That Time the Mediterranean Sea Disappeared

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on the Messinian salinity crisis and related geological events, including the implications of catastrophic flooding and sedimentary processes. Participants explore the historical context of the Mediterranean Sea's desiccation and the geological evidence supporting various flood scenarios.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants reference the Messinian salinity crisis as a significant geological event involving the Mediterranean Sea's drying-up and subsequent flooding.
  • There is mention of glacial dam bursts in lakes Bonneville and Missoula as evidence for fast, catastrophic floods, with differing views on the nature of the Black Sea's filling process.
  • Participants discuss seabed features that support a mega-flood scenario for the formation of the English Channel.
  • One participant highlights Dry Falls in Washington state as an example of the scale of Ice Age floods and expresses interest in the flood that re-filled the Mediterranean.
  • Another participant references the draining of Glacial Lake Albany as a significant flood event related to the Narrows under the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the nature of geological flood events, including whether they occurred rapidly or gradually, indicating that multiple competing views remain in the discussion.

Contextual Notes

Some claims depend on specific geological interpretations and the definitions of flood processes, which remain unresolved in the discussion.

Astronuc
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TL;DR
Much of the Mediterranean Sea dried up at one time.
PBS Eons on KCTS

https://www.kcts9.org/show/eons/episode/that-time-the-mediterranean-sea-disappeared-esieyi

The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC), also referred to as the Messinian event, and in its latest stage as the Lago Mare event, was a geological event during which the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partial or nearly complete desiccation (drying-up) throughout the latter part of the Messinian age of the Miocene epoch, from 5.96 to 5.33 Ma (million years ago). It ended with the Zanclean flood, when the Atlantic reclaimed the basin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messinian_salinity_crisis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanclean_flood

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Messinian

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miocene
 
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With the glacial dam bursts in lakes Bonneville & Missoula, clear evidence exists of a fast, catastrophic flood. With this and the later filling of the Black Sea, views differ on whether the filling occurred catastrophically fast or was a more gradual process - am guessing therefore that the type of geologic flood scarring you see in Idaho would be, what - buried under sediment, or eroded by water?
 
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BWV said:
views differ
See the "To Flood or Not to Flood" section here.
 
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Seabed features have been used in support of a mega-flood scenario for the formation of the English Channel.
https://www.nature.com/articles/news070716-11

from: https://www.science.org/news/2017/0...mendous-ice-age-waterfalls-cut-britain-europe

Screen Shot 2021-09-30 at 12.52.21 PM.png
 
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