Why did this happen?

By analyzing chlorine isotopes in salt deposited on the seafloor and creating numerical models and simulations, researchers were able to track when, where and how. 70 percent of the water in the Mediterranean has disappearedChannel 24 reports, citing Nature Communications.

• The first phase of the research covered 35,000 years when the flow of water between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean was restricted through what is now known as the Strait of Gibraltar. Additionally, not replenishing seawater with fresh water accelerated the accumulation of salts and evaporation.
• In the second stage, the next 10,000 years were examined, during which the Mediterranean was completely isolated. This greatly accelerated the process.

Researchers led by Earth system scientist Giovanni Aloisi of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) found: Water levels were expected to drop by 2.1 kilometers in some areas. The team hypothesized that in the second phase of water withdrawal, the submarine ridge crossing the Strait of Sicily would emerge, effectively splitting the Mediterranean in two and creating a land bridge between Africa and Europe.

This will lead to faster evaporation in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the largest drop in sea level will occur. This is evidenced by the much larger amount of salt deposits found in these places.

This is what the consequences of the disappearance of the Mediterranean looked like / Photo: Giovanni Aloisi

Scientists have long debated how the Messinian salinity crisis occurred and whether it occurred when the Mediterranean Sea was completely cut off from the Atlantic Ocean. This new study suggests that both scientific hypotheses are correct: It was a two-step process.

Researchers aren’t sure why the Mediterranean became isolated, but the late Miocene was a period of significant, dramatic tectonic activity, so it’s possible that the lithospheric plate lifted slightly or something similar blocked the flow of water. The crisis itself will cause even more upheaval due to significant changes in pressure.

“The magnitude of the Mediterranean depression caused by the decrease in water levels in the Bosphorus will cause climatic consequences on a planetary scale and cause changes in precipitation patterns, corresponding to the loss of 69 percent of the volume of the Mediterranean.”
– Write authors in published articles.

Today, the Strait of Gibraltar is much wider and deeper than during the first phase of the Crisis, allowing sufficient water to flow into the Mediterranean. If there was no connection with the Atlantic Ocean, the sea water level would drop by about half a meter every year.

Finally, the Zankle Flood reflooded the Mediterranean 5.33 million years ago, ending the Messinian salinity crisis and reconnecting the Mediterranean with the Atlantic Ocean.