Evidence of the ancient megaflood known as the Zanclean Deluge, which reshaped the Mediterranean Sea into its current form, has been found in Sicily.
The Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic around 5.3 million years ago in a catastrophic event known as the Messinian Salinity Crisis. The separation of the two bodies of water led to the near-complete evaporation of the Mediterranean, turning the once massive sea into salt plains. At one point, water filled the Mediterranean again, but the process was not as slow as scientists thought. Research published in Communications Earth & Environment found that the Zanclean megaflood rapidly refilled the sea.
The Zanclean Deluge
The Zanclean Deluge was a drastic flooding event in the late Miocene. The colossal flood reconnected the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea following the tectonic activity that reopened the Strait of Gibraltar, resulting in water flooding into the previously extensive salt plains.
According to the study, the Zanclean megaflood occurred over two to sixteen years. Water flowed into the then-basin at 60-100 million cubic meters per second. For reference, the Mississippi River discharges floodwater between 6,000 and 20,000 cubic meters per second.
“The Zanclean megaflood was an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon, with discharge rates and flow velocities dwarfing any other known floods in Earth’s history,” study co-author Aaron Micallef, a researcher at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute in California said in a statement. “Our research provides the most compelling evidence yet of this extraordinary event.”
The evidence of the megaflood filling the Mediterranean
Our researchers have discovered new evidence of a ‘megaflood’ that refilled the Mediterranean Sea around five million years ago.
— University of Southampton (@unisouthampton) January 21, 2025
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The team examined more than 300 ridges across the Sicilian Strait, which once separated the eastern and western Mediterranean basins. The geological findings on these ridges confirmed that an absurdly vast and turbulent water flow once came pouring through the former land bridge barrier.
“The morphology of these ridges is compatible with erosion by large-scale, turbulent water flow with a predominantly north-easterly direction,” said study co-author Paul Carling, an Emeritus professor in the School of Geography and Environmental Science at the University of Southampton, in the statement.
The researchers also found evidence of eroded material debris from the intense flooding deposited quickly by the force of the water flow. This layer of debris marks the geological boundary between the Messinian Salinity Crisis and the Zanclean, allowing researchers to see exactly when the megaflood occurred.
“They reveal the immense power of the Zanclean Megaflood and how it reshaped the landscape, leaving lasting imprints on the geological record,” said Carling.
The scientists also found evidence of a W-shaped canal, which could have served as a funnel for the rapidly moving floodwaters of the Zanclean Deluge. They suggest that water could have rushed into the Mediterranean basins at an astounding 72 miles per hour through the canals on the eastern part of the Sicily Strait, pumping water into the Noto Canyon.
“These findings not only shed light on a critical moment in Earth’s geological history but also demonstrate the persistence of landforms over five million years,” said Micallef. “It opens the door to further research along the Mediterranean margins.”
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