Mediterranean Desiccates During the Messinian Salinity Crisis

Between 5.96 and 5.33 million years ago, tectonic convergence of the African and Eurasian plates closed the seaway connecting the Mediterranean basin to the Atlantic Ocean. Cut off from oceanic replenishment, the Mediterranean underwent repeated cycles of partial to near-complete evaporation. Thick deposits of rock salt and gypsum accumulated on the exposed basin floor, some exceeding one kilometer in depth. The crisis ended abruptly with the Zanclean flood, when Atlantic waters breached the barrier and refilled the basin.