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Journal ArticleDOI

Age refinement of the Messinian salinity crisis onset in the Mediterranean

TLDR
A revised age calibration of the Messinian salinity crisis onset in the Mediterranean at 5.971 Ma based on the recognition of an extra gypsum cycle in the transitional interval of the Perales section (Sorbas basin, Spain) and the revision of the magnetostratigraphy of the Monticino section (Vena del Gesso basin, Italy) was proposed in this paper.
Abstract
We propose a revised age calibration of the Messinian salinity crisis onset in the Mediterranean at 5.971 Ma based on the recognition of an extra gypsum cycle in the transitional interval of the Perales section (Sorbas basin, Spain) and the revision of the magnetostratigraphy of the Monticino section (Vena del Gesso basin, Italy). This age re-calibration allows to state more accurately that: (i) the interval encompassing the MSC-onset is continuous, thus ruling out any erosional feature or stratigraphic hiatus related to a major sea-level fall affecting the Mediterranean; (ii) the first gypsum was deposited during the summer insolation peak at 5.969 Ma associated with an eccentricity minimum and roughly coincident with glacial stage TG32; (iii) the MSC-onset was preconditioned by the tectonically-driven reduction of the hydrological exchanges with the Atlantic Ocean and finally triggered by glacial conditions in the northern hemisphere and by arid conditions in northern Africa.

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Journal ArticleDOI

The Messinian Salinity Crisis: Past and future of a great challenge for marine sciences

TL;DR: In this paper, a unifying stratigraphic framework of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) events has been constructed, derived mainly from onshore data and observations, but incorporating different perspectives for the offshore and provides hypotheses that can be tested by drilling the deep Mediterranean basins.
Journal ArticleDOI

High-resolution strontium isotope stratigraphy of the Messinian deep Mediterranean basins: Implications for marginal to central basins correlation

TL;DR: In this paper, high-resolution stratigraphic calibration of Sr isotope data indicates that only a very thin unit (commonly < 50m) in the uppermost part of the “seismic” Upper Evaporites is characterized by the typically lower values for Sr isotopes with respect to the global Ocean which characterize stage 3 onshore successions (Lago Mare event).
Journal ArticleDOI

The Gibraltar Corridor: Watergate of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

TL;DR: The existence and evolution of a Messinian salt giant in the Mediterranean Sea has caused much debate in the marine science community as mentioned in this paper, especially the suggestion that the Mediterranean was a deep desiccated basin during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.97-5.33 Ma), triggered by a temporal disconnection from the global ocean, made it a well-known crisis beyond the scientific boundaries.
Journal ArticleDOI

Dense shelf water cascading and Messinian Canyons: A new scenario for the Mediterranean salinity crisis

TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that the activation of downslope flows of hypersaline, dense waters, in a process similar to present-day “dense shelf water cascading,” but much more energetic, may account for both slope erosion and progressive salinity rise leading to the formation of deep-seated supersaturated brines.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI

Astronomical forcing of Northwest African climate and glacial history during the late Messinian (6.5–5.5 Ma)

TL;DR: In this paper, high-resolution physical, chemical and biological-based climate proxies from the Ain el Beida (AEB) section in Atlantic Morocco reveal the imprint of the three main orbital parameters precession (19-23kyr), obliquity (41kyr) and eccentricity (95-125 and 400kyr).
Book ChapterDOI

Messinian salinity crisis

Stefano Lugli
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