5 research outputs found

    Late Paleocene to middle Eocene carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Northern Negev, Southern Israel: potential for paleoclimate reconstructions

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    Sedimentary records depicting significant variability in climate and carbon cycling across the early Paleogene have emerged over the last two decades. Continuous, long-term, high-resolution records mostly derive from deep-sea drill cores, and only few derive from continental margin locations. Here we examine lower Paleogene marls and chalks collected from a core (RH-323) in the Northern Negev Desert (Southern Israel). The studied sediments accumulated on a continental slope of the southern Tethys at ~500–700 m paleodepth and did not undergo deep burial. We analyzed bulk carbonate stable carbon and oxygen isotopes and bulk magnetic susceptibility. The resulting records can be aligned with those from elsewhere and include the Paleocene Carbon Isotope Maximum (PCIM), Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). An obvious realization is a concurrence between local lithological variations and major climate and carbon cycle changes. This has been highlighted for sedimentary sequences elsewhere, but the relations differ in the Negev, such that carbonate rich intervals mark the PCIM and PETM, and a transition from marl to chalk initiates the EECO. Overall, the relatively pristine and immature sediment records in southern Israel likely provide potential for high-resolution paleoclimate and carbon cycle reconstructions during a crucial time interval and in a crucial part of the world

    Late Paleocene to middle Eocene carbon isotope stratigraphy of the Northern Negev, Southern Israel: potential for paleoclimate reconstructions

    Get PDF
    Sedimentary records depicting significant variability in climate and carbon cycling across the early Paleogene have emerged over the last two decades. Continuous, long-term, high-resolution records mostly derive from deep-sea drill cores, and only few derive from continental margin locations. Here we examine lower Paleogene marls and chalks collected from a core (RH-323) in the Northern Negev Desert (Southern Israel). The studied sediments accumulated on a continental slope of the southern Tethys at ~500–700 m paleodepth and did not undergo deep burial. We analyzed bulk carbonate stable carbon and oxygen isotopes and bulk magnetic susceptibility. The resulting records can be aligned with those from elsewhere and include the Paleocene Carbon Isotope Maximum (PCIM), Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) and Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). An obvious realization is a concurrence between local lithological variations and major climate and carbon cycle changes. This has been highlighted for sedimentary sequences elsewhere, but the relations differ in the Negev, such that carbonate rich intervals mark the PCIM and PETM, and a transition from marl to chalk initiates the EECO. Overall, the relatively pristine and immature sediment records in southern Israel likely provide potential for high-resolution paleoclimate and carbon cycle reconstructions during a crucial time interval and in a crucial part of the world

    Eastern Mediterranean sea levels through the last interglacial from a coastal-marine sequence in northern Israel

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    A last interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage, MIS5e) marine-coastal sequence has been identified along the Galilee coast of Israel, with the type section located at Rosh Hanikra (RH). The microtidal regime and tectonic stability, along with the detailed stratigraphy of the RH shore, make the study region ideally suited for determining relative sea level (RSL) through the MIS5e interval in the eastern Mediterranean. The sequence contains fossilized microtidal subunits at a few meters above the current sea level. Unfortunately, all fossils were found to be altered, so that U-Th datings cannot be considered to represent initial deposition. We contend that U-Th dating of Strombus bubonius shells (recrystallized to calcite) suffices to indicate a lower limit of ?110 ± 8 ka for the time sea level dropped below the RH sedimentary sequence. The RH-section comprises three main subunits of a previously determined member (the Yasaf Member): (a) a gravelly unit containing the diagnostic gastropod Strombus bubonius Lamarck (Persististrombus latus), which was deposited in the intertidal to super-tidal stormy zone; (b) Vermetidae reef domes indicating a shallow-water depositional environment; and (c) coarse to medium-sized, bioclastic sandstone, probably deposited in the shallow sub-tidal zone. The sequence overlies three abrasion platforms that are cut by tidal channels at elevations of +0.8 m, +2.6 m and +3.4 m, and which are filled with MIS5e sediments. We present a detailed study of the sequence, with emphasis on stratigraphic, sedimentological, and palaeontological characteristics that indicate sea-level changes. Although without precise absolute dating, the stratigraphic sequence of RH through MIS5e allows us to identify a time-series of RSL positions, using the elevations of three stratigraphic subunits. Reconstructed RSL values range from +1.0 m to +7 m (with uncertainly < 1 m), and most fall within a narrow range of +1.0 to +3.3 m. Toward the end of MIS5e, RSL exceeded about +7 m. Glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) modelling using multiple ice histories suggests that GIA corrections range between about ?1.8 m and +5.4 m. This implies that global mean sea level resided between ?0.8 m and +8.7 m during most of MIS5e. The absolute GIA correction would not be constant through the interglacial, and reduces to a range of ?1.2 m to+ 2.4 m towards the end of the interglacial
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