• Messinian sulfate evaporites are offset from contemporaneous seawater sulfate composition toward higher δ 18 O and lower Δ'17O values. • Normal distributions of sulfate δ 18 O and Δ'17O reflect a well-mixed sulfate reservoir. • Evaporite sulfate reflects both original seawater and post-restriction alteration. The triple oxygen isotope composition of seawater sulfate, as recorded in marine sulfate evaporites and barites, is commonly used to interpret past changes in atmospheric p O 2 / p CO 2 and gross primary production (GPP). In practice, the most-negative measured triple oxygen isotope value (Δ'17O) of sulfate from a marine evaporite deposit is thought to most closely represent contemporaneous seawater sulfate and is used to calculate atmospheric composition. However, a range of triple oxygen isotope compositions are typically measured within a single marine evaporite basin. Here, we characterize in detail the variability in the triple oxygen isotope composition of the sulfate in gypsum sampled from three Messinian (5-6 Ma) marine evaporite sub-basins from the Western Mediterranean Basin. Evaporite sulfate is offset from contemporaneous seawater sulfate and reflects mixing between two end-member sulfate populations: the original seawater sulfate and sulfate that has been isotopically reset after basin restriction. The combined Δ'17O and δ 18 O compositions of sulfate within a stratigraphic context offer the opportunity to better constrain the degree to which marine sulfate evaporites preserve the original isotopic composition of open ocean seawater sulfate. This study encompasses an exploration of mass-dependent fractionation, isotope equilibrium with water, and various scenarios of mixing. Our results calibrate the utility of marine sulfate evaporites in constraining the contemporaneous, open ocean triple oxygen isotope composition of seawater sulfate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]