The potential of carbonate ramps to record C-isotope shifts: insights from the upper Miocene of the Central Mediterranean area
The late Miocene is a crucial interval for global climate evolution as well as for the regional geodynamic evolution of the Central Mediterranean area. It spans the transition from the warm Mid Miocene Climatic Optimum, associated with the major Monterey Carbon Isotope Excursion, to the cooler Pliocene, characterized by a bipolar glaciation. Within this climatic transition, during the early Tortonian, a positive carbon isotope excursion related to a global carbon cycle perturbation is recorded, named Carbon Maximum 7 (CM7).