Late Miocene megalake regressions in Eurasia

Dan Valentin Palcu*, Irina Stanislavovna Patina, Ionuț Șandric, Sergei Lazarev, Iuliana Vasiliev, Marius Stoica, Wout Krijgsman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

The largest megalake in the geological record formed in Eurasia during the late Miocene, when the epicontinental Paratethys Sea became tectonically-trapped and disconnected from the global ocean. The megalake was characterized by several episodes of hydrological instability and partial desiccation, but the chronology, magnitude and impacts of these paleoenvironmental crises are poorly known. Our integrated stratigraphic study shows that the main desiccation episodes occurred between 9.75 and 7.65 million years ago. We identify four major regressions that correlate with aridification events, vegetation changes and faunal turnovers in large parts of Europe. Our paleogeographic reconstructions reveal that the Paratethys was profoundly transformed during regression episodes, losing ~ 1/3 of the water volume and ~ 70% of its surface during the most extreme events. The remaining water was stored in a central salt-lake and peripheral desalinated basins while vast regions (up to 1.75 million km2) became emergent land, suitable for development of forest-steppe landscapes. The partial megalake desiccations match with climate, food-web and landscape changes throughout Eurasia, although the exact triggers and mechanisms remain to be resolved.

Original languageEnglish
Article number11471
Pages (from-to)1-12
Number of pages12
JournalScientific Reports
Volume11
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2021

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