Late Holocene lake levels of the Dead Sea

Research Article| May 01, 2004 Late Holocene lake levels of the Dead Sea R. Bookman (Ken-Tor); R. Bookman (Ken-Tor) 1Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Y. Enzel; Y. Enzel 2Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Department of Geography, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar A. Agnon; A. Agnon 3Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar M. Stein M. Stein 4Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information R. Bookman (Ken-Tor) 1Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel Y. Enzel 2Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Department of Geography, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905, Israel A. Agnon 3Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel M. Stein 4Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91904, Israel and Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 26 Oct 2002 Revision Received: 17 Jul 2003 Accepted: 23 Aug 2003 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2674 Print ISSN: 0016-7606 Geological Society of America GSA Bulletin (2004) 116 (5-6): 555–571. https://doi.org/10.1130/B25286.1 Article history Received: 26 Oct 2002 Revision Received: 17 Jul 2003 Accepted: 23 Aug 2003 First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation R. Bookman (Ken-Tor), Y. Enzel, A. Agnon, M. Stein; Late Holocene lake levels of the Dead Sea. GSA Bulletin 2004;; 116 (5-6): 555–571. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/B25286.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract This work presents a high-resolution lake-level record of the late Holocene Dead Sea, a hypersaline terminal lake whose drainage basin encompasses both Mediterranean and hyperarid climatic zones. The lake-level curve reflects the regional hydrologic variations in the drainage basin, which in turn represent the Levant paleoclimates. The curve is based on 46 radiocarbon ages of organic remains from well- exposed sedimentary sequences along the Dead Sea shores. These sequences record fluvial and lacustrine depositional environments. The paleolakeshores are marked by shore ridges, coarse-sand units, and aragonite crusts; in the modern Dead Sea, such features indicate the exact elevation of the shore.The late Holocene Dead Sea level fluctuated within the range of 390 to 415 m below sea level (mbsl). For most of the time the lake was below the topographic sill (402 mbsl) separating the northern and southern basins of the Dead Sea and was confined to the deep northern basin. Nevertheless, short-term rises in the late Holocene Dead Sea level caused the flooding of the shallow and flat southern basin.Highstands occurred in the second and first centuries B.C. and the fourth century A.D. during the Roman and early Byzan tine periods, respectively, in the eleventh and twelfth centuries A.D. during the Crusader period, and at the end of the nineteenth century A.D. The rises mark a significant change in the annual rainfall in the region, which likely exceeded the instrumentally measured modern average.The curve also indicates drastic drops that exposed the sedimentary sequences to erosion. The oldest and probably deepest drop in the lake level culminated during the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries B.C. after a retreat from a higher lake stand. The longest lowstand occurred after the Byzantine period and continued at least until the ninth century A.D. This arid period coincided with the invasion of Moslem-Arab tribes into the area during the seventh century A.D. The dramatic fall of the Dead Sea level during the twentieth century is primarily artificial and has been caused by the diversion of runoff water for the drainage basin, but the magnitude is not considered exceptional for the late Holocene. Although the past drops in the lake never exceeded the modern artificial drop rates, they do represent extreme arid conditions that occurred frequently over the past several thousand years. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.