
Or M. BialikUniversity of Münster | WWU · Institut für Geologie und Paläontologie
Or M. Bialik
PhD
On the mountains or at sea...
About
138
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Introduction
Or M. Bialik is a researcher at the University of Haifa as part of the Helmholtz international lab EMS-FORE in collaboration with GEOMAR and a fellow at the University of Münster. A past Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow, Or does research in paleoceanography, geochemistry and sedimentology looking at changes in environments over time. Their current work deals with Miocene along the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean corridor as well as the Cretaceous of the Levant Margin.
Additional affiliations
December 2021 - present
September 2019 - March 2020
September 2020 - August 2022
Education
October 2008 - March 2013
Publications
Publications (138)
Magnesium isotopes in early diagenetic dolomite have been proposed as a potential tracer for seawater chemistry and global Mg cycles. However, the applicability of Mg isotopes of early diagenetic dolomite in studies of ancient seawater requires a detailed understanding of the behavior of Mg isotopes during dolomitization in a variety of geological...
Periplatform carbonate ooze records a composite signal reflecting both the regional oceanographic state and the development of the adjacent carbonate platform. Deconvolving these signals offers the possibility to obtain a holistic perspective on the factors governing the evolution of the platform, especially when the platform itself is not accessib...
The oceans play a major role in the earth’s climate by regulating atmospheric CO 2 . While oceanic primary productivity and organic carbon burial sequesters CO 2 from the atmosphere, precipitation of CaCO 3 in the sea returns CO 2 to the atmosphere. Abiotic CaCO 3 precipitation in the form of aragonite is potentially an important feedback mechanism...
The study of carbonate rocks is primarily reliant on microfacies analysis, which is strongly based on the comparison with modern allochem assemblages. Despite the existence of several models aimed at comprehensively explaining, on the bases of abiotic factors, the distribution of carbonate-producing organisms, a global, quantitative and standardize...
Records from the Miocene il-Blata section in Malta offer insights into the Central Mediterranean's depositional environments following an Early Miocene restriction of the Mesopotamian Seaway (~20 Ma). Inorganic and organic stable carbon isotope values suggest relatively steady depositional environments, whereas authigenic Fe-dolomite abundances exh...
Diatoms are the key players in the present-day global biogeochemical cycles. Yet, the diatom flux response to the dynamically changing climates of the Palaeogene has long been a subject to divergent interpretations. We present a compilation of Palaeogene deep-sea diatom-bearing sediments in order to gain new insight into inter-basin and latitudinal...
Diatoms play a major role in carbon and silicon cycles, and thus diatom-bearing sediments represent an archive of past climatic and environmental settings. In shallow-marine and freshwater environments, the accumulation of diatom frustules forms a sedimentary rock called diatomite. While most global-scale studies of diatom-bearing sediments focus o...
We implemented concepts of field geology at great ocean depths by constructing virtual outcrops from a string of overlapping video frames collected by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). This lower-cost alternative to drilling boreholes allows stratigraphic extension into the offshore and regional interpretation of marine seismic profiles. The image...
We implemented concepts of field geology at great ocean depths by constructing virtual outcrops from a string of overlapping video frames collected by remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). This lower-cost alternative to drilling boreholes allows stratigraphic extension into the offshore and regional interpretation of marine seismic profiles. The image...
The lower Messinian Calcare di Rosignano Formation (Tuscany, Italy, 43° N) preserves one of the youngest and northernmost examples of coral reefs in the Mediterranean. The outcropping succession of the Acquabona quarry consists of four main facies, namely, in ascending stratigraphic order: (1) coral boundstone, (2) coralline algal rudstone, (3) ser...
Reconstructing past climatic conditions in arid and hot environments is challenging due to a scarcity of climate archives. However, this task is crucial for assessing the sensitivity of these areas to climate change. The lack of reliable proxies currently prevents precise and absolute temperature and moisture reconstructions. Clumped isotopes on sa...
Although ~ 20% of global carbonate production occurs on extra-tropical carbonate depositional systems, our understanding of these environments still lags behind that of tropical ones. The Maltese shelf in the central Mediterranean offers an opportunity to study in situ facies distribution and the factors controlling it in a light-dominated setting....
Tropical carbonate systems are valuable archives of paleoenvironments, as the carbonate growth is intimately affected by water depth and climatic conditions. Geochemical data from the Burdigalian interval in IODP Site U1468 in the Maldives, northern Indian Ocean, were integrated with sedimentological and paleontological data for a more detailed rec...
Diatoms play a major role in the carbon and silicon cycles, and thus diatom-bearing sediments represent an archive of past climatic and environmental settings. In shallow marine and freshwater environments, the accumulation of diatom frustules forms a sedimentary rock called diatomite. However, most global scale studies of diatom-bearing sediments...
The export of neritic material from the top of carbonate platforms is a key process in the construction of their slopes. However, our knowledge of the supply pattern of materials from platforms is dominantly based on platforms lying in the euphotic zone during the present sea‐level highstand. This is a somewhat biased perspective as through geologi...
Morphology, internal structure, and in situ facies distribution of mesophotic Halimeda bioherms from the Queensland Plateau (NE Australia) are presented based on hydroacoustic and oceanographic data, seafloor observations, and discrete sediment sampling carried out during RV SONNE cruise SO292 in 2022. Halimeda buildups consist of cone-like mounds...
Plain Language Summary
A time‐specific facies is a rock unit that can be recognized in different places and always represents the same specific moment in Earth history. Here, we study the Usseln Limestone from the Rhenish Massif in Germany. This time‐specific facies is intruiging, as it is characterized by internal cm‐ and dm‐scale rhythmites. We s...
Hydrocarbon seepage at the deep seafloor fuels flourishing chemosynthetic communities. These seeps impact the functionality of the benthic ecosystem beyond hotspots of gas emission, altering the abundance, diversity and activity of microbiota and fauna, and affecting geochemical processes. Yet, these chemosynthetic ecotones (chemotones) are far les...
Although ~20% of global carbonate occurs on extra-tropical shelves, our understanding of these depositional environments still lags far behind that of tropical carbonate platforms. The Maltese shelf in the central Mediterranean offers an opportunity to study in situ facies distribution in a light-dominated extra-tropical carbonate platform and the...
The Maldives Archipelago (Indian Ocean), composed of two rows of atolls that enclose an inner sea, offers an excellent study site to explore the forcings of carbonate production at platforms. Glacial–interglacial sea-level changes have been claimed to be the main factor controlling the carbonate platform factories; however, climatic factors may als...
We implemented concepts of field geology at great ocean depths by constructing virtual outcrops from a string of overlapping video frames collected by remotely operated vehicles (ROV). This lower cost alternative to drilling boreholes allows stratigraphic extension into the offshore and for regional interpretation of marine seismic profiles. The im...
The surficial cycling of Mg is coupled with the global carbon cycle, a predominant control of Earth’s climate. However, how Earth’s surficial Mg cycle evolved with time has been elusive. Magnesium isotope signatures of seawater (δ ²⁶ Mg sw ) track the surficial Mg cycle, which could provide crucial information on the carbon cycle in Earth’s history...
Repeated carbon isotope excursions and widespread organic-rich shale deposition mark the Middle and Upper Devonian series. Various explanations such as extensive volcanism and land plant evolution have been given for these perturbations and the general sensitivity of the Devonian oceans to the development of anoxia, but their repeated nature sugges...
A significant shift in Earth's climate characterizes the Neogene, transitioning from a single‐ice‐sheet planet to the current bipolar configuration. This climate evolution is closely linked to changing ocean currents, but globally‐distributed continuous high‐resolution sedimentary records are needed to fully capture this interaction. The Ocean Dril...
Palaeoenvironmental data are fundamental in determining the manifold impacts of climate change. This paper argues that sessile barnacles are an excellent palaeoenvironmental proxy: they are present in nearly all nearshore environments, and their shell consists of diagenetically stable low-magnesium calcite and grows fast enough to record short-term...
Understanding past dynamics of upwelling cells is an important aspect of assessing potential upwelling changes in future climate change scenarios. Our present understanding of nutrient fluxes throughout the world's oceans emphasizes the importance of intermediate waters transporting nutrients from the Antarctic divergence into the middle and lower...
The export of neritic material from the top of carbonate platforms is a key process in the construction of their slopes. However, our knowledge of the supply pattern of materials from platforms is dominantly based on platforms lying in the euphotic zone during the present sea-level highstand. This is a somewhat biased perspective as through geologi...
The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) JOIDES Resolution Science Operator typically uses an advanced piston corer (APC) in soft ooze and sediments and an extended core barrel (XCB) in firm sediments. The coring tool exchange typically occurs around the same depth in adjacent holes of the same site. However, during IODP Expedition 356, the...
A significant shift in Earth’s climate characterizes the Neogene, transitioning from a single-ice-sheet planet to the current bipolar configuration. This climate evolution is closely linked to changing ocean currents, but globally-distributed continuous high-resolution sedimentary records are needed to fully capture this interaction. The Ocean Dril...
Changes in sea-level are linked to glacial-interglacial variability and have been claimed as the main factor controlling the production of carbonate platform factories. The Maldives archipelago (Indian Ocean), composed of two rows of atolls that enclose an inner sea, is a very sensitive region to sea-level changes. The sediments of the Inner Sea, o...
Repeated carbon isotope excursions and widespread organic-rich shale deposition mark the Middle and Late Devonian series. Various explanations such as extensive volcanism and land plant evolution have been given for these perturbations and the general sensitivity of the Devonian to oceanic anoxia, but their repeated nature suggests that astronomica...
Mass transport complexes often form key elements of petroleum systems, affecting sedimentary structures, seepage pathways and biodiversity hotspots on the seafloor. Yet, the feedback and interaction between these elements is not well constrained. This study investigates the modes of gas accumulation, migration, and seepage at the toe of Palmahim Di...
Methane‐derived authigenic seep carbonates occur globally along continental margins. These carbonates are important archives to identify seep dynamics, the source of the ascending methane‐enriched fluids together with their timing, and are an important carbon sequestration mechanism. Recently, seep carbonates were discovered in the Levant Basin in...
Understanding the behavior of past upwelling cells is paramount when assessing future climate changes. Our present understanding of nutrient fluxes throughout the world's oceans emphasizes the importance of intermediate waters transporting nutrients from the Antarctic divergence into the middle and lower latitudes. These nutrient-rich waters fuel p...
Geology usually deals with rocks formed long ago, which are static and stable over the span of human lifetime. This study aims to analyze anthropogenic influence on the formation of geological features in the southeastern Mediterranean. Tel Dor, along Israel’s northern coast, was chosen due to the continuous presence of humans in the area for over...
Mesophotic reefs are found in water depths greater than 30m and as such are, for the most part, removed from most direct wave activity, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. There, they are protected from anthropogenic impact and serve as a possible refuge for marine biodiversity in a warming ocean. Yet, like any reef, their growth is modulated by the...
Storms have long been recognized as a force that agitates sediments, even in the deep-water. In shallow water depths (<40 m) sediments are affected dominantly by wave actions, while in deeper-water (>100 m) the impact is primarily due to suspended sediment flow. While such transport events have been studied sedimentologically extensively, their imp...
Deep-sea anoxic brine pools are unique and extreme, yet habitable environments. However, their extent and processes of formation are not fully understood. Using geophysical analysis and seafloor surveying, we discovered the eastmost brine pools known in the ultraoligotrophic Eastern Mediterranean Sea, at the Palmahim Disturbance offshore Israel (~1...
The surficial cycling of Mg is directly coupled with the global carbon cycle, a predominant control of Earth’s climate. However, how Earth’s surficial Mg cycle evolved with time had been elusive. Magnesium isotope signatures of seawater (δ ²⁶ Mg sw ) track the surficial Mg cycle, which could provide crucial information on the carbon cycle in Earth’...
During the Miocene (23.0–5.3 Ma) North Africa experienced both humid and arid intervals, but the underlying cause of these transitions is unknown. Earth's climate was characterized by a unipolar icehouse with a dynamic Antarctic ice sheet, which may have influenced regional hydrology through atmospheric teleconnections. However, the Miocene also wi...
Advanced seismic data and multi-attribute visualization techniques, such as color blending of attributes, have considerably enhanced the capability of interpreters to characterize geological features in three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection datasets. However, high resolution investigation of complex, vertically linked geological features such a...
One hundred and forty four published successions of shallow‐water carbonates, deposited between the Palaeocene and the Miocene, from the Levant to the Himalayas, have been re‐analysed using a standardised approach to investigate the distribution of carbonate facies and carbonate producing organisms. Large benthic foraminifera were found to be the v...
Mesophotic reefs, hardgrounds and current‐controlled pelagic to hemipelagic carbonates are facies marking carbonate platform drowning successions, irrespective of the factors controlling this evolution. A modern analogue of a carbonate platform in a state of drowning, where these facies occur has not been properly reported on to date. In the presen...
Extensive canyons, excavated into the margins of the Levant Basin during the Oligocene–Miocene, are interesting case-studies for canyon fills in carbonate settings. The carbonate Pattish Formation, developed along the margins of the pre-evaporitic Messinian Beer Sheva Canyon in Israel, was investigated using both onshore seismic imaging and field d...
Several oil shows have been reported from offshore and onshore wells of the Levant Basin, which promoted research and exploration as indicators for potential economic discoveries in the yet unpenetrated Mesozoic interval of the basin. In most cases, no definitive source to oil correlation has been established, advocating the need for the fingerprin...
One hundred and forty-four sections of shallow-water carbonates, deposited between the Paleocene and the Miocene, from the Levant to the Himalaya, have been investigated to analyze the distribution of carbonate facies and carbonate producing organisms. Large benthic foraminifera resulted the volumetrically most important group of carbonate producer...
To better understand the sphere of influence of seafloor hydrocarbon seepage in an oligotrophic marine environment, we evaluated the near-bottom biogeochemistry in near-seep and control locations of the ultra-oligotrophic Southeast Mediterranean Sea. We observed corrosive pH (pHTotal at 25 °C as low as 6.83) in water overlying a seepage site. The a...
The mesophotic domain is a poorly explored part of the oceans, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. Benthic communities in these depths are not well documented and as such are under higher risk from anthropogenic impacts. Hard substrate habitats in this depth window are not common and are a key ecotope. The Malta Plateau in the central Mediterranean,...
The Eastern Mediterranean Sea (EMS) is a poorly studied ultra-oligotrophic marine environment, dominated by small-size phyto- and bacterioplankton. Here, we describe the dynamics of a single annual cycle (2018–19) of phyto- and bacterioplankton (abundances, pigments and productivity) in relation to the physical and chemical conditions in the photic...
Marine methane hydrates are a huge and dynamic carbon reservoir found mainly at the continental margins, and their stability might be affected by climate-associated pressure and temperature changes on the seafloor. Reconstructing the growth history of cold-seep carbonates, which formed during seafloor methane leakage, could help to constrain methan...
During the early and middle Miocene, the Mediterranean had become a restricted marginal marine sea with diminishing and ultimate loss of connectivity to the Indian Ocean. This dramatically changed the heat, energy, freshwater and nutrient budgets across the Mediterranean and most notably in its eastern basin. While one of the most prominent lines o...
Mesozoic submarine carbonate escarpments are erosional features that host box canyons, the formation of which had been attributed to seepage erosion in view of their similarity to subaerial box canyons. The latter had been cited as diagnostic of groundwater activity, although the efficacy of fluid seepage as an erosive agent in bedrock remains cont...
The mesophotic domain is a poorly explored part of the oceans, notably in the Mediterranean Sea. Benthic communities in these depths are not well documented and as such are under higher risk from anthropogenic impacts. Hard substrate habitats in this depth window are not common and are a key ecotope. The Malta Plateau in the central Mediterranean,...
During the early and middle Miocene, the Mediterranean had become a restricted marginal marine sea with diminishing and ultimate loss of connectivity to the Indian Ocean. This dramatically changed the heat, energy, freshwater and nutrient budgets across the Mediterranean and most notably in its eastern basin. While one of the most prominent lines o...
Ordination is the name given to a group of methods used to analyse multiple variables without preceding hypotheses. Over the last few decades the use of these methods in Earth science in general, and notably in analyses of sedimentary sources, has dramatically increased. However, with limited resources oriented towards Earth scientists on the topic...
Cyprus is one of the few areas of the Mediterranean where lower and upper Miocene coral-reefs occur in close proximity and thus is well suited to investigate how environmental and geological changes affected reefs and the associated shallow-marine facies. The prevailing environmental conditions of the lower Miocene Terra Member and of the upper Mio...