The Paratethys region is (usually) divided into a western and eastern Paratethys, separated by the Carpathian mountain range. The eastern Paratethys consists of the Dacian, Euxinian and Caspian basins (SE Romania, Moldavia, Ukraine, SW Russia). The Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are the actual brackish water remains of this ancient water mass.

Overview of (mutually inconsistent) timescales for the Paratethys (from Vasiliev et al., 2004)

Chronostratigraphic control for the Paratethys domain is generally poor (see figure above) and largely based on biostratigraphic data from endemic molluscs and ostracods. Correlations of Paratethys stages to the Mediterranean and global oceans are generally impossible because of the semi-isolated position and the lack of water exchange. 

A first study on the magnetostratigaphy of eastern ans southern Carpathian fordeep deposits has proven successful, and has accurately dated eastern Paratethys stages younger than ~7 Ma (in particular the Meotian - Pontian - Dacian - Romanian boundaries). The research of Floor will focus on the magnetostratigraphy and age of the Sarmatian-Meotian boundary as recorded in the southern Carpathians. Her MSc research forms part of the PhD project of Iuliana Vasiliev. This boundary is still poorly constrained, and there are several discrepancies in the literature regarding this boundary. To solve this problem, several key sections in the southern Carpathians will be sampled and studied in detail

Madulari section

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