Map of the Mediterranean Basin and Next Orient, before 1000 DC
Spanish researchers will have resolved geological mystery with new simulation.
Scientists from the Supreme Scientific Research Council (CSIC) of Spain unveiled one of the greatest mysteries of Mediterranean geology: the so -called Mediterranean paradoxa phenomenon that had intrigued the scientific community for decades for suggesting that the Mediterranean basin was dry and with water at the same time during the Messinian, about 5.5 million years ago.
The key to solving the puzzle was a new numerical model developed by the Geosciences Barcelona Center, which allowed to simulate 600,000 years of geological changes in the region. The tool has taken into account variables such as precipitation, evaporation, river erosion and vertical movements of the earth’s crust, points out the confidential.
The study, last July 11 in the Science Advancesreveals that, after the isolation of the Mediterranean of the Atlantic Ocean, the water level of the basin descended up to two kilometers. This drastic descent was caused by intense evaporation, which left extensive salt deposits. But the presence of freshwater or brackish organism fossils, both in coastal and marine depths, questioned the theory of total dehydration.
The new simulations show that, despite the sharp drop in sea level, freshwater entry of eurasiatic rivers and the old lakes of Paratethys (shallow inner sea extended from the northern region of the Alps in Central Europe, to the Sea of Aral, Central Asia) formed low and scattered lake systems.
🌊The Mediterranean paradox, an empty and full sea at the same time more than 5 million years ago
🌏A study of the points that climate changes and the contribution of water from rivers and lakes would explain this apparent contradiction of the late Miocene
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— CSIC (@CSIC)
This scenario explains the coexistence of apparently contradictory fossil traces. The final phase of this crisis, known as Lakewas marked by water level fluctuations due to climate change caused by the oscillations in the inclination of the earth in relation to the sun.
The main researcher, Daniel García-Castellanos, explained that these periodic oscillations caused the formation of low salinity and short-lived water bodies, creating unstable habitats with limited biodiversity.
A new study proposes an explanation to the paradox of, an empty and full sea at the same time more than 5 million years ago. 🌊
The work, led by, has been published in Science Advances.– CSIC in Catalonia (@CSICCAT)
The crisis ended abruptly with the return of Atlantic waters to the Mediterranean.
