Did the Red Sea – Mediterranean connection over the Dead Sea Fault Zone end in the Late Pliocene?

Abstract

The delta plain of the Asi (Orontes) river in Hatay (Turkey) is located between two regional major tectonic zones, the Dead Sea Fault Zone from the Red Sea to Antakya and the East Anatolian Fault Zone from Karlıova to Antakya. Sediment samples from five cores performed on the Asi delta plain to 15 m depth were studied, and three fossil groups were identified in 5 samples. They mainly consist of 51 foraminiferal species from 42 genera; ostracod genera representing marine, brackish and fresh water environments, and Gastropoda and Bivalvia taxa.The abundance of some benthic Foraminifera in the recent sediment samples, including Euuvigerina reineri (Bedford), Siphonina tubulosa Cushman and Siphonodosaria abyssorum (Brady), which are common in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea, and Red Sea is remarkable. In addition, Euuvigerina reineri (Bedford) individuals about 70 ka have been collected from Mağaracık village to the north of the drilling area. The existence of these species in the Quaternary sediments indicates that the water connection via the Gulf of Aqaba on the Dead Sea Fault Zone was still open in the Pleistocene.