MSC Surface (2)

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) is a huge outstanding succession of events that has deeply modified the Mediterranean area within a short time span at the geological scale and led to the emplacement of one of the youngest and most debated salt giant on Earth. In 2011, the Seismic atlas of the Messinian salinity crisis markers in the Mediterranean and Black Seas summarized, in one publication with a common format, the most relevant seismic features related to this exceptional event in the offshore domain. It also proposed a new global and consistent terminology for the MSC seismic markers (bounding surfaces and depositional units), describing and illustrating their facies, geometry and extent throughout 13 sites in the offshore Mediterranean and Black sea area. The volume 2 of the Seismic atlas of the Messinian salinity crisis markers in the Mediterranean Sea is published in the continuity of the volume 1. It illustrates the seismic characteristics of the markers over 18 new study areas, using the same color code and terminology. Interpreted seismic data were carefully selected according to their quality, position and significance in order to reach these objectives, and are presented here. This new atlas also provides a revised extension map of the MSC markers in the offshore domain at the Mediterranean scale. Raw and interpreted seismic profiles are available as images on the accompanying DVD-Rom