New evidence suggests megaflood refilled the Mediterranean Sea five million years ago

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2025-01-24 12:30:09

A new study provides compelling new evidence that a colossal ‘megaflood’ refilled the Mediterranean Sea, ending a period during which the Med was a vast expanse of salt flats.

The study suggests the Zanclean Megaflood ended the Messinian Salinity Crisis, which lasted between 5.97 and 5.33 million years ago.

An international team of scientists, including the University of Southampton, have identified a series of geological features around South East Sicily that point to a massive flood taking place across the region.

“The Zanclean megaflood was an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, with discharge rates and flow velocities dwarfing any other known floods in Earth’s history,” said Dr. Aaron Micallef, lead author of the study and researcher at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California. “Our research provides the most compelling evidence yet of this extraordinary event.”

During the Messinian Salinity Crisis, the Mediterranean Sea became isolated from the Atlantic Ocean and evaporated, leading to vast salt deposits which reshaped the region’s landscape.