions moderate production of calcareous phytoplankton coinciding with anoxic conditions at the bottom enhance the preservation of organic matter and consequently generate a sapropel diatomites are deposited under a situation of unstable pycnocline that produce an increase in productivity in surface waters diatoms significantly deplete limiting nutrients and consequently calcareous nannofossils start to be dominant again in the water column as result of a progressive stabilization of the pycnocline

ages and stratigraphical architecture of late miocene deposits in the lorca basin betics se spain new insights for the salinity crisis in marginal basins unlike most neogene basins of the betic cordillera where the salinity crisis is dated to the messinian a contradictory tortonian dating was proposed for evaporites of the lorca basin as a consequence complex structural models have been proposed in the literature to explain this discrepancy in the timing of evaporites in order to integrate the lorca basin into the geological context of the western mediterranean domain during the late miocene new sedimentological and stratigraphical studies coupled with new dating were performed which allow us to propose a messinian age for both diatomite bearing deposits and evaporites of the lorca basin these new ages challenge the idea of a tortonian salinity crisis in the lorca basin three main events of base level drop were evidenced during the messinian each event is correlated with successive steps of basin restriction shallow salina evaporites were deposited after a base level fall during the messinian before a final base level drop which led to the entire exposure of the basin this last exposure is interpreted as coeval with the deposition of first evaporites and halite in the deep mediterranean basins the reflooding which allowed the deposition of brackish deposits and a short lived marine incursion occurred at the end of the messinian base level drops occurred during eustatic falls amplified by the gradual uplift of the betic cordillera the exhumation of the tercia ridge along the strike slip alhama de murcia fault system during the messinian probably favoured the gradual restriction of the basin a discussion on correlations of main unconformities between several neogene basins of the betics is proposed suggesting a similar structural evolution at the regional scale

neogene tectonic and stratigraphic events in the gulf of suez rift area egypt abstract the gulf of suez neogene syn rift section contains at least five datable intra basinal unconformities or stratigraphie hiatuses these events and associated changes in sedimentary sequences seen in the basin can be related to changes in suez rift subsidence miocene eustasy and the tectonic effects of adjacent red sea and dead sea rifting the first hiatus spans oligocene to earliest miocene time and separates syn rift from pre rift strata throughout the region this erosional event resulted from regional emergence during the oligocene and the initiation of suez rifting a second hiatus from 21 19 ma separates the poorly dated shallow marine nukhul formation of aquitanian to early burdigalian age from the overlying upper bathyal shales of the middle burdigalian to langhian nn3 5 rudeis formation this hiatus resulted from both a brief lowstand in early burdigalian sea level and increased suez rift related tectonism this event climaxed with the rapid tectonic subsidence that established deep marine conditions by 19 ma a third major event occurs within the rudeis at 17 ma nn4 n7 and marks the initiation of uplift of i he rift shoulders and margins and decelerated subsidence or even minor uplift in the axial trough hiatuses are seen over paleohighs e g tilted fault blocks whereas coarse elastics are deposited in more basinal areas in submarine fans and as turbidites a fourth unconformity at 14 ma separates the middle miocene kareem formation from overlying anhydrites and open marine shales of the belayim formation minor tectonic uplift throughout the suez region resulted from this event and a sill was established between the mediterranean and suez basins allowing cyclic anhydrite marl deposition from 14 to 11 ma this post kareem event may be the sedimentary response to initiation of movement along the dead sea aqaba transform a sharp drop in sea level at 11 ma restricted the suez basin even more and marked the initiation of massive halite precipitation in the central and southern suez well south of the sill area a final major neogene event occurs at the miocene pliocene boundary and is marked by a major unconformity caused by tectonic uplift this tectonic pulse is related to initiation of red sea sea floor spreading and acceleration of sinistral motion along the dead sea aqaba transform at 5 ma this event establishes the marine connection with the red sea and the sedimentary environments seen in the gulf of suez today