2009/02/01 by Rob Govers · 3 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geological and Geophysical Studies Worldwide #earthquake and tectonic studies #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research
paper · doi:10.1130/g25141a.1
openalex publication_date 2009/02/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/03/10
Research Article| February 01, 2009 Choking the Mediterranean to dehydration: The Messinian salinity crisis Rob Govers Rob Govers 1Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.021, 3508 TA Utrecht, Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Rob Govers 1Department of Earth Sciences, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80.021, 3508 TA Utrecht, Netherlands Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 28 May 2008 Revision Received: 01 Oct 2008 Accepted: 13 Oct 2008 First Online: 12 Oct 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2009 Geological Society of America Geology (2009) 37 (2): 167–170. https://doi.org/10.1130/G25141A.1 Article history Received: 28 May 2008 Revision Received: 01 Oct 2008 Accepted: 13 Oct 2008 First Online: 12 Oct 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Rob Govers; Choking the Mediterranean to dehydration: The Messinian salinity crisis. Geology 2009;; 37 (2): 167–170. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G25141A.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Strait uplift due to isostasy played a pivotal role in the development and maintenance of a desiccated Mediterranean basin during the Late Miocene Messinian salinity crisis. New three-dimensional flexure models for the western Mediterranean suggest that most of the giant evaporite body was deposited before sea-level lowering. Any mechanism that subsequently caused a Mediterranean sea-level lowering by a few hundred meters during several thousand years sufficed to cause isostatic uplift and closure of the gateways, thus choking the Mediterranean to desiccation. Due to this isostatic feedback, multiple desiccation and reflooding phases driven by Milankovitch cycles are unlikely. When the Atlantic connection had been lost and sea level had dropped, a sizeable regional uplift of the Strait of Gibraltar developed that presented a formidable obstacle to reflooding. Rollback and steepening of the Gibraltar slab may have played a key role at the end of the Miocene by dynamically lowering the sill region, thus reinstating the oceanic connection. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.