The Geological Institute of Israel (GII) uncovered an underwater canyon near Cyprus. The canyon is known as Eratosthenes for the underwater mountain it is near.
- It dates back to the Messinian Event that transpired about 5.5 million years ago. Also known as the Messinian salinity crisis, the Messinian event was a geological event during which the Mediterranean Sea went into a cycle of partial or nearly complete desiccation.
- The canyon is about 10 km wide and 500 m deep and was buried at the beginning of the Messinian period before the deposition of the salt layer.
- It was created when the level of the Mediterranean Sea decreased at the same time there was a rise in the salinity of the water, which apparently created gravity currents or dense solutions that caused the destabilization of the submarine slopes and subsidence of the seabed.
