Gibraltar’s ancient flood may have surged at 100 million m3/s, reshaping the Mediterranean
New modeling of the Zanclean flood suggests the peak discharge through the Strait of Gibraltar was about 100 million cubic metres per second—roughly 1,000 times the Amazon today—driving rapid erosion at the Camarinal Sill (up to ~0.4 m per day) and potentially causing Mediterranean sea-level rise of over 10 m/day at the peak; most water transfer occurred within months to two years. The erosion channel is geologically recorded, but the 100 million m3/s figure remains a model-based estimate anchored to borehole/seismic data, with independent studies yielding a similar timing window, underscoring the ongoing debate over the flood’s violence.