The sedimentary expression of regional tectonic events during the Miocene-Pliocene transition in the southern Cyprus basins

Abstract A well-known tectonic event affecting the East Mediterranean region, generally referred to as ‘the’ Miocene–Pliocene phase, occurs at, or near the Miocene–Pliocene boundary. Recent sedimentological studies in Cyprus indicate that this ‘event’, in fact, is complex. The Tortonian–Lower Pliocene period is marked by a stress involving an N20 extension in the Polemi and Pissouri basins and by an N100 extension in the Psematismenos basin. Sedimentological studies have demonstrated three tectonic pulsations during Messinian time, prior to the Pliocene transgression. These are expressed by two episodes of seismic brecciation, and a palaeo-emersion is indicated by palaeosols and detrital discharges. These phenomena suggest brief tectonic instability during Messinian time. Microtectonic studies in the South Troodos basins of Cyprus reveal that the main change in tectonic stress does not coincide with the Miocene–Pliocene contact but occurs at the end of Lower Pliocene time. The authors conclude that the so-called Miocene–Pliocene ‘event’, in reality, is a series of subtle tectonic pulsations recorded clearly by sedimentary parameters.