New evidence that reinforces the theory of the megaflow that filled the Mediterranean millions of years ago

Millions of years ago, the Mediterranean Sea evaporated. It may have been filled in by the largest flooding event ever experienced on Earth.

An international team of researchers has discovered new evidence supporting the Zanclean megaflux, a theorized event that refilled the Mediterranean Sea after the Messinia salinity crisis had transformed it into a dry, salty landscape. As detailed in a December 28 study Published in the magazine Communications Earth and environmentThe researchers combined newly identified geological features in Sicily with geophysical data and computer models to provide the most extensive look at the ancient megafleod known to date.

“The Zanclean megaflux was a stunning natural phenomenon, with discharge rates and flow velocities that eclipse any other known flood in Earth’s history,” said Aaron Micallef of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. who led the study, at a University of a University of a University of a University of Southampton statement. “Our research provides the most convincing evidence yet of this extraordinary event.”

Between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago, the Messinian salinity crisis caused the Mediterranean Sea to be cut off from the Atlantic Ocean and evaporated into an expanse of salt deposits. Scientists previously theorized that, over a period of 10,000 years, the Mediterranean basin gradually refilled with water. However, in 2009 Discovery of an erosion channel That stretching from the Gulf of Cadiz on Spain’s Atlantic coast to the Alboran Sea east of the Strait of Gibraltar challenged this theory, and instead led scientists to suggest a single flooding event.

“This megaflux is believed to have been caused by Atlantic waters over a late Massine isthmus near the modern Strait of Gibraltar, which initially filled the western Mediterranean, and subsequently spilled over Intrabasinal Sicily, filling the Eastern Mediterranean,” the researchers wrote in In in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in in tle in in in in in in in tlelesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesleslesH InUU The new study. Scientists estimate that the megaflow lasted between two and 16 years, and discharged between 2.4 and 3.5 billion cubic feet (68 and 100 million cubic meters) per second, according to the study.

The team identified more than 300 continuous, asymmetric ridges near the Sicilian Sill, a now-underwater land bridge that once divided the western Mediterranean from the eastern Mediterranean. The ridges were layered in debris eroded from the ridge flanks and surrounding area, pointing to a rapid and intense deposition process. The layers date between the Messinian (7.2 million to 5.3 million years ago) and Zanclean (5.3 to 3.60 million years ago) periods, aligning perfectly with the proposed timing of the Zanclean megafluence, about 5.3 million years ago.

“The morphology of these ridges is compatible with erosion by large-scale turbulent water flow with a predominantly northeasterly direction,” Paul Carling of the University of Southampton, who participated in the study, said in the statement. “They reveal the immense power of the Zanclean megafluence and how it reshaped the landscape, leaving lasting traces in the geological record.”

Carling and his colleagues also discovered a “W-shaped channel” on the sea floor east of the Sicilian sill, connecting the ridges to an underwater valley in the eastern Mediterranean called Noto Canyon. The researchers propose that when the Zanclean megaflow had filled the western Mediterranean and eventually spilled over the sill of Sicily, the channel funneled water into the eastern parts of the sea.

The team also developed computer models to reconstruct these dynamics. Simulations suggest that the water changed direction and became more intense over time, achieving a discharge of up to 72 miles per hour (116 kilometers per hour).

“These findings not only shed light on a critical moment in Earth’s geological history, but also demonstrate the persistence of the twin forms for more than five million years,” Micallef added. “It opens the door to more research along the Mediterranean margins.”

Although the Zanclean megaflux remains just a theory, one thing is certain: 5.3 million years ago, the Mediterranean Sea probably wasn’t the idyllic travel destination it is today.