Do major neogene hiatuses in the Ciscaucasian semi-enclosed basin (Eastern Paratethys, southwestern Russia) record eustatic falls?

Martyn Pedley,Dmitry Ruban,Michael Rogerson

doi:10.2298/gabp1071001r

Martyn Pedley, Dmitry Ruban + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.2298/gabp1071001r

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Abstract

Hiatuses in semi-enclosed basins can be caused by either eustatic falls or local tectonic uplifts. The Ciscaucasian basin is located in the south of European Russia. In the Neogene, it belonged to the Eastern Paratethys domain. On the basis of available stratigraphic data, four major hiatuses are traced in this basin as erosional surfaces or lengthy sedimentation breaks, namely the Tarkhanian, Middle/Upper Sarmatian, Sarmatian/Maeotian, and Kimmerian hiatuses. They are documented in most of the areas of the study basin. The three earlier hiatuses mark short-term and nearly isochronous, basinwide sedimentation breaks, whereas the latter hiatus is diachronous, embracing more than 2 myr. All reported hiatuses record the eustatic falls. Consequently, we argue that eustatic processes controlled sedimentation in the Ciscaucasian basin throughout the entire Neogene. This means the basin was connected to the open ocean throughout this period, with important consequences for our understanding of watermass history in the Mediterranean and Paratethyan basins further west and south.

Highlights

The Paratethys was a major palaeogeographical domain, consisting of a constellation of small sedimentary basins
Four major hiatuses can be documented within the Neogene deposits of the Ciscaucasian basin (Fig. 4)
An increase in the number and extent of sedimentation breaks occurred in the Kotsakhurian and remained until the Karaganian, indicating that this major hiatus was a culmination of sedimentation disruption, which embraced 3 regional stages

Summary

Introduction

The Paratethys was a major palaeogeographical domain, consisting of a constellation of small sedimentary basins. The Paratethys is subdivided into three parts; Western, Central and Eastern (Fig. 1) Due to their peripheral connection with the World Ocean and with the Mediterranean. MARTYN PEDLEY (e.g., POPOV et al 2006; KRIJGSMAN et al 2010), Paratethyan basins offered an environment in which eustatic signals, those encompassing the onset and duration of the so-called “Messinian Salinity Crisis”, may be amplified within sedimentary successions. These successions may have been modified by local tectonic activity

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