Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood
Abstract 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. Here we present a clear line of onshore-to-offshore evidence for this megaflood spilling over a shallow-water ma...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01972-w |
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| author | Aaron Micallef Giovanni Barreca Christian Hübscher Angelo Camerlenghi Paul Carling Jose Maria Abril Hernandez Raúl Periáñez Daniel Garcia-Castellanos Jonathan Ford Benedikt Haimerl Matthias Hartge Jonas Preine Antonio Caruso |
| author_facet | Aaron Micallef Giovanni Barreca Christian Hübscher Angelo Camerlenghi Paul Carling Jose Maria Abril Hernandez Raúl Periáñez Daniel Garcia-Castellanos Jonathan Ford Benedikt Haimerl Matthias Hartge Jonas Preine Antonio Caruso |
| author_sort | Aaron Micallef |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract 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. Here we 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: (i) >300 asymmetric and streamlined erosional ridges aligned with the megaflood direction, (ii) poorly-sorted breccia deposited between the Messinian and Lower Zanclean Trubi Formations, (iii) soft-sediment deformation structures and clastic injections in the breccia and underlying units, and (iv) a 20 kilometre wide erosional shelf channel connecting the ridges with Noto Canyon. Numerical modelling results support the modulation of flow velocity and direction by the excavation of the channel and Noto Canyon. Our findings demonstrate that the Messinian salinity crisis was terminated through a cataclysmic flood, which implies pronounced Mediterranean sea-level drawdown prior to the flooding. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-97ae3d35f66c446abd36628dd7a7ff80 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-97ae3d35f66c446abd36628dd7a7ff802025-08-20T02:43:27ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352024-12-015111110.1038/s43247-024-01972-wLand-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megafloodAaron Micallef0Giovanni Barreca1Christian Hübscher2Angelo Camerlenghi3Paul Carling4Jose Maria Abril Hernandez5Raúl Periáñez6Daniel Garcia-Castellanos7Jonathan Ford8Benedikt Haimerl9Matthias Hartge10Jonas Preine11Antonio Caruso12Monterey Bay Aquarium Research InstituteDipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università di CataniaInstitut für Geophysik, Universität HamburgNational Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics–OGSGeography & Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonDpto. Física Aplicada I ETSIA, Universidad de SevillaDpto. Física Aplicada I ETSIA, Universidad de SevillaGeosciences Barcelona, Geo3BCN-CSICNational Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics–OGSInstitut für Geophysik, Universität HamburgInstitut für Geophysik, Universität HamburgInstitut für Geophysik, Universität HamburgDipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche Chimiche e Farmaceutiche (STEBICEF), Università degli studi di PalermoAbstract 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. Here we 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: (i) >300 asymmetric and streamlined erosional ridges aligned with the megaflood direction, (ii) poorly-sorted breccia deposited between the Messinian and Lower Zanclean Trubi Formations, (iii) soft-sediment deformation structures and clastic injections in the breccia and underlying units, and (iv) a 20 kilometre wide erosional shelf channel connecting the ridges with Noto Canyon. Numerical modelling results support the modulation of flow velocity and direction by the excavation of the channel and Noto Canyon. Our findings demonstrate that the Messinian salinity crisis was terminated through a cataclysmic flood, which implies pronounced Mediterranean sea-level drawdown prior to the flooding.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01972-w |
| spellingShingle | Aaron Micallef Giovanni Barreca Christian Hübscher Angelo Camerlenghi Paul Carling Jose Maria Abril Hernandez Raúl Periáñez Daniel Garcia-Castellanos Jonathan Ford Benedikt Haimerl Matthias Hartge Jonas Preine Antonio Caruso Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood |
| title_full | Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood |
| title_fullStr | Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood |
| title_full_unstemmed | Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood |
| title_short | Land-to-sea indicators of the Zanclean megaflood |
| title_sort | land to sea indicators of the zanclean megaflood |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01972-w |
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