The Messinian salinity crisis, a significant episode of oceanic change, is dated to 5.96 ± 0.02 million years ago (Ma) based on an astronomically calibrated chronology. This crisis was caused by the isolation of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, which began between 5.59 and 5.33 Ma. The isolation led to a significant drop in Mediterranean water levels, followed by erosion and the deposition of non-marine sediments in a large "Lago Mare" basin. The cyclical evaporite deposition is linked to circum-Mediterranean climate changes driven by precession, rather than glacio-eustatic sea-level changes. The authors argue that the crisis was predominantly tectonic in origin, though the exact timing may have been influenced by the Earth's eccentricity cycle. The Messinian astrochronology resolves many controversies, showing that the crisis was synchronous across the Mediterranean and that evaporite deposition was independent of basin-specific settings. The crisis likely began with the closure of the Betic and Rifan corridors, limiting water exchange between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The sedimentary cyclicity in the evaporites is controlled by precession, with each cycle lasting approximately 370 kyr for the Lower Evaporites and 175 kyr for the Upper Evaporites.The Messinian salinity crisis, a significant episode of oceanic change, is dated to 5.96 ± 0.02 million years ago (Ma) based on an astronomically calibrated chronology. This crisis was caused by the isolation of the Mediterranean Sea from the Atlantic Ocean, which began between 5.59 and 5.33 Ma. The isolation led to a significant drop in Mediterranean water levels, followed by erosion and the deposition of non-marine sediments in a large "Lago Mare" basin. The cyclical evaporite deposition is linked to circum-Mediterranean climate changes driven by precession, rather than glacio-eustatic sea-level changes. The authors argue that the crisis was predominantly tectonic in origin, though the exact timing may have been influenced by the Earth's eccentricity cycle. The Messinian astrochronology resolves many controversies, showing that the crisis was synchronous across the Mediterranean and that evaporite deposition was independent of basin-specific settings. The crisis likely began with the closure of the Betic and Rifan corridors, limiting water exchange between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. The sedimentary cyclicity in the evaporites is controlled by precession, with each cycle lasting approximately 370 kyr for the Lower Evaporites and 175 kyr for the Upper Evaporites.