Astronomically forced teleconnection between Paratethyan and Mediterranean sediments during the Middle and Late Miocene
Abstract A high-resolution correlation between an orbital tuned Middle and early Late Miocene record of the Central Paratethys and an astronomically calibrated Mediterranean deep marine composite record is proposed. The astronomical tuning of the Sarmatian and Pannonian sedimentary record in the Vienna Basin confirms that the beginning of the Pannonian regional stage (lower Tortonian), dated in this work at 11.42 My, is very close to the Miller event Mi5. It coincides with a period of minimum amplitude in the 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle, which in the Mediterranean marine record corresponds with a drastic change in the planktonic foraminiferal fauna. In addition, the warmer period between Mi5 and Mi6—corresponding to a maximum in the long-term 2.3-Myr eccentricity cycle—coincides with a long interval of lignite deposition in the Paratethyan realm. The sedimentation pattern shown by high-frequency cyclicity between lignite and normal sediments reflects a primary influence of 100-kyr eccentricity cycles on the sedimentation system of the Central Paratethys, which corresponds with small- and large-scale sapropel-clusters hierarchical organization in the Mediterranean record. The Badenian/Sarmatian boundary (astronomically dated at 13.32 Myr) does not coincide with a low-amplitude variation in the 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle and any Mi events. This orbital configuration is supported by the paleoclimatic and paleoecologic data of the Late Badenian and Early Sarmatian, which both represent a warm temperate system with stagnant bottom-water conditions. Finally, the transitional phase from a temperate Early Sarmatian to a warmer Late Sarmatian, associated with predominant carbonate sedimentation, coincides with the glacio-eustatic isotope event Mi4, while the entire Late Sarmatian spans a complete 1.2-Myr obliquity cycle.