Large-scale geological processes shape microbial habitats and drive the evolution of life on Earth. During the Oligocene, convergence between Africa and Europe led to the opening of the Western Mediterranean Basin, a deep-ocean system characterized by fluid venting, oxygen depletion, and the absence of benthic fauna. In this extreme, inhospitable seafloor environment, fusiform objects known as Tubotomaculum formed, whose origin has long remained controversial. We show that these enigmatic mineralizations consist of nanosized, poorly crystalline, phosphorus-rich Mn-Fe compounds produced through microbial mediation. They preserve carbonaceous material together with morphological, chemical, and mineralogical biosignatures, including high Mn oxidation state (3.9 ± 0.15), cell envelopes, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), cell-EPS partitioning of redox-sensitive Mn and Fe, cluster-assembled microbial cells, microbialite-like and branching structures, and channel networks for nutrient transport. Geochemical signatures indicate precipitation under suboxic to anoxic, non-sulfidic (post-oxic) conditions from mixed seawater-hydrothermal fluids, with exposure on the seafloor prior to burial. The fusiform architecture of these self-organized microbial populations suggests shaping by nutrient-rich bottom currents associated with venting activity. This study provides a detailed glimpse into initial benthic colonization of the nascent Western Mediterranean Basin and establishes Tubotomaculum as a model for investigating biomineralization and microbial adaptation in extreme environments, with implications for the search for life beyond Earth.

The present work deals with Jurassic deposits belonging to the External Rif chain. It is well known that the Jurassic time was a crucial period in the earth's history as witness of significant climate changes. This work aims to provide a preliminary reconstruction of the regional Jurassic paleoclimate of the northwest Gondwana hinterland and its global paleogeographic context. We used diverse geochemical proxies to unravel paleoclimate of the Jurassic sediments accumulated in the Atlantic and Tethysian hyperextended passive margins bordering the northwest Gondwana. We reconstituted their paleo-humidity, paleo-precipitation, paleo-weathering, paleo-productivity, paleo-floral landscape distribution in the Gondwanaland, the paleo-redox, paleo-oxygenation and paleosalinity of the bordering oceanic sinks. The obtained results indicate that the early Jurassic climate was cool with low rainfall and productivity, while the middle Jurassic was characterized by a semi-moist warm climate with high chemical weathering and subsequent seaward terrigenous supply. The Uppermost Jurassic climate was warm, semi-moist to moist with a return to an arid cold climate marked by high rainfall amount which yielded more terrigenous material to the bordering Tethysian and Atlantic hyperextended passive margins around the northwest Gondwana hinterland. The result of this research reveals, among others, the control of the first-order geodynamic processes on the Jurassic mid-latitude climate change, such as plate tectonics reorganization, oceanic seafloor spreading, and subsequent volcanic activity. The latter may triggered a climate shift from early Jurassic dry “cool” to middle-late Jurassic wet warm “greenhouse” climate conditions around the northwest Gondwanaland. Besides, the Jurassic climate change may have been also controlled by successive mega-monsoons that occurred through the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ICZ) over margins and oceanic realms bordering the northwest Gondwanaland.

To the NE of Santa Severa (RM) some Meso-Cenozoic carbonate rocks with Tuscan affinity crop out in tectonic windows within the allochthonous Flysch della Tolfa (External Ligurian Unit). These carbonate rocks are mainly referable to the Calcare Massiccio, calcari selciferi, and scaglia toscana. Field work for the geological survey of the CARG Project 364-Bracciano, carried out in the area between "Monte delle Fate" and "Bagni" (Pian della Carlotta, Cerveteri, RM), provided new insights into the relationships among these Meso-Cenozoic carbonate rocks and the flysch della Tolfa. In the "il Casone" and "Monte delle Fate" areas, the stratigraphical and geometrical evidence observed in the field point to a stratally disrupted chaotic complex, consisting of exotic blocks with respect to the matrix (extrabasinal blocks with Tuscan affinity) embedded within a highly tectonized argillaceous matrix. We define it as a sedimentary melange that we call "il Casone-Monte delle Fate" olistostrome. The calcareous nannofossil assemblages from the argillaceous matrix of this olistostrome point to a Bartonian age (middle Eocene). This chronostratigraphical result suggests the presence of a significant middle Eocene submarine mass wasting process emplacing a sedimentary melange in the depositional setting of the External Ligurian sedimentary basin. The reactivation of pre-existing extensional faults at the ocean-continent transition between the Adria passive margin and the Ligurian Domain is the suggested triggering mechanism for explaining the middle Eocene "il Casone-Monte delle Fate" olistostrome. The comparison with a nearly coeval olistostrome at the base of the Epiligurian succession (brecce argillose di Baiso) gives us new insights on the deformation of the External Ligurian Domain.

Phosphatized Mn and Fe rich hardgrounds and condensed pelagic deposits in carbonate platform successions are precious archives of abrupt climate and environmental changes (redox conditions and phosphorous availability) in the past shallow-water marine environment. While numerous examples have been documented in the Cretaceous successions of the Northern Tethys, the scarcity of similar descriptions from the southern margins suggests differences in sedimentary processes or preservation conditions. In this work we study three phosphatized Mn and Fe rich hardgrounds and pelagic condensed deposits that mark the repetitive demise of the Panormide carbonate platform developed in the Southern Tethyan margin during the Cretaceous. The integration of SEM-EDS, PXRD, and Micro-Raman spectroscopy data shows that these hardgrounds consist of fine-grained Fe (goethite and hematite) and Mn (birnessite and/or vernadite) oxides dispersed in a calcite and apatite matrix. Micro-Raman spectroscopy shows the presence of oxidized Mn species: Mn3+ and Mn4+. The oxidation of Mn2+ -> Mn3+/4+ and/or Fe2+ -> Fe3+ occurred at the sediment-seawater interface under oxic conditions (where both Mn and Fe oxidize) or suboxic conditions (where only Fe oxidizes). The paleoenvironmental perturbations that triggered the formation of both hardgrounds and condensed pelagic deposits were likely related to pCO(2) cycle, upwelling of P-Mn-Fe-rich water masses, eutrophication and phosphatization related to the Cretaceous climate oscillations during the main Oceanic Anoxic Events. These perturbations were likely enhanced by tectonic activity. Moreover, we show that the formation of the phosphatized metals-rich hardgrounds and the recovery of shallow-water sedimentation occurred after long-term periods (6-12 Ma). Thus, the Panormide serves as a remarkable example of resilience amidst significant climatic changes.

The present work studies the Harhoura coastal deposits located immediately southwest of Rabat, Morocco. The base of this sequence has been previously dated by 14C as 9900 +/- 150 BP. These deposits exhibit a thick record potentially related to the footprint of a high-energy storm.They are primarily characterized by coarse-grained dark shelly/gravelly units bearing highly fragmented shells inherited from shallow water platform. A high amount of organic matter was also observed. The provenance signature using modal analysis of detrital grains, and major and trace elements indicates two main phases.The first sedimentation is a marine within the shallow platform, followed by a coastal phase belonging to the littoral zone. The first source to sink pathway indicate that platform was supplied by sediments from felsic magmatic source, low-grade and medium metamorphic rocks belonging to the fold and thrust belt of the Sehoul Block, with a minor contribution from mafic source rocks. The second pathway indicates their subsequent remobilization and deposition on the calcarenite coastal plain by mean of high-energy storm(s). The provenance relationship of the latter phase was corroborated by the geochemical signature using major, trace and rare earth elements, assigning their latest source to a coastal-marine origin.

The present work deals with the provenance of lower-middle Jurassic successions belonging to the External Prerif Foreland basin, which remains till now misunderstood and requires a deep investigation dealing with sedi-mentary petrology and Zircon geochronology. Detrital modal signatures, mudrocks geochemistry combined with Zircon geochronology of lower middle Jurassic pre-orogenic successions of the External Prerif basin have been used to detect provenance relationships with potential Precambrian and Variscan orogenic belts of the Anti-Atlas, Western Meseta, and the exotic "Sehoul Block". The analyzed sandstone suites, mudrocks, and marls have been collected from Jebel Outita, Jebel Zerhoune, and Dhar N'sour sections which were accumulated in different depositional paleoenvironments evolving down-slope from proximal delta to bathyal and deep-sea basin. These early-middle Jurassic deposits belonged to the NW-Gondwana hyper-extended margin during the earliest rifting-drifting stages of the western Tethyan Ocean edge. The analyzed terrigenous sandstone suites are siliciclastic hybrids characterized by lithic arkoses, feldspathic litharenites, and litharenites framework composition. Detrital sandstone modes reflect provenance from a continental block and recycled orogens with 90% of confidence. These results were corroborated by various provenance ratios (Th/Sc, Th/Co, Th/Cr, Cr/Th, and La/Sc) which indicate felsic source rocks close to the Post Archean Australian Shale (PAAS) and Upper Continental Crust (UCC) values, with probably minor mafic supply. Indeed, the provenance inferred from detrital Zircon geochronology points to different high-grade metamorphic, plutonic basements and overlying sedimentary source rocks aged from Paleoproterozoic to middle-Late Devonian, related to basement source rocks of the exotic "Sehoul Block", the Western Meseta, and the Central and Occidental Anti Atlas belts.

The Rif chain is located on the western edge of the Apennine-Maghrebian Chain. It is classically subdivided into three main superimposed tectonic domains: The Internal, Flysch Basin, and the External domains. The latter regroups three sub-domains: Intrarif, Mesorif, and Prerif. The present work is based on new geological mapping with lithostratigraphic logging and sampling for geochemical analysis from Lower-Middle Jurassic sedimentary successions belonging to the Prerif sub-domain. Four stratigraphic sections have been analyzed (Jbel Zerhoune, Dhar Nsour I and II, and Jbel Outita section). The Lower Jurassic successions are mainly characterized by alternating marls with limestones, bioclastic limestone, and calcareous sandstones, whereas the Middle Jurassic ones are mainly represented by calcareous sandstones and bioclastic limestones, both alternating with marly intervals. The collected fifteen samples have been examined using Laser Ablation–Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and X-Ray Fluorescent (XRF) for Elemental geochemical analysis to provide new insights about provenance, source rocks, paleoweathering, mechanical sorting/recycling, and geodynamic setting. The elemental geochemistry (Major, Trace, and Rare Earth Elements) reveals that major oxides concentrations (SiO2, Al2O3, MgO, and K2O) are relatively close to the Post-Archean Australian Shales (PAAS) except for MnO and Na2O, which show a depletion trend, while Cao and Sr display an enrichment, also Zr, Hf and REEs show low concentrations and indicate weak recycling processes. In order to characterize the provenance, we used a combination of the Cr/V vs. Y/Ni plot, the Cr/Th vs. Th/Sc plot, and the elemental ratios of provenance (La/Sc, Th/Sc, Th/Co, Th/Cr, and Cr/Th). Various discriminant diagrams were used to reveal the paleoweathering intensity, sorting, and maturity of sediment during their source to sink fate. The Chemical Index of Alteration (CIA) shows values varying from 49.09 % to 77.01 %. Th/Sc versus Zr/Sc ratios and the Al2O3-Zr-TiO2 plots have been used to assess the sorting related to the fractionation of sediment during their transport. This is also corroborated by the relatively high values of the compositional variability index (ICV) of Jbel Zerhoune and Dhar Nsour (I and II) and Jbel Outita (ICV<1 and ICV>1, respectively). We also used multidimensional discriminant function diagrams to characterize the geodynamics setting on the analyzed samples. The main expected results and related interpretations reveal that the provenance of the lower-Middle Jurassic sediments mainly indicates a supply from felsic source rock areas as attested by prevalent enrichment in Sr and probably from a minor mafic supply. The chemical index of alteration indicates a low to moderate degree of source area weathering. The Th/Sc versus Zr/Sc ratios and the Al2O3-Zr-TiO2 recycling plots, and the depletion of Hf and Zr reflect poor mechanical sorting and recycling processes which are confirmed by the high ICV values indicating that almost all samples are immature first-cycle sediments with unweathered detrital minerals. The analyzed sediments have been deposited within a passive margin controlled by a rifting/drifting geodynamic evolution of the northern African margin during the Early-Middle Jurassic.

The Numidian Sandstones are widespread throughout the western Mediterranean, from Spain and North Africa to southern Italy. They consist of intercalations of thick ultra-mature sandstones within brownish shale deposits. Crucial issues about the Numidian Sandstones are still under debate, such as their pertinence to an undisputed paleogeographic domain and their age. In addition, in the Moroccan Rif, detailed sedimentological studies are still lacking, preventing the understanding of the main features of the sedimentary basin in which the Numidian Sandstones were deposited. This paper aims to reconstruct the Numidian Sandstone depositional environment via a detailed sedimentological study and provides new time constraints through quantitative analyses of calcareous nannofossil assemblages. The Numidian Sandstone sedimentary features suggest a depositional environment located in the transition between a lower muddy slope and a deeper basin plain. Quartz-rich sandy turbidites supplied sediments to this basin during a tectono-sedimentary event lasting ca. 1 Myr in the early Burdigalian. A key section from the Tanger Unit shows the Numidian Sandstones in stratigraphic continuity with the pre-Numidian deposits of the External Tanger Unit (Intrarif sub-domain). This evidence allows us to reject the notion of the Numidian Sandstones as a nappe, detached at their base from the pre-Oligocene deposits of the more internal units of the Flysch Basin. The new biostratigraphic analyses performed on the Numidian Sandstones from northern Morocco mostly correlate with the depositional age of the Numidian Sandstones outcropping in the rest of the Maghrebian Chain. The Numidian sand event, which affected the SW sector of the Mediterranean Basin from the Betics to the southern Apennines, was a unique and extensive event that was possibly triggered by the interplay among the uplift of the Atlas Chain, the sea-level drop at 20.4 Ma, and the establishment of a humid climate in North Africa at the beginning of the Miocene.

During the Tertiary evolution of the Western Mediterranean subduction system, the orogenic accretion at the Maghrebian margin let the stacking of three main tectonic zones of the Rif fold-and-thrust belt: 1) the Internal Zone; 2) the “Maghrebian Flysch” Nappes; and 3) the External Zone. In this context, a migrating foreland basin system developed between the Maghrebian orogenic belt and the adjacent African Craton. A comprehensive reconstruction of the foreland basin system of the Rif Chain for each phase of its accretional history is still missing. In this work, by integrating field observations with quantitative biostratigraphic data from calcareous nannofossils assemblages, sandstone composition, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology from selected stratigraphic successions, we reconstruct the foreland basin system that in the early Miocene developed in front of the growing Rif orogen. The analyzed successions are representative of (1) the “Beliounis Facies”, made of quartz-arenites and litharenites (Numidian-like “mixed succession”), from the Predorsalian Unit; (2) the “Mérinides Facies”, made of a Numidian-like “mixed succession”, from the “Maghrebian Flysch Basin”; and (3) the classical “Numidian Facies”, exclusively made of quartzarenites, from the Intrarifian Tanger Unit. The petrographic analyses and the detrital zircon U-Pb ages show the provenance of the quartzarenites of the “Numidian Facies” from the African Craton, whereas the sublitharenites and feldspathic litharenites, of both the “Mérinides Facies” and “Beliounis Facies”, show provenance from a cratonic area and the growing and unroofing Rif Chain, respectively. The Alpine signature of the detrital grains sedimented into the foredeep deposits of the early Miocene orogenic system of the Rif Chain is from the feldspathic litharenites of both the Mérinides Facies and the Beni Ider Flysch. Both show Mesozoic and Cenozoic U-Pb zircon populations, with a large population of zircons centered at ca. 32 Ma. The U and Th concentration, the Th/U ratio, and the REE pattern of this population of zircons suggest a possible source area from Oligocene doleritic rock intrusions, similar to the magmatic dyke swarms (diorite) cropping out in the Malaga region ( SE Spain). The biostratigraphic analyses pinpoint the same age for the arrival of the quartz grains in the Numidian, Mérinides, and Beliounis deposits, indicating about 1 Myr for their sedimentation (ca. 20-19 Ma, early Burdigalian). Together with field evidence, the biostratigraphic results point to an autochthonous deposition of the Numidian Sandstones on top of the Tanger Unit, allowing to delineate the early Burdigalian foreland basin system of the Rif Chain. The foreland depozone involved the Tanger Unit and received the “Numidian Facies” deposits ; the foredeep depozone hosted about 2000 m of the “Mérinides Facies” and the Beni Ider Flysch, and developed on the so-called “Flysch Basin Domain”; and, finally, the wedge-top depozone, characterized by the “Beliounis Facies”, developed on top of the Predorsalian Unit. The Numidian Sandstones and the Numidian-like deposits analyzed in Morocco show the same age of similar deposits from Algeria, Tunisia, and Sicily, suggesting a comparable early Burdigalian tectono-sedimentary evolution along the southern branch of the Western Mediterranean subduction-related orogen.

Figure S1: Accumulate thickness-age diagrams of the pre- and syn-orogenic deposits of the Tanger, Ketama, Beni Ider, Tisiren, and Predorsalian units; Figure S2: Sub-Numidian calcareous nannofossils marker species; Figure S3: Quantitative analyses of the calcareous nannofossils from the Supra-Numidian deposits; Figure S4: Plate of the calcareous nannofossils marker species; Figure S5: Quantitative analyses of the calcareous nannofossils from the Imâm Rhìt section; Figure S6: Calcareous nannofossils marker species from the Al Fahamine section; Figure S7: Stratigraphic panel showing the pre-orogenic substratum of the Burdigalian foreland basin system of the Rif Chain; Table S1: Nannofossils countings from the Supra-Numidian deposits; Tables S2: Nannofossils countings from the Imâm Rhìt section; Tables S3: Petrographic data of the Numidian, Mérinides, and Beliounis sandstones; Table S4: U-Th-Pb Laser Ablation- Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry dataset and calculated ages for zircons from the Numidian, Mérinides, and Beliounis sandstones; Table S5: Trace and REE elements of zircons from the Numidian, Mérinides, and Beliounis sandstones; Table S6: Decompaction values of the pre- and syn-orogenic deposits of the Burdigalian foreland basin system of the Rif Chain.

During the Neogene, the Western Mediterranean subduction‐related orogen developed under differing modes and senses of subduction, resulting in the formation of the Apennines, Maghrebides, Rif, and Betics. In this work, we present the Neogene kinematic evolution of the Rif, based on literature data and new results from structural‐stratigraphic analyses and biostratigraphic investigations carried out in the External Zone of the Rif. We analyzed three stratigraphic sections: Dar Zhirou, Saf Lahmame, and Seguedla. The results of these analyses allow us to reconstruct a wide Tortonian‐Messinian wedge‐top basin in the Tanger‐Al Manzla area, when the leading edge of the Rif was at the frontal thrust of the Prerif. The presence of this wedge‐top basin points to a Tortonian‐Messinian compressional deformation that affected a wide area of the Rif, including the Prerif, Mesorif, and Intrarif. The late Miocene compressional deformation that affected the Mesorif and Intrarif occurred as out‐of‐sequence thrusting, due to renewed compressional tectonics in the internal zone of the chain triggered by the collision of the Rif accretionary wedge with the North African Margin. In the Neogene evolution of the Western Mediterranean subduction‐related orogen, the late Miocene was a major pulse in the interplay between African and European plates, as evidenced by the increase in migration rates of some segments of the circum‐Mediterranean fold‐and‐thrust belt, the out‐of‐sequence thrusting in the Rif, as well as the occurrence of late Miocene imbricate thrust structures in oceanic fracture zones of the African Plate (Central Atlantic Ocean).