An early Miocene reefal platform in the Rama Ridge (Banda Sea, Indonesia)

 In December 1995 we dredged early Miocene coral-reef carbonates and early/middle Pliocene slope carbonates outcropping on the submerged Rama Ridge. This indicates that some of the Banda Sea Ridges were present during early Miocene times. Subsequent major tectonic subsidence occurred between middle Miocene and early Pliocene times. These results concur with the hypothesis of a relatively recent age for the North Banda Sea basement. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revision received: 23 October 1997     

Sedimentary and structural evolution of the Eastern South Korea Plateau (ESKP), East Sea (Japan Sea)

The East Sea (Japan Sea) is a semi-enclosed back-arc basin that is thought to preserve a significant record of tectonic evolution and paleo-climatic changes of Eastern Asia during the Neogene. We use here 2-D regional multi-channel seismic reflection profiles and borehole data from Expedition 346 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) to provide new constraints on the geological history of the Eastern South Korea Plateau (ESKP). The ESKP represents a structurally-complex basement high in the southwestern East Sea which formed during rifting of the back-arc basin. Our new observations show that the ESKP is composed of numerous horsts and grabens controlled by NE-trending normal faults. The acoustic basement is blanketed by Oligocene to recent sediments that have preferentially accumulated in topographic lows (up to 1.5 km thick) and have been cored during Expedition 346 at Site U1430 close to the southern margin of the ESKP. Seismic profiles in the ESKP reveal three units separated by regional unconformities. These seismic units closely correspond to IODP lithostratigraphic units defined at Site U1430, where biostratigraphic data can be used to constrain the timing of three main evolutionary stages of the ESKP. Stage 1 was related to rifting in the late Oligocene and middle Miocene, terminated by a regional uplift leading to an erosional phase in the middle Miocene. Stage 2 was associated with subsidence in the middle and late Miocene and uplift and accompanying erosion or non-deposition in the latest late Miocene. Stage 3 (Pliocene to present) recorded overall uniform hemipelagic-pelagic subsidence of the ESKP with short-lived tectonically-induced uplifts in the late middle Miocene and latest Miocene-early Pliocene. The three stages of evolution of the ESKP closely correlate to sedimentary changes since the Oligocene and suggest a direct control of regional/local tectonics on sedimentation patterns in the southwestern East Sea, with secondary influence of regional climatic and paleo-oceanographic processes.     

Right-lateral strike-slip movement of the South Korea Plateau associated with the opening of the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Multi-channel seismic profiles and swath bathymetric data were used to investigate the tectonic evolution of the South Korea Plateau (SKP) associated with the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea). The SKP is a deformed fragment of continental crust with numerous horsts and sediment-filled grabens. Three sedimentary units in the plateau were identified, which consist of the lower sequence (Unit I) interpreted as syn-rifting deposition during the early to middle Miocene, and the middle and upper sequences (Units II and III) considered as post-rifting deposition since the late Miocene. The fault system in the SKP includes the South Korea Plateau Fault (SKPF) trending NNW-SSE and smaller en echelon normal faults oriented NE-SW. We interpreted the information to postulate that the formation of the SKPF is the result of divergent right-lateral strike-slip movement in the SKP. This study suggests that the dextral movement of the SKP was induced by WSW-ward propagation of the spreading center located in the Japan Basin from the early to middle Miocene times.     

冲绳海槽中段线性磁条带异常及其构造发育

通过对磁场分析发现,冲绳海槽中段存在线性磁异常,说明海槽轴部地壳已经发生破裂,新鲜洋壳已经生成,目前已进入扩张阶段.通过对磁条带和地震地层的研究得出如下结论:冲绳海槽的张裂具有Ⅲ幕模式,即中到晚中新世的开裂幕(Ⅰ幕)、上新世—早更新世的拉张幕(Ⅱ幕)以及近代的扩张幕(Ⅲ幕).冲绳海槽中段的地磁场特征和已发生扩张的红海中段的磁场非常相似,说明冲绳海槽可能正向着“红海阶段”过渡发展.     

Siliciclastic influx and burial of the Cenozoic carbonate system in the Gulf of Papua

An extensive carbonate system in the Gulf of Papua (GoP), developed in the late Oligocene–middle Miocene, was buried by huge influx of siliciclastics originated from Papua New Guinea. Major episodes of siliciclastic influx in the carbonate system are related to tectonic activity in the fold and thrust belt during the Oligocene Peninsular Orogeny, late Miocene Central Range Orogeny, and late Pliocene renewed uplift and exhumation of peninsular region. Siliciclastics did not influence the carbonate deposition during the late Oligocene–middle Miocene, since they were accumulated in the Aure Trough, proximal foreland basin protecting the carbonate system. The most significant burial of the carbonate system started during the late Miocene–early Pliocene in the result of the Central Range Orogeny. However, the largest influx was related to the renewed uplift of the Papuan Peninsula during the early late Pliocene. The shelf edge prograded ∼150 km and formed more than 80% of the modern shelf. This high siliciclastic influx was also enhanced by the “mid” Pliocene global warmth period and intensified East Asian monsoons at 3.6–2.9 Ma. Although many publications exist on carbonate–siliciclastic mixing in different depositional environments, this study helps understand the carbonate–siliciclastic interactions in space and time, especially at basinal scale, and during different intervals of the carbonate system burial by siliciclastic sediments.     

Interaction between trench retreat and Anatolian escape as recorded by neogene basins in the northern Aegean Sea

The evolution of the North Aegean Sea is studied through the development of three deep basins: the North Aegean Trough, the North Skyros Basin and the Ikaria Basin. Bathymetric data, a 2D seismic dataset and the well-investigated stratigraphic records of the onshore deep basins of northern Greece and Western Turkey were used to make structural and seismic stratigraphic interpretations. The study area shows two sharp unconformities that correspond to the Eocene-Oligocene transition and the Miocene-Pliocene shift. These discontinuities were used as marker horizons for a more detailed structural and seismic stratigraphic interpretation resulting in the identification of several seismic units. A general seismic signature chart was established using onshore basin stratigraphy and well data, which was then used to constrain the ages of the different seismic units. The main features observed in the basins are interpreted as: 1) trans-tensional growth patterns in Pliocene and Quaternary sediments that combine NE–SW trending and steeply dipping fault zones that likely correspond to strike-slip corridors and E-W/WNW-ESE trending normal faults, 2) regional erosional truncations of Miocene sediments, likely related to the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC), 3) thick delta-turbidite deposits of Neogene age. Only the North Aegean Trough shows evidence of earlier development and polyphase deformation through inversion structures, and additional seismic units. Extension processes in the Aegean region have been driven by the Hellenic slab rollback since the middle Eocene. The widespread development of Neogene basins at the whole Aegean scale attests to a major tectonic change due to an acceleration of the trench retreat in the middle Miocene. The present study shows that the Neogene basins of the North Aegean Sea developed in dextral transtension with the northward migration of the associated NE-SW trending strike-slip faults. At regional scale, this tectonic pattern indicates that the westward escape of Anatolia started to interact with the trench retreat in the middle Miocene, around 10 Myr before the arrival of the North Anatolian Fault in the North Aegean Sea.     

Review of recent findings on the water masses and circulation in the East Sea (Sea of Japan)

Recent findings on water masses, biogeochemical tracers, deep currents and basin-scale circulation in the East/Japan Sea, and numerical modeling of its circulation are reviewed. Warming continues up to 2007 despite an episode of bottom water formation in the winter of 2000–2001. Water masses have definitely changed since the 1970s and further changes are expected due to the continuation of warming. Accumulation of current data in deep waters of the East/Japan Sea reveals that the circulation in the East/Japan Sea is primarily cyclonic with sub-basin scale cyclonic and anticyclonic cells in the Ulleung Basin (Tsushima Basin). Our understanding of the circulation of intermediate water masses has been deepened through high-resolution numerical studies, and the implementation of data assimilation has had initial success. However, the East/Japan Sea is unique in terms of the fine vertical structures of physical and biogeochemical properties of cold water mass measured at the highest precision and their rapid change with the global warming, so that full understanding of the structures and their change requires in-depth process studies with continuous monitoring programs.     

Neogene oceanographic variations recorded in manganese nodules from the Somali Basin

A detailed study of a nodule from the Somali Basin dated by ²³⁰Th_excess was correlated with the paleoceanographic events recorded in Site 236 (Leg 24) Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) cores. Tentative indications are that the phase of nodule accretion starting with the development of pillar structure at a depth of 20 mm in the nodule around 13 Ma coincides with increased Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) flow and an elevated calciumcarbonate compensation depth (CCD).

The Late Miocene lowering of the CCD is represented by the mottled zones between 8 and 18 mm in the nodule is characterised by an abundant silicate component (>20%) of aeolian origin. The Miocene/Pliocene boundary (5 Ma) occurs at a depth of about 8 mm and is represented by the development of pillar structure and a minimum of aeolian dust (10.3%).

The increased biological productivity of the Somali surface water since the Middle Miocene is demonstrated by the increasing C_org content of the nodule (from 0.11 to 0.19%) towards its surface.     

Ocean basins near the Scotia–Antarctic plate boundary: Influence of tectonics and paleoceanography on the Cenozoic deposits

The distribution of seismic units in deposits of the basins near the Antarctic–Scotia plate boundary is described based on the analysis of multichannel seismic reflection profiles. Five main seismic units are identified. The units are bounded by high-amplitude continuous reflectors, named a to d from top to bottom. The two older units are of different age and seismic facies in each basin and were generally deposited during active rifting and seafloor spreading. The three youngest units (3 to 1) exhibit, in contrast, rather similar seismic facies and can be correlated at a regional scale. The deposits are types of contourite drift that resulted from the interplay between the northeastward flow of Weddell Sea Bottom Water (WSBW) and the complex bathymetry in the northern Weddell Sea, and from the influence of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and the WSBW in the Scotia Sea. A major paleoceanographic event was recorded by Reflector c, during the Middle Miocene, which represents the connection between the Scotia Sea and the Weddell Sea after the opening of Jane Basin. Unit 3 (tentatively dated ∼Middle to Late Miocene) shows the initial incursions of the WSBW into the Scotia Sea, which influenced a northward progradational pattern, in contrast to the underlying deposits. The age attributed to Reflector b is coincident with the end of spreading at the West Scotia Ridge (∼6.4 Ma). Unit 2 (dated ∼Late Miocene to Early Pliocene) includes abundant high-energy, sheeted deposits in the northern Weddell Sea, which may reflect a higher production of WSBW as a result of the advance of the West Antarctic ice-sheet onto the continental shelf. Reflector a represents the last major regional paleoceanographic change. The timing of this event (∼3.5–3.8 Ma) coincides with the end of spreading at the Phoenix–Antarctic Ridge, but may be also correlated with global events such as initiation of the permanent Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet and a major sea level drop. Unit 1 (dated ∼Late Pliocene to Recent) is characterized by abundant chaotic, high-energy sheeted deposits, in addition to a variety of contourites, which suggest intensified deep-water production. Units 1 and 2 show, in addition, a cyclic pattern, more abundant wavy deposits and the development of internal unconformities, all of which attest to alternating periods of increased bottom current energy.     

Seismic expression and inferred depositional environments of Plio-Pleistocene sedimentary sequences in the southwestern Caspian Sea

Eight seismic profiles from the southwestern Caspian Sea were analyzed to establish the sedimentary environments and depositional history in the South Caspian Basin since Pliocene times. Based on reflection terminations, nine sequence boundaries (S1 to S9) were identified and traced across the study area. Consequently, nine depositional sequences (S1–S9) were defined on the basis of seismic facies analysis. The results suggest a transition from non-marine sedimentation in the Lower Pliocene to marine-dominated conditions in the Upper Pliocene (S1–S4). Marine conditions then continued to the present time; however, several sea-level changes led to the formation of sequences S5 to S9. Although no local sea-level curve is available due to a lack of well data, there is good agreement between the seismic stratigraphy of the study area and a published regional sea-level curve.     

南海北部陆丰凹陷LF14井中新世古水深变化及沉降特征*

南海北部陆丰凹陷内LF14井记录了早中新世至早上新世的海相沉积地层。古水深重建结果显示研究井位在早中新世突然发生海侵, 水深迅速上升至最大值275m, 随后经数次波动, 整体处于中—外陆架环境, 共记录了5个完整的海侵—海退层序。回剥分析方法重建的LF14井沉降史揭示了研究井位在中中新世(17.5—10Ma)处于快速沉降期, 快速沉降导致的凹陷内沉积物的可容纳空间发育速率高和陆源物质供给充足是造成该阶段沉积速率高的两个重要因素; 晚中新世—早上新世(10—4.53Ma)处于弱沉降期, 推测东沙运动导致凹陷内的沉积物可容纳空间发育速率变小和陆源物质供给减少, 造成该时期内研究井位沉积速率低。最后, 依据定量重建的古水深变化在研究层段识别出一系列短暂存在的构造上升事件。     

Middle to Late Cenozoic tectonic events in south and central Palawan (Philippines) and their implications to the evolution of the south-eastern margin of South China Sea: Evidence from onshore structural and offshore seismic data

Using recently gathered onland structural and 2D/3D offshore seismic data in south and central Palawan (Philippines), this paper presents a new perspective in unraveling the Cenozoic tectonic history of the southeastern margin of the South China Sea. South and central Palawan are dominated by Mesozoic ophiolites (Palawan Ophiolite), distinct from the primarily continental composition of the north. These ophiolites are emplaced over syn-rift Eocene turbidites (Panas Formation) along thrust structures best preserved in the ophiolite–turbidite contact as well as within the ophiolites. Thrusting is sealed by Early Miocene (∼20 Ma) sediments of the Pagasa Formation (Isugod Formation onland), constraining the younger limit of ophiolite emplacement at end Late Oligocene (∼23 Ma). The onset of ophiolite emplacement at end Eocene is constrained by thrust-related metamorphism of the Eocene turbidites, and post-emplacement underthrusting of Late Oligocene – Early Miocene Nido Limestone. This carbonate underthrusting at end Early Miocene (∼16 Ma) is marked by the deformation of a seismic unit corresponding to the earliest members of the Early – Middle Miocene Pagasa Formation. Within this formation, a tectonic wedge was built within Middle Miocene (from ∼16 Ma to ∼12 Ma), forming a thrust-fold belt called the Pagasa Wedge. Wedge deformation is truncated by the regionally-observed Middle Miocene Unconformity (MMU ∼12 Ma). A localized, post-kinematic extension affects thrust-fold structures, the MMU, and Late Miocene to Early Pliocene carbonates (e.g. Tabon Limestone). This structural set-up suggests a continuous convergent regime affecting the southeastern margin of the South China Sea between end Eocene to end Middle Miocene. The ensuing structures including juxtaposed carbonates, turbidites and shallow marine clastics within thrust-fold belts have become ideal environments for hydrocarbon generation and accumulation. Best developed in the Northwest Borneo Trough area, the intensity of thrust-fold deformation decreases towards the northeast into offshore southwest Palawan.     

Distribution and origin of shallow gas in deep-sea sediments of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea (Sea of Japan)

A synthesis of high-resolution (Chirp, 2–7 kHz) subbottom profiles in the Ulleung Basin reveals patchy distribution of shallow (<90 m subbottom depth) gassy sediments in the eastern basin plain below 1,800-m water depth. The shallow gases in the sediments are associated with acoustic turbidities, columnar acoustic blankings, enhanced reflectors, dome structures, and pockmarks. Analyses of gas samples collected from a piston core in an earlier study suggest that the shallow gases are thermogenic in origin. Also, published data showing high amounts of organic matter in thick sections of marine shale (middle Miocene to lower Pliocene sequence) and high heat flow in the basin plain sediments are consistent with the formation of deep, thermogenic gas. In multi-channel deep seismic profiles, numerous acoustic chimneys and faults reflect that the deep, thermogenic gas would have migrated upwards from the deeper subsurface to the near-seafloor. The upward-migrating gases may have accumulated in porous debrites and turbidites (upper Pliocene sequence) overlain by impermeable hemipelagites (Quaternary sequence), resulting in the patchy distribution of shallow gases on the eastern basin plain.     

Characteristics of migrating submarine canyons from the middle Miocene to present: Implications for paleoceanographic circulation,northern South China Sea

Previously undocumented, migrating submarine canyons have developed in the Pearl River Mouth Basin along the northern continental margin of the South China Sea from the middle Miocene to present. A grid of high-resolution, 2-D multi-channel seismic profiles calibrated by borehole information permits documentation of these northeastward migrating submarine canyons, as the result of the interplay of gravity flows and bottom currents. The modern canyons have lengths of 30–60 km, widths of 1–5.7 km, and relief of 50–300 m in water depths of 450–1500 m. Buried ancient submarine canyon successions were originally eroded by basal erosional discontinuities and partially filled by canyon thalweg deposits. These are overlain by lateral inclined packages and hemipelagic drape deposits. Basal erosional discontinuities and thalweg deposits are probably created principally by turbidity currents and filled with turbidites. Lateral inclined packages likely were formed by along-slope bottom currents. The evolution of these migrating submarine canyons reveals that northeastward bottom currents have consistently occurred at least from the middle Miocene to present in the study area. It might further imply that thermohaline intermediate water circulation of the South China Sea has been anti-cyclonic from the middle Miocene to present. The initiation of migrating submarine canyons possibly signals commencement of strong bottom currents after the middle Miocene in the South China Sea. The intensification of bottom currents also possibly may reflect shoaling of the major ocean seaways and increased vigor in oceanic circulation forced by global cooling after the middle Miocene.     

Oligocene to Lower Pliocene deposits of the Norwegian continental shelf,Norwegian Sea,Svalbard, Denmark and their relation to the uplift of Fennoscandia: A synthesis

This study provides the results of the first integrated study of Oligocene–Pliocene basins around Norway.Within the study area, three main depocentres have been identified where sandy sediments accumulated throughout the Oligocene to Early Pliocene period. The depocentre in the Norwegian–Danish Basin received sediments from the southern Scandes Mountains, with a general progradation from north to south during the studied period. The depocentre in the basinal areas of the UK and Norwegian sectors of the North Sea north of 58°N received sediments from the Scotland–Shetland area. Because of the sedimentary infilling there was a gradual shallowing of the northern North Sea basin in the Oligocene and Miocene. A smaller depocentre is identified offshore northern Nordland between Ranafjorden (approximately 66°N) and Vesterålen (approximately 68°N) where the northern Scandes Mountains were the source of the Oligocene to Early Pliocene sediments. In other local depocentres along the west coast of Norway, sandy sedimentation occurred in only parts of the period. Shifts in local depocentres are indicative of changes in the paleogeography in the source areas.In the Barents Sea and south to approximately 68°N, the Oligocene to Early Pliocene section is eroded except for distal fine-grained and biogenic deposits along the western margin and on the oceanic crust. This margin was undergoing deformation in a strike-slip regime until the Eocene–Oligocene transition. The Early Oligocene sediments dated in the Vestbakken Volcanic Province and the Forlandssundet Basin represent the termination of this strike-slip regime.The change in the plate tectonic regime at the Eocene–Oligocene transition affected mainly the northern part of the study area, and was followed by a quiet tectonic period until the Middle Miocene, when large compressional dome and basin structures were formed in the Norwegian Sea. The Middle Miocene event is correlated with a relative fall in sea level in the main depocentres in the North Sea, formation of a large delta in the Viking Graben (Frigg area) and uplift of the North and South Scandes domes. In the Norwegian–Danish Basin, the Sorgenfrei-Tornquist Zone was reactivated in the Early Miocene, possibly causing a shift in the deltaic progradation towards the east. A Late Pliocene relative rise in sea level resulted in low sedimentation rates in the main depositional areas until the onset of glaciations at about 2.7 Ma when the Scandes Mountains were strongly eroded and became a major source of sediments for the Norwegian shelf, whilst the Frigg delta prograded farther to the northeast.     

Neogene tectonic evolution of the Alboran Sea from MCS data

The structural framework of the northern Alboran Sea is one of a series of grabens or half-grabens developed during various Miocene rifting stages. MCS profiles and well data reveal early to late Miocene seismo-stratigraphic units affected by rifting. Three rifting episodes—latest Aquitanian-Burdigalian, Langhian-Serravalian, and Tortonian-are postulated to have caused significant extension and crustal thinning beneath the Alboran Sea. The middle Miocene episode led to major depocenters and triggered mud diapirism. Post-Tortonian tectonics modified the architecture of the Miocene Alboran Basin and formed the present structure, seafloor morphology, and boundaries of the Alboran Sea.     

Basin modeling of the Late Miocene Zeit source rock in the Sudanese portion of Red Sea Basin: Implication for hydrocarbon generation and expulsion history

The Late Miocene Zeit Formation is exposed in the Red Sea Basin of Sudan and represents an important oil-source rock. In this study, five (5) exploratory wells along Red Sea Basin of Sudan are used to model the petroleum generation and expulsion history of the Zeit Formation. Burial/thermal models illustrate that the Red Sea is an extensional rift basin and initially developed during the Late Eocene to Oligocene. Heat flow models show that the present-day heat flow values in the area are between 60 and 109 mW/m². The variation in values of the heat flow can be linked to the raise in the geothermal gradient from margins of the basin towards offshore basin. The offshore basin is an axial area with thick burial depth, which is the principal heat flow source.The paleo-heat flow values of the basin are approximately from 95 to 260 mW/m², increased from Oligocene to Early Pliocene and then decreased exponentially prior to Late Pliocene. This high paleo-heat flow had a considerable effect on the source rock maturation and cooking of the organic matter. The maturity history models indicate that the Zeit Formation source rock passed the late oil-window and converted the oil generated to gas during the Late Miocene.The basin models also indicate that the petroleum was expelled from the Zeit source rock during the Late Miocene (>7 Ma) and it continues to present-day, with transformation ratio of more than 50%. Therefore, the Zeit Formation acts as an effective source rock where significant amounts of petroleum are expected to be generated in the Red Sea Basin.     

Sequence model and its application to a Miocene shelf–slope system in the tectonically active Ulleung Basin margin, East Sea (Sea of Japan)

In a broader application of sequence stratigraphic concept to a tectonically active margin setting, this study presents a sequence model that considers all three controls on sequence development (i.e. eustasy, tectonic movement and sediment supply) as independent variables. The model introduces six sequence types (A to F) including type 1 and type 2 sequences defined in the original Exxon scheme. Each sequence shows a variety in number and stacking pattern of its constituent parasequence sets reflecting combined effects of accommodation change and sediment supply. This model is applied to a seismic sequence analysis of the shelf–slope system (middle to upper Miocene) in the southwestern margin of Ulleung Basin which has experienced significant crustal deformation during the Tertiary back-arc opening and subsequent closing of the East Sea (Sea of Japan). The model application delineates four sequence types whose development is closely associated with the tectonic evolution of the Ulleung Basin margin. During the back-arc opening (early to middle Miocene), type A and B sequences were emplaced as a result of steady creation of accommodation space due to a rapid subsidence combined with a tectonic-controlled high to moderate rate of sediment supply. The sequences associated with the extensional tectonism are characterized by active progradation and aggradation without forced regressive phases. In the initiation stage of back-arc closure (middle to late Miocene), subsidence rates were significantly reduced because of a widespread contractional deformation, while subaerial erosion of the uplifted thrust belt resulted in an increase in sedimentation rate. As a result, steady prograding type-E sequences were formed by alternating normal and forced regressions. During the quiescent phase of back-arc closure in the late Miocene, rise-dominant fluctuating relative sea-level change and moderate to low sediment supply gave rise to type-F sequences (similar to type-1 sequences of the Exxon group) reflecting a major control of eustatic sea-level change.     

南海北部陆丰凹陷中新世底栖有孔虫组合与古环境演化研究

The Miocene epoch marks the most crucial period during the Cenozoic cooling trend, characterized by the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum(MMCO) and a series of short–lived cooling events(Miocene isotope events).To understand the paleoenvironmental evolution along the shallow water shelf in the South China Sea during the Miocene, the benthic foraminiferal assemblage and total organic carbon content(TOC) were analyzed at Hole LF14 located in the Lufeng Sag, northern South China Sea. Three benthic foraminiferal assemblages(e.g., the Uvigerina spp. assemblage, the Cibicides spp. assemblage, and the Cibicidoides spp. assemblage), corresponding to different watermass conditions, were recognized based on Q–mode factor analysis. Early studies suggested that Hole LF14 was deposited under semienclosed bay, middle to outer shelf or even upper bathyal environment during ～18.7–4.53 Ma. The dominant Uvigerina spp. assemblage was characterized by low diversity and shallow infaunal to infaunal species, indicating a warm, low–oxygenation and eutrophic conditions since the Early Miocene to MMCO(～18.7–14.24 Ma). An abrupt sea level drop and significant faunal changes were recorded during 14.24–13.41 Ma, suggesting development of the East Antarctic Ice Sheets, which resulted in a drop of sea level and change in benthic foraminiferal assemblages along the shallow water shelf. Beyond the Uvigerina spp.assemblage, the Cibicides spp. assemblage became important during the middle–late Middle Miocene(14.24–11.54 Ma). This assemblage was dominated by epifaunal species with relative high diversity, suggesting high–energy, high–oxygenation and oligotrophic conditions with episodic supply of organic food. The dominant Cibicidoides spp. assemblage with high diversity, indicates a mesotrophic conditions with relative high–oxygen content during the Late Miocene to Pliocene(11.54–4.53 Ma). The appearance and continuous occurrence of Ammonia spp. and Pseudorotalia spp. since 10.02 Ma, may reflect the influence of the Kuroshio Current.     

Plio-Pleistocene geological evolution of the northern Sicily continental margin (southern Tyrrhenian Sea): new insights from high-resolution,multi-electrode sparker profiles

High-resolution seismic profiles were acquired in the north Sicily offshore region with an innovative, multi-tip sparker array which lacks ringing and has a base frequency around 600 Hz. The new data, combined with published data, suggest that intra-slope and extensional basins formed as a consequence of the late Miocene (?)–early Pliocene shortening and thrusting, and the middle (?)–late Pliocene continental rifting affecting the internal side of the Sicilian-Maghrebian chain. Early (?) Pleistocene to Holocene high-amplitude and high-frequency sea-level changes resulted in repeated sub-aerial exposure and flooding of the shelf, and the deposition of cyclically arranged hemipelagic and shelf sediments. An uplift of the shelf could explain the non-preservation of the transgressive and of the lowstand wedge systems tracts in the oldest sequences.