Slope destabilization during the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Abstract

During the Messinian Salinity Crisis, ~6Myr ago, deep canyons were incised when a huge sea-level drawdown of ~1.5km affected the Mediterranean Sea. Nearly contemporaneously, more than 2km of evaporites accumulated in the basin. This event was the consequence of a complex interaction of tectonic movements and global sea-level variation associated with climatic evolution. This unusual event ended with the reflooding of the Mediterranean area. In this paper, using seismic line interpretation, we show that several landslides occurred in various parts of the Mediterranean Basin during this crisis. Three of these landslides are well preserved, and their dynamics were analyzed. Modeling of the slope stability demonstrates that these landslides may have been due to (i) the relief created by the deep erosion, and/or (ii) the reflooding, which triggered a pore pressure increase. The relatively small run-out distances of the three landslides suggest propagation in a submarine environment and triggering by sea-level rise.