Late Miocene-Quaternary sedimentary environment evolution of the Kerch seep area, Black Sea

Abstract

A set of 2D high resolution seismic lines was acquired near the Kerch Peninsula during R/V Meteor Cruise M72/3 in March/April 2007 to the Eastern Black Sea. The high resolution seismic data were used for analysis of seismic facies and seismic sequences to gain insight into the sedimentary evolution of the study area. Seven seismic facies types were identified and six seismic units could be mapped. Based on seismic line interpretation, isopach and seismic facies distribution maps, a chronostratigraphic framework could be established for the study area. The study reveals that the sediment deposits were influenced by syndepositional tectonic movements, sea level and climate. During the late Miocene and the early Pliocene, possible slope fan deposits developed. At the boundary between the Miocene and Pliocene, the Messinian erosional truncation surface was observed. After the Messinian sea level fall, accompanied by a major transgressional phase during the Pliocene, the Paleo-Don and Kuban Rivers delivered a large terrigenous input to the Black Sea from the uplifted Crimean Mountains. This formed thick submarine fan deposits near the mouth of Kerch Strait during the late Pliocene. Facies variations within the seismic units are related to the sea-level and climate curves, and are reflected by grain size variations in the sediments and the shift of the river mouth. During the Quaternary, hemipelagic sediments interbedded with coarse-grained fluvial sediments developed in the study area, along with slumps, river channels and fan deposits.