Seismic imaging of Late Miocene (Messinian) evaporites from Western Mediterranean back-arc basins

Abstract

An analysis of multichannel seismic reflection data was conducted focusing on the comparison between the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) and Plio-Quaternary (PQ) evolution of the eastern Sardo-Provençal and northern Algero-Balearic basins and related margins in the West Mediterranean Sea. Both basins were completely opened during the MSC and their well-defined seismic stratigraphy is very similar in the deep parts. The primary difference between these two basins is due to their different pre-MSC extensional history, including the opening age and the stretching factors. These factors influenced the occurrence of post-MSC salt tectonics on these margins.