Time-probabilistic approach to the late Miocene Messinian salinity crisis: Implications for a disconnected Paratethys

Journal article

The late Miocene Messinian salinity crisis was an evaporitic episode that occurred throughout the Mediterranean; it concluded with a transition from hypersaline to fresher-water “lake sea” (Lago Mare) conditions prior to the Pliocene. Whereas numerous researchers propose that Lago Mare sediments accumulated in a Mediterranean-wide lake filled with Paratethyan waters, other workers reject this hypothesis. Here, to test this Paratethyan-overflow model, we develop a novel time-probabilistic approach to evaluate the distribution of precession-related deposits. We apply our methodology to 24 circum-Mediterranean sites, focusing on two previously untested parameters: the probability of preserving intrabasin precession cycles; and the similarities in interbasin preservation. Our results, which show an increase in preservation and similarity in successively younger cycles, display a trend opposite to what is expected from a flooded Mediterranean. Consequently, we conclude that Lago Mare accumulations were deposited in disconnected, shallow lacustrine environments, thereby casting doubt on the widely accepted Paratethyan-supply hypothesis.

Authors: Madof, AS; Ryan, WBF; Bertoni, C; Laugier, FJ; Zaki, AS

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Wiley
• Journal: Terra Nova
• Volume: 34
• Issue: 5
• Pages: 395-406
• Publication date: 2022-06-13
• Acceptance date: 2022-01-17
• DOI: 10.1111/ter.12579
• EISSN: 1365-3121
• ISSN: 0954-4879
• Language: English
• Keywords: FFR