Alluvial deposition and lake-level fluctuations forced by Late Quaternary climate change: the Dead Sea case example

High-resolution records of lake-level changes are crucial to elucidate the impact of local and global climatic changes in lacustrine basins. The Late Quaternary evolution of the Dead Sea has been characterized by substantial variability apparently linked with global climatic changes, beign subject of many research efforts since decades. Previous studies have defined two main lake phases, the Lake Lisan and the Dead Sea, the earlier was a highstand period that lasted between ~70 and ~15 ka, the&#160; latter was the lowstand period that persisted until the present. Here we focus on the switch between Lake Lisan and Dead Sea studying fossil lake shorelines, a sequence that comprises dozens of levels exposed along the rims of the Dead Sea, containing abundant fossil stromatolites that we dated by mean of radiocarbon and U-decay series. We determined 90 radiocarbon and 35 U-Th ages from stromatolites from almost every shoreline level. We compared U-Th and radiocarbon ages to estimating a radiocarbon reservoir between 0.2 and 0.8 ka, used to correct the remaining radiocarbon ages before calibration. The resulting ages range between ~45 &#160;and ~20 ka. Dating was complemented with analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes. Furthermore, we applied a distributed hydrological balance model to constrain past precipitation and temperature conditions. Our results suggest that the duration of the last Lake Lisan highstand was shorter than previously estimated. Taking this at face value, the switch between Lake Lisan and Dead Sea occurred at ~28 ka, ~10 ka earlier than previously suggested. Oxygen and carbon isotopes show a consistent pattern, displaying a switch between wet and dry conditions at ~28 ka. Preliminary results from the hydrological model indicate a much stronger sensitivity of the lake level to precipitation amounts than to air temperature. From our results we can&#8217;t observe a clear link between global temperature variations and lake-level changes in the Lisan/Dead Sea lakes. Similar non-linear response to northern hemisphere climatic changes have been also documented in Holocene Dead Sea paleoclimatic records, suggesting that global climatic variations may led to variable lake-level responses. The results of this study adds further complexity to the understanding of factors controlling climate variability in the Dead Sea.

Download Full-text

The late Quaternary limnological history of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2004.09.004 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 63 (1) ◽

pp. 60-77 ◽

Cited By ~ 93

Author(s):

N. Hazan ◽

M. Stein ◽

A. Agnon ◽

S. Marco ◽

D. Nadel ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lake Level ◽

Saline Water ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Global Climate ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Lake Kinneret ◽

Climate History ◽

The North ◽

History Of ◽

The Dead

The freshwater Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) and the hypersaline Dead Sea are remnant lakes, evolved from ancient water bodies that filled the tectonic depressions along the Dead Sea Transform (DST) during the Neogene–Quartenary periods. We reconstructed the limnological history (level and composition) of Lake Kinneret during the past ∼40,000 years and compared it with the history of the contemporaneous Lake Lisan from the aspect of the regional and global climate history. The lake level reconstruction was achieved through a chronological and sedimentological investigation of exposed sedimentary sections in the Kinnarot basin trenches and cores drilled at the Ohalo II archeological site. Shoreline chronology was established by radiocarbon dating of organic remains and of Melanopsis shells.The major changes in Lake Kinneret level were synchronous with those of the southern Lake Lisan. Both lakes dropped significantly ∼42,000, ∼30,000, 23,800, and 13,000 yr ago and rose ∼39,000, 26,000, 5000, and 1600 yr ago. Between 26,000 and 24,000 yr ago, the lakes merged into a unified water body and lake level achieved its maximum stand of ∼170 m below mean sea level (m bsl). Nevertheless, the fresh and saline water properties of Lake Kinneret and Lake Lisan, respectively, have been preserved throughout the 40,000 years studied. Calcium carbonate was always deposited as calcite in Lake Kinneret and as aragonite in Lake Lisan–Dead Sea, indicating that the Dead Sea brine (which supports aragonite production) never reached or affected Lake Kinneret, even during the period of lake high stand and convergence. The synchronous level fluctuation of lakes Kinneret, Lisan, and the Holocene Dead Sea is consistent with the dominance of the Atlantic–Mediterranean rain system on the catchment of the basin and the regional hydrology. The major drops in Lake Kinneret–Lisan levels coincide with the timing of cold spells in the North Atlantic that caused a shut down of rains in the East Mediterranean and the lakes drainage area.

Download Full-text

Late Quaternary Climate Change and Human Adaptation in Arid China

10.1016/s1571-0866(07)x0900-x ◽

2007 ◽

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Human Adaptation ◽

Quaternary Climate

Download Full-text

Late Quaternary Lake-level fluctuations and environments of the northern Rift valley and Afar region (Ethiopia and Djibouti)

Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology ◽

10.1016/0031-0182(78)90011-1 ◽

1978 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 279-325 ◽

Cited By ~ 137

Author(s):

E. Gasse ◽

F.A. Street

Keyword(s):

Rift Valley ◽

Lake Level ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Lake Level Fluctuations ◽

Afar Region

Download Full-text

Late Quaternary climate change in the north-eastern highlands of Ethiopia: A high resolution 15,600 year diatom and pigment record from Lake Hayk

Quaternary Science Reviews ◽

10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.09.005 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 202 ◽

pp. 166-181 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Katie L. Loakes ◽

David B. Ryves ◽

Henry F. Lamb ◽

Frank Schäbitz ◽

Michael Dee ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

High Resolution ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

The North ◽

Quaternary Climate ◽

North Eastern ◽

Eastern Highlands

Download Full-text

Between plate and salt tectonics—New stratigraphic constraints on the architecture and timing of the Dead Sea basin during the Late Quaternary

Basin Research ◽

10.1111/bre.12387 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 636-651 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lisa Coianiz ◽

Uri Schattner ◽

Guy Lang ◽

Zvi Ben‐Avraham ◽

Michael Lazar

Keyword(s):

Late Quaternary ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Salt Tectonics ◽

Dead Sea Basin ◽

The Dead

Download Full-text

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Southern Levant: synthesis, challenges, recent developments and perspectives

Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences ◽

10.1098/rsta.2010.0190 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 368 (1931) ◽

pp. 5225-5248 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Claire M. C. Rambeau

Keyword(s):

Environmental Changes ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Future Research ◽

Southern Levant ◽

Unequal Distribution ◽

Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction ◽

First Results ◽

Recent Developments ◽

The Dead

Palaeoenvironmental research in the Southern Levant presents a series of challenges, partly due to the unequal distribution of palaeoenvironmental records and potential archives throughout the region. Our knowledge of climatic evolution, during the last approximately 25 000 years, is of crucial importance to understand cultural developments. More local, well-dated, multi-proxy studies are much needed to obtain an accurate picture of environmental change in respect of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. This contribution reviews the current state of knowledge regarding Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental changes in the Southern Levant, including some examples of more recent developments in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in Israel and the Dead Sea area, and introduces the major challenges researchers face in the region. It also presents the first results of a new case study in Jordan, based on an analysis of peaty deposits located in the mountain slopes east of the Dead Sea. Such new studies help refine our knowledge of local environmental changes in the Southern Levant and especially the more arid areas, for which little information is presently available. More material suitable for palaeoenvironmental research, for example extensive tufa and travertine series, still awaits consideration in Jordan, opening up exciting perspectives for future research in the area.

Download Full-text