EKOLOJİK DEĞİŞİMLERDE MOLEKÜLER FOSİLLERİN KULLANIMI: MESSİNİYEN TUZLULUK KRİZİ ÖRNEĞİ

Ayça Doğrul Selver; Güldemin Darbaş

doi:10.17780/ksujes.1755262

EN TR

USING MOLECULAR FOSSILS IN ECOLOGICAL CHANGES: THE EXAMPLE OF THE MESSINIAN SALINITY CRISIS

Abstract

The Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) occurred during the late Miocene, approximately 5.96–5.33 million years ago, and is considered one of the most extreme ecological crises in Earth's history. Triggered by climatic and tectonic events, the primary cause was the restriction of water exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. This disconnection led to a significant drop in Mediterranean water levels. Simultaneously, intense evaporation resulted in the deposition of a thick sequence of carbonate and evaporitic minerals, including gypsum, anhydrite, and halite. A large basin subsequently formed, which was later filled with brackish water (Lago Mare). Detailed studies of the MSC began in the 1970s, when sediment cores were recovered during a deep-sea drilling project in the Mediterranean basin. Over the past 50 years, research has primarily focused on stratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy, geophysics, tectonics, sedimentology, and paleontology. Recent studies have shown a sharp increase in the abundance of archaeal biomarkers, particularly isoprenoidal glycerol diethers (DGDs) and isoprenoidal glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), in these sediments. Consequently, paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental investigations based on the niche specialization of extremophile archaea complement previous work on the MSC. This review examines the biomarkers used to track climatic and salinity changes during the Messinian Salinity Crisis and provides a methodological overview of their application in paleoclimate studies.

Keywords

EKOLOJİK DEĞİŞİMLERDE MOLEKÜLER FOSİLLERİN KULLANIMI: MESSİNİYEN TUZLULUK KRİZİ ÖRNEĞİ

Öz

Messiniyen Tuzluluk krizi (MTK), jeoloji tarihinde son 20 milyon yılda meydana gelmiş en şiddetli ekolojik krizlerinden birisi olarak tanımlanır. İklimsel ve tektonik olayların tetiklediği bu olayın ana sebebi, Atlantik Okyanusu ile Akdeniz’in izolasyonudur. Bağlantının kesilmesi ile su bütçesi kısıtlanmış ve Akdeniz’in su seviyesinde büyük bir düşüş meydana gelmiştir. Aynı zamanda güçlü buharlaşma sebebiyle, Akdeniz’in tabanında karbonat mineralleri ile jips, anhidrit ve halit gibi evaporitik minerallerden oluşan oldukça kalın bir istif çökelmiştir. Sonrasında büyük bir erozyon meydana gelmiş ve ardından acı su (Lago Mare) ile dolmuştur. 1970 yılında, Akdeniz havzasında yürütülen derin deniz sondaj projesi sırasında, deniz tabanının altında evaporitlerin bulunmasıyla birlikte MTK daha ayrıntılı olarak ele alınmaya başlanmıştır. İlgili araştırmalar, son 50 yılda özellikle stratigrafi, manyetostratigrafi, jeofizik, tektonik, sedimantoloji ve paleontoloji çalışmalarıyla yürütülmüştür. Son yıllarda özellikle bu çökellerde, izoprenoidal dialkil gliserol dieterler (DGD'ler) ve izoprenoidal gliserol dialkil gliserol tetraeterler (GDGT'ler) tarafından temsil edilen arkeal moleküler fosillerin bolluğunda keskin bir artışın olduğu ortaya konmuştur. Bu nedenle, ekstremofil (ekstrem çevresel koşullarda yaşayabilen) arkeaların moleküler fosilleri kullanılarak yapılan paleoiklimsel ve paleortamsal çalışmalar MTK ile ilgili önceki çalışmalara eklenmiştir. Bu incelemede de Messiniyen Tuzluluk Krizinin iklimsel ve tuzluluk değişimlerinin araştırılmasında kullanılan biyobelirteçler ele alınmakta ve paleoiklim çalışmalarında kullanımları metodolojik olarak tanıtılmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Supporting Institution

Herhangi bir kurum desteklememektedir

Ethical Statement

Etik beyana gerek yoktur

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Details

Primary Language

Turkish

Subjects

General Geology

Journal Section

Review

Authors

Ayça Doğrul Selver ^*
0000-0002-9003-5439
Türkiye

Güldemin Darbaş
0000-0001-9763-5923
Türkiye

Publication Date

March 3, 2026

Submission Date

August 1, 2025

Acceptance Date

December 10, 2025

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 29 Number: 1

DOI

https://doi.org/10.17780/ksujes.1755262

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA23TG86DK

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Doğrul Selver, A., & Darbaş, G. (2026). EKOLOJİK DEĞİŞİMLERDE MOLEKÜLER FOSİLLERİN KULLANIMI: MESSİNİYEN TUZLULUK KRİZİ ÖRNEĞİ. Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam Üniversitesi Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi, 29(1), 499-514. https://doi.org/10.17780/ksujes.1755262