The Messinian salinity crisis was an extraordinary event that resulted in the deposition of kilometre-thick evaporite sequences in the Mediterranean Sea after the latter became disconnected from the world's oceans. The return to fully and stable marine conditions at the end of the crisis is still subject to debate. Three main hypotheses, based on geophysical and borehole data, onshore outcrops and climate simulations, have been put forward. These include a single-stage catastrophic flood, a two-step reflooding scenario, and an overspill of Paratethyan water followed by Atlantic inflow. In this study, two research questions are addressed: (i) Which event marked the termination of the Messinian salinity crisis? (ii) What was the sea level in the eastern Mediterranean Sea during this event? Geophysical data from the western Ionian Basin are integrated with numerical simulations to infer that the termination of the crisis consisted of a single-stage megaflood following a sea level drawdown of 1900 m. This megaflood deposited an extensive sedimentary body with a chaotic to transparent seismic signature at the base of the Malta Escarpment. Fine, well-sorted sediments are predicted to have been deposited within the thicker sections of the flood deposit, whereas a more variable distribution of coarser sediments is expected elsewhere. The north-western Ionian Basin hosts evidence of episodic post-Messinian salinity crisis slope instability events in the last ~1.8 Ma. The largest of these emplaced a >200 km³ deposit and is associated with failure of the head of Noto Canyon (offshore SE Sicily). Apart from unravelling the final phase of the Messinian salinity crisis and the ensuing stratigraphic evolution of the western Ionian Basin, our results are also relevant to better understand megafloods, which are some of the most catastrophic geological processes on Earth and Mars.

墨西拿盐度危机是一次非凡的事件，导致地中海脱离世界海洋后，数千公里的蒸发岩层沉积在地中海上。危机结束后恢复完全稳定的海洋状况仍然有争议。基于地球物理和钻孔数据，陆上露头和气候模拟，提出了三个主要假设。其中包括单阶段的灾难性洪水，两步式的驱替方案，以及帕拉特斯扬水的溢漏，随后是大西洋的涌入。在这项研究中，解决了两个研究问题：（i）哪个事件标志着墨西尼盐度危机的结束？（ii）在这次活动中，地中海东部的海平面是多少？来自爱奥尼亚河西部盆地的地球物理数据与数值模拟相结合，以推断危机的终止是由1900 m的海平面下降之后的单级巨型洪水组成。这种巨大的洪水在马耳他悬崖的底部沉积了一个具有混沌到透明地震信号的广泛沉积体。预计精细分类良好的沉积物已沉积在洪水沉积的较厚区域内，而其他地方预计较粗的沉积物分布会更加可变。爱奥尼亚西北部的西北地区有证据表明，在最后一个约1.8 Ma内，发生了梅西期后盐度危机斜坡不稳定性事件的偶发事件。³矿床，并与Noto Canyon（西西里岛东南部）的头部失灵有关。除了揭示墨西尼盐度危机的最后阶段和随后的爱奥尼亚海盆地西部地层演化之外，我们的结果还与更好地理解特大洪水有关，特大洪水是地球和火星上最灾难性的地质过程。