Evidence of Messinian nonmarine deposition at Site 968 (Cyprus lower slope)

Abstract

The upper Messinian succession recovered at Ocean Drilling Program Hole 968A on the Cyprus lower slope was generated under brackish conditions (Lago Mare), as deduced from sedimentological and paleontological data. Gypsum that displays marine signatures (stable isotope composition of gypsum and monospecific nannoplankton included in gypsum crystals) is interbedded within this series and interpreted as being reworked from earlier Messinian evaporite deposits, such as those present onshore in Cyprus.

High-frequency cyclicity in the latest Messinian Adriatic foreland basin: Insight into palaeoclimate and palaeoenvironments of the Mediterranean Lago-Mare episode

“…In the Mediterranean Basin, at the Miocene/ Pliocene boundary, the CaCO 3 content suddenly increases (Cita et al, 1990;Blanc-Valleron et al, 1998). The carbonate content of the Pliocene samples from Sites 654, 653B, 652 (Cita et al, 1990), and 968A (Blanc-Valleron et al, 1998) generally exceeds 50%, whereas in the uppermost Messinian deposits, high-frequency cyclic variations, with CaCO 3 values generally not exceeding 35%, have been observed (Site 968A; Blanc-Valleron et al, 1998).…”

Changing perspectives in the concept of “Lago-Mare” in Mediterranean Late Miocene evolution

“…At site 965, a soil horizon present on the flank of the Eratosthenes Seamount provides additional evidence for sub-aerial exposure (Major and Ryan, 1999). At ODP site 968, Blanc-Valleron et al (1998) note the presence of a pulmonate gastropod.…”

The Miocene–Pliocene boundary and the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the easternmost Mediterranean: Insights from the Hatay Graben (Southern Turkey)

“…Furthermore, Roveri et al (2014a, b) This revised Messinian scenario is described within the framework of a 3-stage stratigraphic model constructed mainly with observations from the marginal to intermediate basins exposed onshore in Sicily and in the Northern Apennines (CIESM, 2008;Roveri et al, 2014a, b). However, despite the extensive 'back-catalogue' of work on the Messinian stage (e.g., Roveri et al, 2014a), many studies from the easternmost extent of the Mediterranean have focussed on Cyprus (e.g., Robertson et al, 1995;Krijgsman et al, 2002;Kouwenhoven et al, 2006;Orszag-Sperber et al, 2006;Manzi et al, 2015) and adjacent ODP data (e.g., Blanc-Valleron et al, 1998;Pierre et al, 1998), with limited data from southern Turkey Darbaş and Nazik, 2010;Poisson et al, 2011;Cipollari et al, 2013;Faranda et al, 2013;Radeff et al, 2015). In this paper we focus on late Miocene and early Pliocene sediments of the Hatay Graben (southern Turkey), previously identified by Boulton et al ( , 2008 and Tekin et al (2010).…”