Abstract
Recent investigations in the eastern and central Ionian Sea provide evidence of fundamental paleogeographic and paleoceanographic changes that have occurred since the Neogene. This evolution supports the model of Messinian shallow-water evaporation within a shallow basin setting. Sedimentary facies indicate a direct relation between Messinian sedimentation and rate of basin subsidence, the latter calculated at about 1 m/1000 years. The general pattern of Pliocene sedimentation is the result of relatively slow deposition during continuing subsidence, producing “starved” basin conditions. During Plio-Quaternary time the average rate of subsidence within the basins was about 0.8 m/1000 years.
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Fabricius, F.H., Braune, K., Funk, G., Hieke, W., Schmolin, J. (1985). Plio-Quaternary Sedimentation and Tectonics in the Ionian Area: Clues to the Recent Evolution of the Mediterranean. In: Stanley, D.J., Wezel, FC. (eds) Geological Evolution of the Mediterranean Basin. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8572-1_14
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