Pub Date : 2026-01-01DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2025.105380
M. Roveri , A. Cipriani , R. Gennari , S. Lugli , V. Manzi , M. Taviani
<div><div>A critical review of the contrasting scenarios proposed for the final evolutionary stage of the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the “Lago-mare”, suggests that each hypothesis may capture certain aspects of the puzzle. Integrating all the scientific elements into a coherent framework remains a significant challenge. This impasse may stem from the foundational assumptions of the prevailing crisis paradigm, which posits a negative hydrological budget for the Mediterranean, its isolation from the Atlantic, and a dominant influx of low-salinity waters from the Paratethys. The homogeneity of <sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr values, the absence of marine mollusks, the lack of unquestionable evidence for both shallow water indicators in deep basins and for high-amplitude water level changes suggest a new, comprehensive scenario, implying a positive Mediterranean hydrological budget and a continuous, albeit reduced and possibly intermittent, inflow of deep to intermediate Atlantic water. The Lago-mare is interpreted as a single, sustained event spanning the entirety of stage 3 (5.54–5.33 Ma), during which the Mediterranean remained full of water, possibly maintaining a connection with the Atlantic through the paleo-Gibraltar Strait, exhibited strong density stratification, and developed an estuarine circulation. We propose a tripartite water column structure, comprising: i) a surface brackish lid (< 200 m thick); ii) an intermediate marine layer sustained by Atlantic inflow; iii) a deep, dense, likely hypersaline layer formed during stages 1 and 2. The low salinity of the brackish lid is evidenced by the absence of mollusk taxa typical of fully marine and/or marine-connected shallow-water environments. The surface layer resulted from an increased freshwater input, not necessarily derived only from the Paratethys, but also driven by a shift in the regional precipitation patterns linked to the onset of the African Monsoon and the simultaneous uplift and emergence of the Apennine-Maghrebian orogen in the middle of the ancient Mediterranean. Such a hydrological configuration led to oxygen-depleted conditions in deep settings, as indicated by the apparent absence of benthic fauna and bioturbation. The presence of euryhaline organisms, especially near the top of stage 3 and close to the Messinian–Zanclean boundary, may reflect episodic marine incursions or brief hydrological shifts.</div><div>A mostly permanent Atlantic connection, along with a sustained marine underflow, could account for the erosional features observed at Gibraltar because of flow action throughout the whole Messinian, as well as for the Mediterranean base-level rise documented in the upper part of stage 3. This rise expanded shallow-water habitats and may have facilitated the observed progressive diversification and proliferation of Paratethyan hypohaline-mesohaline (anomalohaline) biota, i.e. those inhabiting water bodies of variable salinity, but disconnected from the marine setting
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