Geology is more than just studying rocks. With advancing technology, scientists are reconstructing Earth\u2019s makeup in greater detail, uncovering how landscapes and oceans looked millions of years ago.<\/p>\n
A fascinating geological event is the desiccation of seas, where bodies of water are cut off from the open ocean and slowly evaporate, leaving behind vast salt deserts. Famously, the Mediterranean Sea dried up about 6 million years ago and only refilled during the dramatic Zanclean flood, after remaining mostly dry for nearly 700,000 years.<\/p>\n
Now, researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, have found evidence that the same phenomenon occurred in the Red Sea around 6.2 million years ago. Initially connected to the Mediterranean near today\u2019s Suez Canal, the Red Sea rejoined the world\u2019s oceans through a catastrophic southern flood that carved out the Bab el-Mandab Strait we know today.<\/p>\n
Read More: Ancient Migration Routes That Were Swallowed by the Sea Once Led Ancient Humans Outside of Africa<\/a><\/p>\n Massive Flood Revived the Red Sea<\/p>\n Once tectonic shifts cut off the Red Sea\u2019s connection to the Mediterranean, the basin became a vast enclosed water body bordered by what is now Egypt and Saudi Arabia. In their study<\/a>, published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, the KAUST team used seismic imaging, microfossil analysis, and geochemical dating techniques to show that the Red Sea completely dried out for roughly 100,000 years.<\/p>\n Blocked from the Indian Ocean by a volcanic ridge to the south, the basin remained desiccated until an enormous flood about 6.2 million years ago refilled it with seawater \u2014 and life.<\/p>\n \u201cOur findings show that the Red Sea basin records one of the most extreme environmental events on Earth, when it dried out completely and was then suddenly reflooded about 6.2 million years ago,\u201d said lead author Tihana Pensa of KAUST in a press statement<\/a>. \u201cThe flood transformed the basin, restored marine conditions, and established the Red Sea\u2019s lasting connection to the Indian Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n Marine Life Flourishes In the Red Sea Today<\/p>\n The Red Sea was born around 30 million years ago when the African Plate began separating from the Arabian Plate. What started as a chain of lakes along a narrow valley eventually connected to the Mediterranean about 7 million years later. Fossils from that period reveal flourishing marine life, until rising salinity and evaporation once again left the basin dry after the Mediterranean connection was severed.<\/p>\n Today, coral reefs line the Red Sea\u2019s coastlines, supported by its link to the Indian Ocean, which continuously replenishes it with seawater. Traces of the flood that revived the Red Sea remain visible: a 200-mile-long underwater canyon carved by torrents of water rushing into the basin 6.2 million years ago.<\/p>\n Earth\u2019s Oceans Are Resilient<\/p>\n The Red Sea\u2019s desiccation actually ended almost a million years before the Mediterranean\u2019s Messinian Salinity Crisis came to a close, highlighting how these extreme events unfolded on different timelines.<\/p>\n \u201cThis paper adds to our knowledge about the processes that form and expand oceans on Earth. It also maintains KAUST\u2019s leading position in Red Sea research,\u201d said co-author and KAUST professor Abdulkader Al Afifi.<\/p>\n According to the press statement, the Red Sea serves as a living laboratory for studying how oceans form, how massive salt deposits accumulate, and how climate and tectonics shape marine environments over millions of years. Its history underscores the resilience of Earth\u2019s oceans: even after experiencing extreme desiccation, the basin returned as a thriving ecosystem, offering scientists key insights into global ocean change.<\/p>\n