Content uploaded by Ina Neugebauer
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Ina Neugebauer on Jun 16, 2016
Content may be subject to copyright.
Universität Potsdam
Institut für Erd- und Umweltwissenschaften
und
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam –
Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ
Sektion 5.2 – Klimadynamik und Landschaftsentwicklung
Reconstructing climate from the Dead Sea sediment record
using high-resolution micro-facies analyses
Kumulative Dissertation
zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades
"doctor rerum naturalium"
(Dr. rer. nat.)
in der Wissenschaftsdisziplin Geologie/Paläoklimatologie
eingereicht an der
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät
der Universität Potsdam
von
Ina Neugebauer
Potsdam, 01. April 2015
Published online at the
Institutional Repository of the University of Potsdam:
URN urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85266
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-85266
Supervisor
Prof. Dr. Achim Brauer
Universität Potsdam
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam, Deutsches GeoForschungsZentrum GFZ
i
Erklärung
Hiermit erkläre ich gemäß §12 Abs. 1 Nr. 7 der Promotionsordnung der Mathematisch-
Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität Potsdam, dass ich die von mir vorgelegte
Dissertation mit dem Titel
Reconstructing climate from the Dead Sea sediment record
using high-resolution micro-facies analyses
selbstständig angefertigt, die benutzten Quellen und Hilfsmittel vollständig angegeben und
wörtliche und sinngemäße Zitate als solche gekennzeichnet habe sowie Tabellen, Karten und
Abbildungen, die anderen Werken in Wortlaut oder dem Sinn nach entnommen sind, in jedem
Einzelfall als Entlehnung kenntlich gemacht habe. Ich erkläre außerdem, dass diese Dissertation
noch keiner anderen Fakultät oder Hochschule zur Prüfung vorgelegen hat; dass sie, abgesehen
von unten angegebenen Teilpublikationen, noch nicht veröffentlicht worden ist sowie, dass ich
eine solche Veröffentlichung vor Abschluss des Promotionsverfahrens nicht vornehmen werde.
Die Bestimmungen der Promotionsordnung sind mir bekannt.
Teilveröffentlichungen
Neugebauer, I., Brauer, A., Schwab, M.J., Waldmann, N.D., Enzel, Y., Kitagawa, H., Torfstein,
A., Frank, U., Dulski, P., Agnon, A., Ariztegui, D., Ben-Avraham, Z., Goldstein, S.L., Stein, M.
and DSDDP Scientific Party, 2014: Lithology of the long sediment record recovered by the
ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP). Quaternary Science Reviews 102, 149-165.
Neugebauer, I., Schwab, M.J., Waldmann, N.D., Tjallingii, R., Frank, U., Hadzhiivanova, E.,
Naumann, R., Taha, N., Agnon, A, Enzel, Y., A. Brauer, and DSDDP Scientific Party, submitted:
Hydroclimatic variability during the early last glacial (~117-75 ka) derived from micro-
facies analyses of the Dead Sea ICDP sediment record. Climate of the Past, submitted for
review.
Neugebauer, I., Brauer, A., Schwab, M.J., Dulski, P., Frank, U., Hadzhiivanova, E., Kitagawa, H.,
Litt, T., Schiebel, V., Taha, N., Waldmann, N.D., and DSDDP Scientific Party, accepted:
Evidences for centennial dry periods at ~3300 and ~2800 cal yr BP from micro-facies
analyses of the Dead Sea sediments. The Holocene.
Potsdam, 1. April 2015
Ort, Datum, Unterschrift (Ina Neugebauer)
iii
Abstract
The sedimentary record of the Dead Sea is a key archive for reconstructing climate in the eastern
Mediterranean region, as it stores the environmental and tectonic history of the Levant for the
entire Quaternary. Moreover, the lake is located at the boundary between Mediterranean sub-
humid to semi-arid and Saharo-Arabian hyper-arid climates, so that even small shifts in
atmospheric circulation are sensitively recorded in the sediments. This DFG-funded doctoral
project was carried out within the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) that intended
to gain the first long, continuous and high-resolution sediment core from the deep Dead Sea
basin. The drilling campaign was performed in winter 2010-11 and more than 700 m of
sediments were recovered. The main aim of this thesis was (1) to establish the lithostratigraphic
framework for the ~455 m long sediment core from the deep Dead Sea basin and (2) to apply
high-resolution micro-facies analyses for reconstructing and better understanding climate
variability from the Dead Sea sediments.
Addressing the first aim, the sedimentary facies of the ~455 m long deep-basin core 5017-1 were
described in great detail and characterised through continuous overview-XRF element scanning
and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Three facies groups were classified: (1) the marl
facies group, (2) the halite facies group and (3) a group involving different expressions of
massive, graded and slumped deposits including coarse clastic detritus. Core 5017-1 encompasses
a succession of four main lithological units. Based on first radiocarbon and U-Th ages and
correlation of these units to on-shore stratigraphic sections, the record comprises the last ca 220
ka, i.e. the upper part of the Amora Formation (parts of or entire penultimate interglacial and
glacial), the last interglacial Samra Fm. (~135-75 ka), the last glacial Lisan Fm. (~75-14 ka) and
the Holocene Ze’elim Formation. A major advancement of this record is that, for the first time,
also transitional intervals were recovered that are missing in the exposed formations and that can
now be studied in great detail.
Micro-facies analyses involve a combination of high-resolution microscopic thin section analysis
and µXRF element scanning supported by magnetic susceptibility measurements. This approach
allows identifying and characterising micro-facies types, detecting event layers and
reconstructing past climate variability with up to seasonal resolution, given that the analysed
sediments are annually laminated. Within this thesis, micro-facies analyses, supported by further
sedimentological and geochemical analyses (grain size, X-ray diffraction, total organic carbon
and calcium carbonate contents) and palynology, were applied for two time intervals:
(1) The early last glacial period ~117-75 ka was investigated focusing on millennial-scale
hydroclimatic variations and lake level changes recorded in the sediments. Thereby,
distinguishing six different micro-facies types with distinct geochemical and sedimentological
characteristics allowed estimating relative lake level and water balance changes of the lake.
iv
Comparison of the results to other records in the Mediterranean region suggests a close link of
the hydroclimate in the Levant to North Atlantic and Mediterranean climates during the time of
the build-up of Northern hemisphere ice sheets during the early last glacial period.
(2) A mostly annually laminated late Holocene section (~3700-1700 cal yr BP) was analysed in
unprecedented detail through a multi-proxy, inter-site correlation approach of a shallow-water
core (DSEn) and its deep-basin counterpart (5017-1). Within this study, a ca 1500 years
comprising time series of erosion and dust deposition events was established and anchored to the
absolute time-scale through 14C dating and age modelling. A particular focus of this study was
the characterisation of two dry periods, from ~3500 to 3300 and from ~3000 to 2400 cal yr BP,
respectively. Thereby, a major outcome was the coincidence of the latter dry period with a period
of moist and cold climate in Europe related to a Grand Solar Minimum around 2800 cal yr BP
and an increase in flood events despite overall dry conditions in the Dead Sea region during that
time. These contrasting climate signatures in Europe and at the Dead Sea were likely linked
through complex teleconnections of atmospheric circulation, causing a change in synoptic
weather patterns in the eastern Mediterranean.
In summary, within this doctorate the lithostratigraphic framework of a unique long sediment
core from the deep Dead Sea basin is established, which serves as a base for any further high-
resolution investigations on this core. It is demonstrated in two case studies that micro-facies
analyses are an invaluable tool to understand the depositional processes in the Dead Sea and to
decipher past climate variability in the Levant on millennial to seasonal time-scales. Hence, this
work adds important knowledge helping to establish the deep Dead Sea record as a key climate
archive of supra-regional significance.
v
Kurzfassung
Die Sedimente des Toten Meeres stellen ein wichtiges Archiv für Klimarekonstruktionen im
ostmediterranen Raum dar, da die gesamte quartäre Umwelt- und Tektonikgeschichte der
Levante darin gespeichert ist. Außerdem führt die Lage des Sees im Grenzbereich zwischen
mediterranem subhumidem bis semiaridem Klima und saharo-arabischem hyperaridem Klima
dazu, dass selbst kleine Veränderungen der atmosphärischen Zirkulation sensibel in den
Sedimenten verzeichnet werden. Diese Doktorarbeit wurde von der DFG finanziert und im
Rahmen des ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) durchgeführt, welches sich zur
Aufgabe gestellt hat, den ersten langen, kontinuierlichen und hoch aufgelösten Sedimentkern
vom tiefen Becken des Toten Meeres zu erlangen. Die Bohrkampagne fand im Winter 2010-11
statt, bei der mehr als 700 m Sedimente geteuft wurden. Die Zielsetzung dieser Doktorarbeit
beinhaltete (1) den lithostratigraphischen Rahmen für den ~455 m langen Sedimentkern vom
tiefen Becken des Toten Meeres zu erarbeiten und (2) hoch aufgelöste Mikrofazies-Analysen an
den Sedimenten des Toten Meeres anzuwenden, um Klimavariabilität rekonstruieren und besser
verstehen zu können.
Bezüglich erst genannter Zielsetzung wurden die Sedimentfazies des ~455 m langen Kerns
5017-1 vom tiefen Becken detailliert beschrieben und an Hand kontinuierlicher XRF
Elementscanner-Daten und Messungen der magnetischen Suszeptibilität charakterisiert. Drei
Faziesgruppen wurden unterschieden: (1) die Mergel-Faziesgruppe, (2) die Halit-Faziesgruppe
und (3) eine verschiedene Ausprägungen massiver, gradierter oder umgelagerter Ablagerungen
sowie grob-klastischen Detritus umfassende Gruppe. Der Kern 5017-1 ist durch die Abfolge von
vier lithologischen Haupt-Einheiten charakterisiert. Basierend auf ersten Radiokarbon- und
U-Th- Altern und Korrelation dieser Einheiten mit den am Ufer aufgeschlossenen
stratigraphischen Abschnitten, umfasst der Datensatz die letzten ca 220 Tausend Jahre (ka),
einschließlich des oberen Abschnitts der Amora-Formation (Teile von oder gesamtes vorletztes
Interglazial und Glazial), die Samra-Fm. des letzten Interglazials (~135-75 ka), die Lisan-Fm. des
letzten Glazials (~75-14 ka) und die holozäne Ze’elim-Formation. Ein entscheidender Fortschritt
dieses Records ist, dass erstmals Übergangsbereiche erfasst wurden, die in den aufgeschlossenen
Formationen fehlen und nun detailliert studiert werden können.
Mikrofazies-Analysen umfassen eine Kombination hoch aufgelöster mikroskopischer
Dünnschliff-Analysen und µXRF Elementscanning, die durch die Messung der magnetischen
Suszeptibilität unterstützt werden. Dieser Ansatz erlaubt es, Mikrofazies-Typen zu identifizieren
und zu charakterisieren, Eventlagen aufzuzeichnen und die Klimavariabilität der Vergangenheit
mit bis zu saisonaler Auflösung zu rekonstruieren, vorausgesetzt, dass die zu analysierenden
Sedimente jährlich laminiert sind. Im Rahmen dieser Doktorarbeit wurden Mikrofazies-Analysen
für zwei Zeitabschnitte angewendet, unterstützt durch weitere sedimentologische und
vi
geochemische Analysen (Korngrößen, Röntgen-Diffraktometrie, gesamter organischer
Kohlenstoff- und Kalziumkarbonat-Gehalte) sowie Palynologie.
(1) Das frühe letzte Glazial ~117-75 ka wurde hinsichtlich hydroklimatischer Variationen und in
den Sedimenten verzeichneter Seespiegeländerungen auf tausendjähriger Zeitskala untersucht.
Dabei wurden sechs verschiedene Mikrofazies-Typen mit unterschiedlichen geochemischen und
sedimentologischen Charakteristika bestimmt, wodurch relative Änderungen des Seespiegels und
der Wasserbilanz des Sees abgeschätzt werden konnten. Ein Vergleich der Ergebnisse mit
anderen Records aus dem Mittelmeerraum lässt vermuten, dass das Hydroklima der Levante eng
mit dem nordatlantischen und mediterranen Klima während der Zeit des Aufbaus
nordhemisphärischer Eisschilde im frühen letzten Glazial verknüpft war.
(2) Ein weitestgehend jährlich laminierter spätholozäner Abschnitt (~3700-1700 kal. J. BP –
kalibrierte Jahre vor heute) wurde in größtem Detail an Hand eines Multiproxie-Ansatzes und
durch Korrelation eines Flachwasser-Bohrkerns (DSEn) mit seinem Gegenstück aus dem tiefen
Becken (5017-1) untersucht. In dieser Studie wurde eine ca. 1500 Jahre umfassende Zeitreihe von
Erosions- und Staubablagerungs-Ereignissen erstellt und an Hand von 14C-Datierung und
Altersmodellierung mit der absoluten Zeitskala verankert. Ein besonderer Fokus dieser Studie lag
in der Charakterisierung zweier Trockenphasen, von ~3500 bis 3300 beziehungsweise von ~3000
bis 2400 kal. J. BP. Dabei war ein wichtiges Resultat, dass letztgenannte Trockenphase mit einer
Phase feuchten und kühlen Klimas in Europa, in Zusammenhang mit einem solaren Minimum um
2800 kal. J. BP, zusammen fällt und dass trotz der generell trockeneren Bedingungen in der
Toten Meer Region zu dieser Zeit verstärkt Flutereignisse verzeichnet wurden. Diese
unterschiedlichen Klimasignaturen in Europa und am Toten Meer waren wahrscheinlich durch
komplexe Telekonnektionen der atmosphärischen Zirkulation verknüpft, was eine Veränderung
synoptischer Wettermuster im ostmediterranen Raum zur Folge hatte.
Zusammenfassend lässt sich sagen, dass innerhalb dieser Doktorarbeit der lithostratigraphische
Rahmen eines einzigartigen, langen Sedimentkerns vom tiefen Becken des Toten Meeres erstellt
wurde, welcher als Basis für jegliche weitere hoch aufgelöste Untersuchungen an diesem Kern
dient. In zwei Fallstudien wird demonstriert, dass Mikrofazies-Analysen ein unschätzbares
Werkzeug darstellen, Ablagerungsprozesse im Toten Meer zu verstehen und die Klimavariabilität
der Vergangenheit in der Levante auf tausendjährigen bis saisonalen Zeitskalen zu entschlüsseln.
Diese Arbeit enthält daher wichtige Erkenntnisse, die dabei helfen die Schlüsselstellung des
Records vom tiefen Toten Meer als Klimaarchiv überregionaler Bedeutung zu etablieren.
vii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank a number of people, who helped me to challenge and finish this thesis. First
of all, I like to express my gratitude to my supervisor Achim Brauer for his continuous support in
every scientific situation and for letting me benefit from his profound knowledge. No less
important was the constant encouragement and help of Markus J. Schwab. Thank you, Markus
(also for driving and supplying me with unhealthy things, when urgently needed…)! I also wish
to thank the DFG for funding and two external reviewers for evaluating this thesis.
Many thanks go to all the excellent scientists involved in the Dead Sea project, with whom I had
the pleasure to work and to learn from their experience and who shared their ideas with me;
among them Moti Stein, Zvi Ben-Avraham, Amotz Agnon, Yehouda Enzel, Daniel Ariztegui,
Hiroyuki Kitagawa, Steve Goldstein, Elisa Kagan and many more! I very much appreciated the
company of the other PhD students of this project Lisa Coianiz, Camille Thomas, Daniel Palchan
and Elan Levy and our great exchange. Special thanks goes out to Nicolas Waldmann for a great
cooperation, fantastic field trips and kind hospitality and as well to Revital Bookman for nice
discussions and Elitsa Hadzhiivanova for running so many grain size analyses. I also wish to
thank Ronald Conze for DIS-support and the downhole-logging crew for exploring Israel with
me.
Furthermore, I would like to thank everybody from GFZ Section 5.2 (and beyond) for support,
inspiration, standing the ‘Dead Sea smell’ and creating such a warm atmosphere. Christine
Gerschke is kindly thanked for solving every bureaucratic problem, Andreas Hendrich patiently
helped with figures and Marcus Günzel and Matthias Köppl kept the computer running. Gabi
Arnold, Dieter Berger and Micha Köhler prepared countless thin sections, Brian Brademann
opened hundreds of sediment cores and Birgit Plessen, Sylvia Pinkerneil and Petra Meier
measured the geochemistry with great creativity. Peter Dulski, Florian Ott, Sabine Wulf and Rik
Tjallingii supported the XRF measurements, Rudolf Naumann ran the XRD, Ute Frank and
Norbert Nowaczyk took care about everything magnetic and Jens Mingram about the
microscopes. Thank You! Another thanks goes to my PhD fellows Markus Czymzik, Lucas
Kämpf and Florian Ott for coffee breaks and nice evenings and special thanks go to my office
mates Stefan Lauterbach and Gordon Schlolaut for simply everything, especially for making me
laugh a lot!
Last but not least, I want to express my deep gratitude to my family and all my friends outside of
the science world for their tremendous support and patience and for helping me to keep the
balance between work and life!
Dankeschön! !הבר הדות
ix
Table of Contents
Erklärung ......................................................................................................................................... i
Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... iii
Kurzfassung .................................................................................................................................... v
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................vii
List of Figures ...............................................................................................................................xii
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ xiv
1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
1.1 The Dead Sea as palaeoclimate archive ........................................................................ 1
1.2 Projects related to this thesis ......................................................................................... 3
1.3 Main objectives of the doctoral project ........................................................................ 5
1.4 Material and methods.................................................................................................... 6
1.5 Thesis structure ............................................................................................................. 8
2 Lithology of the long sediment record recovered by the ICDP Dead Sea Deep
Drilling Project (DSDDP) ..................................................................................................... 11
2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 13
2.2 The late Neogene Dead Sea basin infill ...................................................................... 15
2.3 Regional setting .......................................................................................................... 16
2.4 Methods ...................................................................................................................... 17
2.4.1 Drilling campaign ........................................................................................ 17
2.4.2 Coring locations ........................................................................................... 18
2.4.3 Downhole logging and on-site core handling .............................................. 19
2.4.4 Core opening and non-destructive analyses ................................................. 19
2.4.5 Chronology of the core ................................................................................ 19
2.5 Results ......................................................................................................................... 21
2.5.1 Sedimentary facies and associated deposits from site 5017-1 ..................... 21
2.5.2 Composite profile 5017-1 ............................................................................ 24
2.5.3 Magnetic susceptibility and µXRF element scanning ................................. 27
2.5.4 Lithostratigraphy .......................................................................................... 28
2.5.5 Radiocarbon and U-Th ages ........................................................................ 30
2.6 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 31
2.6.1 Lithology and sedimentary environments.................................................... 31
2.6.2 Stratigraphy .................................................................................................. 33
2.7 Potential of the deep Dead Sea record for future paleoclimate research .................... 38
x
3 Hydroclimatic variability during the early last glacial (~117-75 ka) derived from
micro-facies analyses of the Dead Sea ICDP sediment record ......................................... 41
3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 43
3.2 Regional setting .......................................................................................................... 44
3.3 Material and methods.................................................................................................. 44
3.3.1 Dead Sea deep-basin core 5017-1 ................................................................ 44
3.3.2 Micro-facies analyses .................................................................................. 45
3.3.3 Grain size analyses and gravel petrography ................................................ 46
3.3.4 XRD and TOC/CaCO3 measurements ......................................................... 46
3.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 47
3.4.1 Micro-facies, sedimentological and geochemical characterisation ............. 47
3.4.2 Lithostratigraphy .......................................................................................... 51
3.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 53
3.5.1 Micro-facies as relative lake level indicators .............................................. 53
3.5.2 Gravel deposits in the deep basin ................................................................ 54
3.5.3 Lake level fluctuations between ~117 and 75 ka ......................................... 55
3.5.4 Hydroclimatic implications.......................................................................... 58
3.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 60
4 Evidences for centennial dry periods at ~3300 and ~2800 cal yr BP from micro-facies
analyses of the Dead Sea sediments ..................................................................................... 63
4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................. 65
4.2 Regional setting of the Dead Sea ................................................................................ 66
4.3 Material and methods.................................................................................................. 67
4.3.1 Sediment cores DSEn and 5017-1 ............................................................... 67
4.3.2 Radiocarbon dating ...................................................................................... 68
4.3.3 Micro-facies analyses .................................................................................. 68
4.3.4 Pollen analysis of the DSEn core ................................................................. 69
4.4 Results ......................................................................................................................... 69
4.4.1 Lithology ...................................................................................................... 69
4.4.2 Dating and varve counting results ............................................................... 70
4.4.3 Correlation of the shallow- and deep-water cores ....................................... 72
4.4.4 Sediment micro-facies ................................................................................. 72
4.4.5 Varve model ................................................................................................. 73
4.4.6 Magnetic susceptibility ................................................................................ 75
4.4.7 µXRF element scanner data ......................................................................... 75
4.4.8 Micro-facies of lithological units ................................................................. 75
4.4.9 Palynology ................................................................................................... 78
4.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................... 78
4.5.1 Chronology .................................................................................................. 78
4.5.2 Proxy interpretation ..................................................................................... 79
xi
4.5.3 Comparison of shallow- and deep-water sediments .................................... 81
4.5.4 Pronounced dry periods in the Dead Sea region between ~3700 and
~1700 cal yr BP ........................................................................................... 81
4.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................................. 85
5 Synthesis ................................................................................................................................. 89
5.1 Summary and main conclusions ................................................................................. 89
5.2 Future perspectives ..................................................................................................... 95
Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... I
Appendix .................................................................................................................................. XVII
A1 Stable oxygen and carbon isotopes of core 5017-1 .............................................. XVIII
A2 Improved composite and age model of core DSEn .................................................. XX
A3 Upper Lisan Formation of core 5017-1 ................................................................. XXII
A4 Table of content of data-CD ................................................................................. XXIII
xii
List of Figures
Fig. 1-1: a) Mean annual precipitation over the drainage area of the Dead Sea; b) setting of
the southern Levant; c) topographic map of Israel and adjacent areas ........................... 2
Fig. 1-2: a) General stratigraphic section of the Dead Sea Group; b) map of the Dead Sea
and site locations of the drilling campaigns in 1993, 1997 and 2010/11, as well as
selected sites, where exposed sediment formations were intensively studied. ............... 3
Fig. 1-3: Overview about the sampling strategy for the deep-basin core 5017-1 and core
DSEn from the western margin ....................................................................................... 7
Fig. 2-1: a) Location of the Dead Sea in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean; b) shaded
relief image of the central Levant; c) main geological units exposed in the Dead
Sea catchment area ........................................................................................................ 14
Fig. 2-2: a) Bathymetric map of the Dead Sea and drilling locations; b) the Deep Lake
Drilling System; c) overview about the recovered sediment cores from all holes. ....... 17
Fig. 2-3: Exemplary core images of the sedimentary facies and structures of the 5017-1
profile ............................................................................................................................ 23
Fig. 2-4: Composite profile for site 5017-1 based on correlation of distinct marker layers
and facies boundaries .................................................................................................... 25
Fig. 2-5: Lithological profile of 5017-1 with radiocarbon and U-Th ages; magnetic
susceptibility data; µXRF profiles of Cl, S, Sr, Ti and Ca ............................................ 29
Fig. 2-6: Stratigraphy of the 5017-1 profile ................................................................................. 35
Fig. 3-1: a) Location of Mediterranean records discussed in the text; b) map and
bathymetry of the Dead Sea .......................................................................................... 45
Fig. 3-2: Micro-facies and µXRF characteristics: a) green aad facies; b) aad-II facies; c)
example of a mass-movement deposit; d) gd facies; e) lh facies; f) fluorescence
microscope images; g) correlation plot of TOC against CaCO3 contents; h)
correlation plot of the two detrital fractions as derived from µXRF ............................. 48
Fig. 3-3: a) Lithological profile from 233-242 m composite depth, two gravel deposits and
strewn thin slide scans of the 2-4 mm grain fractions; b) table of grain size
fractions after sieving for one example of a mud-supported gravel occurrence and
the pure gravel layer ...................................................................................................... 50
Fig. 3-4: Lithology of the ~65 m long 5017-1 core section: lithostratigraphic units, U-Th
ages, magnetic susceptibility, event-free lithology, µXRF data and the relative
lake level changes inferred from the changing micro-facies. ........................................ 52
Fig. 3-5: Comparison of the Dead Sea to other records: a) relative Dead Sea lake level
curve; b) water balance of the lake derived from µXRF; c) mean summer
xiii
insolation at 30°N; d) δ18O of Soreq and Peqin speleothems; e) humidity index of
continental North Africa; f) Monticchio pollen record; g) Greenland ice core δ18O
record. ............................................................................................................................ 56
Fig. 4-1: Map of the Dead Sea in the eastern Mediterranean region and drilling locations of
the shallow-water DSEn and deep-basin 5017-1 cores. ................................................ 66
Fig. 4-2: DSEn and 5017-1 sediment profiles, magnetic susceptibility data and modelled
14C age-depth plots ........................................................................................................ 70
Fig. 4-3: Micro-facies of the Dead Sea sediments: a) selected 10 cm long varved sediment
section; b) example for graded and homogeneous detrital layers; c) microscope
images of different layer types or components ............................................................. 74
Fig. 4-4: Multi-proxy results of the DSEn and 5017-1 analysed core sections: lithology,
magnetic susceptibility data, µXRF element ratios of S/Ca, Sr/K, Cl/Br, Ti/Ca and
K/Si, selected pollen data .............................................................................................. 76
Fig. 4-5: Varve counting and thin section analysis results of core DSEn: varve thickness
including intraclast breccias; thickness of coarse and mixed detrital layers; fine
lightdetritus; K/Si ratio derived from µXRF ................................................................. 77
Fig. 4-6: a) Comparison of the Dead Sea data to other records: (1) total solar irradiance; (2)
clay layer frequency record from the Black Sea; (3) lake level reconstruction
based on core DSEn; (4) K/Si ratio from µXRF element scanning; (5) coarse and
mixed detrital layer thickness; (6) Soreq Cave δ18O speleothem record; (7)
terrigeneous sand accumulation rate and (8) stable oxygen isotopes Red Sea. (b)
Inferred humidity changes in the eastern Mediterranean during the two dry
periods at the Dead Sea. ................................................................................................ 83
Fig. S 4-1: Correlation of cores DSEn and 5017-1 by radiocarbon ages, a marker layer and
characteristic succession of gypsum deposits ............................................................... 86
Fig. S 4-2: Full pollen diagram of core DSEn for 1600-4050 cal yr BP ......................................... 87
Fig. 5-1: Main lithologies occurring in core 5017-1 from the deep Dead Sea basin and
associated relative lake levels and glacial/interglacial conditions. ............................... 90
xiv
List of Tables
Table 2-1: Depths and core recoveries of the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project .......................... 18
Table 2-2: Dating: a) AMS 14C dating of the deep 5017-1 core; b) preliminary U-Th ages ....... 21
Table 2-3: Sedimentary facies description of the 5017-1 core .................................................... 22
Table 2-4: Composite marker layers and facies boundaries, their absolute depth, position in
the core sections, composite depth and description ................................................... 26
Table 2-5: µXRF element scanning data of the 5017-1 core: average intensities, standard
deviation, maximum values and correlation matrix of the major elements Cl, S,
Sr, K, Ti, Fe, Si and Ca. ............................................................................................. 27
Table S 3-1: Table of grain sizes of all samples and distinguished after micro-facies types
before and after dissolution of CaCO3 ....................................................................... 62
Table 4-1: Radiocarbon dates from the shallow-water DSEn core and the deep-water core
5017-1 ........................................................................................................................ 71
Table 4-2: Radiocarbon dating and varve counting results of cores DSEn and 5017-1,
divided in defined lithological units ........................................................................... 72
Chapter 1 Introduction
1
1 Introduction
1.1 The Dead Sea as palaeoclimate archive
To improve climate projections and adaptation strategies to global warming, a better
understanding of past natural climate variability is crucial (IPCC, 2012). In this respect,
palaeoclimate archives, such as ice sheets in Greenland (e.g. Johnsen et al., 1992; NGRIP
Members, 2004; Rasmussen et al., 2014) and Antarctica (e.g. EPICA Community Members,
2004; 2006), speleothems (e.g. Bar-Matthews et al., 1999; Wang et al., 2001; Fleitmann et al.,
2003), tree rings (e.g. Cook et al., 1998; Esper et al., 2002; Briffa et al., 2004), corals (e.g.
Fairbanks, 1989; Bard et al., 1990; 1996), marine (e.g. Shackleton and Opdyke, 1973;
Shackleton, 1987; Chapman et al., 2000) and lacustrine sediments (e.g. Brauer et al., 1999a;
1999b; 2008; Nakagawa et al., 2012), store the climatic and environmental history with up to
annual resolution and provide important information about past abrupt climate changes and
changing frequencies of hydrometeorological extremes, like droughts or floods, when human
influence was minor or absent.
The Mediterranean region is especially vulnerable to climate change, as water scarcity raises and
hydrometeorological hazards become more frequent with increasing global temperature and
atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases (e.g. Hoerling et al., 2011; Seager et al., 2014;
Sippel and Otto, 2014). In the Mediterranean region, climate reconstructions are obtained mainly
from marine sediment cores (e.g. Cheddadi and Rossignol-Strick, 1995; Sánchez Goñi et al.,
1999; Ariztegui et al., 2000; Sánchez Goñi et al., 2002; Almogi-Labin et al., 2009; Desprat et al.,
2013) and from terrestrial archives in the northern Mediterranean realm (see Tzedakis, 2007). For
example, long sequences of past climate variability are available from Lake Banyoles, Spain (e.g.
Pèrez-Obiol and Julià, 1994; Höbig et al., 2012), Lago Grande di Monticchio, Italy (e.g. Allen et
al., 2000; Brauer et al., 2007; Martin-Puertas et al., 2014), Lake Ohrid, Albania/Macedonia (e.g.
Wagner et al., 2009; 2014), Tenaghi Philippon, Greece (e.g. Tzedakis et al., 2006; Pross et al.,
2009) and Lake Van, Turkey (e.g. Litt and Anselmetti, 2014; Stockhecke et al., 2014). The
southern Mediterranean/North African region is, however, relatively underrepresented, as only
few terrestrial records are available, for instance from Lake Tigalmamine, Morocco (Lamb and
van der Kaars, 1995; Cheddadi et al., 1998) and Dar Fatma, Tunisia (Ben Tiba and Reille, 1982).
In the eastern Mediterranean region, most important palaeoclimate archives are marine records
from the Levantine Sea (e.g. Rossignol-Strick, 1985; Cheddadi and Rossignol-Strick, 1995;
Almogi-Labin et al., 2009) and from the Red Sea (e.g. Arz et al., 2003; Lamy et al., 2006), and
terrestrial records from Lake Van, eastern Anatolia (see references above), Lake Yammoûneh,
Lebanon (Develle et al., 2011; Gasse et al., 2015), Soreq Cave, Israel (e.g. Bar-Matthews et al.,
1997; 1999; 2000; 2003) and the Dead Sea (e.g. Stein, 2001; 2014), all of which covering large
parts of the Quaternary climate history.
2
Among these archives, the Dead Sea is an exceptional climate recorder because it is situated at
the boundary between Mediterranean climate in its northern and western drainage area and the
hyperarid Saharo-Arabian desert belt in its south and southeast, leading to a large rainfall gradient
from >800 mm/year in the Golan Heights and at Mt. Hermon to <100 mm/year in the Negev, the
Arava valley and at the Dead Sea itself (Fig. 1-1). Furthermore, the Dead Sea is located at one of
the deepest continental depressions on Earth that is bounded by steep escarpments to the east and
west of the basin (Fig. 1-1). Due to this combination of extreme climatic and morphologic
gradients, the Dead Sea acts as a rain gauge with small changes in precipitation over its drainage
area being sensitively recorded through changing lake levels and in the sediments (e.g. Enzel et
al., 2003; Bookman (Ken-Tor) et al., 2004).
Figure 1-1: (A) Mean annual precipitation (in mm) over the drainage area of the Dead Sea (grey) (Bookman (Ken-
Tor) et al., 2004); (B) setting of the southern Levant and (C) topographic map of Israel and adjacent areas with
indicated watershed line (Langgut et al., 2014).
Lake levels of the Holocene Dead Sea and its Pleistocene precursor lakes, i.e. lakes Lisan, Samra
and Amora, strongly fluctuated in the past. For example, during the last glacial maximum the
lake level of Lake Lisan was about 270 m higher (~160 m below mean sea level) than today
(~428 m bmsl) (Bartov et al., 2002). The climatic-hydrological information over time that led to
Chapter 1 Introduction
3
these extreme fluctuations is stored in the sedimentary record of the water bodies. Therefore, the
characteristic sediment formations are subject of a multitude of palaeoclimatic and
palaeoenvironmental studies in and at the margins of the Dead Sea (Fig. 1-2).
Figure 1-2: (A) General stratigraphic section of the Dead Sea Group (adapted from Zak, 1967; Waldmann et al.,
2009); (B) map of the Dead Sea and site locations of the drilling campaigns in 1993 (Heim et al., 1997; Ben-
Avraham et al., 1999), in 1997 (Migowski et al., 2004; Migowski et al., 2006) and in 2010/11 (Stein et al., 2011;
Neugebauer et al., 2014), as well as selected sites, where exposed sediment formations were intensively studied, i.e.
the Lisan Formation at Massada (e.g. Bartov et al., 2002; Prasad et al., 2009), the Lisan and Samra Formations at
Perazim valley (Haase-Schramm et al., 2004; Waldmann et al., 2009) and the Amora Formation at Arubotaim
(Torfstein et al., 2009).
1.2 Projects related to this thesis
The ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project
The Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) – “The Dead Sea as a Global Paleo-
environmental, Tectonic, and Seismological Archive” – commenced after several decades of
extensive study in the Dead Sea basin, starting with the early works of Y. K. Bentor (1961;
1969), D. Neev (e.g. Neev and Emery, 1967; Neev and Hall, 1979), Z. Garfunkel (e.g. Garfunkel
4
et al., 1981; Garfunkel and Ben-Avraham, 1996), I. Zak (1967) and many more. Based on these
pioneering works, numerous studies expanded our knowledge about the structure and tectonics of
the basin, the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of this exceptional lake and about
the evolution of the Quaternary water bodies in the basin with respect to environmental changes
(summarized in Niemi et al., 1997; Enzel et al., 2006; Garfunkel et al., 2014).
Previous studies of the Dead Sea sediments were mainly restricted to sediment formations that
are exposed at the margins of the lake (Fig. 1-2). Due to the strong lake level fluctuations in the
past, these outcrops are, however, mostly incomplete and lack information especially about drier
periods and low lake stands. Earlier attempts to drill in the deep basin were hampered by thick
salt sequences that could not be penetrated (Heim et al., 1997; Ben-Avraham et al., 1999).
Therefore, a promising way to gain a continuous, long sediment record from the deep DSB was
through an ICDP drilling using the sophisticated drilling technique of the DLDS (Deep Lake
Drilling System) operated by DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth’s
Continental Crust) Exploration Services. This drilling system is designed to recover up to 1400 m
long sediment sequences from water depths of max. 400 m and has been successfully applied in
several deep lakes, for example Lake Van, Turkey (Litt and Anselmetti, 2014), and Lake Ohrid,
Albania/Macedonia (Wagner et al., 2014).
The main objective of drilling in the deep Dead Sea basin was to obtain the longest, most
continuous and best preserved, high-resolution sediment record in the Levant that covers several
past glacial-interglacial cycles. The main research goals of the project included:
Reconstructing the environmental conditions during extreme lake level drops;
Estimating the extent and duration of lake level fluctuations and their implications;
Estimating how regional climate was modulated by global climate during the Pleistocene;
Reconstructing a long-term palaeoseismic record that accompanied the regional tectonic
movements;
Answering questions about the evolution of physical properties of the Dead Sea sediments
including salt diagenesis;
Understanding the relation between tectonics, i.e. uplift and subsidence, sediment
accumulation and the limnological-hydrological history through the Pleistocene;
Establishing a high-resolution U-Th chronology by U-series dating of primary aragonite,
supported by oxygen isotope stratigraphy, 14C dating and varve chronologies;
Establishing the palaeomagnetic history of the Dead Sea basin;
Investigating the relation between human culture development and climatic changes in the
region;
Comparing the sedimentary records of the deep basin with those of the basin margins;
And studying the history of wind-blown desert dust to the lakes and monitoring palaeo-
storm tracks.
Chapter 1 Introduction
5
DFG-Projects
This dissertation was performed at the Helmholtz Centre Potsdam – GFZ German Research
Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.2 Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, within two
projects funded by the DFG German Research Foundation in the Priority Program
(Schwerpunktprogramm) SPP 1006 International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP).
Both of these projects specifically relate to the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project.
Project FR 1672/2-1, entitled “Holocene dust storms and flood events in the Dead Sea region”,
ran from 2010 to 2012. The main subject of this project was the development of scientific
standards for high-resolution analyses of sediments from the Dead Sea and the application of
these standards within the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP). A combination of
petrographic thin section analysis, X-ray fluorescence element scanning and high-resolution
magnetic susceptibility measurements was aimed to be applied to identify flood and dust storm
layers and to establish Holocene time series of these event deposits. The study was supposed to
be carried out mainly on existing core material from the western margin of the Dead Sea (Fig.
1-2). The objectives of this study furthermore included the synchronization of these on-shore
sediment sections with their deep-basin counterpart as recovered by the DSDDP.
Project BR 2208/10-1, entitled “Interglacial climate variability recorded in the Dead Sea
sediments”, was realized from 2012 to 2014. The aim of this project was to reconstruct
palaeoclimatological changes in the Dead Sea basin and adjacent areas during the last two
interglacials as archived in the ICDP DSDDP sediment cores. Thereby, the scientific standards
for high-resolution sediment analyses developed within project FR 1672/2-1 were supposed to be
applied to the deep-basin sediment cores in order to enhance our understanding of interglacial
climate variability in the eastern Mediterranean region.
The doctoral candidate was responsible for sedimentological and geochemical investigations, as
well as for the compilation of composite profiles and inter-site correlation, as requested by the
above-described projects. The doctoral candidate participated at the ICDP DSDDP coring
campaign for five weeks in winter 2010-11, co-organized and co-supervised the arrival, core
opening and sampling campaigns at the GFZ in 2011 and 2012 and arranged the transport of the
cores to the storing facility at Marum, Bremen, together with Dr. Markus Schwab and under the
leadership of Prof. Achim Brauer.
1.3 Main objectives of the doctoral project
This thesis aims on a detailed reconstruction of past climate changes in the Levant from multi-
millennial to centennial, annual and even seasonal time-scales, using high-resolution micro-facies
analyses for the Dead Sea sediment record. The main objectives of this thesis are outlined in the
following:
6
i) Providing the lithostratigraphic framework for the long ICDP deep-basin core including
correlation to on-shore sediment formations.
ii) Establishing micro-facies analyses of annually laminated sediments by combined thin
section microscopy and µXRF measurements as a tool for high-resolution climate
reconstruction from the Dead Sea sediments.
iii) Obtaining high-resolution, multi-proxy time-series of extreme events, like floods and dust
storms, and deciphering their relation to changing climate conditions in the Dead Sea
region for the Holocene.
iv) Reconstructing palaeoclimatic changes in the Dead Sea and adjacent areas during the
last two interglacials as archived in the ICDP Dead Sea record.
1.4 Material and methods
Sediment cores
In the frame of the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project more than 700 m of sediment cores
were recovered from three sites during the drilling campaign in winter 2010-2011 (Chapter 2;
Stein et al., 2011). The longest, ca 455 m and ~220,000 years comprising core 5017-1 was
retrieved from the deep basin at ~300 m water depth and was lithologically described and
correlated to on-shore sediment sections within this study (Chapter 2). A ca 13 m long section of
the Holocene Ze’elim Formation of the core was investigated in more detail in comparison to a
sediment core from the western margin (Chapter 4). As a second section of interest for higher
resolution analyses, a ca 60 m long section as part of the last interglacial/early last glacial Samra
Formation was investigated (Chapter 3). Furthermore, a ca 12 m long section of the upper last
glacial Lisan Formation was sampled and measured for µXRF (Appendix A3); investigations are
ongoing.
The sediment cores DSEn (Ein Gedi), DSF (Ein Feshkha) and DSZ (Ze’elim) from the western
margin of the Dead Sea (Fig. 1-2) were obtained during a drilling campaign in 1997 and were
available for this study. These sediment cores have been investigated within the scope of a
doctoral work by C. Migowski (2001), who analysed the laminated sediments and established the
palaeoseismic and palaeoclimatic history of the Holocene Dead Sea (Migowski et al., 2004;
2006). Cores DSF and DSZ feature both fluvial and lacustrine sediments and exhibit major
hiatuses. Hence, these cores were not further considered within this doctoral project. For the
purpose of high-resolution micro-facies analyses, the DSEn core is most suitable as it
continuously presents mainly lacustrine sediments that were proposed to be varved, i.e. annually
laminated, in some parts (Migowski, 2001). An updated radiocarbon-based age model for the ca
21 m long DSEn core, using the IntCal13 calibration curve (Reimer et al., 2013) and a
Chapter 1 Introduction
7
P-sequence deposition model (Bronk Ramsey, 2008), is provided in the Appendix (A2). A ca 3 m
long, mostly varved section of this core was analysed in greater detail and correlated to the deep-
basin core 5017-1 (Chapter 4).
Figure 1-3: Overview about the sampling strategy for the deep-basin core 5017-1 and core DSEn from the western
margin, which comprises the Holocene Ze’elim Formation; marked are the related chapters in this thesis; MS –
magnetic susceptibility.
Micro-facies analyses
For analysing the Dead Sea sediments at high resolution, a combination of petrographic thin
section microscopy and µXRF element scanning was applied, supported by magnetic
susceptibility measurements. This combined methodological approach is referred to as ‘micro-
facies analyses’. Given a varved nature of the investigated sediments, this approach allows
interpreting seasonal palaeoclimate signals including extreme events and the dynamics of abrupt
climate changes (Brauer et al., 2009).
Within the project, a total of 281 thin sections from the 5017-1 composite core and 36 thin
sections from the DSEn composite core were prepared (Fig. 1-3). The preparation of the 10 cm
long thin sections followed the standard procedure for soft sediments (e.g. Brauer et al., 1999b)
8
including freeze-drying of the sediment blocks and impregnation with epoxy resin. However, to
avoid salt crystallisation during the preparation process, all further steps, i.e. sawing and
polishing, had to be carried out without using any liquids. Final polishing was done manually to
adjust the thickness of the thin section, when the sediment grain size was heterogeneous.
For a geochemical characterisation of the Dead Sea sediments, the split-core sediment surface
was measured using an ITRAX µXRF spectrometer available at the GFZ. Details of this method
are provided in Chapters 2 to 4. Continuous XRF element scanning data with 1 mm resolution
were obtained for all 5017 core sections, whereas high-resolution µXRF scanning was only
performed for specific intervals of cores 5017-1 and DSEn (Fig. 1-3). Magnetic susceptibility
was measured for all cores investigated in this project.
Further methods
Beneath micro-facies analyses, further methods were applied within this project, which are
described in detail in the respective manuscripts or in the Appendix. These methods include:
Stable oxygen and carbon isotope measurements of single aragonite and detrital laminae;
see Appendix A1;
Grain size measurements; see Chapter 3;
X-ray diffraction (XRD), TOC and CaCO3 measurements; see Chapter 3
Age modelling with OxCal 4.2; see Chapter 4 and Appendix A2.
1.5 Thesis structure
This cumulative thesis is based on three manuscripts that are or are to be published in peer-
reviewed international journals (Chapters 2 to 4). The doctoral candidate is the leading author of
all three manuscripts. One manuscript (Chapter 2) has been published, the second manuscript is
under review (Chapter 3) and the third is accepted (Chapter 4). The thesis is structured according
to these manuscripts. The main conclusions of the thesis and future perspectives are drawn in
Chapter 5. A summary of the three manuscripts and the contribution of the doctoral candidate to
these publications is provided in the following:
Manuscript #1 (Chapter 2)
Title: Lithology of the long sediment record recovered by the ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling
Project (DSDDP)
Authors: Ina Neugebauer, Achim Brauer, Markus J. Schwab, Nicolas D. Waldmann, Yehouda
Enzel, Hiroyuki Kitagawa, Adi Torfstein, Ute Frank, Peter Dulski, Amotz Agnon,
Daniel Ariztegui, Zvi Ben-Avraham, Steven L. Goldstein, Mordechai Stein, DSDDP
Scientific Party
Published in Quaternary Science Reviews 102, 2014 (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.08.013).
Chapter 1 Introduction
9
This paper provides an overview about the ICDP DSDDP project and aims on introducing the
lithology and basic geochemical characteristics of the ~455 m long sediment record 5017-1 from
the deep Dead Sea basin. Based on preliminary dating and correlation of the main sediment
formations to on-shore deposits, core 5017-1 comprises the last ~220,000 years and, hence, two
glacial-interglacial cycles. This paper serves as a base for any further higher resolution studies of
the deep core.
The doctoral candidate was the leading author and contributed ca 75% to this paper. She
compiled the composite profile, described the lithology, evaluated all data and wrote the
manuscript. H. Kitagawa and A. Torfstein provided radiocarbon and U-Th ages, respectively, and
U. Frank and P. Dulski were in charge of continuous magnetic susceptibility and XRF
measurements, respectively. All other co-authors act as principal investigators of the ICDP
DSDD Project and/or have profound knowledge about the sedimentology of the Dead Sea basin
and as such contributed through proof-reading and discussions to the manuscript, especially A.
Brauer and M. Stein.
Manuscript #2 (Chapter 3)
Title: Hydroclimatic variability during the early last glacial (~117-75 ka) derived from
micro-facies analyses of the Dead Sea ICDP sediment record
Authors: Ina Neugebauer, Markus J. Schwab, Nicolas D. Waldmann, Rik Tjallingii, Ute Frank,
Elitsa Hadzhiivanova, Rudolf Naumann, Nimer Taha, Amotz Agnon, Yehouda Enzel,
Achim Brauer, DSDDP Scientific Party
Submitted to Climate of the Past (under review).
This paper deals with the climate history of the Dead Sea during the early last glaciation from
~117 to 75 thousand years before present; a period that was so far poorly understood due to the
lack of continuous sediment records in this region. Detailed micro-facies analyses of the
respective sediment section from the 5017-1 core allowed reconstructing the hydroclimatic
conditions at the lake in terms of relative lake level and water balance changes. The main
conclusion drawn from this study proposes a persistent moisture supply from the Atlantic-
Mediterranean system to the eastern Mediterranean-Levant during this interval.
The doctoral candidate was the leading author of this paper with a contribution of ca 70%. Thin
section and µXRF analyses, the evaluation of all other data and writing of the manuscript was
carried out by the doctoral candidate. N.D. Waldmann, E. Hadzhiivanova and N.Taha performed
grain size measurements, R. Tjallingii contributed to the interpretation of µXRF data, U. Frank
was responsible for magnetic susceptibility measurements and R. Naumann was in charge of
XRD measurements. M.J. Schwab, N.D. Waldmann, A. Agnon, Y. Enzel and A. Brauer
contributed through proof-reading and discussions.
10
Manuscript 3 (Chapter 4)
Title: Evidences for centennial dry periods at ~3300 and ~2800 years BP from micro-facies
analyses of the Dead Sea sediments
Authors: Ina Neugebauer, Achim Brauer, Markus J. Schwab, Peter Dulski, Ute Frank, Elitsa
Hadzhiivanova, Hiroyuki Kitagawa, Thomas Litt, Vera Schiebel, Nimer Taha, Nicolas
D. Waldmann, DSDDP Scientific Party
Accepted for publication in The Holocene.
This paper focusses on two centennial-scale dry periods in the Dead Sea region during the late
Holocene, from ca 3700 to 1700 cal BP. For the purpose of detailed reconstruction of climatic
fluctuations and related changes in the frequency of extreme flood and dust deposition events, an
annually laminated sequence from the western-shore DSEn record was compared with its deep-
basin counterpart from the ICDP core 5017-1. A combination of high-resolution thin section
microscopy and µXRF element scanning, supported by palynology, allowed constructing a varve
chronology for this interval and detecting single event layers. The main outcome of this study is
that dry conditions around 2800 years BP, which coincide with the Homeric Grand Solar
Minimum, were superimposed by an increased occurrence of flash-floods most likely caused by a
change in synoptic weather patterns.
The doctoral candidate was the leading author and contributed ca 80% to this paper. She
compiled the age models and the varve chronology, performed micro-facies analyses, evaluated
all other data and wrote the manuscript. P. Dulski supervised the µXRF measurements, U. Frank
provided magnetic susceptibility data, E. Hadzhiivanova and N. Taha provided some grain size
data, H. Kitagawa measured samples for radiocarbon dating of core 5017-1, and Th. Litt and V.
Schiebel analysed pollen samples. A. Brauer, M.J. Schwab and N.D. Waldmann contributed
through proof-reading and discussions.
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
11
2 Lithology of the long sediment record recovered by the ICDP Dead
Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP)
Ina Neugebauer a, *, Achim Brauer a, Markus J. Schwab a, Nicolas D. Waldmann b, c, Yehouda
Enzel d, Hiroyuki Kitagawa e, Adi Torfstein d, f, Ute Frank a, Peter Dulski a, Amotz Agnon d,
Daniel Ariztegui g, Zvi Ben-Avraham h, i, Steven L. Goldstein j, Mordechai Stein k, and DSDDP
Scientific Party #
a Helmholtz Centre Potsdam, GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences, Section 5.2 –
Climate Dynamics and Landscape Evolution, Telegrafenberg, D-14473 Potsdam,
Germany
b Department of Marine Geosciences, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences,
University of Haifa, Mount Carmel 31905, Israel
c Department of Earth Science, University of Bergen, Allégaten 41, Bergen 5007, Norway
d The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of
Jerusalem, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
e Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-
8601, Japan
f The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences of Eilat, Eilat 88103, Israel
g Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Rue des Maraichers 13, CH-1205
Geneva, Switzerland
h Department of Geophysical, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv University,
Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
i Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel 31905,
Israel
j Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Department of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964, USA
k Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
# The complete list of scientists involved in the DSDDP can be found at http://www.icdp-
online.org
Published in Quaternary Science Reviews (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2014.08.013)
12
Abstract
The sedimentary sections that were deposited from the Holocene Dead Sea and its Pleistocene
precursors are excellent archives of the climatic, environmental and seismic history of the Levant
region. Yet, most of the previous work has been carried out on sequences of lacustrine sediments
exposed at the margins of the present-day Dead Sea, which were deposited only when the lake
surface level rose above these terraces (e.g. during the last glacial period) and typically are
discontinuous due to major lake level variations in the past. Continuous sedimentation can only
be expected in the deepest part of the basin and, therefore, a deep drilling has been accomplished
in the northern basin of the Dead Sea during winter of 2010-2011 within the Dead Sea Deep
Drilling Project (DSDDP) in the framework of the ICDP program. Approximately 720 m of
sediment cores have been retrieved from two deep and several short boreholes. The longest
profile (5017-1), revealed at a water depth of ~300 m, reaches 455 m below the lake floor (blf,
i.e. to ~1175 m below global mean sea level) and comprises approximately the last 220-240 ka.
The record covers the upper part of the Amora (penultimate glacial), the last interglacial Samra,
the last glacial Lisan and the Holocene Ze’elim Formations and, therewith, two entire glacial-
interglacial cycles. Thereby, for the first time, consecutive sediments deposited during the
MIS 6/5, 5/4 and 2/1 transitions were recovered from the Dead Sea basin, which are not
represented in sediments outcropping on the present-day lake shores. In this paper, we present
essential lithological data including continuous magnetic susceptibility and geochemical scanning
data and the basic stratigraphy including first chronological data of the long profile (5017-1) from
the deep basin. The results presented here (a) focus on the correlation of the deep basin deposits
with main on-shore stratigraphic units, thus providing a unique comprehensive stratigraphic
framework for regional paleoenvironmental reconstruction, and (b) highlight the outstanding
potential of the Dead Sea deep sedimentary archive to record hydrological changes during
interglacial, glacial and transitional intervals.
Keywords
Sediment facies; laminated sediments; hypersaline lakes; ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project;
Levant paleoclimate.
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
13
2.1 Introduction
The hypersaline and terminal Dead Sea is situated at the lowermost exposed place on Earth. It is
located between the Mediterranean climate zone and the Sahara-Arabian desert belt. The location
near the Sinai-Negev land bridge between Africa and Asia provides a key geographical setting
along the pathway of humankind migration out of Africa. The lake occupies the Dead Sea basin
(DSB), which is a pull-apart structure with steep escarpments to the east and west and flat
extensions into the Arava and Jordan valleys to the south and north, respectively. During the
Quaternary, the basin has been occupied by several different terminal water-bodies, which
responded to hydro-climate conditions in their large watershed (e.g. Bentor, 1961; Neev and
Emery, 1967; Begin et al., 1974; Stein et al., 1997). In consequence, the lake’s composition,
limnological structure and surface levels have strongly fluctuated through time resulting in
pronounced changes in surface areas and served as proxies for past climate reconstructions. The
maximum known N-S extent (>270 km) was achieved during the last glacial maximum (LGM),
when Lake Lisan extended northward over the Jordan and Beisan valleys and merged with the
freshwater Sea of Galilee (Fig. 2‑1b; e.g. Begin et al., 1974; Neev and Emery, 1995; Stein et al.,
1997; Stein, 2001; Bartov et al., 2003).
The DSB and its infilling sediments offer the possibility to address a wide range of geoscientific
challenges, spanning from seismicity and magnetism along the Dead Sea Transform fault to
environmental and climatic reconstructions of the Levantine region. Already in the middle of the
19th century, the bathymetry of the lake was determined (Lynch, 1849), followed by first
monitoring and drilling attempts and chemical analyses of the water body in the 1930s and 1940s
(Niemi et al., 1997 and references therein). A pioneering step forward in Dead Sea research was
achieved in the 1960s, when Neev and Emery (1967) conducted a comprehensive survey to
sample and analyze the brine and sediments. In the last decades, Dead Sea research, summarized
in Niemi et al. (1997) and Enzel et al. (2006), has been focused on sediments from the Amora,
Samra, Lisan and Ze’elim Formations, which are currently exposed in the surroundings of the
Dead Sea. These records mirror past hydro-climatic changes from glacial-interglacial scale down
to seasonal resolution (e.g. Machlus et al., 2000; Bookman (Ken-Tor) et al., 2004; Haase-
Schramm et al., 2004; Prasad et al., 2004; Migowski et al., 2006; Torfstein et al., 2009;
Waldmann et al., 2009; Torfstein et al., 2013a; 2013b). Yet, these reconstructions are often
interrupted by depositional gaps at times when lake levels rapidly decreased during dry periods
and due to transgressive erosion during lake level rises (e.g. Bartov et al., 2007). Previous
attempts to recover continuous sediment sequences from the present lake bottom were hampered
by the presence of thick salt intervals and only short sequences covering the last few thousand
years have been revealed (e.g. Heim et al., 1997; Ben-Avraham et al., 1999).
Through the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), an international team
of scientists aimed at recovering the past several glacial-interglacial cycles in a continuous high-
resolution sediment core from the Dead Sea deep basin. Main research goals of the Dead Sea
Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP) include reconstructing the environmental, climatic and tectonic
14
history of the region, with high-resolution chronologies established by AMS radiocarbon and
U-series dating (Stein et al., 2011), complemented by varve counting of selected sequences.
The main focus of this study is to document the lithology and stratigraphy of the 455 m long core
from the northern deep DSB (site 5017-1, water depth of ~300 m) and provide first insights into
the exceptionally heterogeneous sediment succession proving the sensitivity of sediment
deposition in the DSB to environmental and hydrological changes in the past. Together with
ongoing efforts to construct a precise chronology for this sediment record, the data presented here
will serve as a robust framework for all future, more detailed and high-resolution investigations.
In addition, the new cores from the deep basin are tied to the stratigraphies reported from onshore
environments as a first step for detailed comparison of shallow and deep water sedimentary
environments.
Figure 2-1: a) Location of the Dead Sea in the Levant and Eastern Mediterranean; b) shaded relief image of the
central Levant (modified after Hall, 1997), black line: maximum extent of the last glacial Lake Lisan (from Bartov et
al., 2002), red point: deep drilling location 5017-1, ~300 m water depth, light green to blue colors indicate areas
below mean sea level, DSB: Dead Sea basin; c) main geological units exposed in the Dead Sea catchment area
(modified after Bentor, 1961).
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
15
2.2 The late Neogene Dead Sea basin infill
During late Neogene times Mediterranean Sea water entered the Jordan-Dead Sea tectonic
depression possibly via the Jezreel Valley and formed the Sedom Lagoon (Zak, 1967; Belmaker
et al., 2013). Long sequences of salt, intercalated by gypsum, anhydrite, dolomite and some
detrital marl were deposited in the lagoon (Sedom Formation, e.g. Neev and Emery, 1967; Zak,
1967). The ingressing evaporated seawater interacted with the Cretaceous limestone that
comprises the basin wall producing the Ca-chloride brine that played a major role in the
geochemical history of the Dead Sea water bodies and for the deposited sediments (Stein, 2001).
After the disconnection of the Sedom Lagoon from the Mediterranean Sea, a series of lacustrine
water-bodies evolved in the basin (for a comprehensive overview see Stein, 2001; 2014): the
early to middle Pleistocene Lake Amora (Amora Fm.; Torfstein et al., 2009), the last interglacial
Lake Samra (Samra Fm. ~135-70 ka; Kaufman et al., 1992; Bartov et al., 2007; Waldmann et al.,
2009), the last glacial Lake Lisan (Lisan Fm. ~70-14 ka; e.g. Stein et al., 1997; Bartov et al.,
2002; Haase-Schramm et al., 2004; Torfstein et al., 2013a; 2013b) and the Holocene Dead Sea
(e.g. Yechieli et al., 1993; Bookman (Ken-Tor) et al., 2004; Migowski et al., 2006), accumulating
the Ze’elim Formation. These sedimentary sequences in the DSB vary significantly in their
composition showing a direct connection to the lake’s limnological properties (Stein et al., 1997;
Stein, 2001) and particular relationships with regional precipitation and atmospheric circulation
(Enzel et al., 2008). During more humid climatic conditions annually laminated (varved) primary
aragonite and silty detritus couplets described as aad facies (alternating aragonite and detritus;
Neev and Emery, 1967; Begin et al., 1974; defined by Machlus et al., 2000) have been deposited
in the basin and are indicative for positive freshwater input providing the bi-carbonate ions
required for aragonite deposition from the bi-carbonate poor Ca-chloride brine (Stein et al.,
1997). The aad facies characterizes the relatively high lake level stages during the glacial Amora
and Lisan Formations. Aragonite precipitated in the water column during dry season evaporation,
while the silty detritus (calcite, quartz and clay minerals) has been washed into the lake by flash-
floods during the rainy season (Stein et al., 1997; Haliva-Cohen et al., 2012). Occasionally,
primary gypsum was deposited in large amounts during discrete episodes of pronounced lake
level decline (Torfstein et al., 2005; 2008). The Samra and Ze’elim Formations in the exposed
sections are predominantly constituted of silty detritus layers or laminae of the ld facies (Haliva-
Cohen et al., 2012), couplets of the aad facies and triplets of silty detritus, aragonite and gypsum
(described by Migowski et al., 2004; 2006) with occasional intercalations of coarse clastic
fan-deltas and shore deposits (Bartov et al., 2002). These deposits reflect shallow water
environments during periods of low-stands of the lake during arid interglacial climates, when the
supply of bi-carbonate to the lake was limited (Stein, 2001; Waldmann et al., 2007). The
aragonite-silty detritus couplets and the aragonite-gypsum-silty detritus triplets were counted in
specific sequences of the drilled littoral cores of the Ze’elim Formation and combined with
radiocarbon ages were interpreted as annual sequences (Migowski et al., 2004). This
interpretation confirmed earlier investigations from the only, up to 4.4 m long sediment cores that
were recovered from the Dead Sea lake bottom before the DSDDP ICDP drilling (Heim et al.,
16
1997). Heim et al. (1997) described in these cores alternations of halite and short intervals of
finely laminated sediments consisting of similar aragonite, gypsum and detrital marl sub-layers,
which they interpreted as evaporitic varves.
2.3 Regional setting
The Dead Sea occupies the deepest continental pull-apart basin of a series of structures along the
Dead Sea Transform fault, which is an active left lateral tectonic system separating the Sinai and
Arabian plates (Quennel, 1958; Garfunkel and Ben-Avraham, 1996 and references therein). The
lake is located at the lowest exposed site on earth, with a current (2013) level of 427 m below
mean sea level (bmsl). However, due to the intense utilization of water for irrigation and
consumption purposes from both the Jordan and Yarmouk rivers, levels have greatly descended
since 1978 at an average rate of 0.7 m/yr (Abu Ghazleh et al., 2009) and since 1996 have even
accelerated to ~1 m/yr (Lensky et al., 2005). The hypersaline Dead Sea is an endorheic lake,
mainly fed from the north by the perennial Jordan River, the Mujib River coming from the east
and several ephemeral fluvial systems from the Jordan Plateau and Judean Mountains, on the east
and west, respectively (e.g. Enzel et al., 2003; Greenbaum et al., 2006). This hydrological
situation creates one of the largest catchment areas in the Levantine region (~40,000 km²; Bentor,
1961; Fig. 2‑1c).
The lake’s catchment area encompasses several climate zones spanning from subhumid-semiarid
Mediterranean climate in its northern part to the Sahara-Arabian arid-hyperarid belt in its south.
In this geographical configuration there is significant precipitation during northern hemisphere
winters (October-May) through eastern Mediterranean mid-latitude cyclones (Cyprus Lows;
Enzel et al., 2003; Ziv et al., 2006) and occasional incursions of the Active Red Sea Trough. The
latter, a surface trough extending from East Africa through the Red Sea towards the eastern
Mediterranean, brings moisture also from the tropics and promotes flash-floods mainly during
fall and winter seasons (Kahana et al., 2002; Dayan and Morin, 2006).
The exposed geological formations within the drainage area include: a) Late Proterozoic granites
and metamorphic rocks of the Arabian-Nubian Shield (ANS), b) Phanerozoic limestones, sands
and marls that were deposited in platformic environment overlying the ANS crystalline
basement, c) Tertiary marine and continental sediments in the southwest, d) Quaternary sand,
gravel, conglomerates, marl, sandstone and evaporites in the Jordan and Arava valleys, and
e) alkali basalt of mainly Neogene to Quaternary age erupted in the north and northeast (Shaliv,
1991; Heimann et al., 1996; Sneh, 1998; Fig. 2‑1c). The dominant rock types exposed in the
catchment are Mesozoic to Cenozoic marine sediments (mainly limestone and dolomite). Yet,
while the freshwater entering the lake discharges from aquifers located within these lithologies
and reflect them in their chemical and isotope properties (Stein et al., 1997), most of the fine
detrital sediments in the lakes formations were derived from desert dust that has settled on the
mountain relief washed into the lake by runoff and floods (Belmaker et al., 2011; Haliva-Cohen
et al., 2012; Belmaker et al., 2013). Thus, the lake sediments provide information on both the
regional aquifers and far distant sources of the desert dust (Palchan et al., 2013).
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
17
2.4 Methods
2.4.1 Drilling campaign
Drilling in the deep northern Dead Sea basin was carried out with the Deep Lake Drilling System
(DLDS) between November 2010 and March 2011 operated by the non-profit corporation
DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth’s Continental Crust). The drill
platform (Atlas Copco T3WDH) is a top-head-drive rotary rig. Two different drilling operations
have been applied according to the expected lithology; (i) the rotating extended core bit (termed
‘Alien’) has been used for hard salt sequences, while (ii) the hydraulic piston core tool (HPC)
was deployed to core soft sediment intervals. Guar gum powder (an organic polymer acting as
viscosifier) served as the drilling fluid when mixed with surface lake water that is generally
characterized by ~300-340 g/l salinity and winter temperatures of ~16-23 ˚C for the period from
1992 - 1999 (Gertman and Hecht, 2002; Katz and Starinsky, 2009).
Figure 2-2: a) Bathymetric map of the Dead Sea (modified after Neev and Hall, 1979) and drilling locations of the
ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project (DSDDP; expedition 5017), further marked are selected shallow-water drilling
and exposure locations of the Dead Sea sediments: Ein Feshkha, Ein Gedi and Ze’elim covering the Holocene
Ze’elim Fm. (e.g. Bookman (Ken-Tor) et al., 2004; Migowski et al., 2006), last glacial Lisan Fm. exposed sections at
Massada and Perazim Valley (e.g. Stein et al., 1997; Bartov et al., 2002), the latter also covering the last interglacial
Samra Fm. (Waldmann et al., 2009), and the early to late Pleistocene Amora Fm. at Arubotaim Cave (Torfstein et al.,
2009); b) the DSDDP drilling was performed by DOSECC (Drilling, Observation and Sampling of the Earth’s
Continental Crust) with the Deep Lake Drilling System (DLDS; photo: © OSG-GFZ, ICDP); c) overview about the
recovered sediment cores from all holes of sites 5017-1, -2 and -3.
18
2.4.2 Coring locations
Details about the three drilling locations and core recoveries are shown in Table 2-1 and Figure
2-2. This study concentrates on the sediment record of the deepest borehole at site 5017-1 close
to the deepest point of the basin. Based on geophysical investigations (Coianiz et al., 2013) this
site was expected to represent the most complete sediment sequence. In addition, it is located
most distal with respect to turbidity currents and slope instability features. The second coring site
5017-2 was selected at a near-shore location in a shallow bay (11.4 m water depth). The third
drilling location 5017-3 was located near the second site but even closer to the shore at 2.1 m
water depth. Both shallow sites are situated off the Ein Gedi spa shore, where several cores
recovering the Holocene, Lateglacial and top glacial time intervals were retrieved earlier
(Migowski et al., 2004; 2006; Stein et al., 2010).
In total ~720 m of sediment cores have been retrieved from all three drilling sites. The longest
core sequence reaching 455 m sediment depth (~750 m below the 2010 Dead Sea lake level;
1175 m below mean sea level) was drilled at borehole 5017-1-A. Parallel to this long sequence,
five additional but shorter cores were retrieved: holes 5017-1-B, 5017-1-C, 5017-1-D, 5017-1-E
and 5017-1-H. At coring site 5017-2 a ~19 m long core was drilled, while the longest core taken
at site 5017-3 reached a length of ~271 m (borehole 5017-3-C).
Table 2-1: Depths and core recoveries of the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project; m bll = meter below lake level, m blf
= meter below lake floor.
water depth
[m]
top depth
[mbll]
top depth
[mblf]
bottom
depth [mblf]
total
drilled
length [m]
core
recovery [m]
core
recovery
[%]
Site 5017-1 (N 31°30'28.98", E 35°28'15.60")
A
297.46
297.46
0
455.34
455.34
405.83
89.13
B
297.46
297.46
0
24.39
24.39
4.28
17.53
C
297.46
328.03
30.57
68.65
38.08
14.37
37.74
D
297.46
297.46
0
5.15
5.15
2.32
45.05
E
297.46
300.55
3.09
32.00
28.91
17.93
62.02
H
297.46
337.13
39.67
81.36
41.69
29.57
70.93
Site 5017-2 (N 31°25'13.998", E 35°23'38.4")
A
11.42
11.42
0
19.28
19.28
11.25
58.35
Site 5017-3 (N 31°25'22.74", E 35°23'39.58")
A
2.12
2.35
0.23
16.63
16.40
3.22
19.63
B
2.12
11.32
9.20
31.47
22.27
14.77
66.32
C
2.12
36.69
34.57
339.45
270.93
219.11
80.87
Total
922.44
722.65
78.34
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
19
2.4.3 Downhole logging and on-site core handling
Downhole logging was conducted by the ICDP Operational Support Group with special slimhole
logging probes (max. outer diameter = 52 mm) for geophysical measurements in small-scale drill
holes with 10 cm sampling rate. Magnetic susceptibility data of borehole 5017-1-A are presented
here (Fig. 2-5). The data processing of other measured parameters, e.g. natural gamma ray and
resistivity, is in progress and the results will be discussed elsewhere.
Information about each core, section lengths, core-catchers and respective depths have been
supplied to the on-site Drilling Information System (DIS) Internet database interface platform
facilitated by ICDP Germany. The cores were kept at 4˚C in the GFZ Potsdam cold storage
during the core opening and sampling party and afterward transported to the final storage at the
MARUM – IODP Bremen Core Repository (Germany).
2.4.4 Core opening and non-destructive analyses
After splitting of the cores several non-destructive analyses were carried out in the GFZ Potsdam
laboratories on all cores, including visual description, optical line scanning, magnetic
susceptibility analyses and µXRF element scanning. Magnetic susceptibility measurements at
1 mm resolution were carried out on one core half using a Bartington MS2E sensor, while the
other half was scanned with the ITRAX core scanner (COX Analytical Systems) to determine
element compositions. We applied a Chromium tube at 30 kV voltage and 30 mA current, which
is particular sensitive for the lighter elements. The standard reference sample SCo-1 USGS cody
shale and an internal reference glass provided by COX Analytical Systems were measured on a
daily basis for quality control approx. every 10 measured meters. The aim of µXRF element
scanning was to provide a quick overview about element compositions at 1 mm resolution so that
a very short exposure time of 1 s has been chosen instead of common exposure times between
10 and 30 s. Obviously, the reduced exposure time can only be used for preliminary
interpretation and does not replace detailed analyses and calibration. Here, we selected elements
with sufficient count rates including Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Fe and Sr as main indicator elements for
major mineralogical variations of the Dead Sea sediments. Elements with lower count rates like
Mg, Al, or Zr were not further considered. Also not considered was Mn due to the overlap of the
major Mn peak with that of Cr from the X-ray tube. µXRF scanner data are given as count rates
(cps = counts per second).
2.4.5 Chronology of the core
The establishment of a robust chronology for sediment records is a major task for every
paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental study. The efforts to establish such a chronology for the
exposed sequences of the Dead Sea lacustrine formations continues now for more than two
decades applying radiocarbon (e.g. Yechieli et al., 1993; Neev and Emery, 1995; Ken-Tor et al.,
2001), U-Th dating (e.g. Kaufman, 1971; 1993; Schramm et al., 2000; Haase-Schramm et al.,
2004; Torfstein et al., 2009; 2013a; 2013b) and floating δ18O stratigraphy methods (Torfstein et
20
al., 2009; 2013a), reviewed by Stein and Goldstein (2006) and Stein (2014). Here, we briefly
report on the ongoing efforts to establish an age-depth model for the long sediment record from
the deep basin and provide a few data points in support of our stratigraphic framework.
2.4.5.1 Radiocarbon dating
For radiocarbon age determination 109 samples have been selected from the 5017-1 profile
(101 macro-plant fossils, eight bulk sediment samples). In this study, the first set of eleven
14C dates obtained from terrestrial plant remains is presented (Table 2-2). The samples were
processed by a standard acid-alkali-acid (AAA) treatment (Mook and Streurman, 1983). The
pretreated sample was combusted in a vacuum-sealed quartz tube with copper oxide, and then the
CO2 produced was reduced to graphite by a standard hydrogen reduction method using iron
catalytic powder at Nagoya University (Japan). The 14C measurements have been performed at
the Center for Chronological Research at Nagoya University (laboratory code NUTA2) and the
W.M. Keck Carbon Cycle Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Laboratory (laboratory code
UCIAMS) at the University of California-Irvine. A piece of wood collected from 348.3 m blf
(5017-1-A core) was adopted as 14C-free materials for the blank correction. The 14C dates were
calibrated using OxCal 4.2 (Bronk Ramsey, 2009) and the northern hemisphere atmospheric
14C calibration dataset IntCal13 (Reimer et al., 2013). The 14C data are summarized in Table 2-2.
2.4.5.2 Time scale beyond radiocarbon dating
The age-depth model of the core beyond the radiocarbon range is based on a combination of
U-Th dating of the primary aragonite deposited from the lake water and oxygen isotope
stratigraphy (Torfstein et al., 2015). Since earlier U-Th chronologies of the Lisan Fm. aragonites
required correction for the presence of detrital U and Th and hydrogenic Th (Stein and Goldstein,
2006 and references therein), the same corrections have been applied for the U-Th chronology of
core 5017-1 (Torfstein et al., 2015). In this study we include only three ages from this age-depth
model (Table 2-2) placed at important lithological changes in order to provide further support for
our stratigraphic interpretation and correlation to the exposed terraces of the Amora (Torfstein et
al., 2009), Samra (Waldmann et al., 2009) and Lisan (Haase-Schramm et al., 2004) Formations.
Therefore, a detailed discussion of the entire age-depth model is beyond the scope of this paper
and presented elsewhere (see Torfstein et al., 2015 for details).
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
21
Table 2-2: Dating: a) AMS 14C dating of the deep 5017-1 core; all data were calibrated with OxCal 4.2 (Bronk
Ramsey, 2009) and the IntCal13 atmospheric calibration curve (Reimer et al., 2013); note that sample AMS-6 is out
of the IntCal13 calibration range and needs to be considered with caution; b) preliminary U-Th ages of core 5017-1.
a) radiocarbon dating
core
sample-
ID
lab-code
depth
14C age
range of calibrated 14C age
median
5017-1-
(DSDDP)
NUTA2-
UCIAMS-a
section
cmb
m blfc
BP ± 1σ
68.2%
95.4%
cal BP
E-5-H-1
AMS-72
19875
61
10.92
1290 ± 40
1184-1280
1090-1298
1232 ± 44
A-7-H-2
AMS-16
110316
96
16.54
1985 ± 15
1898-1949
1892-1988
1931 ± 25
E-19-A-1
AMS-14
110343
18.3
26.86
3500 ± 15
3724-3829
3710-3835
3770 ± 36
A-25-A-1
AMS-62
19871
93
43.75
5870 ± 45
6645-6741
6561-6792
6692 ± 56
A-31-A-1
AMS-67
19855
108.5
60.11
7525 ± 50
8314-8402
8203-8413
8348 ± 57
A-43-A-1
AMS-21
19874
77
89.25
9980 ± 50
11,307-11,601
11,253-11,701
11,440 ± 119
A-44-A-1
AMS-20
19858
54
92.06
12,240 ± 57
14,046-14,227
13,963-14,436
14,145 ± 115
A-49-A-2
AMS-28
19870
24.5
108.51
17,360 ± 75
20,810-21,065
20,690-21,216
20,942 ± 131
A-51-A-3
AMS-30
19861
1
115.37
26,046 ± 165
30,114-30,646
29,780-30,769
30,340 ± 261
A-59-A-3
AMS-86
19854
28
139.60
40,250 ± 835
43,165-44,586
42,673-45,431
43,946 ± 717
A-66-A-2
AMS-6
102378
28
157.94
53,700 ± 3400
50,310-59,681
48,663-70,224
55,864 ± 5627
b) U-Th dating
sediment depth (m blf)
age kad
remarks
195
75 ± 2
ca 4 m above the SU-II to SU-III boundary
347
150 ± 3
ca 27 m below the SU-I to SU-II boundary
395
199 ± 9
ca 60 m above the base of 5017-1
455
220 ± 10
estimated base of 5017-1, extrapolated
a UCIAMS lab codes are given in italics.
b Depth from the top of each core section.
c Depths from top to 60.11 m blf (sample AMS-67) are given as composite depths, below are depths from core 5017-1-A.
d From age-height regression model based on combined U-Th dating and oxygen isotope stratigraphy (Torfstein et al., 2015).
2.5 Results
2.5.1 Sedimentary facies and associated deposits from site 5017-1
2.5.1.1 The marl facies (aad, gd and ld)
Most of the sediments typifying the 5017-1 profile are mainly composed of packages of
alternating aragonite and silty detritus of mm to cm scale (aad) and sequences of relatively
homogeneous marl layers of thicknesses ranging mm to dm scale (ld facies: laminated detritus;
Figs. 2-3a and 2-3b; see Table 2-3 and Fig. 2-3 for an overview of all described facies). The aad
facies is made of ~1 mm thick couplets of white aragonite laminae and dark marl laminae
composed of calcite, quartz and clay minerals (Stein et al., 1997; Haliva-Cohen et al., 2012). The
clay to silt-sized detrital material is commonly of grayish to black color, but greenish gray to dark
green sections are found throughout the aad dominated sediment intervals. Associated with the
aad facies, mm to few cm sized native sulfur concretions (Fig. 2-3d) are scattered at various
22
specific depths of the core. Interrupting the aad intervals, well laminated to massive gypsum
deposits are found within marl units (gd facies: gypsum and detritus) that can reach up to several
cm in thickness (Fig. 2-3c). The ld facies is characterized by laminated marl of mm to dm
thickness, occasionally intercalated by 1-5 mm thick aragonite and gypsum laminae (Fig. 2-3b).
The marl predominantly consists of calcite, quartz and different clay minerals and is
characterized by a gray, olive, brown or black color.
Table 2-3: Sedimentary facies description of the 5017-1 core (~300 m water depth).
group
facies
description
fig. 2-3-
marl
facies
aad
alternating aragonite and silty detritus; ~1 mm thick annual couplets of white
aragonite laminae and gray, black or green, clay to silt-sized marl laminae, composed
of calcite, quartz and clay minerals; associated are native sulfur concretions (mm-cm)
a, d
ld
laminated detritus; homogeneous marl layers (mm-dm) of gray, olive, brown or black
color, intercalated by aragonite and gypsum laminae (~1-5 mm thick)
b
gd
gypsum and detritus; massive gypsum layers (1- several cm thick) within clayey-silty
marl units
c
halite
facies
lh
layered halite; alternations of white-gray fine-grained halite layers (0.2-4 cm), layers
of transparent irregular-shaped halite crystals (1-10 mm) and/or thin gray marl
laminae (<1 mm)
e, f
hh
homogeneous halite; transparent irregular-shaped halite crystals within marl matrix
g
hd
halite and detrital marl; cubic halite crystals (mm-cm) scattered within homogeneous
marl units
h
massive,
graded
and
slumped
deposits
mtd
mass transported deposits; homogenites of clay-silt sized marl, can contain coarse
base, when graded; deposits with coarse base or intraclast breccia, followed by a light
gray middle part and a dark gray clay top; various slumped, folded, brecciated and
displaced sediment structures; mm-m thick
k, l,
m, n
htd
halite transported deposits; consolidated fine-grained halite and clayey-silty marl
matrix with graded (upwards fining) irregular single halite crystals (mm-cm), some
aragonite and gypsum layer fragments and clastic grains (mm)
i
ccd
coarse clastic detritus; gravel beds of 2-10 mm sub-rounded sub-angular limestone,
dolomite, halite and minor quartz and feldspar clasts; fining upwards and embedded
in clay-silt sized marl; one occurrence of pure homogeneous gravel without finer
detritus; rarely coarse gravels up to 35 mm
j
2.5.1.2 The halite facies (lh, hh and hd)
About 20% of the sedimentary record recovered in core sequence 5017-1 consists of consolidated
halite that is either layered (lh facies) or homogeneous (hh facies). The layered halite units
consist of three types: (1) white to grayish fine-grained halite (0.2-4 cm thick layers)
characterized by perfectly µm-sized cubic-shaped crystals, (2) transparent layers made of
1-10 mm sized and irregular-shaped halite crystals, and (3) thin gray marl laminae (typically
<1 mm thick), often including different amounts of gypsum. Typically, these layers show an
alternating pattern of types 1 + 2 or 1 + 3 couplets, or 1 + 2 + 3 triplets (Figs. 2-3e and 2-3f). The
hh facies is composed of transparent irregular-shaped halite crystals (as in type 2 of the lh facies)
within a detrital matrix (Fig. 2-3g). Furthermore, cubic halite crystals (mm-cm) appear scattered
within predominant homogeneous marl units (hd facies: halite and detritus; Fig. 2-3h).
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
23
Figure 2-3: Exemplary core images of the sedimentary facies and structures of the 5017-1 profile: a) alternating
aragonite and detritus (aad facies, core 5017-1-A-48-A-2, ~105.8 m blf); b) laminated marl containing aragonite and
gypsum layers (ld facies, core 5017-1-A-12-A-1, ~21.2 m blf); c) massive gypsum deposit within marl (gd facies,
core 5017-1-A-44-A-1, ~91.7 m blf); d) native S concretion, associated with greenish colored aad (core 5017-1-A-
135-A-1, ~347.2 m blf); e) layered halite with thin dark detrital layers, transparent irregular-shaped halite crystal
layers and whitish fine-grained halite layers (lh facies, core 5017-1-A-101-A-1, ~257.8 m blf); f) layered halite with
thin dark detrital layer and thicker white to grayish salt layer couplets (lh facies, core 5017-1-A-91-A-2, ~234.2 m
blf); g) consolidated homogeneous halite with irregular-shaped crystals and some fine detrital material (hh facies,
core 5017-1-A-100-A-3, ~256 m blf); h) halite crystals and marl (hd facies, core 5017-1-E-1-H-1, ~3.7 m blf);
i) brecciated halite within a fine-grained halite-detrital matrix (htd, core 5017-1-A-175-A-1, ~441 m blf); j) gravel of
halite, limestone, dolomite, minor quartz and feldspar (ccd, core 5017-1-A-92-A-1, ~234.9 m blf); k) graded layer
with coarse basal layer, upwards fining and dark clay top (mtd, core 5017-1-A-48-A-2, ~105.7 m blf); l) as in k but
the coarse base is replaced by intraclast breccia (mtd, core 5017-1-A-49-A-1, ~107.7 m blf); m) displaced sediments
of aad (associated with mtd, core 5017-1-A-151-A-1, ~389.1 m blf); n) slumped and folded sediments of aad
(followed by mtd as in l), core 5017-1-A-49-A-2, ~108.5 m blf).
24
2.5.1.3 Massive, graded and slumped deposits (mtd and htd)
The laminated sediments are frequently intercalated by commonly up to several cm-thick graded
layers with dark gray, coarse silt to sand-sized basal layers, fining upwards to light gray silt to
clay-sized marl and commonly succeeded by a dark clay top (Fig. 2-3k). In many cases the coarse
base of these deposits is replaced by intraclast breccia (Fig. 2-3l). Furthermore, clay to silt-sized
homogenites, often containing a coarser base, are ubiquitous in the 5017-1 core. Associated with
the graded or homogeneous deposits (mtd – mass transported deposits) are slumped, folded
(Fig. 2-3n), brecciated and displaced (Fig. 2-3m) sedimentary structures of various compositions,
grain-size and thicknesses ranging from mm to meter scale (Hadzhiivanova et al., 2013).
Brecciated halite layers occasionally exist within the massive salt sequences (htd - halite
transported deposits; Fig. 2-3i). These units are characterized by consolidated fine-grained halite
and clay to silt-sized marl matrix, with some occasional fragmented and distorted single aragonite
or gypsum layers, interceded by fining upward graded irregular single halite crystals of mm to cm
scale and some mm scale clastic grains.
2.5.1.4 Coarse clastic detritus (ccd)
Gravel deposits have been only very rarely found in the 5017-1 core sequence. Two coarse clastic
units (ccd) have been identified in association with a massive halite sequence at ~235 m and
~229 m blf (35 cm and ~60 cm thick, respectively; Fig. 2-3j). These gravel beds are mainly
composed of ~2-8 mm big sub-rounded and sub-angular limestone, dolomite, halite, minor quartz
and feldspar grains. The upper gravel deposit shows distinct grading and fining upwards and is
embedded in clay to silt-sized marl, whereas the lower one only consists of well-sorted gravel.
Additional gravel deposits have been identified solely in the basal parts of exceptionally thick
graded layers in fine-grained matrix sediments. The grain sizes of these gravels range from 2 to
10 mm but may reach up to 35 mm in diameter. Such deposits occur predominantly within
aad-dominated units at various depths (e.g. ~153 m, ~154 m, ~284 m, ~357 m and ~366 m blf).
2.5.2 Composite profile 5017-1
For the uppermost 80 m of the sediment sequence the long core (5017-1-A) has been combined
with five shorter parallel cores (5017-1-B, C, D, E, H) to one composite profile (Fig. 2-4). The
lower part of the stratigraphical log for site 5017-1 down to 455 m sediment depth is based on the
single core sequence 5017-1-A with inherent gaps depending on the core recovery rates, which in
turn vary depending on the sediment facies (Table 2-1; Fig. 2-2). The composite profile of the
upper 80 m has been established using 24 well-defined marker layers and facies boundaries
identified in at least two parallel cores (Table 2-4). Despite overlapping cores in the upper part,
there are still minor gaps even in the composite profile (Fig. 2-4) due to low core recoveries
especially in sediment intervals characterized by alternations of soft marl and hard halite units,
which are extremely difficult to drill.
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
25
Figure 2-4: Composite profile for site 5017-1 based on correlation of distinct marker layers and facies boundaries.
The profile continues with 5017-1-A below 80 m sediment depth. Gaps in the profiles are due to lacking core
recovery; 15.8 m of sediment gaps remain in the composite profile of the upper 80 m composite depth.
26
Table 2-4: Composite marker layers and facies boundaries, respectively, K1 to K24 for site 5017-1, holes A, C, E
and H, their absolute depth, position in the core sections, composite depth and description; exp = Expedition.
master core
depth
section
composite
composite
description
exp
site
hole
core
tool
section
m blf
cm
m blf
layer
5017
1
E
1
H
1
3.71
62
3.715
K1
boundary hd - ld
5017
1
A
3
H
1
3.56
27
5017
1
A
3
H
2
5.34
53
5.495
K2
top of ~2 cm thick black layer
5017
1
E
2
H
1
4.51
57
5017
1
E
6
H
2
15.21
145
16.405
K3
upper gypsum-aragonite lamina of a
~6 cm ld section
5017
1
A
7
H
2
14.665
82.5
5017
1
A
7
H
2
15.29
145
17.03
K4
gypsum lamina below aragonite
lamina
5017
1
E
7
H
1
15.94
62
5017
1
A
12
A
1
21.455
105.5
22.545
K5
~5 mm thick aragonite lamina within
ld facies
5017
1
E
11
H
1
21.455
7.5
5017
1
E
11
H
1
22.095
71.5
23.185
K6
lower aragonite lamina of a ld
section
5017
1
A
13
A
1
21.67
8
5017
1
A
13
A
1
22.35
76
23.865
K7
aragonite lamina within a ld section
5017
1
E
14
H
1
22.775
3.5
5017
1
A
24
A
2
41.66
29
41.745
K8
bottom of a lh/hh section
5017
1
H
4
A
1
42.01
16
5017
1
H
4
A
1
43.08
123
42.815
K9
no distinct marker layer, calculation
based on overlapping sections
5017
1
A
25
A
1
42.91
0
5017
1
H
7
A
2
46.92
39
46.9
K10
bottom of a ~2.5 cm thick ld section
5017
1
A
26
A
1
46.96
100
5017
1
A
26
A
2
48.335
110.5
48.275
K11
top of a ~1.5 cm thick ld section
5017
1
H
8
A
1
48.625
81.5
5017
1
H
10
H
1
52.16
26
52.175
K12
top of a ~4 cm thick ld section
5017
1
A
28
A
1
52.235
18.5
5017
1
A
28
A
2
54.27
104
54.21
K13
bottom of a lh section
5017
1
H
13
A
1
55.45
11
5017
1
H
13
A
2
56.8
82
55.56
K14
boundary hh – ld (homogeneous)
5017
1
C
15
A
1
58.995
13.5
5017
1
C
15
A
2
60.81
92
57.375
K15
~5 mm thick gypsum-aragonite
lamina within a ld section
5017
1
A
30
A
1
58.525
38.5
5017
1
H
16
A
1
61.02
60
59.3
K16
boundary ld (homogeneous) - hh
5017
1
A
31
A
1
60.45
28
5017
1
A
31
A
1
61.31
114
60.16
K17
top of a ~5 cm thick ld section
5017
1
H
17
A
1
62.035
61.5
5017
1
H
17
A
1
62.53
111
60.655
K18
thin aragonite lamina
5017
1
A
31
A
2
61.815
42.5
5017
1
A
31
A
2
62.615
122.5
61.455
K19
bottom of a gypsum lamina
5017
1
H
18
A
2
63.22
0.5
5017
1
H
18
A
cc
64.255
7
62.49
K20
boundary lh/hh – ld (homogeneous)
5017
1
A
32
A
1
63.35
14
5017
1
A
32
A
2
64.41
29
63.55
K21
top of a ~8 cm thick ld section
5017
1
H
20
H
1
65.14
5
5017
1
H
21
X
1
68.86
77
67.345
K22
thin aragonite lamina within a ld
section
5017
1
A
34
A
1
68.725
46.5
5017
1
A
34
A
1
69.405
114.5
68.025
K23
light gray layer below coarse base of
a mtd
5017
1
H
22
H
1
69.98
21
5017
1
A
38
A
2
78.85
101
77.73
K24
boundary aad - hd
5017
1
H
30
A
1
79.11
66
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
27
2.5.3 Magnetic susceptibility and µXRF element scanning
Magnetic susceptibility strongly fluctuates in the ld and lh/hh units, but remains rather constant
at low values (>0 to few hundred x 10-6 SI) in the aad dominated intervals (Fig. 2-5). Highest
values (up to ~11,000 x 10-6 SI) are observed in black marl layers within ld facies. Slightly
negative values (down to ca -20 x 10-6 SI) are characteristic for massive salt layers of the
lh/hh facies.
Table 2-5: µXRF element scanning data of the 5017-1 core (in 1 mm steps; n = 312,985): average intensities,
standard deviation (stdev.) and maximum (max.) values (in counts per second – cps) and correlation matrix
(correlation coefficients – r, values >0.6 (-0.6) in bold) of the major elements Cl, S, Sr, K, Ti, Fe, Si and Ca.
Cl
S
Sr
K
Ti
Fe
Si
Ca
Average
4988
163
237
431
258
590
75
11,993
Stdev.
3376
275
152
201
175
351
45
5785
Max.
22,210
10,885
1992
1516
1768
3562
396
31,814
Cl
1
-0.14
-0.41
-0.42
-0.46
-0.42
-0.48
-0.75
S
-0.14
1
-0.09
-0.17
-0.16
-0.18
-0.15
0.18
Sr
-0.41
-0.09
1
0.07
-0.002
0.05
0.03
0.63
K
-0.42
-0.17
0.07
1
0.91
0.88
0.86
0.45
Ti
-0.46
-0.16
-0.002
0.91
1
0.94
0.92
0.39
Fe
-0.42
-0.18
0.05
0.88
0.94
1
0.88
0.37
Si
-0.48
-0.15
0.03
0.86
0.92
0.88
1
0.45
Ca
-0.75
0.18
0.63
0.45
0.39
0.37
0.45
1
µXRF core scanner data provide a general overview on the main geochemical characteristics of
the sediments, which can be used as proxy for a first estimation of the mineralogical composition.
The main elements detected in the sediments include Cl, S, Sr, K, Ti, Fe, Si and Ca (Table 2-5).
In some cases correlation of elements allows identification of specific minerals and related
sediment depositional processes. Highest positive correlations occur between K, Ti, Fe and Si
(r = 0.86 - 0.95), whereas a strong negative correlation is observed between Cl and Ca (r = -0.75)
and, less pronounced, between Cl and all other considered elements (r = ~-0.43, except S).
Ca positively correlates with Sr (r = 0.63) and to a lesser extent with K, Ti, Fe and Si (r = ~0.4)
and with S (r = 0.18). The element scanning data clearly mirror the above described facies types
as follows:
- High Cl counts occur in halite layers (lh, hh and hd facies), but might be also influenced
by pore water contents;
- Elevated S counts concur with gypsum layers (gd and partly ld facies), but highest
S counts are observed for native sulfur concretions;
- High Sr counts reflect aragonite and thus are characteristic for aad (and partly ld) facies;
- High Ti, K, Fe and Si counts match with the non-carbonate, siliciclastic fraction of the
detrital material;
28
- High Ca counts mainly depict the aad facies, but since Ca occurs in three different
minerals, which reflect different sedimentation processes (aragonite and gypsum formed
by evaporation at different intensities; detrital carbonate reflecting surface runoff from the
catchment and eolian transport), a combination of Ca with complementary elements is
necessary to disentangle between those mineral phases. Elevated Ca counts paralleled by
high Sr counts are indicative for aragonite, while high Ca counts in combination with high
S counts are indicative for gypsum. If peaks in Ca counts are paralleled by elevated
counts in detrital proxies like Ti, K, Fe and Si, this might be a rough indication of detrital
carbonates. However, the latter must be further investigated and confirmed by
mineralogical analyses because the ratio portions of carbonaceous and siliciclastic detrital
matter not necessarily have to be always the same.
2.5.4 Lithostratigraphy
Profile 5017-1 is divided into four major sediment units (SU) based on the (i) sedimentary facies,
(ii) magnetic susceptibility, and (iii) element scanner data (Fig. 2-5).
2.5.4.1 Sediment unit I (SU-I)
SU-I (Fig. 2-5) comprises the interval from the base of the core at ~455 m blf (below lake floor)
to 320 m blf (hereafter all depth are given in meters blf) and is characterized by magnetic
susceptibility values close to zero. SU-I is predominantly composed of aad facies intercalated by
occasional ld facies at ~428-426 m, ~407-399 m and ~377-373 m, respectively, which are
reflected by short-term decreases in Sr counts and slightly enhanced Ti values (Fig. 2-5). Massive
gypsum layers (gd facies) occur within these ld sequences, as well as in the upper ~12 m of SU-I.
Furthermore, a few decimeter-thick halite sequences (lh and hh facies) are present between 400
and 390 m. The lowermost ~21 m of SU-I differ from the rest of this unit and consist of basal
~11 m laminated marls (ld facies) and an overlying ~10 m thick halite sequence (lh and hh
facies). The halite unit is clearly reflected by enhanced Cl and reduced Sr and Ca counts.
Concretions of native sulfur, greenish colored aad and occasional mtd units are scattered within
the aad-dominated part of the unit.
2.5.4.2 Sediment unit II (SU-II)
SU-II is about 120 m thick (~320-200 m) and is distinguishable from the underlying SU-I unit by
strongly fluctuating magnetic susceptibility values (Fig. 2-5). Unit SU-II is further sub-divided
into five sub-units (SU-II-a to SU-II-e; from bottom to top): (1) SU-II-a consists mainly of
layered halite (lh facies) with some laminated marl (ld facies) intercalations from ~320 to 304 m.
(2) SU-II-b is characterized by laminated marl (ld facies) from ~304 to 279 m including a ~3 m
thick hd interval and a ~6 m thick aad sequence. (3) Sub-unit SU-II-c comprises a halite
sequence (lh and hh facies, intercalated by ld facies from ~279 to 233 m. This is by far the
thickest halite sequence of the entire 5017-1 profile. (4) SU-II-d (~233 to 210 m) is an aad-
dominated unit, intercalating with some laminated marl (ld facies). (5) SU-II-e from ~210 to
Chapter 2 Lithology of the ICDP Dead Sea record
29
200 m consists of massive layered halite (lh facies), occasionally interrupted by some laminated
marl and alternating aragonite and detritus (ld and aad facies). These sub-units clearly differ in
element counts with enhanced Cl and low Sr, Ti and Ca values in the halite dominated sections
SU-II-a, SU-II-c and SU-II-e, whereas SU-II-b and especially SU-II-d exhibit an opposed pattern
with low Cl counts and higher Sr, Ti and Ca values (Fig. 2-5). Sulfur peaks are relatively scarce
in the lower SU-II-a and SU-II-b and become more abundant towards the top of SU-II,
particularly in SU-II-d. About 2 m below and ca 4 m above the top of SU-II-c two gravel layers
(ccd facies) appear.
Figure 2-5: Lithological profile of 5017-1 (water depth 297 m, composite profile) with radiocarbon and U-Th ages;
magnetic susceptibility data, measured with high resolution (HR; 1 mm resolution) on the splitted core surface and
with low resolution (10 cm) by downhole logging (DL, hole 5017-1-A): both curves are in good agreement,
excluding any depth shifts during the drilling process; µXRF profiles of Cl, S, Sr, Ti and Ca in counts per second
(cps): gray curves are measured values in 1 mm steps, black overlying curves are 101-values running means
(10.1 cm); gaps in the HR magnetic susceptibility curve and µXRF data are due to lacking core recovery,
insufficiently smooth core surface and folded or slumped - not measured – sections, respectively.
2.5.4.3 Sediment unit III (SU-III)
Unit SU-III (~200-88 m) encompasses ~112 m and represents predominantly aad facies with the
marl components of light gray, greenish gray, dark green and black colors. Only between ~157
and ~146 m a change to ld facies occurs.