The Paratethys evolved as a marginal sea during the Alpine-Himalayan
orogeny in the Oligo-Miocene. Sediments from the northern Alpine Molasse
Basin, the Vienna, and the Pannonian Basins located in the western and
central part of the Paratethys thus provide unique information on
regional changes in climate and oceanography during a period of active
Alpine uplift Oxygen isotope compositions of well-preserved phosphatic
fossils recovered from the sediments support deposition under
sub-tropical to warm-temperate climate with water temperatures of 14 to
28 degrees C for the Miocene. delta(18)O values of fossil shark teeth
are similar to those reported for other Miocene marine sections and,
using the best available estimates of their biostratigraphic age, show a
variation until the end of the Badenian similar to that reported for
composite global record. The (87)Sr/(86)Sr isotope ratios of the fossils
follow the global Miocene seawater trend, albeit with a much larger
scatter. The deviations of (87)Sr/(86)Sr in the samples from the
well-constrained seawater curve are interpreted as due to local input of
terrestrially-derived Sr. Contribution of local sources is also
reflected in the epsilon(Nd) values, consistent with input from ancient
crystalline rocks (e.g., Bohemian Massif and/or Mesozoic sediments with
epsilon(Nd) < -9. On the other hand, there is evidence for input from
areas with Neogene volcanism as suggested by samples with elevated
epsilon(Nd) values >-7. Excluding samples showing local influence on the
water column, an average epsilon(Nd) value of -7.9 +/- 0.5 may be
inferred for the Miocene Paratethys. This value is indistinguishable
from the epsilon(Nd) value of the contemporaneous Indian Ocean,
supporting a dominant role of this ocean in the Western and Central
Paratethys. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.