Pliocene or Pleistocene, That Is the Question – New Constraints from the Eastern Mediterranean

Schattner, Uri; Lang, Guy; Lazar, Michael

doi:10.1017/9781316106754.007

Cited by 5 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The chronology of the studied interval is well constrained based on the framework presented by previous studies (e.g. Cartwright and Jackson 2008;Eruteya et al, 2015;Schattner et al, 2017;Lang et al, 2018). The northeastward decrease in sediment thickness and positioning of the submarine channels indicate that the main source of sediments is to the southwest from the Nile delta.…”

Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 84%

Seismic geomorphology of submarine channel-belt complexes in the Pliocene of the Levant Basin, offshore central Israel

et al. 2018

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In this study, analyses of a high-resolution, three-dimensional seismic reflection dataset and well-log data were combined to characterise a distinct Pliocene interval in the Levant Basin offshore central Israel. This succession is characterised by moderate to high-amplitude, discontinuous to continuous seismic reflections between a mass transport deposit above and an undeformed basin series below. The studied interval contains two separate channelised subunits. Morphologically, the channels trend in a north to northwest direction, are incised <50 m, are ~50 m to 350 m wide and increase in number from base to top. A vertical variation in channel morphology style and stratigraphic organization is identified. The lower part of each subunit is dominated by coarser grained, narrow V-shaped channels (average width <120 m and low sinuosity, <1.06). In contrast, the upper part of each subunit is predominantly finegrained and U-shaped with relatively wide channels (average width >230 m and higher sinuosity, >1.1). The mechanisms that control the interplay between sedimentary processes and channel evolution show a cyclic pattern. Due to the cyclic occurrence of different channel types and the estimated age of the studied interval, formation and evolutionary processes of the submarine channels in the study area are likely to be controlled by relative sea level fluctuations and increased Nile River sediment supply, which is associated with rapid uplift of the Ethiopian plateau and increased African Monsoon rainfall during the Pliocene.

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Section: Accepted Manuscriptmentioning

confidence: 84%

Seismic geomorphology of submarine channel-belt complexes in the Pliocene of the Levant Basin, offshore central Israel

et al. 2018

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“…All data were interpreted using Schlumberger‐Petrel, in a WGS‐84 datum, UTM projection. The present study relies on the stratigraphic division between the Pliocene and Quaternary presented across the Levant basin and margin (Lang et al, 2018; Lazar et al, 2016; Schattner et al, 2017; Schattner & Lazar, 2016; Spier et al, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In blue—contribution of the present research. Details in black are integrated from deMenocal (1995, 2004); Haug and Tiedemann (1998); Trauth et al (2005, 2009); Zhang et al (2009); Schattner (2010); Macgregor (2011, green graph); Wichura et al (2011); Palacios (2013, red graph); Schattner et al (2017); Lang et al (2018). CYA, Cyprus Arc; ESM, Eratosthenes Seamount; H, high; L, low; NF, normal fault; SSL, strike‐slip fault…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Saharan aridification since ca. 3 Ma (Figure 2; Tiedemann et al, 1989) severely limited sediment supply from northern Africa (Osborne et al, 2008; Paillou et al, 2012) and, as a result, the Nile River became the only source of Quaternary sediments to the Levant basin (Schattner et al, 2017 and references therein). The Nile submarine cone prograded into the southern Levant basin (Figure 1b; MacGregor, 2011) whilst contributing sediments directly to the deep basin (Gvirtzman et al, 2015; Schattner et al, 2015).…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…I G U R E 9 Pliocene and Quaternary isochore maps of the Levant (a, c; afterSchattner et al, 2017) and the CR (b, d). In the regional maps (a, c): thickness contours in milliseconds; thickness values increase from dark to light grey; yellow arrows indicate sediment supply, their size is relative to the supply magnitude; yellow contour schematically marks the 500 ms value to emphasize the difference in sediment distribution between the Pliocene and Quaternary.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Sedimentary response of the deep eastern Mediterranean basin to the north African desertification, sea level variation and regional tectonics

et al. 2021

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The buildup of a continental rise and its morphological patterns depend on sediment transport and deposition via downslope slumps, turbidity currents, alongslope contourites and other deepwater currents. These delivery mechanisms are central to source-to-sink reconstructions, yet untangling their individual roles is not straightforward. The current study focuses on the sink section of the Nile system at the northern Levant continental rise (eastern Mediterranean). During the Pliocene, fluvial systems from northern Africa and the Levant margin supplied sediments to the study area. This supply decreased significantly during the Quaternary because of two processes: (a) The aridification of North Africa made the Nile River the predominant contributor to the basin; (b) the topographic rise of the Levant landmass severely limited fluvial supply. Meanwhile, on-going counter-clockwise marine currents became the prevalent supply system to the Levant margin, and downslope sediment-transport became the only source to the northern Levant continental rise, which became a significant sink of the larger Nile system. These conditions provide an excellent natural laboratory for understanding the individual role of downslope sediment-transport processes in building a continental rise. This research is based on single-channel sparker seismic data, multibeam bathymetry and four 7-8 m long piston-cores collected over the northern Levant continental rise at water depths of 1200-1800 m, together with available multibeam bathymetry and industrial multi-channel seismic reflection data. The results show a major depositional changeover during the Pliocene-Quaternary transition from concordant aggradation to repeated deposition of >12 sediment wave subunits, interpreted as upslope migrating cyclic steps. Quantitative analysis of the sediment wave morphology at the seafloor and subsurface, along with core data, indicates that the immediate sediment source was the nearby shelf. The supply was regulated by basinward-landward shifts of the shore-parallel marine currents during lowstand-highstand conditions (respectively). Hence, this case study highlights the connection between sea-level change and sedimentation patterns on a continental rise.

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Seascape and Seaforms of the Levant Basin and Margin, Eastern Mediterranean

Schattner,

Bernhardt

2024

World Geomorphological Landscapes

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Pliocene or Pleistocene, That Is the Question – New Constraints from the Eastern Mediterranean

Cited by 5 publications

References 61 publications

Seismic geomorphology of submarine channel-belt complexes in the Pliocene of the Levant Basin, offshore central Israel

Seismic geomorphology of submarine channel-belt complexes in the Pliocene of the Levant Basin, offshore central Israel

Sedimentary response of the deep eastern Mediterranean basin to the north African desertification, sea level variation and regional tectonics

Seascape and Seaforms of the Levant Basin and Margin, Eastern Mediterranean

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