Levant Coast Research Articles

Kinematics of the Kahramanmaraş triple junction and of Cyprus: evidence of shear partitioning

Triple junctions involving convergent plate boundaries extend beyond local implications, which is crucial for studying the geology of convergent plate boundary zones. However, kinematic models overlook Cyprus-Anatolia motion due to limited geodetic constraints. Our study area comprises Cyprus, southern Turkey, and the Levant coast, focusing on the Kahramanmaraş triple junction, where a destructive earthquake sequence occurred on February 6, 2023. We present precise positioning data merged with published velocities, constructing an up-to-date velocity field for the interseismic period. Employing two kinematic approaches, we analyze its tectonic implications. In Cyprus, we find the relative motion of Africa (Sinai Plate) and Anatolia is partitioned between convergence in the Cyprus subduction, with a rate of 3.5–6.2 mm/yr, progressively decreasing from west to east and left-lateral transpressive Kyrenia fault, situated along the northern coast of Cyprus, with rate 3.3–4.2 mm/yr. The relative strike-slip motion between Arabia and Anatolia is partitioned between the East Anatolian Fault (slip rates 5.2–6.2 mm/yr) and some secondary faults such as Çardak and Malatya faults (slip rates 2.0–1.7 mm/yr respectively) and causes distributed deformation for a 50–60 km wide region. The largest second invariant strain rate tensors from the continuum kinematic model also coincide with the same region, the East Anatolian shear zone. A shear partitioning system exists around the Kahramanmaraş triple junction, from Cyprus to southeast Turkey. The Levant Fault has a 3.5–4.7 mm/yr left-lateral slip rate, decreasing northward as part of it is transferred to offshore faults. Strain rates appear relatively small in the Taurus range and Adana/Cilicia basin, transitioning from extensional/transtensional to compressional from east to west.

Oceania armata Türünün Türk Sularındaki Muhtemel Havza Ölçekli Akıntı Kaynaklı Son Kaydı ve Diğer Jeli Organizmaların Yakın Geçmişteki Kayıtları

The present study reports the occurrence of Oceania armata in the Turkish Levantine Sea, and presents evidence to support a hypothesis established to link an increased recent and near-past records of many gelatinous zooplankton species in the Turkish seas, and particularly in the Turkish Levantine Sea to specific Mediterranean basin-scale currents (Atlantic-Ionian Stream and the Mid-Ionian Jet). One worldwide-distributed oceanic cnidarian specimen was collected from the surface water of a location of 36.59002 N and 29.02471 E by a SCUBA diver on January 18, 2019 in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. The hydrozoan specimen was then identified as O. armata and recorded for the first time in the Turkish Mediterranean coast and only second time in the Levant coast after about 30 years. This is the second report of the species from the Turkish waters, and the first report was from the Turkish Aegean coast. Recently, new records of the gelatinous species have increased from the Turkish marine coasts; Sea of Marmara, Aegean Sea, and Levantine Sea. Most of them are distributed in the West Mediterranean Sea, but are also present in the Adriatic Sea (East Mediterranean Sea). In the Mediterranean Sea, one branch of the Atlantic current (Atlantic-Ionian Stream) enters the eastern basin via the Mid-Ionian Jet, linked with the southern Adriatic current. Therefore, it is possible that zooplankton could have entered East Mediterranean by the Atlantic current through West Mediterranean.

Benthic foraminifera as indicators of recent mixed turbidite-contourite sediment transport system in the Eastern Mediterranean upper continental slope, offshore Israel

Nile derived siliciclastic sediments are the main source of sedimentation along the Levant continental margins of the Mediterranean Sea. These sediments are transported along the southeastern Mediterranean coast via well-documented longshore currents, mainly operating along the shelf. However, the cross shelf component of sediment transport, responsible for conveying sediments toward the upper slope, is less known. To better understand the cross-shelf vs. the longshore component of sediment transport we studied a ~6 m long piston core (DOR280) sampled on the upper continental slope (280 m water depth) and analyzed benthic foraminiferal assemblages and their shell taphonomy alongside the particle size distribution and mineralogy of bulk sediments, to document both the source and the transport mechanism of those upper continental-slope sediments. The radiocarbon dating at the core-base is ~650 Cal. Yrs BP, indicating an exceptionally high average sedimentation rate of ~800 cm/kyr.DOR280 consists of two alternating distinct sedimentary facies: (1) laminated (L) intervals up to ~40 cm thick each and showing a high ratio of allochthonous vs. autochthonous (allo/auto) benthic foraminiferal species and a high percentage of broken shells, indicating contribution of transported sediments originating from mid-shelf habitats; (2) non-laminated (NL) intervals up to ~200 cm thick each and showing a low allo/auto ratio and low percentages of broken shells, indicating mostly in-situ hemipelagic deposition. The L intervals are interpreted here as turbidites. The sedimentation rates calculated only for the NL intervals are still exceptionally high, thus excluding hemipelagic sedimentation as the sole mechanism for the NL deposition. Therefore, a contour bottom current transported component is suggested here as a source of the NL sedimentation.We conclude that a mixed contourite-turbidite system actively prevails along the upper continental slope of the Levant coast, offshore Israel. The mid-shelf to upper slope sediment transport is nearly continuous and presents occasional turbidite events of average decadal reoccurrence time.

Climate, sea level and culture in the Southeastern Mediterranean 20–4 ky BP

In this paper sediments accumulated between 20 and 4 ky BP on the Israeli coastal plain and their cultural contents are described. Sediments carried by the Nile River into the Mediterranean are transported northward along the Levant coast. These sediments are intermittently windblown on land and together with their derivative sandy loams form the bulk of sediments on the coastal plain of Israel. The younger these sediments are further west they are located. The sand beds apparently accumulated during cold and dry periods and pedogenesis occurred during warm and humid periods. Cultural remains on the coastal plain are encountered only in the soils. Hence in periods of sand transport humans avoided the coastal plain. Between the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ca. 18–20 ky BP) and about 4 ky BP, global sea level rose from −130 to 0m. The coastal sediments accumulated during that period are here correlated with both sea level and climatic factors. From the last glacial the living space was continuously shrinking under the encroaching sea and human communities were continuously driven landward. Cultural evolution since 20 ky ago includes major leaps such as the move from hunting-gathering nomads to permanent, year-round settlements, the birth of religion, domestication and food production. Climatic events seemingly played a minor role in these leaps. They were apparently initiated by social factors possibly stemming from environmental constraints – the progressive loss of living space.

The marine ichthyofauna of Lebanon: an annotated checklist, history, biogeography, and conservation status.

This is an annotated checklist of the marine fish species of Lebanon (Levant coast, eastern Mediterranean). It comprises a total of 367 fish species distributed in 159 families and 27 orders, out of which 70 species are non-indigenous and 28 are recorded for the first time from Lebanon. The checklist includes all names and citations of species found in the literature, as well as references to specimens available in museum collections. It also includes an updated zoogeographic distribution and conservation status for each species. Threats were estimated based on surveys and observations made over the last two decades; broadly categorized conservation actions were also suggested.

Warming and Cooling: The Medieval Climate Anomaly in Africa and Arabia

AbstractThe Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA) is a well‐recognized climate perturbation in many parts of the world, with a core period of 1000–1200 Common Era. Here we present a palaeotemperature synthesis for the MCA in Africa and Arabia, based on 44 published localities. The data sets have been thoroughly correlated and the MCA trends palaeoclimatologically mapped. The vast majority of available Afro‐Arabian onshore sites suggest a warm MCA, with the exception of the southern Levant where the MCA appears to have been cold. MCA cooling has also been documented in many segments of the circum‐Africa‐Arabian upwelling systems, as a result of changes in the wind systems which were leading to an intensification of cold water upwelling. Offshore cores from outside upwelling systems mostly show warm MCA conditions. The most likely key drivers of the observed medieval climate change are solar forcing and ocean cycles. Conspicuous cold spikes during the earliest and latest MCA may help to discriminate between solar (Oort Minimum) and ocean cycle (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, AMO) influence. Compared to its large share of nearly one quarter of the world's landmass, data from Africa and Arabia are significantly underrepresented in global temperature reconstructions of the past 2,000 years. Onshore data are still absent for most regions in Africa and Arabia, except for regional data clusters in Morocco, South Africa, the East African Rift, and the Levant coast. In order to reconstruct land palaeotemperatures more robustly over Africa and Arabia, a systematic research program is needed.

Seismo-stratigraphic evidences for deep base level control on middle to late Pleistocene drift evolution and mass wasting along southern Levant continental slope (Eastern Mediterranean)

Since early Pliocene, a counterclockwise surface gyre transported Nile derived silt and clay northeastwards along the Levant coast, where a basinward prograding plastered drift emerged. Based on high-resolution seismic reflection data we develop a middle to late Pleistocene sequence stratigraphic scheme for this plastered drift. For creating stacked sections of the seismic data we used the common reflection surface (CRS) stack technology which enhanced lateral reflection continuity and visibility of deep reflections. The shelf comprises stratigraphic sequences which show classical, systems tract like stacking patterns of sea level controlled sequences such as offlapping forced regression deposits or diachronous ravinement surfaces which formed during base level rise. On the slope, base level was periodically located well below the wave base and thus rather controlled by hydrodynamics, presumably by high-velocity contour currents. Hence, the term ‘deep base level’ is introduced. The deep base level controlled especially down and backstepping slope deposits. This example shows that care has to be taken when interpreting subsurface data containing typical systems tract like seismic sequences, since such geometries do not necessarily imply shallow water deposition of the sediments. A chronostratigraphic analysis based on the seismic stratigraphy indicates that base level fluctuations were related to eccentricity driven glacio-eustatic fluctuations. Periodic mass wasting, facilitated by foreset over-steepening and possibly triggered by salt tectonics or erosion by the contour current occurred during late base level fall or early base level rise.

The carbon turnover response to thermal stress of a dominant coralline alga on the fast warming Levant coast

AbstractMarine organisms in the Mediterranean Sea experience the highest temperatures, salinities and oligotrophic conditions in its easternmost part along the eastern shores of the Levantine basin. Over the past three decades this region has warmed by ca. 1.5–3.0°C with current winter and summer extremums of 17°C and 31°C, respectively. In this study, we tested the response of the native abundant articulated coralline red alga Ellisolandia elongata to this warming. Coralline algae play a key role in coastal ecosystems by structuring marine habitats, providing shelter for a myriad of species, and substantially influencing the coastal carbon budget. Despite being ubiquitous along the Levantine coasts, coralline's ecology, physiology, and biogeochemical role are nearly unknown as well as their performance under different temperatures. Measurements of primary production, respiration and calcification in the temperatures range 15–35°C, which represent past, present and predicted local annual conditions, indicated two physiological tipping points: 1) metabolic breakdown above 31°C; 2) metabolic shift at 23°C, possibly promoting seasonal algal heterotrichy (perennation of the alga without its fronds). Annual production rates were evaluated under the current and predicted temperature regimes indicating a loss of ca. one third of the organic carbon and carbonate production by corallines contributed to the shallow Levantine coast in the upcoming decades. We predict that with continued warming, Eastern Mediterranean corallines will experience a westward range contraction, initiating with phenological shifts, followed by performance declines and population decreases, ending with local extinctions.

The Tantura F shipwreck: hull remains and finds-final report

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1996, and was excavated in 2004–2007. It was dated to between the mid 7th and the end of the 8th centuries AD. The remains comprised the bottom of the hull, including the lower part of the turn of the bilge on both sides and the beginning of the upward curvature at the bow and the stern. It was constructed based on frames. Among the finds were two anchors, 30 ceramic items, fish remains, food remnants, matting and ropes. The finds are of eastern Mediterranean and Egyptian origins. The Tantura F shipwreck is evidence of frame-first construction in the period. It is also evidence of a trade route along the Levant coast and of the existence of a settlement in the Dor region at that time.

Neolithic Voyages to Cyprus: Wind Patterns, Routes, and Mechanisms

ABSTRACTRecent archaeological evidence from Cyprus shows that humans first arrived on the island at around 12,000 calibrated years BP. Visits to Cyprus intensified and resulted in settlement of the island during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A beginning around 11,000 cal BP. Later occupations of the Cypro Pre Pottery Neolithic B from around 10,500 to 9000 cal BP are more numerous and testify to intensive connections with the mainland. Cyprus as an island could have been reached only by seafaring. We examined the possible routes for sailing from the mainland to Cyprus and back to better understand the relationship between the island and the mainland during these periods. The factors that were examined were: sea level; options of available watercraft; sea conditions and currents; navigational skills; sailing routes; and prevailing seasonal and diurnal wind regimes. Because the present wind pattern is understood to generally resemble that of the Terminal Pleistocene pattern, it is suggested that the optimal sailing route and season from the mainland to Cyprus by Neolithic navigators was from southern Turkey between April and October. A passage westward or northwestward from the Levant coast to the southern coast of Cyprus cannot be ruled out. Their return trip was from the east or southeast of Cyprus to the Levant coast. This counter-clockwise Neolithic sailing pattern to Cyprus enabled permanent human settlement of the island and contacts with the mainland.

The 7th-9th Century Tantura E Shipwreck, Israel: construction and reconstruction

The Tantura E shipwreck was discovered in Tantura lagoon, Israel, in a water depth of 2.8 m, covered by 1 m of sand. It was a coaster that plied the Levant coast, dated to the 7th–9th centuries CE. It was recorded under water, but several components were studied on land, as well as the finds. The hull is of frame-based construction, with flat floor timbers and a sharp turn of the bilge. The archaeological evidence, as well as modern design tools and regulations, suggests that Tantura E was c.12.5 m long, of 25 tonnes displacement, and could load c.17.5 tonnes.

Intense salt deformation in the Levant Basin in the middle of the Messinian Salinity Crisis

While numerous studies have shown that salt related deformation in the Levant Basin began in the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, here we show that the first salt related deformation event occurred 3–4 myr earlier, in the middle of the Messinian Salinity Crisis. Considering that the entire crisis lasted only about 650 kyr and that halite deposition in the deep basin may have lasted only ∼50 kyr, this deformation event must have been very short. At some point after deposition of nearly half of the evaporitic sequence, the upper 200 m thick clastic-rich layer glided downdip and formed a series of steep contractional ridges on the deep basin floor. However, unlike the recent salt motion, which is derived from northwestward tilting of the Levant continental margin towards the Cyprus Arc and by basinward progradation of the Nile-derived overburden, the short intra-Messinian deformation event is enigmatic. It predates the Nile-derived overburden and its direction does not match northwestward tilting. We postulate that it may reflect the uplift of the Carmel block northeast of the study area and possibly the entire north Levant coast. In a wider view, intra-Messinian deformation is a circum-Mediterranean phenomenon, possibly reflecting reorganization of the Africa–Eurasia boundary.

INDO-PACIFIC BRYOZOA NEW TO THE MEDITERRANEAN COAST OF ISRAEL

ABSTRACT The importance of the Suez Canal as a migration pathway for sessile Indo-Pacific invertebrates is reaffirmed here by noting the following cheilostomatous bryozoans occurring in the eastern Mediterranean: Thalamoporella gothica (Busk) indica (Hincks), Celleporaria aperta (Hincks), Hippopodina feegeensis (Busk), Hippaliosina acutirostris Canu and Bassler. This faunule appears to be spreading northward along the Levant Coast. The distribution of H. feegeensis, a shallow water species ranging throughout the entire tropical Indo-Pacific and Western Atlantic Regions, is discussed in detail. Palaeontological data suggest that H. feegeensis gained access into the latter region by penetrating the Panamanian Corridor during the Tertiary.

Coastal response to climate change: Mediterranean shorelines during the Last Interglacial (MIS 5)

The response of shorelines to climate change is controlled by fall and rise of the sea level and by the alteration of the coastal environment due to changing fluvial discharge and biological activity. In the Mediterranean this response is complicated by the geographic proximity of the North Atlantic and the African Monsoon climate systems, by a time and space specific interaction of eustatic and water-load components of sea level and by the mid-latitudinal time lag between orbital forcing and terrestrial response. Here, six Mediterranean coastal records are presented which contribute to our understanding of how mid-latitudinal coasts respond to orbital forcing. The sediment sequences show sharp switches between siliciclastic- and carbonate-dominated nearshore environments where carbonate-rich sediments are composed of oolitic grainstones. From modern analogues it is deduced that the oolitic sediments represent a period of relatively high annual sea-surface temperature and lack of fluvial discharge. The warm-arid period was recorded at ∼114 ka on the southeast Iberian coast, at ∼113 ka on the Levant coast, at ∼110 ka on the coast west of the Nile delta and at ∼83 ka on the north Saharan coast. It lasted 10–20 ka in east (Levant coast) and west (Iberian coast) and lasted 40 ka or more in the central-south of the east Mediterranean. Timing and duration of the coastal proxy allow inferring instantaneous and dominant response to external forcing in the east and west and delayed and prolonged response due to dominant regional forcing in the centre of the East Mediterranean. A 9 m eustatic sea-level highstand during MIS 5e is suggested with a start of the subsequent sea-level fall at ∼118 ka while evidence for multiple MIS 5e highstand and a highstand during MIS 5a remain elusive.

Stratigraphic evidence for shear in structural development of the Triassic Levant margin: New borehole data on the epicontinental to deep marine transition in Israel

Triassic tectonic movements that include shear along a significant portion of the Levant margin, are evidenced from microfacies analysis of material recovered from the Asher-Atlit 1, Ga'ash-2, Meged-2, Devora-2 and Ramalla-1 onshore boreholes.Seismic studies showed that structural lineaments attributed to early Mesozoic extension underlie coastal and central Israel, trending NE-SW beneath southern Israel and sub-parallel to the then- extensional Palmyride basin of Syria. A more curved trend, approximately NNW–SSE, lies to the north beneath central Israel. Coast-parallel sedimentary domains formed above these lineaments, which constitute the newly formed passive margin of the Levant coast in the Triassic. The sedimentary history of these domains indicates that some were linked to each other, and others disconnected. The relative vertical movement between one domain and another is explained by activation of transpressional and trans-tensional shear movements on the underlying curved faults. These subordinate vertical movements also created the discontinuous barriers and small subsiding basins that separate the epicontinental sedimentary domain from the open Tethys, causing partial restriction necessary for the intermittent development of thick evaporites in the internal domains, alternating with a regionally suppressed carbonate system. This zone is here named the Onshore Levant Margin Shear Zone (OLMSZ).Shear was invoked theoretically in a number of models for the tectonic evolution of the eastern Mediterranean as part of a Neotethyan opening system. This paper provides rock-based evidence for such shear applicable to 20% of the eastern Levant margin in the Triassic.

First record of the Indo-Pacific seaweed Codium arabicum Kütz. (Bryopsidales, Chlorophyta) in the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract Since the beginning of the 21st century, the Mediterranean shores of Israel have experienced invasions of several alien Indo-Pacific seaweed species. This phenomenon has been observed mainly on the northern Israeli Mediterranean shore, particularly near the port of Haifa. Here we report and discuss the first record of the common Indo-Pacific seaweed Codium arabicum from the Mediterranean Sea, namely, from the Levant coast of Israel. This macroalga was first identified morphologically, and the determination later confirmed by molecular techniques using two plastid DNA sequences: rbcL exon 1 and rps3-rpl16. High water temperatures for most of the year and free habitat space appear to facilitate the successful settlement and establishment of this species, as has been the case for hundreds of other invasive Indo-Pacific organisms along the Israeli Mediterranean shore.

The iron anchors from the Tantura F shipwreck: typological and metallurgical analyses

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in 1995 in Dor (Tantura) lagoon, about 70 m offshore. It was a coaster that plied the Levant coast during the local early Islamic period. Among the finds exposed in the wreck site were two iron anchors of the T-shaped type. This type of anchor, dated to between the second half of the fourth and the thirteenth centuries AD, is found throughout the Mediterranean. The anchors were analyzed by typological and archaeometallurgical methods, including radiography, metallographic cross-sections, microhardness tests, SEM/EDS analysis and Optical Emisson Spectroscopy (OES) analysis. Light microscopy revealed heterogeneous microstructure consisting of ferrite, Widmanstätten ferrite-pearlite or pearlite, which is typical of wrought iron made by bloomery. The metallographic and microhardness results revealed that decarburization had occurred, probably during the final hot-working process. The OES analysis, supported by SEM/EDS data, showed that the anchors are similar in composition. Soda-blast cleaning followed by chemical etching revealed the forge-welding lines, clarifying the manufacturing process, which is similar in the two anchors. Thus, it is likely that both anchors belonged to the same ship and, hence, were in situ. This information extends the limited knowledge of technologies and materials used, specifically for the development of metallurgy in the Eastern Mediterranean during the early Islamic period, and enlarges the database of the typology of anchors of that period.

What can a sessile mollusk tell about neotectonics?

Dendropoma petraeum are fixed vermitids (mollusk) that colonize and construct abrasion platform rims along rocky shorelines. These endemic mollusks are considered good relative sea level indicators in the eastern and the southern Mediterranean, due to their narrow habitat below the sea surface (about ±10 cm). The observed relative sea level values recorded (submerged, uplifted or at present mean sea level) reflect a superposition of eustatic, isostatic, tectonic and possibly local sedimentary instabilities. The present study examines fossil Dendropoma samples gathered along the Levant coast, from northern Israel to eastern Turkey. Conventional radiocarbon dates (from Turkey, Syria and partly in Lebanon) and 14C Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) from Lebanon and Israel yields Dendropoma ages ranging through Late Holocene. A numerical model is used for calculating the change in sea level through the Holocene as a function of glacio-hydrology and isostasy of the eastern Mediterranean. Space–time dependent subtractions of the model values are used to eliminate the eustatic component of the relative sea level, in order to obtain the tectonic component. Results show a general northward increase in tectonic uplift of the Levantine coast with different rates in different tectonic segments. This differential uplift corresponds well to the major tectonic segments comprising the Levantine continental margin since the Pleistocene, from the Carmel fault to the East Anatolian fault. Hence, these segments were still active during the last thousands years and even during the last hundreds years. The general trend of northward increase in vertical displacement is predominantly dictated by the convergence between the Sinai and Arabian plates with Anatolia and Eurasia, across the Cyprus arc and Zagros belt; and the secondarily dictated by the northward increase in convergence component across the sinistral Dead Sea Fault plate boundary.

The Tantura F Shipwreck: The Ceramic Material

The Tantura F shipwreck was discovered in the Dor/Tantura lagoon, Israel. Among the finds were about 30 ceramic items. The typology of the pottery assemblage dates it between the mid-7th and the end of the 8th centuries AD — the early Islamic period in the region. The ceramic assemblage is of major significance in the determination of the ship's period of construction. Petrography and chemical composition analyses of the ceramics indicate their origins in the Nile Delta, and in the piedmont of the Troodos Mountains in Cyprus or southern Turkey. Ovoid amphoras contained mainly fish bones. These may provide a clue to sailing routes and maritime trade along the Levant coast, between Egypt and Dor, including Cyprus or southern Turkey and may also indicate the existence of a community at Dor during that period.

A critical evaluation of tsunami records reported for the Levant Coast from the second millennium BCE to the present

A critical evaluation of tsunami records reported for the Levant Coast from the second millennium BCE to the present