Messinian salinity crisis
（重定向自Salinity crisis）
![Cones of gypsum, which formed on the sea floor as a result of evaporation. Evaporation of one metre of seawater precipitates around 1 mm of gypsum.](/Images/godic/202502/08/Gypsum_cones5828.jpg")
![The scale of gypsum formation in the Sorbas basin (Yesares member). The upward-growing cones suggest precipitation on the sea floor (not within sediments).](/Images/godic/202502/08/Yesares_gypsum5828.jpg")
![Hypotheses of evaporite formation during the MSC.
a: Diachronous deposition: Evaporites (pink) were deposited in landward basins first, and closer to the Atlantic as the extent of the Mediterranean Sea (dark blue) diminished towards the gateway. The light blue shows the original sea level.
b: Synchronous deposition in marginal basins. Sea level drops slightly, but the whole basin is still connected to the Atlantic. Reduced inflow allows the accumulation of evaporites in shallow basins only.
c: Synchronous, basin-wide deposition. Closure or restriction of the Atlantic seaway by tectonic activity (dark grey) causes evaporite deposition simultaneously across the entire basin; the basin may not need to empty completely, as salts are concentrated by evaporation.](/Images/godic/202502/08/MSC_basin_hypotheses.svg5828.png")
![Artistic interpretation of the Mediterranean geography during its evaporative drawdown, after complete disconnection from the Atlantic. The rivers carved deep gorges in the exposed continental margins; The concentration of salt in the remaining water bodies led to rapid precipitation. The inset evokes the transit of mammals (e.g., camels and mice) from Africa to Iberia across the exposed Gibraltar Strait.](/Images/godic/202502/08/Inserciomamifers5829.jpg")
Events of the Cenozoic
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Phanerozoic
An approximate timescale of key Cenozoic events.
Axis scale: Ma before present.
Axis scale: Ma before present.
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 partly or nearly complete desiccation 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.