Paratethys pacing of the Messinian Salinity Crisis:Low salinity waters contributing to gypsum precipitation?

During the so-called Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC: 5.97-5.33 Myr ago), reduced exchange with the Atlantic Ocean caused the Mediterranean to develop into a “saline giant” wherein ∼1 million km3 of evaporites (gypsum and halite) were deposited. Despite decades of research it is still poorly understood exactly how and where in the water column these evaporites formed. Gypsum formation commonly requires enhanced dry conditions (evaporation exceeding precipitation), but recent studies also suggested major freshwater inputs into the Mediterranean during MSC-gypsum formation. Here we use strontium isotope ratios of ostracods to show that low-saline water from the Paratethys Seas actually contributed to the precipitation of Mediterranean evaporites. This apparent paradox urges for an alternative mechanism underlying gypsum precipitation. We propose that Paratethys inflow would enhance stratification in the Mediterranean and result in a low-salinity surface-water layer with high Ca/Cl and SO4/Cl ratios. We show that evaporation of this surface water can become saturated in gypsum at a salinity of ∼40, in line with salinities reported from fluid inclusions in MSC evaporites

Palynology and micropalaeontology of the Pliocene - Pleistocene transition in outcrop from the western Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan : potential links with the Mediterranean, Black Sea and the Arctic Ocean?

New palynological, ostracod and foraminiferal data are presented from a long outcrop section in the Jeirankechmez river valley, Azerbaijan, near the western coast of the Caspian Sea. The interval studied includes the upper part of the Psliocene Productive Series and overlying Plio-Pleistocene Akchagylian (Akchagyl) and Apsheronian (Apsheron) regional stages. Productive Series sediments were deposited in a closed fluvio-lacustrine basin, isolated from any marine influence. The onset of Akchagyl deposition is marked by a lithological change associated with a significant flooding event that, at its maximum extent, reached the Sea of Azov and into present-day Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Russia. At the Jeirankechmez locality, the lowermost beds of the Akchagyl contain predominantly freshwater assemblages with very minimal marine or brackish content showing that the onset of Akchagyl deposition was not a marine induced event. Reworked Mesozoic palynomorphs occur frequently in this lowermost interval, including the reworked pollen taxa Aquilapollenites-Triprojectus that were eroded from the north or north-east. Significant marine influence is evident ca. 30 m above the base of the Akchagyl in the studied outcrop, marked by the ‘Cassidulina Beds’ which contain a distinct but low diversity assemblage of foraminifera that occurs widely and can be correlated in many parts of the greater Caspian region. Dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts) in the marine interval include frequent specimens very similar to Algidasphaeridium capillatum (Matsuoka and Bujak), a species only previously recorded from the northern Bering Sea. The combined evidence from these dinocysts and foraminifera suggests that a marine (i.e. seaway) connection existed briefly between the Arctic Ocean and the Caspian Sea at the very end of the Pliocene. Re-examination of core material from the Adriatic Sea shows that Cassidulina reniforme (Nørvang) was present in the Mediterranean during and shortly after the Last Glacial Maximum. The possibility that the end Pliocene marine incursion came from the Mediterranean via the Black Sea region to the Caspian Sea cannot be entirely ruled out but is considered unlikely. Biometric analyses are applied to obtain a better understanding of the palaeoenvironmental significance of the assemblages dominated by cassidulinids. An interval > 300 m thick is assigned to the Apsheron regional stage on the basis of predominantly brackish ostracod and dinocyst associations. The dinocysts are of ‘Peri-Paratethyan’ affinity and closely resemble species first described from Miocene and Pliocene sediments in the Pannonian and Dacic basins of Eastern Europe. Many similarities exist in the microplankton records (dinocysts and acritarchs) between the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea and Central Paratethys.PostprintPeer reviewe

Timing of arrival of the Danube to the Black Sea: Provenance of sediments from DSDP site 380/380A

Estimates for the timing of the arrival of Danube sediment to the Black Sea range from Messinian to Pleistocene; the river is currently the largest sediment contributor, supplying 88 MT/yr. We identify two changes in siltstone provenance-sensitive heavy mineral abundances at DSDP site 380/380A in the southwest Black Sea. Comparison with modern river sediment compositions indicates that siltstones above 571.5 mbsf (metres below sea floor) were supplied by the Danube, while sediments below 651.0 m were sourced by other supply systems. Palaeo-magnetic, 40Ar/39Ar and biostratigraphic data reveal that the influx of Danube-supplied sediment to the southwest Black Sea began between 4.36 ± 0.19 Ma and 1 Ma ago (Zanclean–Calabrian). Our results provide an independent time constraint on palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Pannonian and Dacian basins, which acted as upstream sediment sinks, and suggest that significant volumes of Danube-supplied sediment only started to reach the Black Sea at least 1 Ma after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.971–5.33 Ma) had ended

Late Miocene stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and evolution of the Sandanski Basin (Bulgaria) and the chronology of the Pikermian faunal changes

We study the sedimentology, palaeontology and palaeomagnetism of the 500 m thick sedimentary sequence in the Gorna Sushitsa gorge in the Sandanski Basin (southwest Bulgaria), which is exceptionally rich in fossil mammals of Pikermian type. Magnetostratigraphy indicates that this section was deposited within 2 myrs, between 8.5 Ma and 6.5 Ma (late Tortonian to early Messinian). Our investigations reveal that the Sandanski Basin infill represents two stacking synrift phases (Delcevo and Kalimantsi formations), with an intervening tectonic quiescence package (Sandanski Formation). Kalimantsi Formation deposition ends with the cessation of slip on basin-bounding faults at 6.9 Ma, probably caused by a switch from regional E-W to N–S extension between 7 and 6.5 Ma. High slip rates compared to hanging wall sedimentation rates induced the development of mega-breccia dominated substantial fault scarps during the younger synrift phase (8.2 to 6.9 Ma). Tectonic changes are superimposed by several climatic changes. Moderately humid conditions prevail from 8.5–8.2 Ma, followed by relatively dry period from 8.2 to 7.8 Ma. A second humid interval from 7.74–7.56 Ma, which may be responsible for the Maeotian transgression in the Eastern Paratethys lake, is followed by a significant trend in local and supra-regional aridization, indicated by the onset of orbital driven aeolian dust deposition at 7.42 Ma. Our new data expand the Northern Mediterranean Sahara-born dust record at the Tortonian-Messinian transition to at least 600 kyrs (7.42 to 6.85–6.8 Ma). Coeval with the onset of dust deposition we observed evolutionary changes in the large mammal record, leading to the classical Pikermian association dated to between 7.42 and 7.27 Ma. We interpret faunal changes at the Tortonian-Messinian transition in the Eastern Mediterranean as driven by global cooling and mid-latitudinal desertification

Timing of arrival of the Danube to the Black Sea : Provenance of sediments from DSDP site 380/380A

Estimates for the timing of the arrival of Danube sediment to the Black Sea range from Messinian to Pleistocene; the river is currently the largest sediment contributor, supplying 88 MT/yr. We identify two changes in siltstone provenance-sensitive heavy mineral abundances at DSDP site 380/380A in the southwest Black Sea. Comparison with modern river sediment compositions indicates that siltstones above 571.5 mbsf (metres below sea floor) were supplied by the Danube, while sediments below 651.0 m were sourced by other supply systems. Palaeo-magnetic, 40Ar/39Ar and biostratigraphic data reveal that the influx of Danube-supplied sediment to the southwest Black Sea began between 4.36 ± 0.19 Ma and 1 Ma ago (Zanclean–Calabrian). Our results provide an independent time constraint on palaeogeographic reconstructions of the Pannonian and Dacian basins, which acted as upstream sediment sinks, and suggest that significant volumes of Danube-supplied sediment only started to reach the Black Sea at least 1 Ma after the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.971–5.33 Ma) had ended

Mediterranean outflow pump: An alternative mechanism for the Lago-mare and the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

The final stage of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) was characterized by brackish-water “Lago-mare” conditions in the intermediate and marginal basins of the Mediterranean Sea. The presence of Paratethyan (former Black Sea) fauna in these deposits has fueled long-lasting controversies over the connectivity between the Mediterranean and Paratethys and contemporary sea-level drops in both basins. Here, we use the results of sub-precessional climate simulations to calculate the freshwater budget of the Mediterranean and Paratethys in the Messinian. We show that, during the MSC, the freshwater budget of Paratethys was positive, while the Mediterranean was negative. Using these numerical constraints, we propose a Mediterranean outflow pump as an alternative scenario for the two most dramatic hydrological changes in the MSC: (1) the Halite–Lago-mare transition and (2) the Pliocene reestablishment of marine conditions. Following the maximum MSC lowstand during halite formation, progressive Mediterranean sea-level rise resulting from African river runoff and overspill from both the Atlantic and Paratethys eventually reached the level of the Paratethys sill. A density contrast at this gateway caused dense Mediterranean waters to flow into the Paratethys, driving a compensatory return flow. This “pump” mechanism significantly enhanced Paratethyan inflow to the Mediterranean, creating suitable conditions for the Lago-mare fauna to migrate and thrive. When the Mediterranean sea level finally reached the height of the Gibraltar sill, Mediterranean outflow restarted there and enhanced exchange with the Atlantic Ocean. During this reorganization of the circulation, brackish and hypersaline waters were pumped out of the Mediterranean, and open-marine conditions were reestablished without major flooding of the basin at the Miocene-Pliocene boundary

Late Miocene stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and evolution of the Sandanski Basin (Bulgaria) and the chronology of the Pikermian faunal changes

We study the sedimentology, palaeontology and palaeomagnetism of the 500 m thick sedimentary sequence in the Gorna Sushitsa gorge in the Sandanski Basin (southwest Bulgaria), which is exceptionally rich in fossil mammals of Pikermian type. Magnetostratigraphy indicates that this section was deposited within 2 myrs, between 8.5 Ma and 6.5 Ma (late Tortonian to early Messinian). Our investigations reveal that the Sandanski Basin infill represents two stacking synrift phases (Delcevo and Kalimantsi formations), with an intervening tectonic quiescence package (Sandanski Formation). Kalimantsi Formation deposition ends with the cessation of slip on basin-bounding faults at 6.9 Ma, probably caused by a switch from regional E-W to N–S extension between 7 and 6.5 Ma. High slip rates compared to hanging wall sedimentation rates induced the development of mega-breccia dominated substantial fault scarps during the younger synrift phase (8.2 to 6.9 Ma). Tectonic changes are superimposed by several climatic changes. Moderately humid conditions prevail from 8.5–8.2 Ma, followed by relatively dry period from 8.2 to 7.8 Ma. A second humid interval from 7.74–7.56 Ma, which may be responsible for the Maeotian transgression in the Eastern Paratethys lake, is followed by a significant trend in local and supra-regional aridization, indicated by the onset of orbital driven aeolian dust deposition at 7.42 Ma. Our new data expand the Northern Mediterranean Sahara-born dust record at the Tortonian-Messinian transition to at least 600 kyrs (7.42 to 6.85–6.8 Ma). Coeval with the onset of dust deposition we observed evolutionary changes in the large mammal record, leading to the classical Pikermian association dated to between 7.42 and 7.27 Ma. We interpret faunal changes at the Tortonian-Messinian transition in the Eastern Mediterranean as driven by global cooling and mid-latitudinal desertification

A Late Maeotian age (6.7–6.3 Ma) for the enigmatic “Pebbly Breccia” unit in DSDP Hole 380A of the Black Sea

Various hypotheses exist on the age and origin of the so-called “Pebbly Breccia” unit in the deep-sea record of DSDP Hole 380A of the Euxinian (Black Sea) Basin. Here, we present a detailed study of diatom and nannofossil assemblages of Hole 380A. Our diatom records show a characteristic sequence of appearance of markers species, which we can correlate to the recently established bio-magnetostratigraphic time frame of the Zheleznyi Rog section on the Black Sea coast of the Taman Peninsula (Russia). It shows that the Pebbly Breccia is sandwiched between Upper Maeotian deposits, and must have been deposited at an age between 6.7 and 6.3 Ma. The appearance of nannoplankton and the marine diatom association at above the Pebbly breccia (Unit IVc) suggests a short-term incursion of marine conditions. The age of Unit IVc, based on diatom data, is 6.3–6.1 Ma. The nannoplankton record is mainly represented by species that do not have stratigraphic value. The previously reported presence of Ceratolithus acutus in the Black Sea is explained by misinterpretation of destructed elements of ascidian spicules. We conclude that the Pebbly Breccia is not related to a desiccated Black Sea at Messinian Salinity Crisis times, but it corresponds to a late Maeotian episode of gravitational instability in the SW Black Sea region

A Late Maeotian age (6.7–6.3 Ma) for the enigmatic “Pebbly Breccia” unit in DSDP Hole 380A of the Black Sea

Various hypotheses exist on the age and origin of the so-called “Pebbly Breccia” unit in the deep-sea record of DSDP Hole 380A of the Euxinian (Black Sea) Basin. Here, we present a detailed study of diatom and nannofossil assemblages of Hole 380A. Our diatom records show a characteristic sequence of appearance of markers species, which we can correlate to the recently established bio-magnetostratigraphic time frame of the Zheleznyi Rog section on the Black Sea coast of the Taman Peninsula (Russia). It shows that the Pebbly Breccia is sandwiched between Upper Maeotian deposits, and must have been deposited at an age between 6.7 and 6.3 Ma. The appearance of nannoplankton and the marine diatom association at above the Pebbly breccia (Unit IVc) suggests a short-term incursion of marine conditions. The age of Unit IVc, based on diatom data, is 6.3–6.1 Ma. The nannoplankton record is mainly represented by species that do not have stratigraphic value. The previously reported presence of Ceratolithus acutus in the Black Sea is explained by misinterpretation of destructed elements of ascidian spicules. We conclude that the Pebbly Breccia is not related to a desiccated Black Sea at Messinian Salinity Crisis times, but it corresponds to a late Maeotian episode of gravitational instability in the SW Black Sea region

Quantitative analysis of Paratethys sea level change during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

At the time of the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Mediterranean Sea (i.e., the Pontian stage of the Paratethys), the Paratethys sea level dropped also. Evidence found in the sedimentary record of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea has been interpreted to indicate that a sea level fall occurred between 5.6 and 5.5 Ma. Estimates for the magnitude of this fall range between tens of meters to more than 1500 m. The purpose of this study is to provide quantitative insight into the sensitivity of the water level of the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea to the hydrologic budget, for a scenario in which the Paratethys is disconnected from the Mediterranean. Using a Late Miocene bathymetry based on a palaeographic map we quantify the fall in sea level, the mean salinity, and the time to reach equilibrium for a wide range of negative hydrologic budgets. By combining our results with (i) estimates calculated from a set of recent global Late Miocene climate simulations and (ii) reconstructed basin salinities, we are able to rule out a drop in sea level of the order of 1000 m in the Caspian Sea during this time period. In the Black Sea, however, such a large sea level fall cannot be fully discarded