Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea
Carbonate escarpments are submarine limestone and dolomite cliffs that have been documented in numerous sites around the world. Their geomorphic evolution is poorly understood due to difficulties in assessing escarpment outcrops and the limited resolution achieved by geophysical techniques across th...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Estado: | Versión aceptada para publicación |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2018 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
| Repositorio: | DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:digital.csic.es:10261/172776 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10261/172776 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Malta Escarpment Geomorphic evolution Submarine canyon Palaeoshoreline Sea level drawdown Messinian salinity crisis |
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| dc.title.none.fl_str_mv |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| title |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| spellingShingle |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea Micallef, Aaron Malta Escarpment Geomorphic evolution Submarine canyon Palaeoshoreline Sea level drawdown Messinian salinity crisis |
| title_short |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| title_fullStr |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| title_sort |
Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea |
| dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv |
Micallef, Aaron Camerlenghi, Angelo Georgiopoulou, A. García-Castellanos, Daniel Gutscher, Marc-André Lo Iacono, Claudio Huvenne, Veerle A.I. Mountjoy, Joshu J. Paull, Charles K. Le Bas, Timothy Spatola, Daniele Facchin, Lorenzo Accettella, Daniela |
| author |
Micallef, Aaron |
| author_facet |
Micallef, Aaron Camerlenghi, Angelo Georgiopoulou, A. García-Castellanos, Daniel Gutscher, Marc-André Lo Iacono, Claudio Huvenne, Veerle A.I. Mountjoy, Joshu J. Paull, Charles K. Le Bas, Timothy Spatola, Daniele Facchin, Lorenzo Accettella, Daniela |
| author_role |
author |
| author2 |
Camerlenghi, Angelo Georgiopoulou, A. García-Castellanos, Daniel Gutscher, Marc-André Lo Iacono, Claudio Huvenne, Veerle A.I. Mountjoy, Joshu J. Paull, Charles K. Le Bas, Timothy Spatola, Daniele Facchin, Lorenzo Accettella, Daniela |
| author2_role |
author author author author author author author author author author author author |
| dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv |
David and Lucile Packard Foundation European Cooperation in Science and Technology European Research Council European Cooperation in Science and Technology Royal Society of New Zealand Spectrum Pharmaceuticals European Commission National Institution for Water and Atmospheric (New Zealand) New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research García-Castellanos, Daniel [0000-0001-8454-8572] Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72] |
| dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv |
Malta Escarpment Geomorphic evolution Submarine canyon Palaeoshoreline Sea level drawdown Messinian salinity crisis |
| topic |
Malta Escarpment Geomorphic evolution Submarine canyon Palaeoshoreline Sea level drawdown Messinian salinity crisis |
| description |
Carbonate escarpments are submarine limestone and dolomite cliffs that have been documented in numerous sites around the world. Their geomorphic evolution is poorly understood due to difficulties in assessing escarpment outcrops and the limited resolution achieved by geophysical techniques across their steep topographies. The geomorphic evolution of carbonate escarpments in the Mediterranean Sea has been influenced by the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). During the MSC (5.97–5.33 Ma), the Mediterranean Sea became a saline basin due to a temporary restriction of the Atlantic-Mediterranean seaway, resulting in the deposition of more than one million cubic kilometres of salt. The extent and relative chronology of the evaporative drawdown phases associated to the MSC remain poorly constrained. In this paper we combine geophysical and sedimentological data from the central Mediterranean Sea to reconstruct the geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and infer the extent and timing of evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the MSC. We propose that, during a MSC base-level fall, fluvial erosion formed a dense network of canyons across the Malta Escarpment whilst coastal erosion developed extensive palaeoshorelines and shore platforms. The drivers of geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment after the MSC include: (i) canyon erosion by submarine gravity flows, with the most recent activity taking place <2600 cal. years BP; (ii) deposition by bottom currents across the entire depth range of the Malta Escarpment; (iii) tectonic deformation in the southern Malta Escarpment in association with a wrench zone; (iv) widespread, small-scale sedimentary slope failures preconditioned by oversteepening and loss of support due to canyon erosion, and triggered by earthquakes. We carry out an isostatic restoration of the palaeoshorelines and shore platforms on the northern Malta Escarpment to infer an evaporative drawdown of 1800–2000 m in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the MSC. We interpret the occurrence of pre-evaporite sedimentary lobes in the western Ionian Basin as suggesting that either evaporative drawdown and canyon formation predominantly occurred before salt deposition, or that only the latest salt deposition at the basin margin occurred after the formation of the sedimentary lobes. © 2018 Elsevier B.V. |
| publishDate |
2018 |
| dc.date.none.fl_str_mv |
2018 2018 2018 |
| dc.type.none.fl_str_mv |
info:eu-repo/semantics/article http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501 Postprint info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion |
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article |
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acceptedVersion |
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http://hdl.handle.net/10261/172776 |
| url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10261/172776 |
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Inglés |
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Inglés |
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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openAccess |
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Elsevier |
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Elsevier |
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reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) |
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Geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and implications for the Messinian evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean SeaMicallef, AaronCamerlenghi, AngeloGeorgiopoulou, A.García-Castellanos, DanielGutscher, Marc-AndréLo Iacono, ClaudioHuvenne, Veerle A.I.Mountjoy, Joshu J.Paull, Charles K.Le Bas, TimothySpatola, DanieleFacchin, LorenzoAccettella, DanielaMalta EscarpmentGeomorphic evolutionSubmarine canyonPalaeoshorelineSea level drawdownMessinian salinity crisisCarbonate escarpments are submarine limestone and dolomite cliffs that have been documented in numerous sites around the world. Their geomorphic evolution is poorly understood due to difficulties in assessing escarpment outcrops and the limited resolution achieved by geophysical techniques across their steep topographies. The geomorphic evolution of carbonate escarpments in the Mediterranean Sea has been influenced by the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC). During the MSC (5.97–5.33 Ma), the Mediterranean Sea became a saline basin due to a temporary restriction of the Atlantic-Mediterranean seaway, resulting in the deposition of more than one million cubic kilometres of salt. The extent and relative chronology of the evaporative drawdown phases associated to the MSC remain poorly constrained. In this paper we combine geophysical and sedimentological data from the central Mediterranean Sea to reconstruct the geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment and infer the extent and timing of evaporative drawdown in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the MSC. We propose that, during a MSC base-level fall, fluvial erosion formed a dense network of canyons across the Malta Escarpment whilst coastal erosion developed extensive palaeoshorelines and shore platforms. The drivers of geomorphic evolution of the Malta Escarpment after the MSC include: (i) canyon erosion by submarine gravity flows, with the most recent activity taking place <2600 cal. years BP; (ii) deposition by bottom currents across the entire depth range of the Malta Escarpment; (iii) tectonic deformation in the southern Malta Escarpment in association with a wrench zone; (iv) widespread, small-scale sedimentary slope failures preconditioned by oversteepening and loss of support due to canyon erosion, and triggered by earthquakes. We carry out an isostatic restoration of the palaeoshorelines and shore platforms on the northern Malta Escarpment to infer an evaporative drawdown of 1800–2000 m in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during the MSC. We interpret the occurrence of pre-evaporite sedimentary lobes in the western Ionian Basin as suggesting that either evaporative drawdown and canyon formation predominantly occurred before salt deposition, or that only the latest salt deposition at the basin margin occurred after the formation of the sedimentary lobes. © 2018 Elsevier B.V.This research was undertaken with funding from Marie Curie Career Integration Grant PCIG13-GA-2013-618149 (SCARP), ERC Starting Grants n°258482 (CODEMAP) and n°677898 (MARCAN), and collaborative project n°228344 (EUROFLEETS), all within the 7th European Community Framework Programme and the Horizon 2020 Programme. Financial support was also provided by the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program, Royal Society of New Zealand (through the International Mobility Fund), New Zealand Crown Research Institute SSIF funding to NIWA, the Griffith Geoscience Awards (Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources under the National Geoscience Programme 2007–2013 of Ireland), and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. MAG acknowledges INSU for cruise-related funding and the European Union FP7 project ASTARTE for post-cruise financial support. The article is based upon work from COST Action CA15103 “Uncovering the Mediterranean salt giant” (MEDSALT) supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology).Peer reviewedElsevierDavid and Lucile Packard FoundationEuropean Cooperation in Science and TechnologyEuropean Research CouncilEuropean Cooperation in Science and TechnologyRoyal Society of New ZealandSpectrum PharmaceuticalsEuropean CommissionNational Institution for Water and Atmospheric (New Zealand)New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food ResearchGarcía-Castellanos, Daniel [0000-0001-8454-8572]Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas [https://ror.org/02gfc7t72]201820182018info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501Postprintinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersionhttp://hdl.handle.net/10261/172776reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Inglés#PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE##PLACEHOLDER_PARENT_METADATA_VALUE#info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/228344info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/618149info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/258482info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/677898info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/FP7/603839https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.11.012Síinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/1727762026-05-22T06:33:51Z |
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15,811543 |