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ERATOSTHENES

7th February, 2024

ERATOSTHENES

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Context

The Geological Institute of Israel uncovered a never before known about underwater canyon near Cyprus. 

Details

The canyon

  • The canyon, known as Eratosthenesfor the underwater mountain it is near, dates back to the Messinian Event that transpired about 5.5 million years ago.
  • 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.
  • According to the institute in a broader aspect this work reveals the environmental conditions of high salinity and lower sea level in the deep Mediterranean basin at the beginning of the Messinian event.
  • 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.

Cyprus

  • Cyprus is an island country located in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, north of the Sinai Peninsula, south of the Anatolian Peninsula, and west of the Levant.
  • It is geographically a part of West Asia. Cyprus is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean.

PRACTICE QUESTION

The under water canyon, known as Eratosthenes recently discovered in which of the follow sea or ocean?

  1. South China Sea
  2. Mediterranean Sea
  3. Arctic Ocean

D.Adriatic Sea

Answer B