Olugbenga:

Have a look at the link cited herein for the Palynomorph record from Messinian Salt deposits:

http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1486042.pdf?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Best

Syed

Hi, have a look at dinoflagellate cyst literature. Although you will not find many cysts in the salt deposits you will find distinct assemblages for both low and high salinity environments just prior to, during and just after the crisis. Here are some references I have in my database to start with:

Santarelli, A. Brinkhuis, H. Hilgen, F. J. Lourens, L. J. Versteegh, G. J. M. and Visscher, H., 1998. Orbital signatures in a Late Miocene dinoflagellate record from Crete (Greece). Marine Micropaleontology 33, 273-297.

Popescu, S. M. Dalesme, F. Jouannic, G. Escarguel, G. Head, M. J. Melinte-Dobrinescu, M. C. Sütő-Szentai, M. Bakrac, K. Clauzon, G. and Suc, J. P., 2009. Galeacysta etrusca complex: dinoflagellate cyst marker of Paratethyan influxes to the Mediterranean sea before and after the peak of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Palynology 33, 105-134.

Londeix, L. Benzakour, M. Suc, J. P. and Turon, J. L., 2007. Messinian palaeoenvironments and hydrology in Sicily (Italy): The dinoflagellate cyst record. Geobios 40, 233-250.

Louwye, S. de Schepper, S. Laga, P. and Vandenberghe, N., 2007. The Upper Miocene of the southern North Sea Basin (northern Belgium): a palaeoenvironmental and stratigraphical reconstruction using dinoflagellate cysts. Geological Magazine 144, 33-52.