Controls on the basinwide architecture of late Miocene (Messinian) evaporites on the Levant margin (Eastern Mediterranean)

Interpretation of 2D and 3D seismic data from the Levant margin (Eastern Mediterranean) has revealed the complex depositional and structural setting of the basinwide late Miocene (Messinian) evaporites. The data set covers a total area of 20,000 km(2), permitting a semi-regional investigation of the thick (up to 1.8 km) evaporitic wedge. The sequential analysis of time-structure maps, isochron maps and seismic cross-sections highlighted the main morphological and structural features characterizing the pre-, syn- and post-evaporitic Levant margin. This approach provided insights on the impact of local vs. regional factors in governing the distribution of the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the region. Two regional features have been recognized as the most significant controlling factors for the architecture of the Messinian evaporites. Firstly, a series of anticlines of the Syrian Arc foldbelt acted as a structural barrier indirectly governing the overall landward extension of the evaporites. Secondly, submarine canyons active in the area at least since the Oligocene (Afiq, El Arish and Ashdod Canyons) represented preferential sites of erosion and deposition of evaporites. Our results document therefore the importance of the deep-seated structures and relict drainage for the architecture of the Messinian evaporites oil the Levant margin. The new insights provided can be additionally used to inter the original depositional geometry of the evaporites in the study area and as an analogue in other Mediterranean areas where 3D seismic is not available yet and sub-salt imaging is limited. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.