Climate-modulated paleoceanographic changes during the Tortonian–Messinian in Alboran basin (Mediterranean)

The evolution of restricted marine basins offers unique insights into the interplay between climatic variability and tectonic processes. This study focuses on the western Mediterranean Sea, which underwent progressive isolation beginning in the late Tortonian (~8 Ma) and culminating with the Messinian Salinity Crisis (5.97–5.33 Ma), when the basin experienced quasi-disconnection from the Atlantic Ocean. Here, we present reconstructions of sea surface temperature and salinity derived from coupled analysis of organic biomarkers and oxygen isotopes on planktic foraminifera from the West Alboran Sea (ODP site 976B) for the 7.505 to 7.063 Ma time interval.