The Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis: an Apennine foredeep perspective

Roveri, Marco; Bassetti, Maria Angela; Lucchi, Federico

doi:10.1016/s0037-0738(00)00183-4

Cited by 175 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…It is worth noting that evidence of subaerial exposure and/or erosion are not observed within these cycles, but only at the top of the PLG unit. This PLG unit may locally consist of less than 16 gypsum cycles, owing to the absence of the basal members (replaced by their laterally equivalent evaporite-free deposits: Manzi et al 2007;Dela Pierre et al 2011;Gennari et al 2013) or because of erosion and resedimentation during the subsequent stage 2 (Roveri et al 2001(Roveri et al , 2014aManzi et al 2005).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…The resulting unit observed in onshore successions has been named Resedimented Lower Gypsum (RLG), and shows very rapid and significant lateral changes in terms of lithology and thickness, which is also related to tectonic activity affecting several Mediterranean areas in this stage. The clastic component of the RLG unit mainly consists of gypsum turbidites, giant PLG olistoliths (Roveri et al 2001(Roveri et al , 2008bManzi et al 2005) and microbially derived brecciated limestones (i.e. the Calcare di Base of Sicily: Manzi et al 2011).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…Locally, the RLG unit may mainly consist of terrigenous sediments (i.e. turbiditic sandstones of the Apennine foreland system depocentres -the Laga pro parte and Fusignano formations; Roveri et al 2001;Manzi et al 2005;Rossi et al 2015). This stage, which is considered the acme of the crisis, encompasses a very short time window, according to cyclostratigraphic considerations based on stage 1 (Roveri & Manzi 2006) and stage 3 cyclic patterns (Manzi et al 2009).…”

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The Messinian salinity crisis: open problems and possible implications for Mediterranean petroleum systems

Roveri

Gennari

Lugli

et al. 2016

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A general agreement on what actually happened during the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) has been reached in the minds of most geologists but, in the deepest settings of the Mediterranean Basin, the picture is still far from being finalized and several different scenarios for the crisis have been proposed, with different significant implications for hydrocarbon exploration. The currently accepted MSC paradigm of the 'shallow-water deep-basin' model, which implies high-amplitude sea-level oscillations (> 1500 m) of the Mediterranean up to its desiccation, is usually considered as fact. As a consequence, it is on this model that the implications of the MSC events on the Mediterranean petroleum systems are commonly based.In fact, an alternative, deep-water, non-desiccated scenario of the MSC is possible: it (i) implies the permanence of a large water body in the Mediterranean throughout the entire Messinian salinity crisis, but with strongly reduced Atlantic connections; and (ii) envisages a genetic link between Messinian erosion of the Mediterranean margins and deep brine development.In this work, we focus on the strong implications of an assessment of the petroleum systems of the Mediterranean and adjoining areas (e.g. the Black Sea Basin) that can be based on such a non-desiccated MSC scenario. In particular, the near-full basin model delivers a more realistic definition of Messinian source-rock generation and distribution, as well as of the magnitude of water-unloading processes and their effects on hydrocarbon accumulation.

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The Messinian salinity crisis: open problems and possible implications for Mediterranean petroleum systems

Roveri

Gennari

Lugli

et al. 2016

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“…4,5,6). The Messinian section is about 243 m thick and consists of a series of lithological units that reflect the local history of the onset and termination of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) (Roveri et al 2005;Roveri et al 2001). From bottom to top, the succession is divided into five units: (Fig.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Probable late Messinian tsunamiites near Monte Dei Corvi, Italy, and the Nijar Basin, Spain: expected architecture of offshore tsunami deposits

Smit¹,

Laffra²,

Meulenaars³

et al. 2011

Nat Hazards

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Three distinct, 30-to 80-cm-thick, graded, multilayered, coarse-grained sandstone layers, intercalated in the late Messinian mudstones of the Colombacci formation in Lago Mare facies of the Trave section are interpreted as tsunamiites (Ts1-Ts3). Each of these layers is sheet-like and could be followed along strike over several tens of meters. The lower two layers (Ts1-Ts2) occur in the lower part of the Colombacci formation and the third (Ts3) just below a conspicuous white ''colombacci'' limestone near the top of the formation. The three sandstone layers represent unique sedimentary events within the 120-m-thick San Donato-Colombacci mudstones, which contain many thin, finegrained, possibly storm-related turbidites. Each of the three clastic layers is overall graded and strongly cross-bedded. A single layer consists of a stack of several graded sublayers that are eroded into the underlying mudstones and into each other. Absence of hummocky cross-stratification (HCS) indicates that the layers are not produced during a large, catastrophic storm event. Current ripples such as dm-sized trough cross-beds suggest strong, prolonged, unidirectional currents, capable of carrying coarse conglomeratic sands. Climbing ripples in middle-fine sand units indicate a high suspension load settling under waning current strength. Each of the Ts1-Ts3 beds satisfies a combination of criteria, described in this paper, that allow interpretation as a tsunamiite in an offshore environment. Tsunamiite Ts2 is underlain by a 15-cm-thick meshwork of synsedimentary fissures, filled with coarse sand. Ground movements induced by strong earthquakes probably caused these crevasses. The uniqueness of each layer, the erosion of the base of each of the sublayers into underlying mudstones and previously deposited sublayer and the consistent stacking of graded sandstone beds within each of the three layers, underlain by earthquakeproduced fissures, strongly point to deposition by traction currents produced by the surges of a large tsunami event, triggered by a large vertical fault movements. Vertical fault displacements most likely occurred along the thrust faults like the Sibilline thrust at the SW of the Laga foreland basin, which were active at late Messinian times. A series of

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“…The top of the Marnoso-arenacea Formation is composed of finely laminated organic-rich silty shales, informally named 'euxinic shales' (Vai and Ricci Lucchi 1977), deposited in a relatively deep, open marine environment (e.g. Kouwenhoven et al 1999;Roveri et al 2001). The euxinic shales, late Tortonian-early Messinian in age, attain a thickness of over 100 metres and are characterized by a precession-related cyclicity (Krijgsman et al 1997(Krijgsman et al , 1999a(Krijgsman et al , 1999bVai 1997).…”

Section: Stratigraphymentioning

confidence: 99%

Passive‐roof thrusting in the Messinian Vena del Gesso Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy): constraints from field data and analogue models

et al. 2007

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We present the results of a study of the Vena del Gesso Basin (Romagna Apennines, Italy) integrating field analyses and analogue modelling. This basin represents one of the best-preserved top-thrust basins in the Northern Apennines foreland and is one of the few examples where primary evaporites, related to the Messinian salinity crisis of the Mediterranean, widely crop out. The structural style affecting the Messinian gypsum is examined to get insights into the mechanism responsible for the overall deformation features recognizable in the area. The evaporites are completely detached at the base and widespread back-thrusts, repeatedly doubling these deposits, strongly contrast with the regional forelandward vergence of structures in the Apennines. On the basis of the comparison between field data and experimental results, the features characterising this area can be described as the result of the deformation linked to the sequential activation of an obliquely propagating passive-roof duplex. Analogue models evidenced the major role played (1) by syntectonic erosion that promoted the development of passive-roof duplex style, as well as (2) the role of décollement level pinch-out that determined an oblique progression of deformation. Finally our data lead to reconsider the palaeoenvironmental reconstruction concerning the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis in the Mediterranean.

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The Mediterranean Messinian salinity crisis: an Apennine foredeep perspective

Cited by 175 publications

References 22 publications

The Messinian salinity crisis: open problems and possible implications for Mediterranean petroleum systems

The Messinian salinity crisis: open problems and possible implications for Mediterranean petroleum systems

Probable late Messinian tsunamiites near Monte Dei Corvi, Italy, and the Nijar Basin, Spain: expected architecture of offshore tsunami deposits

Passive‐roof thrusting in the Messinian Vena del Gesso Basin (Northern Apennines, Italy): constraints from field data and analogue models

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