Megaflood Refilled Mediterranean Sea 5.3 Million Years Ago, New Study Suggests

Megaflood Refilled Mediterranean Sea 5.3 Million Years Ago, New Study Suggests

A massive flood called the Zanclean megaflood ended the Messinian salinity crisis, which lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago, according to new research led by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

One debated scenario for the termination of the Messinian salinity crisis 5.33 million years ago is cataclysmic refilling of the Mediterranean Sea through the Zanclean megaflood; Micallef et al. present a clear line of onshore-to-offshore evidence for this megaflood spilling over a shallow-water marine corridor in south-east Sicily into the nearby subaqueous Noto Canyon. This aerial photo shows a ridge eroded by the megaflood located north-east of Masseria del Volpe, south-east Sicily. Image credit: Kevin Sciberras & Neil Petroni.

Support authors and subscribe to content

This is premium stuff. Subscribe to read the entire article.

Subscribe

Gain access to all our Premium contents.
More than 100+ articles.

Buy Article

Unlock this article and gain permanent access to read it.
Exit mobile version