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Deep roots of the Messinian salinity crisis

Nature volume 422, pages 602–606 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

The Messinian salinity crisis—the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea between 5.96 and 5.33 million years (Myr) ago1—was one of the most dramatic events on Earth during the Cenozoic era2. It resulted from the closure of marine gateways between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the causes of which remain enigmatic. Here we use the age and composition of volcanic rocks to reconstruct the geodynamic evolution of the westernmost Mediterranean from the Middle Miocene epoch to the Pleistocene epoch (about 12.1–0.65 Myr ago). Our data show that a marked shift in the geochemistry of mantle-derived volcanic rocks, reflecting a change from subduction-related to intraplate-type volcanism, occurred between 6.3 and 4.8 Myr ago, largely synchronous with the Messinian salinity crisis. Using a thermomechanical model, we show that westward roll back of subducted Tethys oceanic lithosphere and associated asthenospheric upwelling provides a plausible mechanism for producing the shift in magma chemistry and the necessary uplift (∼1 km) along the African and Iberian continental margins to close the Miocene marine gateways, thereby causing the Messinian salinity crisis.

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Figure 1: Maps illustrating Late Miocene Atlantic–Mediterranean marine gateways, and the distribution of Miocene–Pleistocene volcanism in the westernmost Mediterranean.
Figure 2: The major- and trace-element geochemistry of Miocene–Pleistocene volcanic rocks in the westernmost Mediterranean changes from subduction-related to intraplate-type during the Messinian.
Figure 3: Trace-element and isotope ratios change during the MSC, consistent with the change from subduction-related to intraplate-type magmatism.
Figure 4: Thermomechanical models illustrating the uplift resulting from roll back of subducted Tethys oceanic lithosphere and associated asthenosphere upwelling as a plausible mechanism for the closure of Late Miocene Atlantic–Mediterranean marine gateways.

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Acknowledgements

We thank K. Reicherter, M. Hort and T. Hansteen for discussions, and M. Bouabdellah, M. Chaieb, D. Garbe-Schönberg, C. Harris, F. Hauff, M. Jadid, J. M. Fernandez Soler, M. Milhi, A. Moukadiri, D. Rau and J. Sticklus for analytical, field or logistic support. This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.

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  1. Svend Duggen

    Present address: Department of Geology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK

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  1. GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, 24148, Kiel, Germany

    Svend Duggen, Kaj Hoernle, Paul van den Bogaard, Lars Rüpke & Jason Phipps Morgan

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Duggen, S., Hoernle, K., van den Bogaard, P. et al. Deep roots of the Messinian salinity crisis. Nature 422, 602–606 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature01553

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