The Messinian salinity crisis onset in Albania: An integrated approach by bio-magnetostratigraphy and rock magnetic analyses

We carried out an integrated stratigraphic study aiming the identification of the onset of the Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) in the Peri-Adriatic Depression, a region forming the northern front of the Albanides fold -and -thrust belt. The onset was identified in the Kavaje area within an interval of euxinic shales representing a timeequivalent deposit of the Primary Lower Gypsum of stage 1 of the MSC, recognized elsewhere in the Mediterranean realm (CIESM, 2008). This interpretation is supported by the integration of magneto-stratigraphic (base of Gilbert chron) and bio-stratigraphic data (last influx of T. multiloba; last occurrence of foraminifera) calibrated with precessional cyclicity recognized in the pre-evaporitic sediments by rock magnetic analyses. Detailed sedimentological observations revealed that the overlying Gips-Sharre center dot Gypsum unit consists of chaotic and clastic evaporites floored by a regional -scale erosional surface. Their 87Sr/86Sr values (0.708937 to 0.708967) are typical of stages 1-2 of the MSC. Consequently, their assignment to the Resedimented Lower Gypsum unit is here proposed. The halite deposits, that have been intercepted by boreholes above the Gips-Sharre center dot Gypsum unit, have been also framed in the RLG. Our results confirm the applicability of the MSC 3 -stage model (CIESM, 2008) also in the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea.