Search

The sedimentary record of the Dead Sea provides an exceptional high-resolution archive of past climate changes in the drought-sensitive eastern Mediterranean-Levant, a key region for the development of humankind at the boundary of global climate belts. Moreover, it is the only deep hypersaline lake known to have deposited long sequences of finely laminated, annually deposited sediments (i.e. varves) of varied compositions, including aragonite, gypsum, halite and clastic sediments. Vast efforts have been made over the years to decipher the environmental information stored in these evaporitic-clastic sequences spanning from the Pleistocene Lake Amora to the Holocene Dead Sea. A general characterisation of sediment facies has been derived from exposed sediment sections, as well as from shallow- and deep-water sediment cores. During high lake stands and episodes of positive water budget, mostly during glacial times, alternating aragonite and detritus laminae ('aad' facies) were accumulated, whereas during low lake stands and droughts, prevailing during interglacials, laminated detritus ('ld' facies) and laminated halite ('lh' facies) dominate the sequence. In this paper, we (i) review the three types of laminated sediments of the Dead Sea sedimentary record ('aad', 'ld' and 'lh' facies), (ii) discuss their modes of formation, deposition and accumulation, and their interpretation as varves, and (iii) illustrate how Dead Sea varves are utilized for palaeoclimate reconstructions and for establishing floating chronologies. Image 1 • The Dead Sea is the only deep hypersaline lake with varved sediments. • The chronological and paleoclimatic value of Dead Sea varves is demonstrated. • The interpretation of alternating aragonite-detritus laminae as varves is evaluated. • Lake monitoring confirms the interpretation of laminated halite as varves. • Distinguishing between annual and non-annual laminations requires micro-facies analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The drilled Inter-Continental Drilling Project core at the deeps of the Dead Sea reveals thick sequences of halite deposits from the last interglacial period, reflecting prevailing arid conditions in the lake’s watershed. Here, we examine sequences of intercalating evaporates (halite or gypsum) and fine-detritus laminae and apply petrographic, micro-X-ray fluorescence, and statistical tools to establish in high-temporal resolution the hydroclimatic controls on the sedimentation in the last interglacial Dead Sea. The time series of the thickness of the best-recovered core sections of the layered halite, detritus, and gypsum reveals periodicities of ~11, 7–8, and 4–5 yr, pointing to a North Atlantic control and possibly solar influence on the hydrology of the Dead Sea watershed during the regionally arid period of the last interglacial period. Similar periodicities were detected in the last glacial and modern sedimentary sequences of the Dead Sea and other archives of the central Levant, indicating a persistent impact of the solar cycles on regional hydrology, possibly through the effects of the North Atlantic Oscillation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the comment on "Varves of the Dead Sea sedimentary record." Quaternary Science Reviews 215 (Ben Dor et al., 2019): 173–184. by R. Bookman, two recently published papers are suggested to prove that the interpretation of the laminated sedimentary sequence of the Dead Sea, deposited mostly during MIS2 and Holocene pluvials, as annual deposits (i.e., varves) is wrong. In the following response, we delineate several lines of evidence which coalesce to demonstrate that based on the vast majority of evidence, including some of the evidence provided in the comment itself, the interpretation of these sediments as varves is the more likely scientific conclusion. We further discuss the evidence brought up in the comment and its irrelevance and lack of robustness for addressing the question under discussion. • The interpretation of laminations in the sedimentary record of the Dead Sea is discussed. • There is robust evidence for interpreting laminated sedimentary sequences of the Dead Sea as varves. • The recent claims made to question annual aragonite deposition in the Dead Sea are shown to be premature and irrelevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]