Imagine a flood so massive it reshaped entire landscapes. That’s what happened with the megaflood during the Ice Age, known as the Missoula Floods. Huge glacial lakes in North America suddenly burst, releasing water that tore through the land at incredible speeds. This powerful force carved out canyons, created vast valleys, and left behind massive boulders scattered like pebbles. It was one of the most dramatic geological events ever, forever changing Earth's geography. #brightside
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Listen to Bright Side on:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/
Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
Animation is created by Bright Side.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music from TheSoul Sound: https://thesoul-sound.com/
Listen to Bright Side on:
Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/0hUkPxD34jRLrMrJux4VxV
Apple Podcast - https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/idhttps-podcasts-apple-com-podcast-bright-side/id1554898078
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our Social Media:
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/brightside/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/brightside.official/
Tik Tok - https://www.tiktok.com/@brightside.official?lang=en
Snapchat - https://www.snapchat.com/p/c6a1e38a-bff1-4a40-9731-2c8234ccb19f/1866144599336960
Stock materials (photos, footages and other):
https://www.depositphotos.com
https://www.shutterstock.com
https://www.eastnews.ru
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more videos and articles visit: http://www.brightside.me
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Around 5.3 million years ago, a crucial event reshaped the Mediterranean region.
00:06It was a colossal flood that refilled the local sea,
00:10which had been extremely barren and salty up until that point.
00:14It got the name Zanclean Flood and it forever changed the geography of the area.
00:20The Mediterranean Sea is surrounded by Europe, Africa and Asia
00:24and connects to the ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar.
00:27This is quite a narrow passage measuring about 8 miles.
00:30It may not be that wide, but the Strait plays a crucial role
00:34in maintaining the liquid balance between these two bodies of water.
00:38About 6 million years ago, a bunch of things might have caused the Mediterranean
00:42to be cut off from the Atlantic Ocean.
00:45Some say it was an ice age.
00:47Others speak of tectonic movements, like earthquakes.
00:50Whatever the cause, it pushed the Mediterranean area
00:53into a period called the Mycenaean Salinity Crisis.
00:56For about 1,000 years, the sea slowly evaporated,
01:00leaving behind a dry basin that was several miles below sea level.
01:04This crisis really changed the landscape,
01:07creating conditions similar to those found in today's Dead Sea.
01:11What this means is that the lush Mediterranean beauty
01:14used to be a super salty environment,
01:17containing nearly 10 times more salt than the ocean.
01:20Say you could have visited.
01:22You would have been able to effortlessly float on the little water you could find,
01:26even if you're not a skilled swimmer.
01:29The amount of salt and that mineral content
01:32would have made it challenging for most creatures to survive.
01:35However, some hardy microorganisms, such as bacteria,
01:38could have adapted to these harsh conditions.
01:41These days, at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea,
01:44we can find holes as large as the Grand Canyon,
01:47and they seem to have formed during that same period of dehydration.
01:51Evidence suggests that massive rivers,
01:54such as the Nile and the Rhone,
01:56flowed directly into the Mediterranean back then,
01:59leaving behind canyons as they reached the bottom,
02:02thousands of feet below the sea level.
02:05People had to find some sort of explanation back in the day
02:08for the drying of the Mediterranean,
02:10so they came up with myths and legends.
02:13One such tale was told by the people of southern Iberia,
02:16in modern-day Spain and Portugal.
02:19It was also recounted by a famous Roman writer called Pliny the Elder.
02:23What this legend said was that the Mediterranean
02:26used to be cut out from the ocean until the hero Hercules,
02:29with his mighty sword, carved a path.
02:32He did so between a fictional location in modern-day Africa
02:35and the Rock of Gibraltar.
02:37This allowed the ocean waters to flow in,
02:40transforming the Mediterranean into what we know today.
02:44Some fossils also seem to confirm the unusually large flood.
02:48Remains of marine organisms were found in layers
02:51high above current sea levels.
02:54This means the areas were once submerged underwater.
02:57These fossils belonged to molluscs, fish, and marine mammals.
03:01Because of modern techniques,
03:04we now have at least an estimated timing of the Zanclean flood.
03:07Scientists used computer simulations to reconstruct the event,
03:12providing further evidence that it was real.
03:15What they also discovered is that there is a possibility
03:18the Mediterranean might change once more.
03:21The Strait of Gibraltar could close,
03:24most likely because of movements deep under the ground.
03:27This could lead to the Mediterranean becoming dry again,
03:30over a span of about a thousand years.
03:33The Mediterranean area could disappear altogether
03:36if the African continent keeps shifting north too,
03:39getting closer to Europe.
03:42Another one of those famous yet still a bit hypothetical large floods
03:46is called the Black Sea Deluge Theory.
03:49Some scientists think that around 8400 years ago,
03:52water from the Mediterranean might have spilled over
03:55into the Black Sea through a narrow passage called the Bosporus Strait.
03:59This could have caused a massive disaster,
04:02forcing people living near the Black Sea
04:05to pack up their things and move further inside the continent,
04:08both Europe and Asia.
04:11Along with them, they might have carried stories about this colossal flood.
04:14The specialists that came up with this idea also suggested
04:17that these migrating people might have brought along new ways of farming.
04:21Not everyone from the scientific community is convinced though.
04:25Some argue that while there might have been a flood,
04:28it likely happened earlier and was way smaller.
04:31They didn't think this flood could have caused, for example,
04:34the story of Noah's Ark.
04:37In the end, a spiritual man was warned by a higher entity
04:40that a giant flood was on its way.
04:43The man went to gather pairs of animals and packed them all in a boat
04:46to make sure these species would survive the devastating flood.
04:49There was also the concern among scholars
04:52that discussing real floods and ancient stories too much
04:55might blur the lines between science and fiction.
04:58There may be other reasons why these flood stories
05:01are so often found across different cultures all over our planet.
05:05One idea is that floods were incredibly destructive for early farmers,
05:08so they invented myths about them signaling the end of the world.
05:11Another idea is that people stumbled upon
05:14ancient sea creature fossils in unusual places,
05:17leading them to believe there was a significant flood in the past.
05:23The solution to future floods though might be floating cities.
05:26As sea levels continue to rise,
05:29coastal cities like Amsterdam, New Orleans, and Venice
05:33may go under.
05:36So, floating infrastructure may be the way to go,
05:39with buildings that can rise with the water levels,
05:42making them able to resist extreme weather too.
05:45Countries like the Netherlands, which have a history of managing water risks,
05:48are pioneering these floating creations.
05:51With cities running out of space for expansion,
05:54we might be forced to move on water anyway.
05:57By moving on the water, we can reduce crowding
06:00and find new ways to feed ourselves, like floating gardens.
06:03These homes also come with great alternatives to our energy needs
06:06through systems that use solar and wind power.
06:09Not to mention that these homes might turn out
06:12to be cheaper in the long run.
06:15One such floating city might pop up soon in the Maldives.
06:18Its goal is to host up to 20,000 people
06:21and will feature places to live and eat,
06:24but also shops and schools.
06:27To make it look like coral, the region will include canals
06:30placed between some 5,000 floating pieces of land.
06:33The city will be constructed using modular units,
06:36put together in a construction site nearby.
06:39After they're completed, they'll be towed to the floating city.
06:42The next step is to secure them to a large underwater concrete hull,
06:45which is screwed tightly to the seabed on some steel stilts.
06:48All these pieces of construction
06:51let the modular units easily move as naturally as the sea.
06:54Even for those that are afraid of seasickness,
06:57there's a solution.
07:00That's what the nearby coral reef is for.
07:03It will surround the city, making a natural wave breaker.
07:06Human-made coral banks will also be placed underneath the city,
07:09which will also help coral grow naturally.
07:12The long-term goal is to make the establishment self-sufficient.
07:15It will have electricity, mostly from on-site solar power.
07:18Waste will be treated nearby and reused as plant fertilizer.
07:21Instead of air conditioning,
07:24the city will use deep-sea water cooling.
07:27This method pumps cold water from the deep sea
07:30to cool the area, saving energy.
07:33Earth is not the only planet that's seen some serious floods.
07:36In ancient times,
07:39Mars seems to have experienced them too,
07:42and they played an important role in shaping its surface.
07:45Recent research reveals that billions of years ago,
07:48Mars was heavily affected by some serious river flooding,
07:51which contributed to the formation of its valleys and canyons.
07:54The reason for these floods was heavy rainfall,
07:57which reshaped the Martian landscape in a jiffy,
08:00at times even within days or weeks.
08:03Unlike Earth, where rivers form pretty slowly,
08:06Mars experienced rapid changes because of these floods,
08:09particularly around 4 billion years ago.
08:12We've known for quite some time that there have been floods on Mars,
08:15but this study really showed us their extent.
08:18We now know they were more widespread and frequent
08:21than previously thought.
08:24That's it for today.
08:27So hey, if you pacified your curiosity,
08:30then give the video a like and share it with your friends.
08:33Or if you want more, just click on these videos and stay on the Bright Side!