Sicily holiday: Diving in the Mediterranean Sea
I was lucky enough to be able to dive in different parts of the world. People like me‚ who love diving‚ can’t avoid experiencing different underwater worlds and other seas. We divers are explorers after all‚ and as such we love to make new experiences like cave diving‚ night diving or wreck diving‚ and explore new dive sites‚ new environments‚ new underwater worlds.
But if you would ask me which places I enjoyed most diving and which sea was able to emotionally move me‚ I have to answer: the Mediterranean Sea!
Surely the great coral reefs‚ the infinity of fish of all shapes and colors that live there‚ are absolutely fascinating to see when diving. The great encounters with sharks‚ manta rays‚ whales‚ turtles were superexciting during these dives‚ but I always missed something. What I noticed was that the landscapes on these dive sites were always the same‚ almost monotonous. Obviously‚ this is a personal consideration!
Surely‚ I am biased‚ the Mediterranean sea is my home sea‚ the place where as a child I learned to swim‚ the place where as and adolescent I started snorkelling‚ freediving and finally scuba diving.
But apart from my personal love for the Mediterranean Sea‚ this sea really has a great importance from the point of view of biodiversity and not only. The morphology of the seabed‚ the reefs‚ the drop-offs‚ shoals‚ landslides‚ caves… The strong colors of intense blue contrasting with the rocky formations covered with bright colors of benthic life… The clarity of its warm waters‚ the intrinsic peculiarities that we hardly find in other seas‚ and above all an incredible variety of marine life that characterize its environment. These elements make it unique‚ fascinating and full of surprises. Let';;;;;s try to get to know these dive sites‚ this underwater environement‚ this Mediterranean sea better.
The origins of the Mediterranean Sea.
It all starts about 200 million years ago‚ when there was a single continent called Pangea‚ surrounded by a single ocean called Pantalassa. In this great continent a huge rift crept east to form a gulf called Tetide.
The sea of Tethis‚ was a warm sea similar to the tropical seas that we know today‚ and from this portion of the sea originated what we know today as the Mediterranean Sea.
This portion of the sea in several million years has undergone great changes due to the drift of the African and European continents.
In a first phase‚ the movement of the continental plates closed from the east side of the gulf and subsequently opened on the western side and brought the Tethis Sea in contact with the Atlantic ocean. The slow but continuous movement of the continental plates caused the closure of this passage also‚ effectively preventing any exchange of water with the oceans. The evaporation of the waters of the basin‚ now closed‚ meant that huge salty expanses were formed.
About 5‚5 million years ago‚ due to a strong earthquake‚ a new opening was created on the western side which re-established communication with the Atlantic ocean. This passage is today known as the Strait of Gibraltar. In a couple of millennia‚ the basin filled up again‚ so as to take the form of what would become the Mediterranean Sea.
In the following millennia the Mediterranean Sea has still undergone several changes due to periodic glaciations that raised its average level. Subsequently‚ in the hottest periods its waters retreated over 100 meters.
Since then‚ the average level of the Mediterranean has risen‚ not steadily‚ but with periods of stagnation and subsequent recovery.
To be continued....
Rino
