Climatic and hydrologic variability in the northern Mediterranean across the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis

Sabino, Mathia; Schefuß, Enno; Natalicchio, Marcello; Pierre, Francesco Dela; Birgel, Daniel; Bortels, David; Schnetger, Bernhard; Peckmann, Jörn

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2020.109632

Cited by 33 publications

(61 citation statements)

References 95 publications

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“…These deposits, characterized by the repetition of shale and marl couplets, record progressively more restricted conditions heralding the onset of the MSC (Sturani, 1973;Sturani & Sampò, 1973). The lithological cyclicity was controlled by climate fluctuations driven by precession, with shales representing more humid conditions at precession minima and marls recording more arid conditions at precession maxima (Natalicchio et al 2019;Sabino et al 2020). At the basin margins, this unit is overlain by shale and gypsum couplets belonging to the PLG unit ( Fig.…”

Section: A the Messinian Succession In The Piedmont Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The PLG is in turn overlain by shales and clastic evaporites belonging to the Valle Versa Chaotic complex, finally followed by fluvio-deltaic deposits of the Cassano Spinola Conglomerates ( Fig. 1c; Bernardi, 2013;Dela Pierre et al 2016;Sabino et al 2020).…”

Section: B the Govone Section And The Position Of The Msc Onsetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For the Perales section, Sierro et al (2001) reported this acme between cycles UA23 and UA30, allowing Gennari et al (2020) to correlate the second influx of G. scitula in the Govone section with the second influx recognized in cycle UA29 in the Perales section and dated at 6.10 Ma. Since the second influx of G. scitula occurs six precession cycles below the onset of the crisis in the Perales section (Sierro et al 2001), the MSC onset in Govone was placed at the base of the marls of cycle Gm30 (Gennari et al 2020;Sabino et al 2020;Fig. 2), which accordingly correspond to the gypsum bed in cycle PLG1 of Perales ( Fig. 2; Manzi et al 2013).…”

Section: B the Govone Section And The Position Of The Msc Onsetmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this section, the onset of the crisis is archived in a sequence of organicrich shales and marls, representing the deep-water equivalents of primary sulphate evaporites deposited at the basin margins (Gennari et al 2020;Sabino et al 2020). These sediments have recently been investigated to reconstruct the palaeoclimate and palaeohydrologic variability in the northern Mediterranean across the onset of the MSC (Sabino et al 2020). This previous study, which was based on inorganic geochemical proxies and on carbon and hydrogen stable isotope composition of lipids from terrestrial plant waxes, revealed fluctuations between more humid (shales) and more arid (marls) climates and an evolution towards moister conditions after the onset of the MSC (Sabino et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we focus on the same succession studied by Sabino et al (2020), integrating stratigraphic, petrographic, carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses, and the study of molecular fossils to reconstruct the palaeoenvironments. This approach allows us to reconstruct the environmental changes across the onset of the MSC, and reveals how these changes influenced the stratigraphic architecture of the sediments deposited during times of change in the Mediterranean realm.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The response of water column and sedimentary environments to the advent of the Messinian salinity crisis: insights from an onshore deep-water section (Govone, NW Italy)

et al. 2020

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During Messinian time, the Mediterranean underwent hydrological modifications culminating 5.97 Ma ago with the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). Evaporite deposition and alleged annihilation of most marine eukaryotes were taken as evidence of the establishment of basin-wide hypersalinity followed by desiccation. However, the palaeoenvironmental conditions during the MSC are still a matter of debate, chiefly because most of its sedimentary record is buried below the abyssal plains of the present-day Mediterranean Sea. To shed light on environmental change at the advent and during the early phase of the MSC, we investigated the Govone section from the Piedmont Basin (NW Italy) using a multidisciplinary approach (organic geochemical, petrographic, and carbon and oxygen stable isotope analyses). The Govone section archives the onset of the crisis in a succession of organic-rich shales and dolomite-rich marls. The MSC part of the succession represents the deep-water equivalent of sulphate evaporites deposited at the basin margins during the first phase of the crisis. Our study reveals that the onset of the MSC was marked by the intensification of water-column stratification, rather than the establishment of widespread hypersaline conditions. A chemocline divided the water column into an oxygen-depleted, denser and more saline bottom layer and an oxygenated, upper seawater layer influenced by freshwater inflow. Vertical oscillations of the chemocline controlled the stratigraphic architecture of the sediments pertaining to the first stage of the MSC. Accordingly, temporal and spatial changes of water masses with different redox chemistries must be considered when interpreting the MSC event.

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Section: A the Messinian Succession In The Piedmont Basinmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B the Govone Section And The Position Of The Msc Onsetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B the Govone Section And The Position Of The Msc Onsetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The response of water column and sedimentary environments to the advent of the Messinian salinity crisis: insights from an onshore deep-water section (Govone, NW Italy)

et al. 2020

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Effect of Microstructure and Relative Humidity on Strength and Creep of Gypsum

et al. 2021

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The wide range of gypsum facies observed all over the world and the strong heterogeneity that may be present even within a single facies often cause an inhomogeneous mechanical response that, if neglected, may be particularly dangerous in the framework of underground excavations. In addition, gypsum is particularly sensible to the presence of water. The high relative humidity conditions often registered in underground gypsum quarries may imply an additional worsening of mechanical properties. In the present study, the strength and the creep response of a natural gypsum rock facies are investigated, considering the influence of material heterogeneity and relative humidity conditions. The heterogeneity of the material, quantified with MIP and SEM analyses, is observed to strongly affect the mechanical response. To this intrinsic mechanical variability, the influence of an external parameter as the relative humidity is observed to generate an additional reduction of material strength and to increase the creep strain rate in the long-term tests. The effect of all these elements in the underground quarry framework is discussed and a constitutive model of these experimental results is provided.

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Palaeoenvironmental significance of sponge spicules in pre-Messinian crisis sediments, Northern Italy

Costa

Bavestrello

Cattaneo‐Vietti

et al. 2021

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The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) created a substantial negative impact on the Mediterranean marine fauna and flora because hypersaline conditions were established in many marginal basins. At the northern margin of the Tertiary Piedmont Basin, Northern Italy, the Messinian successions exposed at Banengo and Moncalvo recorded the transition into and through the MSC with well-preserved nanno-, micro-and macrofossils. Siliceous sponge spicules present in these pre-MSC sediments reflect the sponge population in this area with twenty different morphological types of spicule identified, twelve of them attributable to sponge genera of the modern Mediterranean sponge fauna. The most common genera were Stelletta, Geodia and Dercitus, with fewer records of Tethya, Chondrilla, Alectona and Samus. Only two types of spicule belong to species not currently present in the Mediterranean sponge fauna and are putatively attributed to the tropical species Stelletta purpurea and Diplastrella megastellata. The sponge assemblage thriving before the onset of the MSC provided new information on the sponge diversity and palaeoenvironment of this northern sector of the palaeo-Mediterranean basin over this crucial period. These data, integrated with information derived from the associated fossils (nannofossils, benthic and planktic foraminifers, and bryozoans), indicate that the considered sites were coastal localities, with sediments rich in an organic matter likely derived from phytoplankton blooms. At both sites, the presence of patchy rocky substrates on the seafloor is testified by a diversified group of sponges typical of hard substrata. These rocks were, very likely, carbonate as suggested by the presence of spicules of typical boring sponges. In the studied sites, common epiphytic foraminifers and bryozoan segments indicate the presence of Posidonia seagrass or algal meadows.

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Climatic and hydrologic variability in the northern Mediterranean across the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis

Cited by 33 publications

References 95 publications

The response of water column and sedimentary environments to the advent of the Messinian salinity crisis: insights from an onshore deep-water section (Govone, NW Italy)

The response of water column and sedimentary environments to the advent of the Messinian salinity crisis: insights from an onshore deep-water section (Govone, NW Italy)

Effect of Microstructure and Relative Humidity on Strength and Creep of Gypsum

Palaeoenvironmental significance of sponge spicules in pre-Messinian crisis sediments, Northern Italy

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