Red Sea faced severe dried out conditions around 6.2 million years ago

New research shows that the Red sea experienced an extreme environmental event approximately 6.2 million years ago when it had completely dried out.

This event is particularly linked to the broader Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC) that affected the Mediterranean region, but the history of the Red Sea is distinct.

The team pinned this event to a short window when water from the Indian Ocean surged north and restored marine equilibrium in under 100,000 years.

Dr. Tihana Pensa from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) said, “Our findings show that the Red Sea basin records one of the most extreme environmental events on Earth.

However, the Red Sea’s desiccation occurred when its connection to other oceans was restricted. Moreover, arid climate conditions further exacerbated conditions by pushing salt and evaporation sky-high.

Bathymetric maps show a deep and straight channel that works as a link between the Gulf of Aden to the southern Red Sea.

This sequence is crucial because it happened before the famous replenishing of the Mediterranean at the end of the Messinian Salinity crisis.

It is considered one of the significant environmental transformations on Earth.

The Mediterranean Zanclean flood is dated back to 5.3 million years ago and occurred about nearly a million years after the reflooding of the Red Sea.