“…The central and southern Saudi coast has been tectonically stable during the Holocene (Manaa et al, 2016) and changes in accommodation space reflect eustatic changes in sea level (Ghandour and Haredy, 2019;Bantan et al, 2020;Ghandour et al, 2020). These changes vary along the Red Sea coast in the timing and the spatial distribution (Al-Mikhlafi et al, 2021). Although the GAM1 core cannot indicate the maximum extent of the post-glacial Holocene transgression it does indicate that the sea had reached 2.3 m below present sea level by 6000 cal.year BP where it overlies swamp deposits.…”
Late Quaternary paleoenvironments are of particular interest to understand how the Earth System’s climate will respond to the undramatic changes during this period, compared with the broader glacial-interglacial variations. In this study, a shallow sediment core (2.84 m long) retrieved from the Red Sea coastal zone in northern Ghubbat al Mahasin, south of Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia, is used to reconstruct the mid-Late Holocene paleoenvironments and sea level based on a multiproxy approach. Remote sensing data, sedimentary facies, benthic foraminiferal assemblages, δ18O and δ13C stable isotopes, elemental composition and 14C dating were utilized. The stratigraphy of the core shows three distinctive depositional units. The basal pre 6000 year BP unit consists of unfossiliferous fine to medium sand sharply overlain by black carbonaceous mud and peat, suggesting deposition in a coastal/flood plain under a warm and humid climate. The middle unit (6000-3700 year BP) records the start and end of the marine transgression in this area. It consists of gray argillaceous sand containing bivalve and gastropod shell fragments and a benthic foraminiferal assemblage attesting a lagoonal or quiet shallow marine environment. The upper unit (<3700 year BP) consists of unfossiliferous yellowish-brown argillaceous fine-grained sands deposited on an intertidal flat. Both middle-and upper-units stack in a regressive shallowing upward pattern although they may be separated by a hiatus. The overall regressive facies and the stable isotopic data are consistent with a late Holocene sea-level fall and a change to a more arid climate.
“…The central and southern Saudi coast has been tectonically stable during the Holocene (Manaa et al, 2016) and changes in accommodation space reflect eustatic changes in sea level (Ghandour and Haredy, 2019;Bantan et al, 2020;Ghandour et al, 2020). These changes vary along the Red Sea coast in the timing and the spatial distribution (Al-Mikhlafi et al, 2021). Although the GAM1 core cannot indicate the maximum extent of the post-glacial Holocene transgression it does indicate that the sea had reached 2.3 m below present sea level by 6000 cal.year BP where it overlies swamp deposits.…”
Late Quaternary paleoenvironments are of particular interest to understand how the Earth System’s climate will respond to the undramatic changes during this period, compared with the broader glacial-interglacial variations. In this study, a shallow sediment core (2.84 m long) retrieved from the Red Sea coastal zone in northern Ghubbat al Mahasin, south of Al-Lith, Saudi Arabia, is used to reconstruct the mid-Late Holocene paleoenvironments and sea level based on a multiproxy approach. Remote sensing data, sedimentary facies, benthic foraminiferal assemblages, δ18O and δ13C stable isotopes, elemental composition and 14C dating were utilized. The stratigraphy of the core shows three distinctive depositional units. The basal pre 6000 year BP unit consists of unfossiliferous fine to medium sand sharply overlain by black carbonaceous mud and peat, suggesting deposition in a coastal/flood plain under a warm and humid climate. The middle unit (6000-3700 year BP) records the start and end of the marine transgression in this area. It consists of gray argillaceous sand containing bivalve and gastropod shell fragments and a benthic foraminiferal assemblage attesting a lagoonal or quiet shallow marine environment. The upper unit (<3700 year BP) consists of unfossiliferous yellowish-brown argillaceous fine-grained sands deposited on an intertidal flat. Both middle-and upper-units stack in a regressive shallowing upward pattern although they may be separated by a hiatus. The overall regressive facies and the stable isotopic data are consistent with a late Holocene sea-level fall and a change to a more arid climate.
“…5–7). Figure 5( a ) Synthesized relative sea level reconstruction after combining the curves of Grant et al (2012) (gray-shaded bands) with Arz et al (2007) (23–13 ka; green-shaded bands) and the coastal sea level markers of Al-Mikhlafi et al (2021) for the last 7 ka. ( b ) Northern Hemisphere summer insolation (Laskar et al, 2004).…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…distributed along the Red Sea coastal borders spanning the last 7 ka. These markers were synthesized and presented in the study of Al-Mikhlafi et al (2021).…”
The southern Red Sea is a key region for investigating the effect of climate forces on a semi-closed basin. Detailed micropaleontological (planktic foraminifera) and isotopic (δ18Ο, δ13C) analyses along with reconstructions of sea surface temperature and salinity on a sediment core from the Farasan banks revealed the imprints of sea level changes and the South Asian Monsoon on the area. Comparison with surrounding records provided insights on the Red Sea-Gulf of Aden (GoA)-Northwestern Arabian Sea (NWArS) water exchange pattern over the last 30 ka. During glacial sea-level lowstand, flow of water from the GoA prevented hypersalinity in the southern Red Sea. Deglacial sea level rise improved water mass exchange between the NWArS, GoA and the entire Red Sea, resulting in relatively similar surface water conditions during the early Holocene when sea-level rise slowed. Thus, sea level change is the major driver of Red Sea δ18O variability. Southwest Monsoon (SWM), which was dominant during the late glacial and Early–Middle Holocene, enhanced surface productivity in the southern Red Sea. Northeast Monsoon (NEM) dominated around Heinrich stadial 1, as indicated by a nearly aplanktonic zone that was probably caused by restricted GoA inflow and low productivity.
“…This may indicate that the sea level during deposition of the beachrock sediments was 1.3 m, or slightly higher than the current sea level. Along the Red Sea coastline, a mid-Holocene sea level highstand with high spatial and temporal variability is observed [51,52]. A sea level up to a maximum of 1-2 m higher than the present was recorded for the mid-Holocene [51,53].…”
The present study concerns the Holocene inland beachrocks that are exposed in the Red Sea coastal plain at the mouth of Wadi Al-Hamd, South Al-Wajh City, Saudi Arabia, and their utility as an indicator for Holocene climate and sea level changes. In addition, the framework composition, and carbon and oxygen isotopic data, are employed to interpret the origin of their cement. The beachrock consists mainly of gravel and coarse-grained terrigenous sediments dominated by lithic fragments of volcanic rocks, cherts and rare limestones along with quartz, feldspars and traces of amphiboles and heavy minerals. In addition, rare skeletal remains dominated by coralline algae, benthic foraminifera and mollusca remains are recognized. The allochems are cemented by high Mg-calcite (HMC) formed mainly in the intertidal zone under active marine phreatic conditions. The cement takes the form of isopachous to anisopachous rinds of bladed crystals, micritic rim non-selectively surrounding siliciclastic and skeletal remains, and pore-filling micrite. Pore-filling micrite cement occasionally displays a meniscus fabric, suggesting a vadose environment. The δ18O and δ13C values of carbonate cement range from −0.35‰ to 1‰ (mean 0.25‰) and −0.09‰ to 3.03‰ (mean 1.85‰), respectively, which are compatible with precipitation from marine waters. The slight depletion in δ18O and δ13C values in the proximal sample may suggest a slight meteoric contribution.
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