Miocene Oceanographic Evolution Based on the Sr and Nd Isotope Record of the Central Mediterranean

Abstract

AbstractThe Miocene is a key interval in the geodynamic and oceanographic evolution of the Mediterranean marking the transition from a wide open basin to the modern closed basin. We used the Sr and Nd isotope records of two Miocene carbonate successions in the Adriatic to document that the evolution of the Mediterranean Basin controlled its seawater chemistry. During the late Aquitanian (~21 Ma), a time of glaciation and sea level lowstand, increased runoff affected the Sr isotope ratios of Mediterranean waters, whereas during the Burdigalian (20.44–15.97 Ma) volcanism in the circum‐Mediterranean area mainly influenced the Sr isotopic signature. During the Langhian (15.97–13.82 Ma), a time of sea level highstand associated with the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum, the Nd isotope values indicate that waters exchanged between the Paratethys and the Central Mediterranean. The Central Mediterranean was well connected with the Atlantic Ocean between the Langhian and the early Tortonian (15.97–11.5 Ma), but exchange of water with the Paratethys declined. In the Messinian (6.3 Ma), connections between some marginal Mediterranean basins, for example, the proto‐Adriatic basin, and the Central Mediterranean, became restricted. In this basin, the Sr isotope values fell below the global reference line, while Nd isotope ratios show a strong affinity with the Atlantic Ocean and also indicate freshwater input. We conclude that the Mediterranean Nd isotope signature differs from that in the open oceans and reflects the basin physiography, reflecting a mix of signals derived from the adjacent oceans and local signals.