Depositional environment and age of some key Late Pliocene to Early Quaternary deposits on the underfilled Cedrino paleovalley (Orosei): Insight into the Neogene geodynamic evolution of Sardinia

Giresse, Pierre; Bassetti, Maria‐Angela; Chanier, Frank; Gaullier, Virginie; Maillard, Agnès; Thinon, Isabelle; Lofi, Johanna; Lymer, Gaël; Reynaud, Jean‐Yves; Negri, Alessandra; Saavedra‐Pellitero, Mariem

doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.11.022

Cited by 5 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…These continental clastic deposits are locally observed unconformable over the Eocene limestones, and they are considered as Miocene in age on the basis of similar facies in other areas of Sardinia (Calvino et al, 1972;Dieni et al, 2008). They are deeply incised by a Paleo-Cedrino valley, and subsequently filled up with marine fine sandy deposits, early Pliocene in age (Giresse et al, 2015;Fig. 5B).…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 90%

“…Onshore, we investigated the lateral continuity of the MES through mapping the erosional surface at the base of the marine Pliocene deposits in northeastern Sardinia and by the detailed stratigraphic analysis of the late Neogene deposits in northeastern Ibiza Island (Lézin et al, 2014(Lézin et al, , 2017Giresse et al, 2015). In all localities, we undertook a detailed analysis of the stratigraphic records with emphasis on the observed unconformities.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Our field work is mainly based on mapping, logging and sampling for biostratigraphy to establish the late Neogene tectono-sedimentary evolution. These works were partially presented for the Orosei area in Giresse et al (2015) but never analyzed in term of the MSC. For the Ibiza onshore it has never been published.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4B-3). The presence and common occurrence of Globorotalia puncticulata (FO 4.52 Ma; LO 3.57 Ma; Sierro et al, 2003) in the basal beds of the Pliocene marine formation attests an age younger than 4.52 Ma for this formation (Giresse et al, 2015). These Pliocene deposits are covered by late Pliocene to Quaternary lava flows that allowed the preservation of the Pliocene deposits (Calvino et al, 1972;Beccaluva et al, 1983; Figs.…”

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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New onshore/offshore evidence of the Messinian Erosion Surface from key areas: The Ibiza-Balearic Promontory and the Orosei-Eastern Sardinian margin

Maillard

Gaullier

Lézin

et al. 2020

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

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As the Messinian sea-level draw down associated with the Messinian Salinity Crisis is still questioned, we propose to show that the widely spread erosion surface affecting the Mediterranean margins is indeed linked to an exondation demonstrated from offshore and onshore data. Our study presents a comprehensive onshore to offshore correlation of the Messinian erosional surface. It is focused on small drainage systems or interfluve areas, outside of evaporite basins or incised canyons, where the Messinian erosion had not yet been studied previously: around Ibiza on the Balearic Promontory and around Orosei on the Eastern Sardinian margin, Tyrrhenian Basin, both areas where new offshore data were recently acquired. We show that the late Messinian erosion formed in subaerial settings, as testified by evidence of continentalization events, and attests for a regression phase that was correlated from the offshore continental slopes to the onshore paleo-platforms in both areas. Characteristics of this erosion in both study areas strengthen the scenario with at least one important low-stand sea-level for the Messinian Salinity Crisis with evaporites subbasins lying at different depths and possibly disconnected.

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Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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New onshore/offshore evidence of the Messinian Erosion Surface from key areas: The Ibiza-Balearic Promontory and the Orosei-Eastern Sardinian margin

Maillard

Gaullier

Lézin

et al. 2020

BSGF - Earth Sci. Bull.

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“…The Messinian Erosion Surface (MES) has already been studied in large fluvial systems (Lofi et al, 2005;Lofi, 2011Lofi, , 2018Tassy et al, 2014;Garcia-Castellanos et al, 2020) but not in small and diffuse drainage systems input like in the Gulf of Orosei (East-Sardinia) [Figure 1.B]. The MES was identified in the Cedrino Valley (Giresse et al, 2015), which flows into the Gulf and the East-Sardinia Basin (Lymer et al, 2018a(Lymer et al, , 2018b but the relationship between onshore and offshore structures was never studied in this area. The METYSS 4 cruise provided new very high-resolution seismic data on the continental shelf, allowing us to study this blind spot between onshore and offshore geology.…”

Section: -Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Messinian Erosion Surface along the Eastern Sardinian Margin, Western Tyrrhenian: New Insights from Very High-Resolution Seismic Data (METYSS 4)

Sylvain

Gaullier

Watremez

et al. 2023

Preprint

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<p>The Eastern Sardinian margin consists in a hyper-extended rifted margin, located in the western Tyrrhenian Sea, a recent back-arc basin (late Neogene). This area was affected by strong aerial erosion during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.96 &#8211; 5.33&#160;My) associated with the drop of sea level (> 1500&#160;m) which occurred throughout the whole Mediterranean. The Gulf of Orosei and surrounding offshore areas are characterized by small and diffuse drainage systems input, where the Messinian Erosion Surface (MES) has rarely been studied while it has been in large fluvial systems (Rhone, Ebro). The MES was already found in the Cendrino valley (which flows in the Gulf) and in the East-Sardinia Basin but the link between onshore and offshore was never been studied in the area. The &#8220;METYSS 4&#8221; cruise (June 2019, R/V &#8220;T&#233;thys II&#8221;) allowed acquiring more than 2000 km of very high-resolution (VHR) seismic data (Sparker), following a dense grid (1.5 km average profile spacing), on the Eastern Sardinian continental shelf, and especially in the Orosei Gulf area, that has been little explored until now. While the main limitation on seismic data (air-gun) interpretation is often due to the occurrence of sea bottom multiple, the limitation for Sparker data may also be due to very short shot intervals at greater water depth. The seismic trace ends where there still is signal of interest. Thus, we applied a simple method to increase investigation depth for short shot intervals (0.333 - 0.533&#160;ms), which allowed interpretation on the continental slope. This approach consists in copying the raw data and concatenating the copied data under the raw data with a shift of 1 shot point. To constrain the MES depth on the continental slope and shelf we compared air-gun seismic data from previous METYSS surveys, where the MES has already been interpreted by a strong erosional discordance between Plio-Quaternary deposits and pre-MSC units, with the new VHR data. The restoration of the morphological features of the Orosei canyon at Messinian times shows that the former Messinian canyon network is very similar to the present-day one. The present-day canyon and its tributaries show sub-marine erosion in the talwegs. The heads of the canyons present gravitational features, highlighted by chaotic deposits near the talweg of the canyon or in-between the Plio-Quaternary strata. Offshore Arbatax, south Orosei, the seismic profiles show no significant Plio-Quaternary deposits (thickness < 0.1&#160;sTWT), which allows polygenic pre-MSC units to occur at the seafloor. In the Gulf, we observe thick deposits (0.4 - 0.5&#160;sTWT) on the right bank of Orosei Canyon, making it more complicated to image the MES in this area. The sedimentation rate on this margin is very low (<em>c.a.</em> 9&#160;cm/ka in the Gulf of Orosei), which is consistent with previous studies on the East-Sardinian basin (3-20&#160;cm/ka). These preliminary results will allow correlating for the first time the MES distribution from the onshore to the offshore continental slope of the Eastern Sardinian Margin in order to improve the MSC understanding in this key area.</p>

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50th anniversary review of the Mediterranean desiccation hypothesis

Ryan

2023

Riv. Nuovo Cim.

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The first deep-sea drilling expedition in the Mediterranean chanced upon unanticipated discoveries when recovering deeply buried sediments of Late Miocene age that had once accumulated in ultra-shallow water and had later experienced subaerial exposure. Among these deposits were potassium and magnesium chlorides, desiccation cracks, fluvial gravels and shale bearing bottom-dwelling diatoms requiring sunlight, all indicative that the Mediterranean had evaporated one or more times to near dryness during what became called the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The initial presentation of these findings in 1973 was met with hesitancy. Had the present 2 to 4 km deep Mediterranean Basins been much shallower? How does one explain sediment sandwiched between beds of anhydrite and gypsum that hosted microfossils belonging to both ocean seawater and species that lived in fresh-to-brackish water lagoons? Did all of the evaporites originate on salt pans rimmed by alluvial aprons, or was there a deep-water period during which most of the 1 to 2 km thick layer of salt layer had arrived? How do the Late Miocene evaporites and mudstones outcropping in mobile belts along numerous Mediterranean margins fit with the scenario of a near empty Mediterranean? These inquiries are addressed in the style of a historical narrative reviewing 50 years of investigations by researchers turning their attention to the peripheral deposits, including those from the Paratethys. The stable isotopes of oxygen, carbon, sulfur, deuterium and strontium become crucial evidence in support of a substantial Mediterranean desiccation that harmonizes what appears to be unresolved conflicts among prior and even contemporary interpretations.

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Depositional environment and age of some key Late Pliocene to Early Quaternary deposits on the underfilled Cedrino paleovalley (Orosei): Insight into the Neogene geodynamic evolution of Sardinia

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

New onshore/offshore evidence of the Messinian Erosion Surface from key areas: The Ibiza-Balearic Promontory and the Orosei-Eastern Sardinian margin

New onshore/offshore evidence of the Messinian Erosion Surface from key areas: The Ibiza-Balearic Promontory and the Orosei-Eastern Sardinian margin

The Messinian Erosion Surface along the Eastern Sardinian Margin, Western Tyrrhenian: New Insights from Very High-Resolution Seismic Data (METYSS 4)

50th anniversary review of the Mediterranean desiccation hypothesis

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