Conference:
EGU General Assembly, Vienna, Austria, 3-8 April 2011.
Authors:
Christian Gorini, François Bache, Ferran Estrada, Belén Alonso, Abdellah Ammar, Daniel Aslanian, Damien Do Couto, Antonio Tadeu Dos Reis, Mohammed Elabbassi, Gemma Ercilla, Marga Garcia, Julien Gargani, Pol Guennoc, Laurent Jolivet, Gwenaël Jouannic, Agnes Maillard, Ludovic Mocochain, Speranta-Maria Popescu, Marina Rabineau, Jean Loup Rubino, Jean-Pierre Suc.
Abstract:
This study concerns a synthetic review of recent advances on the Messinian history in the Mediterranean basin based on seismic stratigraphy carried out in the scope the research group Action Marges. We focus on the sedimentary records around the western Mediterranean basin to address a discussion on controversial points, such as:
- Forced regressive marine detrital prisms derived from the Messinian subaerial erosion that preceded the massive evaporates. These units are interpreted either as the record of the beginning of the major Messinian drawdown (∼1,500 m) or as previous falling stage deposits. The debate still occurs on the nature of this infra-salt megasequence.
- Submarine abrasion surfaces and/or terraces all around the central basin are interpreted as the result of stepped transgressive sea-level movements at the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis; such interpretation are partly taken into account within recent numerical models of a rapid reflooding of the Mediterranean Sea.
- How the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic ocean has been reconnected is well documented on the Alboran basin by the presence of an erosive corridor in front of Gibraltar strait. Catastrophic debris flow episodes observed all around the Mediterranean basins and in the deep Mediterranean Moroccan offshore, are probably to be linked to this “deluge”.
Nevertheless, questions still remain concerning the time and process involving on this event.