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Cult, herding, and 'pilgrimage' in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia: Excavations at a mustatil east of AlUla. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0281904. [PMID: 36920897 PMCID: PMC10016714 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0281904] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the 1970s, monumental stone structures now called mustatil have been documented across Saudi Arabia. However, it was not until 2017 that the first intensive and systematic study of this structure type was undertaken, although this study could not determine the precise function of these features. Recent excavations in AlUla have now determined that these structures fulfilled a ritual purpose, with specifically selected elements of both wild and domestic taxa deposited around a betyl. This paper outlines the results of the University of Western Australia's work at site IDIHA-0008222, a 140 m long mustatil (IDIHA-F-0011081), located 55 km east of AlUla. Work at this site sheds new and important light on the cult, herding and 'pilgrimage' in the Late Neolithic of north-west Arabia, with the site revealing one of the earliest chronometrically dated betyls in the Arabian Peninsula and some of the earliest evidence for domestic cattle in northern Arabia.
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Eyal G, Laverick JH, Ben-Zvi O, Brown KT, Kramer N, Tamir R, Lindemann Y, Levy O, Pandolfi JM. Selective deep water coral bleaching occurs through depth isolation. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 844:157180. [PMID: 35809731 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Climate change is degrading coral reefs around the world. Mass coral bleaching events have become more frequent in recent decades, leading to dramatic declines in coral cover. Mesophotic coral ecosystems (30-150 m depth) comprise an estimated 50-80 % of global coral reef area. The potential for these to act as refuges from climate change is unresolved. Here, we report three mesophotic-specific coral bleaching events in the northern Red Sea over the course of eight years. Over the last decade, faster temperature increases at mesophotic depths resulted in ~50 % decline in coral populations, while the adjacent shallow coral reefs remained intact. Further, community structure shifted from hard coral dominated to turf algae dominated throughout these recurrent bleaching events. Our results do not falsify the notion of the northern Red Sea as a thermal refuge for shallow coral reefs, but question the capacity of mesophotic ecosystems to act as a universal tropical refuge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gal Eyal
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
| | - Jack H Laverick
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK
| | - Or Ben-Zvi
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel
| | - Kristen T Brown
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia; Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Netanel Kramer
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Raz Tamir
- School of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel
| | - Yoav Lindemann
- The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel; The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Oren Levy
- The Mina & Everard Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; The Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences in Eilat, Eilat, Israel
| | - John M Pandolfi
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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Dimri AP. Decoding the Karakoram Anomaly. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 788:147864. [PMID: 34134396 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 05/13/2021] [Accepted: 05/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The 'Karakoram Anomaly' is termed as the stability or anomalous growth of glaciers in the central Karakoram, in contrast to the retreat of glaciers in other nearby mountainous ranges of Himalayas and other mountainous ranges of the world. It remains an intriguing scientific question to the researchers. An attempt is made to provide mechanisms leading to such a process and thus 'affirming' it. In view of this, meteorological and cryospheric processes, viz., glacial-atmosphere coupled interactions in tandem with temperature-moisture interactions and radiative balance- on glaciated regions are simultaneously argued over the Karakoram and the adjacent Ladakh. Ladakh is deliberately chosen to compare the weaknesses, lacuna and gaps in the observations/reanalyzes- so that similar forcings are investigated over both regions. It is important to mention that both regions are data sparse. Findings show that geographical and elevation positioning of the Karakoram makes its environmental conditions conducive for glacier stability and/or growth which otherwise is not the case in the Ladakh region. Indian winter monsoon, western disturbances (WDs) embedded within upper level subtropical westerly jet moving eastwards, provides higher moisture incursion which in association with lowered lifting condensation level dumps higher moisture/mass over Karakoram than Ladakh. In addition, role of 2 m surface (T2m) and skin temperature (Ts) is one of the leading driving mechanisms. Difference (T2m-Ts) illustrates inversion which provides stable atmosphere leading to dump all the available moisture/mass over Karakoram, which is contrary over Ladakh.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Dimri
- School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi 110067, India.
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Rossbach S, Hume BCC, Cárdenas A, Perna G, Voolstra CR, Duarte CM. Flexibility in Red Sea Tridacna maxima-Symbiodiniaceae associations supports environmental niche adaptation. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:3393-3406. [PMID: 33841792 PMCID: PMC8019035 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 02/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Giant clams (Tridacninae) are important members of Indo-Pacific coral reefs and among the few bivalve groups that live in symbiosis with unicellular algae (Symbiodiniaceae). Despite the importance of these endosymbiotic dinoflagellates for clam ecology, the diversity and specificity of these associations remain relatively poorly studied, especially in the Red Sea. Here, we used the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) rDNA gene region to investigate Symbiodiniaceae communities associated with Red Sea Tridacna maxima clams. We sampled five sites spanning 1,300 km (10° of latitude, from the Gulf of Aqaba, 29°N, to the Farasan Banks, 18°N) along the Red Sea's North-South environmental gradient. We detected a diverse and structured assembly of host-associated algae with communities demonstrating region and site-specificity. Specimens from the Gulf of Aqaba harbored three genera of Symbiodiniaceae, Cladocopium, Durusdinium, and Symbiodinium, while at all other sites clams associated exclusively with algae from the Symbiodinium genus. Of these exclusively Symbiodinium-associating sites, the more northern (27° and 22°) and more southern sites (20° and 18°) formed two separate groupings despite site-specific algal genotypes being resolved at each site. These groupings were congruent with the genetic break seen across multiple marine taxa in the Red Sea at approximately 19°, and along with our documented site-specificity of algal communities, contrasted the panmictic distribution of the T. maxima host. As such, our findings indicate flexibility in T. maxima-Symbiodiniaceae associations that may explain its relatively high environmental plasticity and offers a mechanism for environmental niche adaptation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susann Rossbach
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering DivisionRed Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
| | - Benjamin C. C. Hume
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering DivisionRed Sea Research Center (RSRC)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Anny Cárdenas
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Gabriela Perna
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Christian R. Voolstra
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering DivisionRed Sea Research Center (RSRC)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
- Department of BiologyUniversity of KonstanzKonstanzGermany
| | - Carlos M. Duarte
- Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering DivisionRed Sea Research Center (RSRC) and Computational Bioscience Research Center (CBRC)King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST)ThuwalSaudi Arabia
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Resolving seasonal rainfall changes in the Middle East during the last interglacial period. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:24985-24990. [PMID: 31767759 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1903139116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Paleorainfall proxy records from the Middle East have revealed remarkable patterns of variability since the penultimate glacial period (140 ka), but the seasonality of this signal has been unresolvable. Here, seasonal-resolution oxygen isotope data from Soreq Cave speleothems suggest that summer monsoon rainfall periodically reaches as far north as Israel-well removed from the modern monsoon-at times (∼125, 105 ka) that overlap with evidence for some of the earliest modern human migrations out of Africa. These seasonal proxy data are corroborated by seasonal-resolution model output of the amount and oxygen-isotope ratio of rainfall from an isotope-enabled climate model. In contrast to the modern regional climate where rainfall is delivered predominantly in winter months along westerly storm tracks, the model suggests that during extreme peaks of summer insolation-as occurs during the last interglacial (e.g., 125, 105 ka)-regional rainfall increases due to both wetter winters and the incursion of summer monsoons. This interpretation brings clarity to regional paleoproxy records and provides important environmental context along one potential pathway of early modern human migration.
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Large-Scale Mode Impacts on the Sea Level over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. REMOTE SENSING 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/rs11192224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Falling between seasonal cycle variability and the impact of local drivers, the sea level in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden has been given less consideration, especially with large-scale modes. With multiple decades of satellite altimetry observations combined with good spatial resolution, the time has come for diagnosis of the impact of large-scale modes on the sea level in those important semi-enclosed basins. While the annual cycle of sea level appeared as a dominant cycle using spectral analysis, the semi-annual one was also found, although much weaker. The first empirical orthogonal function mode explained, on average, about 65% of the total variance throughout the seasons, while their principal components clearly captured the strong La Niña event (1999–2001) in all seasons. The sea level showed a strong positive relation with positive phase El Niño Southern Oscillation in all seasons and a strong negative relation with East Atlantic/West Russia during winter and spring over the study period (1993–2017). We show that the unusually stronger easterly winds that are displaced north of the equator generate an upwelling area near the Sumatra coast and they drive both warm surface and deep-water masses toward the West Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea, rising sea level over the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. This process could explain the increase of sea level in the basin during the positive phase of El Niño Southern Oscillation events.
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Palchan D, Torfstein A. A drop in Sahara dust fluxes records the northern limits of the African Humid Period. Nat Commun 2019; 10:3803. [PMID: 31444347 PMCID: PMC6707271 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-11701-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2018] [Accepted: 07/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Northern and eastern Africa were exposed to significantly wetter conditions relative to present during the early Holocene period known as the African Humid Period (AHP), although the latitudinal extent of the northward expansion of the tropical rain belt remains poorly constrained. New records of 230Thxs-normalized accumulation rates in marine sediment cores from the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden are combined with existing records of western Africa dust and terrestrial records across the Sahara Desert, revealing that fluxes of dust transported east from the Sahara decreased by at least 50% during the AHP, due to the development of wetter conditions as far north as ~22°N. These results provide the first quantitative record of sediment and dust accumulation rates in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden over the past 20 kyrs and challenge the paradigm of vast vegetative cover across the north and northeastern Sahara Desert during the AHP. Marine sediment cores from east of Africa show that Sahara dust fluxes decreased by at least 50% between the last deglaciation and the mid Holocene, while the Northern Sector of the Red Sea remained unchanged. This constrains the African Humid Period impact to have extended up to ca. 22°N, across a more limited region than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Palchan
- The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel. .,Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, 88103, Israel.
| | - Adi Torfstein
- The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem, 91904, Israel.,Interuniversity Institute for Marine Sciences, Eilat, 88103, Israel
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Bantan RA, Abu-Zied RH, Al-Dubai TA. Late Holocene Environmental Changes in a Sediment Core from Al-Kharrar Lagoon, Eastern Red Sea Coast, Saudi Arabia. ARABIAN JOURNAL FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s13369-019-03958-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Ghandour IM, Haredy RA. Facies Analysis and Sequence Stratigraphy of Al-Kharrar Lagoon Coastal Sediments, Rabigh Area, Saudi Arabia: Impact of Sea-Level and Climate Changes on Coastal Evolution. ARABIAN JOURNAL FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s13369-018-3662-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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10
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Ancestral genetic diversity associated with the rapid spread of stress-tolerant coral symbionts in response to Holocene climate change. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:4416-21. [PMID: 27044109 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1601910113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Coral communities in the Persian/Arabian Gulf (PAG) withstand unusually high salinity levels and regular summer temperature maxima of up to ∼35 °C that kill conspecifics elsewhere. Due to the recent formation of the PAG and its subsequent shift to a hot climate, these corals have had only <6,000 y to adapt to these extreme conditions and can therefore inform on how coral reefs may respond to global warming. One key to coral survival in the world's warmest reefs are symbioses with a newly discovered alga,Symbiodinium thermophilum Currently, it is unknown whether this symbiont originated elsewhere or emerged from unexpectedly fast evolution catalyzed by the extreme environment. Analyzing genetic diversity of symbiotic algae across >5,000 km of the PAG, the Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea coastline, we show thatS. thermophilumis a member of a highly diverse, ancient group of symbionts cryptically distributed outside the PAG. We argue that the adjustment to temperature extremes by PAG corals was facilitated by the positive selection of preadapted symbionts. Our findings suggest that maintaining the largest possible pool of potentially stress-tolerant genotypes by protecting existing biodiversity is crucial to promote rapid adaptation to present-day climate change, not only for coral reefs, but for ecosystems in general.
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Basin-scale estimates of pelagic and coral reef calcification in the Red Sea and Western Indian Ocean. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:16303-8. [PMID: 25368148 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1414323111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Basin-scale calcification rates are highly important in assessments of the global oceanic carbon cycle. Traditionally, such estimates were based on rates of sedimentation measured with sediment traps or in deep sea cores. Here we estimated CaCO3 precipitation rates in the surface water of the Red Sea from total alkalinity depletion along their axial flow using the water flux in the straits of Bab el Mandeb. The relative contribution of coral reefs and open sea plankton were calculated by fitting a Rayleigh distillation model to the increase in the strontium to calcium ratio. We estimate the net amount of CaCO3 precipitated in the Red Sea to be 7.3 ± 0.4·10(10) kg·y(-1) of which 80 ± 5% is by pelagic calcareous plankton and 20 ± 5% is by the flourishing coastal coral reefs. This estimate for pelagic calcification rate is up to 40% higher than published sedimentary CaCO3 accumulation rates for the region. The calcification rate of the Gulf of Aden was estimated by the Rayleigh model to be ∼1/2 of the Red Sea, and in the northwestern Indian Ocean, it was smaller than our detection limit. The results of this study suggest that variations of major ions on a basin scale may potentially help in assessing long-term effects of ocean acidification on carbonate deposition by marine organisms.
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13
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Rohling EJ, Grant KM, Roberts AP, Larrasoaña JC. Paleoclimate Variability in the Mediterranean and Red Sea Regions during the Last 500,000 Years. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1086/673882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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14
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Dynamics of green Sahara periods and their role in hominin evolution. PLoS One 2013; 8:e76514. [PMID: 24146882 PMCID: PMC3797788 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0076514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2013] [Accepted: 08/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Astronomically forced insolation changes have driven monsoon dynamics and recurrent humid episodes in North Africa, resulting in green Sahara Periods (GSPs) with savannah expansion throughout most of the desert. Despite their potential for expanding the area of prime hominin habitats and favouring out-of-Africa dispersals, GSPs have not been incorporated into the narrative of hominin evolution due to poor knowledge of their timing, dynamics and landscape composition at evolutionary timescales. We present a compilation of continental and marine paleoenvironmental records from within and around North Africa, which enables identification of over 230 GSPs within the last 8 million years. By combining the main climatological determinants of woody cover in tropical Africa with paleoenvironmental and paleoclimatic data for representative (Holocene and Eemian) GSPs, we estimate precipitation regimes and habitat distributions during GSPs. Their chronology is consistent with the ages of Saharan archeological and fossil hominin sites. Each GSP took 2–3 kyr to develop, peaked over 4–8 kyr, biogeographically connected the African tropics to African and Eurasian mid latitudes, and ended within 2–3 kyr, which resulted in rapid habitat fragmentation. We argue that the well-dated succession of GSPs presented here may have played an important role in migration and evolution of hominins.
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Crassard R, Petraglia MD, Parker AG, Parton A, Roberts RG, Jacobs Z, Alsharekh A, Al-Omari A, Breeze P, Drake NA, Groucutt HS, Jennings R, Régagnon E, Shipton C. Beyond the Levant: first evidence of a pre-pottery Neolithic incursion into the Nefud Desert, Saudi Arabia. PLoS One 2013; 8:e68061. [PMID: 23894294 PMCID: PMC3716651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0068061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2013] [Accepted: 05/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Pre-Pottery Neolithic assemblages are best known from the fertile areas of the Mediterranean Levant. The archaeological site of Jebel Qattar 101 (JQ-101), at Jubbah in the southern part of the Nefud Desert of northern Saudi Arabia, contains a large collection of stone tools, adjacent to an Early Holocene palaeolake. The stone tool assemblage contains lithic types, including El-Khiam and Helwan projectile points, which are similar to those recorded in Pre-Pottery Neolithic A and Pre-Pottery Neolithic B assemblages in the Fertile Crescent. Jebel Qattar lies ∼500 kilometres outside the previously identified geographic range of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures. Technological analysis of the typologically diagnostic Jebel Qattar 101 projectile points indicates a unique strategy to manufacture the final forms, thereby raising the possibility of either direct migration of Levantine groups or the acculturation of mobile communities in Arabia. The discovery of the Early Holocene site of Jebel Qattar suggests that our view of the geographic distribution and character of Pre-Pottery Neolithic cultures may be in need of revision.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémy Crassard
- CNRS, Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée, UMR 5133 Archéorient, Lyon, France.
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Spatial and Temporal Variation in the Nature of Pleistocene Pluvial Phase Environments Across North Africa. MODERN ORIGINS 2012. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-007-2929-2_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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Rambeau CMC. Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in the Southern Levant: synthesis, challenges, recent developments and perspectives. PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS. SERIES A, MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING SCIENCES 2010; 368:5225-5248. [PMID: 20956369 DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2010.0190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/30/2023]
Abstract
Palaeoenvironmental research in the Southern Levant presents a series of challenges, partly due to the unequal distribution of palaeoenvironmental records and potential archives throughout the region. Our knowledge of climatic evolution, during the last approximately 25,000 years, is of crucial importance to understand cultural developments. More local, well-dated, multi-proxy studies are much needed to obtain an accurate picture of environmental change in respect of the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. This contribution reviews the current state of knowledge regarding Late Quaternary palaeoenvironmental changes in the Southern Levant, including some examples of more recent developments in palaeoenvironmental reconstruction in Israel and the Dead Sea area, and introduces the major challenges researchers face in the region. It also presents the first results of a new case study in Jordan, based on an analysis of peaty deposits located in the mountain slopes east of the Dead Sea. Such new studies help refine our knowledge of local environmental changes in the Southern Levant and especially the more arid areas, for which little information is presently available. More material suitable for palaeoenvironmental research, for example extensive tufa and travertine series, still awaits consideration in Jordan, opening up exciting perspectives for future research in the area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire M C Rambeau
- School of Human and Environmental Sciences, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading, UK.
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Bailey G. The Red Sea, Coastal Landscapes, and Hominin Dispersals. THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN POPULATIONS IN ARABIA 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-2719-1_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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20
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Kieniewicz JM, Smith JR. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction and water balance of a mid-Pleistocene pluvial lake, Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2009. [DOI: 10.1130/b26301.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Jennifer R. Smith
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1169, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA
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