Israeli scientists discovered an underwater canyon off the coast of Cyprus

Scientists from the Geological Institute of Israel have discovered an underwater canyon in the sea off the coast of Cyprus. It is located near the underwater mountain "Eratosthenes".

According to information from the Philenews publication, the canyon found in the sea coincides in time with a geological phenomenon that occurred 5.5 million years ago, known as the "Messinian salinity crisis".

The basin is 10 km wide and 500 m deep and is covered with a layer of salt. Presumably, the canyon was formed during the period when the level of the Mediterranean Sea dropped simultaneously with the increase in water salinity, leading to instability of the underwater slopes and the collapse of the seabed.

The Messinian salinity crisis is a geological event in the history of the Mediterranean Sea, during which several cycles of its partial or nearly complete drying occurred at the end of the Miocene, 5.96-5.33 million years ago.