During the latest Messinian, hemipelagic sediments exhibiting precession-induced climate variability were deposited. These are overlain by Pliocene sediments deposited at a much higher sedimentation rate, with much higher and more variable XRF-scanning Zr/Al ratios than the underlying sediment, and that show evidence of winnowing, particle sorting and increasing grain size, which we interpret to be related to the increasing flow of MOW. Pliocene sedimentary cyclicity is clearly visible in both the benthic d18O record and the Zr/Al data and is probably also precessionally controlled. On the basis of these results, we conclude that contouritic sedimentation, associated with weak Mediterranean-Atlantic exchange, began in the Gulf of Cadiz virtually at or shortly after the Miocene-Pliocene boundary, with two contouritic bigradational sandy-beds within the fourth precession cycle after the Miocene-Pliocene boundary.

Supplement to: Van der Schee, Marlies; Sierro, Francisco Javier; Jiménez-Espejo, Francisco Jose; Hernandéz-Molina, Francisco Javier; Flecker, Rachel; Flores, José-Abel; Acton, Gary D; Gutjahr, Marcus; Grunert, Patrick; García-Gallardo, Ángela; Andersen, Nils (2016): Evidence of early bottom water current flow after the Messinian Salinity Crisis in the Gulf of Cadiz. Marine Geology, 380, 315-329