Geomorphological evolution of the Eastern Sardinian Margin (Western Tyrrhenian) from the Messinian to the Plio-Quaternary: New evidence for post-rift deformation from bathymetric and seismic data.

The hyper-extended Eastern Sardinian margin is due to the eastward migration of the Appennine-Calabria subduction zone, creating the Neogene back-arc Tyrrhenian Basin. This area was affected by strong erosion during the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC, 5.97 - 5.33 Ma) on the continental shelf and slope leading to a major discontinuity, known as the Messinian Erosion Surface (MES), constituting, therefore, a remarkable stratigraphic marker. It is also a powerful paleo-topographic marker of the MSC times and can be used as a marker of the deformation during Plio-Quaternary times. The end of the rifting phase in the Eastern Sardinian margin is dated during the Tortonian (11.63 - 7.25 Ma) attested by the occurrence of a relatively thick syn- and post-rift sequence pre-dating the MES.

The “METYSS 4” cruise led to the acquisition of more than 2,000 km of very high-resolution (VHR) seismic reflection data, following a dense grid, on the Eastern Sardinian continental shelf and slope, which has been little explored until now. Seismic interpretation allowed for mapping the major erosion surface, the MES, across the continental shelf and slope. At the base of the PQ sequence, the MSC paleo-topography highlights a hydrographic paleo-network identical to the current one and a general progradation of the shelf-break toward the east during the Plio-Quaternary. In the southern part of the study area, several east-dipping normal faults, oriented N-S, significantly shift the MES (between 5 and 55 m; assuming sound wave velocity of 1700 m/s in Plio-Quaternary sediments). The MES is tilted toward the fault and is covered by Plio-Quaternary deposits, which display a fan-shaped geometry (eg. 50 m thick on the hanging wall). These NS-trend faults are cross-cut by E-W trending messinian canyon and this fault pattern is also observed on the other flank of the canyon. The along-strike geomorphological analysis of canyons reveals the occurrence of knickpoints (slope breaks) coinciding with the front of the two fault patterns. Moreover, the shifts in water depth of most knickpoints are at the same order of amplitude than fault offsets (ie. 10 to 50 m). These geomorphologic markers reinforce the hypothesis that the fault activity is recent (ie. less than 5 Ma). We interpret these observations as markers of a recent reactivation of the structures inherited from the rift in the western part of the Tyrrhenian Sea.