Publications

Dead Sea warming and the origin of salt giants

by Guillerm, E., Lowenstein, T. K., Gardien, V., Bärenbold, F., Bouffard, D., Brauer, A., & Caupin, F.  

https://doi.org/10.1029/2026GL124167

A new thermal model of the Dead Sea shows that as the lake shrinks under water diversion and air warming, reduced evaporative cooling and enhanced heat transport into the deep water drive a positive feedback loop of water warming and shrinkage, projected to warm the lake by up to 8°C and drop it 85 m by 2100 relative to 2020. Applied to a hypothetical isolated Mediterranean Sea, the model suggests ancient 'salt giants' may record the collapse of restricted seas, amplified by this feedback loop, rather than extreme aridity. 

The Formentera Basin (Balearic Promontory - Western Mediterranean): A Remnant of the Mesozoic Tethyan Passive Margin

by Fadl Raad, Agnès Maillard, Eduard Roca and Johanna Lofi 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marger.2026.207910

The Balearic Promontory is the offshore continuation of the Betic orogenic system, where Mesozoic structures were reactivated by later tectonic phases, including compression and extension. Seismic data from the Formentera Basin reveal Mesozoic extensional features, including normal faults, half-grabens, salt diapirs, and folds, with only limited deformation during the Neogene. These findings indicate that the Formentera Basin and South Formentera margin originated as a Mesozoic half-graben system, representing a remnant of the northwestern passive margin of the Ligurian-Maghrebian Tethys Ocean. 

Relict landscapes and fluvial landforms: Catastrophic ouflow following a major Late Messinian base-level fall

by Dia Ninkabou, Julien Gargani, Christian Gorini, Jean-Loup Rubino, Roger Urgeles, Romain Pellen, Damien Do Couto, Alexandre, Lethiers, Bilal Haq and Jimmy Moneron

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2026.110403 

This paper reveals how the Messinian Saliniy Crisis breached a huge endorheic basin, trigerring a megaflood at the toe of the Ebro margin. Using 3D seismic reflection data, the authors reconstruct relict drainage patterns corresponding to the Messinian Ebro river and trace the evolution of the basin as a result of the regressive erosion caused by the Messinian Salinity Crisis.