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Highlights • Multilevel Composition is an innovative method involving color composition and co-rendering of multilevel attribute maps. • It is useful for characterizing multi-depth geological features based on their spatiotemporal distribution within three-dimensional seismic data. • The technique produces a single image map, in which inter-window/layer depth information is coded in colors for reliable representation of the actual geology. • In the eastern Nile fan, it was applied to visualize and resolve the complexities of buried clastic deep-water depositional elements. • On the Omakere Ridge, it successfully illuminated seafloor seeps and reveals their link to deeper fluid-bearing intervals. Abstract Advanced seismic data and multi-attribute visualization techniques, such as color blending of attributes, have considerably enhanced the capability of interpreters to characterize geological features in three-dimensional (3D) seismic reflection datasets. However, high resolution investigation of complex, vertically linked geological features such as channel systems and fluid conduits, remains challenging. These features may appear in the dataset as pronounced attribute anomalies, such as high-amplitude or spectrally or structurally enhanced seismic reflectivity bands, at several depth levels. Vertical linkages between these features, however, may not be readily established. We have developed an innovative method, Multilevel Composition, for an intuitive display of vertically connected features. Our method involves the composition of attribute maps from three different depth/time windows or slices onto a single map, in which inter-window/layer depth information is coded in colors. Multilevel Composition starts with the identification of suitable seismic attributes, such as high amplitudes in the examples displayed here, to map features of geological interest. At least one reference horizon is then identified and mapped in the vicinity of the target window of interest. Three sub-windows are then defined with respect to the reference horizon(s) based on the vertical and spatial distribution of the geological features. Relevant seismic attributes are computed for each of the sub-windows, and the resulting maps, one from each sub-window, are assigned basic color channels and are co-rendered to reveal multilevel linkages between these features. We demonstrate the efficacy of this method by applying it to two 3D seismic datasets, one illuminating deep-water depositional elements in the eastern Nile fan, eastern Mediterranean and the other targeting seafloor seeps and underlying gas migration systems beneath the Omakere Ridge, offshore New Zealand. The new method is simple and should be easy to implement to enhance seismic interpretation workflows.

Polygonal, layer-bound normal faults can extend over very large areas (>2,000,000 km2) of sedimentary basins. Best developed in very fine-grained rocks, these faults are thought to form during early burial in response to a range of diagenetic processes, including compaction and water expulsion. Local deviations from this idealised polygonal pattern are common; however, basin-scale, layer-bound faults with non-polygonal map-view are not well-documented and accordingly, their genesis is not well-understood. In this study we use 3D seismic reflection data, biostratigraphy, and well-logs from the Southern Levant Basin, offshore Israel, to develop an age-constrained seismic-stratigraphic framework and determine the geometry and kinematics of such basin-scale fault system. The faults tip-out downwards along an Eocene Unconformity, but unlike layer-bound faults in the Northern Levant Basin, they do not reach the base of the Messinian evaporites, instead tipping-out upwards at the top Langhian. On average, the faults in the Southern Levant Basin are 6.3 km long, have an average throw of 120 m, and consistently strike NW-SE. Throw-depth plots, accompanied by thickness changes, indicate the faults nucleated as syn-depositional faults in a mudstone-dominated unit, and are spatially and kinematically associated with a WSW-ESE-striking strike-slip fault. Unlike true polygonal faults, these faults propagated through ~2 km-thick sandstone-dominated Oligocene-Miocene strata. Whereas previous studies from the Northern Levant Basin associate fault nucleation and growth with burial-related diagenesis, the sandstone-dominated character of the Oligocene-Miocene suggests that this process cannot be readily applied to the Southern Levant Basin. Instead, we highlight potential tectonic events that occurred during and may have triggered thin-skinned extension at times of fault growth. Layer-bound normal faults therefore should be considered in the geodynamic and structural context of the basin in which they formed.

[The southeastern mediterranean continental slope bathymetry is impacted by interleaved imprints of mass transport processes. These are delineated, classified and mapped through semi‐automatic bathymetric spectral decomposition, appraising their role in sediments bypassing and maintenance of a long‐term shelf‐to‐basin equilibrium profile. , Abstract Understanding continental‐slope morphological evolution is essential for predicting basin deposition. However, separating the imprints and chronology of different seafloor shaping processes is difficult. This study explores the utility of bathymetric spectral decomposition for separating and characterizing the variety of interleaved seafloor imprints of mass wasting, and clarifying their role in the morphological evolution of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea passive‐margin slope. Bathymetric spectral decomposition, integrated with interpretation of seismic profiles, highlights the long‐term shape of the slope and separates the observed mass transport elements into several genetic groups: (1) a series of ~25 km wide, now‐buried slide scars and lobes; (2) slope‐parallel bathymetric scarps representing shallow faults; (3) slope‐perpendicular, open slope slide scars; (4) bathymetric roughness representing debris lobes; (5) slope‐confined gullies. Our results provide a multi‐scale view of the interplay between sediment transport, mass transport and shallow faulting in the evolution of the slope morphology. The base of the slope and focused disturbances are controlled by ~1 km deep salt retreat, and mimic the Messinian base of slope. The top of the open‐slope is delimited by faults, accommodating internal collapse of the margin. The now‐buried slides were slope‐confined and presumably cohesive, and mostly nucleated along the upper‐slope faults. Sediment accumulations, infilling the now‐buried scars, generated more recent open‐slope slides. These latter slides transported ~10 km3 of sediments, depositing a significant fraction (~3 m in average) of the sediments along the base of the studied slope during the past < 50 ka. South to north decrease in the volume of the open‐slope slides highlight their role in counterbalancing the northwards diminishing sediment supply and helping to maintain a long‐term steady‐state bathymetric profile. The latest phase slope‐confined gullies were presumably created by channelling of bottom currents into slide‐scar depressions, possibly establishing incipient canyon headword erosion.]

Our study comprises a high-resolution multi-proxy investigation of a ~6 m long piston core DOR280, sampled from the headscarp of a mapped landslide on the upper continental slope (280 m water depth) at the Dor Disturbance area, northern central Israel. The core retrieved the sediment sequence overlaying the sliding plane of the last major landsliding event. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages and taphonomy, alongside particle size distribution, were used to determine the provenance, transport distance, and reoccurrence time of mass transport events in this area. Radiocarbon ages were measured along the core revealed an age of ~600 Cal Yrs. B.P. for the core base, suggesting unexpectedly high average sedimentation rate of ~10 m/kyr, which is highest at the core top meter. Computed Tomography (CT) of DOR280 shows two alternating sedimentary facies: 5 – 208 cm thick Non-Laminated (NL) and 5 – 37 cm thick Laminated (L). The L-facies sequences also include 0 – 4 cm thick High-Density Laminas (HDL). The NL-facies intervals consist of unimodal fine-sediments dominated by clay minerals. Their foraminiferal assemblage is dominated by autochthonous species (e.g. Uvigerina spp.) and low percentage of broken shells. This indicates that the NL-facies represents mostly in-situ hemipelagic deposition. The L-facies intervals also record unimodal size-distribution of fine-sediments dominated by clay minerals, but their foraminiferal assemblages are dominated by allochthonous species (e.g. Ammonia spp.) and high percentage of broken shells, indicating a contribution of transported sediments, originated from mid-shelf habitats. The HDL-facies consist of bimodal sediments comprised of fine silty-clay (~5 µm) and coarse silty components (~40 µm), dominated by quartz and calcite; as well as poorly preserved and broken shells of allochthonous foraminifera species. Thus, the HDL represent significant contribution of mid-shelf-origin sediments and are interpreted as turbidite-like mass transport events.The temporal distribution of the 27 HDL events is nonrandom, revealing clusters at 59 ± 14 (n=9), 134 ± 12 (n=8), 453 ± 21 (n=4) and 641 ± 10 (n=4) years before present. These findings show prevailing cross-shelf and down slope sediments transport in the Dor Disturbance area. The HDL events can be triggered by large remote earthquakes (> 6.5), tsunami, winter storms or by sediment load that coincided with high-stand Nilotic episodes. However, mechanisms controlling the observed recent mass transport in the Dor Disturbance area still need to be studied.DOR280 is the first piston core studied in high resolution at the upper continental slope of of the Isreali offshore. The use of benthic foraminifera assemblages and their shells taphonomy reveals the transported sediments within the core and enables an assessment regarding their source. The findings reported here identified much higher sediments accumulation rate than previously known and thus have implications to the evaluation and mitigation of marine geo-hazard in the studied area.

The Eastern Mediterranean continental slope offshore Israel became a focus of exploration for, and production of, natural gas in recent years. The 2010–2011 Nautilus ROV expedition performed detailed video recordings and sampling in two areas offshore Israel: the Palmachim disturbance, southwest of Tel Aviv, and an area offshore Acre, north of Haifa. An analytical programme regarding the carbonate structures was carried out, examining the overall mineralogy, stable C and O isotopes, and Ca, Mg, and Mn concentrations. This provided information on their composition and as a result, an indication of the carbon sources and temperature of formation. The major authigenic minerals identified comprised magnesian calcite, dolomite, aragonite, and kutnohorite. The detrital minerals included quartz, clays, feldspars, and rare augite and enstatite, likely transported from the Nile estuary. The carbon isotope composition of aliquots taken from nineteen samples from these areas have an overall δ13C range from −62.0 to −0.1‰PDB, indicating a range of microbial/biogenic and thermogenic methane contributions. The range of δ18O from 2.7 to 7.0‰PDB reflects the range of temperatures of formation. The δ18O characteristics differ among areas. In general, high values; δ18O >5‰PDB are recorded from area N2 of the Palmachim disturbance, indicating low temperature of formation. Low values of δ18O (13C increase from −39.9 to −0.1‰(PDB), and δ18O decrease from 6.2 to 4.7‰(PDB). These values indicate a decrease in the methane-derived carbon contribution and an increase in temperature. Kutnohorite, Ca(Mn2+, Mg, Fe 2+)(CO3)2 is a major component in samples from Acre, and less so in the Palmachim disturbance. An exploratory investigation of the relationship between Mn/Ca, δ18O and δ13C revealed that samples having Mn/Ca < 0.1(wt./wt.) have δ13C 0.1 have δ13C between −35 and −22‰PDB suggesting a thermogenic origin. These results suggest that the mineralogical, isotopic δ13, δ18O, and chemical (Mn/Ca indicative of kutnohorite) characteristics of surficial carbonate structures can indicate and distinguish between deep and shallow methane sources in the Eastern Mediterranean.

In this paper we present a methodology and first results of seafloor compressional sound speed estimation in a compacting passive margin setting of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea, offshore Israel. The estimation was obtained through a coupled wide-angle reflection-refraction travel time analysis of standard commercial 2D multichannel seismic data, acquired with a 7.2km long horizontal receivers array, and geoacoustic inversion. We found that three parameters were needed to model the observed travel times: 1) the compressional sound speed at water-sediment interface c0; 2) a constant velocity gradient K within the sub-bottom sediments layer; and 3) the thickness of the relevant sub-bottom layer H2. The model considered consists of a water layer with a vertically varying sound speed profile according to the season. The thickness of this layer is constrained by the pre-known seafloor bathymetric depth of 1200 m. The base of the model is the top of a regional salt layer, which underlies the investigated sub-bottom layer and constrains H2. The estimated c0 and K are 1550 m s−1 and 0.7 s−1, respectively. The proposed method allows to estimate a relatively low (∼1500-1650 m s−1) sound speed at water-sediment interface, where it is challenging to use conventional refraction-based methods.

Seafloor video surveys were carried out with the ROV Max Rover in the Palmahim Disturbance (PD) area, offshore Israel, in September 2016 during the EUROFLEETS2 SEMSEEP cruise on board the R/V AEGAEO. Preliminary observations of distribution and frequencies of bivalve accumulations show that they are mostly composed by Lucinoma kazani shells. Valves are distributed mainly along the base of authigenic carbonate crusts, in association with bacterial mats and inside inactive chimney-like structures, sometimes associated with crabs and living tubeworms. However, no living molluscs were observed.The relation between distribution of bivalve beds and seepage activity is not straightforward in the PD area. However, the presence of these accumulations and the size of L. kazani, suggest that seepages may have lasted for at least one decade, before its reduction/cessation that induced L. kazani mortality. The presence of few articulated valves of this species indicates that they were alive up to one year before the ROV observations and their different preservation state may imply different seepage phases. This research shows that chemosymbiotic benthic communities may be used as a proxy for better understanding the past dynamics of fluid emissions at the seafloor. However, further quantitative studies are needed to confirm these observations.

The Messinian salinity crisis (MSC) is perceived as an environmental crisis governed by climatic and tectonic controls, affecting global oceans' salinity and shaping the Mediterranean Sea's biochemical composition. Recently drilled offshore wells in the Levant Basin retrieved a sedimentary record of the deep-basin Mediterranean MSC salt deposits and the underlying pre-evaporite unit. In this study, we have concentrated on the pre-evaporite interval and its transition into the overlying evaporites. Analysis of this data set changes the way these deposits have been perceived since the 1970s, when they were first penetrated in their uppermost part during Deep Sea Drilling Project expeditions. Using sedimentology, seismic interpretation, biostratigraphy, and astronomical tuning, we show that Messinian salt deposition in the Eastern Mediterranean began during stage 1 of the MSC. In contrast to the present paradigm, salt was deposited synchronously with gypsum in the marginal and intermediate-depth basins significantly before the 50 k.y. interval coined as the "MSC acme event", ~400 k.y. after the crisis began. Thus salt precipitation took place in a non-desiccated deep basin, having a restricted but often open connection with the Atlantic Ocean, substantially altering our understanding of the mechanisms governing the deposition of salt giants. A coeval onset of basinal halite and marginal gypsum precipitation calls for a revaluation of global-scale climatic and oceanographic models of the MSC, taking into account a much older age for the beginning of halite deposition.

Chemosymbiotic micro- and macro-fauna related to cold-seep sites were recovered in the Palmahim Disturbance (PD), offshore Israel, during EU EUROFLEETS2 SEMSEEP Cruise, by box-coring and Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives. No live macrofauna was identified in the collected sediments, with the exception of the seep-related crustacean Calliax lobata (de Gaillande and Lagardère, 1966). Numerous Calliax claws testify the past colonization of these soft bottoms by several generations of this ghost shrimp. After sediment sieving on 1 mm, we identified gastropods belonging to the families Trochidae, Eucyclidae, unassigned Seguenzioidea (genus Anekes), Rissoidae, Elachisinidae, Raphitomidae, Mangeliidae, Architectonicidae, Orbitestellidae, and Acteonidae. The identified bivalves belong to the families Nuculidae, Yoldiidae, Mytilidae, Lucinidae, Thyasiridae, Semelidae, Kelliellidae, Vesicomyidae, Xylophagidae, and Cuspidariidae. A seep-related group of chemosymbiotic molluscs was detected, including: Taranis moerchii (Malm, 1861), Lurifax vitreus Warén and Bouchet, 2001, Idas ghisottii Warén and Carrozza, 1990, Lucinoma kazani Salas and Woodside, 2002, Thyasira biplicata (Philippi, 1836), Isorropodon perplexum Sturany, 1896, and the newly described Vesicomyid species Waisiuconcha corsellii n. sp., that represents also the first record of the genus Waisiuconcha in recent Mediterranean sediments.The ROV dives recorded local patches of several m2 of seafloor covered by dead shells of L. kazani, with a density of up to about 200 loose shells per square meter. The potential occurrence of seep-related foraminifera, among low-oxygen tolerant species, was explored by comparison with previously sampled adjacent localities, and lead to the identification of Chilostomella oolina, Globobulimina affinis and G. pseudospinescens as potential foraminiferal seep indicators in the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. The absence of live, seep-related fauna in surface sediments in the PD, where seepage has been confirmed, suggests intermittent activity and a pause or decline of the investigated seeps.

Large national programs in the United States and several Asian countries have defined and characterised their marine methane hydrate occurrences in some detail, but European hydrate occurrence has received less attention. The European Union-funded project “Marine gas hydrate – an indigenous resource of natural gas for Europe” (MIGRATE) aimed to determine the European potential inventory of exploitable gas hydrate, to assess current technologies for their production, and to evaluate the associated risks. We present a synthesis of results from a MIGRATE working group that focused on the definition and assessment of hydrate in Europe. Our review includes the western and eastern margins of Greenland, the Barents Sea and onshore and offshore Svalbard, the Atlantic margin of Europe, extending south to the northwestern margin of Morocco, the Mediterranean Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the western and southern margins of the Black Sea. We have not attempted to cover the high Arctic, the Russian, Ukrainian and Georgian sectors of the Black Sea, or overseas territories of European nations. Following a formalised process, we defined a range of indicators of hydrate presence based on geophysical, geochemical and geological data. Our study was framed by the constraint of the hydrate stability field in European seas. Direct hydrate indicators included sampling of hydrate; the presence of bottom simulating reflectors in seismic reflection profiles; gas seepage into the ocean; and chlorinity anomalies in sediment cores. Indirect indicators included geophysical survey evidence for seismic velocity and/or resistivity anomalies, seismic reflectivity anomalies or subsurface gas escape structures; various seabed features associated with gas escape, and the presence of an underlying conventional petroleum system. We used these indicators to develop a database of hydrate occurrence across Europe. We identified a series of regions where there is substantial evidence for hydrate occurrence (some areas offshore Greenland, offshore west Svalbard, the Barents Sea, the midNorwegian margin, the Gulf of Cadiz, parts of the eastern Mediterranean, the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea) and regions where the evidence is more tenuous (other areas offshore Greenland and of the eastern Mediterranean, onshore Svalbard, offshore Ireland and offshore northwest Iberia). We provide an overview of the evidence for hydrate occurrence in each of these regions. We conclude that around Europe, areas with strong evidence for the presence of hydrate commonly coincide with conventional thermogenic hydrocarbon provinces., Sí

To estimate The potential inventory of natural gas hydrates in the Levant Basin we correlated the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ), modeled with locally estimated thermodynamic parameters, with seismic indicators of gas. Compilation of oceanographic measurements define the deep-water temperature and salinity to 13.8°C and 38.8‰ respectively, predicting the top GHSZ at a water depth of 1250±5 m. Assuming beneath the seafloor a hydrostatic pore-pressure, the water body salinity, and geothermal gradients ranging between 20 to 28.5°C/km, yields a useful first-order base-GHSZ approximation. Our model predicts that the entire northwestern half of the Levant Basin lies within the GHSZ, with a median thickness of ~150 m. High amplitude seismic reflectivity (HASR) imaged on an extensive 3D seismic dataset, consistently correlates with verified active seafloor gas seepage and is pervasively distributed across the deep-sea fan of the Nile within the Levant. Two main trends observed for the distribution of HASR are suggested to represent: (1) shallow gas and possibly hydrates, within buried channel-lobe systems 25 to 100 m beneath the seafloor; and (2) a regionally discontinuous bottom simulating reflection (BSR) broadly matching the modeled base GHSZ. We therefore estimate the potential methane hydrates reserve within the Levant Basin at ~4 Tcf.

Mass transport deposits (MTDs) are commonly regarded as motionless evidences of past mass wasting events. Three-dimensional seismic surveys acquired offshore central Israel reveal continued long-lasting and even current deformation of >1.5 Myr old MTDs, now buried hundreds of meters beneath and still impacting the seafloor. Faulting and folding of the Messinian-Pliocene unconformity (M), at the base of the studied interval, represent the possible impacts of tectonic and halokinematic deformation. However, an ~200 m thick continuous stratified unit straddles the M and entirely separates the overlaying Plio-Quaternary sedimentary stack from underlying faulting. Overlaying and etched into this stratified unit are headscarp regions of two up to 450 m thick buried MTDs, characterized by distinct combinations of chaotic seismic reflections and typically ~1 km wide detached and rotated blocks. “Crowns” of growth faults emanate upward from these MTD headwalls, truncating and deforming the overburden and offsetting overlaying reflections by tens of meters up to ~100 m below the seafloor. Moreover, asymmetric sagging and faulting of the overburden mimic the layout and flow pattern of the MTDs and rafted blocks within, providing kinematic indications of combined compaction and lateral flow. These observations imply that the MTDs undergo continuous postslumping differential compaction, combined with lateral mobilization. Additional smaller and younger buried MTDs distributed within the overburden are observed to portray similar deformation kinematics. We suggest that the buried MTDs provide deformational foci and pathways for downslope internal collapse of the continental margin at large, offering a new possible mechanism of thin-skinned extension.

Sea-level fluctuations are a dominant mechanism that control coastal environmental changes through time. This is especially the case for the successive regressions and transgressions over the last interglacial cycle, which have shaped the deposition, preservation and erosion patterns of unconsolidated sediments currently submerged on continental shelves. The current study focuses on creating an integrated marine and terrestrial geophysical and litho-stratigraphic framework of the coastal zone of Hadera, north-central Israel. This research presents a case study, investigating the changing sedimentological units in the study area. Analysis suggest these represent various coastal environments and were deposited during times of lower than present sea level and during the later stages of the Holocene transgression. A multi-disciplinary approach was applied by compiling existing elevation raster grids, bathymetric charts, one hundred lithological borehole data-sets, and a 110 km-long sub-bottom geophysical survey. Based on seismic stratigraphic analysis, observed geometries, and reflective appearances, six bounding surfaces and seven seismic units were identified and characterized. These seismic units have been correlated with the available borehole data to produce a chronologically constrained lithostratigraphy for the area. This approach allowed us to propose a relationship between the lithological units and sea-level change and thus enable the reconstruction of Hadera coastal evolution over the last ~ 100 ka. This reconstruction suggests that the stratigraphy is dominated by lowstand aeolian and fluvial terrestrial environments, subsequently transgressed during the Holocene. The results of this study provide a valuable framework for future national strategic shallow-water infrastructure construction and also for the possible locations of past human settlements in relation to coastal evolution through time.

Volcanic atolls host exceptionally important marine ecosystems in the modern oceans. Yet, due to limited exposures, fossil atolls are poorly constrained. Multiple drowned Cretaceous volcanic atolls have been reported in the Pacific, but less information exists regarding those in the Tethys. Here we report on two early Cenomanian age volcanic atolls outcropping in Mt. Carmel (northern Israel), along the eastern Levant margin. These atolls are a few kilometers in diameter and differ significantly in facies from their surroundings, which are dominated by chalky calcareous mudstone and wackestone. The atolls are composed of grainstone, floatstone, rudstone and bafflestone facies, which are dominated by molluscans, notably gastropods, rudists, oysters and other bivalves. Corals and green algae are absent throughout these atolls. The studied sections of these atolls display a full succession, beginning with aggradation and ending with drowning. Age constraints for the volcanic phases suggest that deposition occurred within a relatively short time interval (

Oil shows from wells in the Levant Basin and Egypt are suggestive of potential economic discoveries within unpenetrated Mesozoic reservoirs in the Eastern Mediterranean. Analysis of some of these oils indicate a non-marine source of mixed deltaic-terrestrial or lacustrine origin for the organic matter. Data from Barremian-Aptian sediments from the MNUPH-1 core in northern Israel opens a window on potential importance of terrestrial-sourced kerogen deposited in source rocks in a marine depositional environment. Core analyses of the Barremian Nabi Sa'id Fm. demonstrate the occurrence of a gas-prone immature source rock of >77 m gross thickness averaging 4.6% TOC, peaking at 37% TOC. Rock-Eval pyrolysis, biomarker n-alkane, sterane, and tricyclic terpane indices, atomic C/N ratios, and δ13Corg ranges indicate mixed terrestrial-marine organic source rocks for the Barremian, while higher up, the Aptian Hidra Fm. contains source rocks with organic matter derived dominantly from carbohydrate-rich land plants. The interval at MNUPH-1 includes abundant evidence for off-shelf mass transport of terrestrial and proximal marine sediments into the deep marine basin. These features are used to explain the anomaly of a terrestrial source for organic matter in this setting. Mass transport and consequent mixing of distal marine, proximal marine and land-derived sediment is, in fact, the norm at the foot of continental slopes globally. The dominantly type III source rocks described here would be unlikely to expel oil but might produce thermogenic gas. Thermogenic gas identified in similar marine settings might wrongly be interpreted as having been generated from marine organic matter, misleadingly indicative of a prospective oil source. When prospecting for deep-rooted hydrocarbon accumulations in offshore marine settings, an alternative system dominated by basinward sediment transport of gas-prone ‘terrestrial’ source rocks into strategically-positioned toe-of-slope marine settings, is supported here, and could well be producing gas in the Levant Basin.

Summary Analysis of high-resolution seismic reflection data reveals fluid-flow elements within the buried intra- to post-Messinian salt features and the overlying Plio-Quaternary unit of the Levant Basin. Additionally, natural methane seepages through seafloor sediments have been identified across the Nile deep-sea fan, Levant Basin, Eratosthenes Seamount, and other localities in the Eastern Mediterranean. Lastly, gas was discovered in sandstone of latest Miocene-Early Pliocene age at a depth of 1130 m and in Pleistocene calcareous sandstone units at depths of 300–450 m (the Noa-1, Mari-B, Nir, Or and Gaza Marine gas fields). The reservoir rock is the Yafo Sand Member, which is found at the base of the Pliocene Yafo Fm overlaying Messinian evaporites. However, the source rock of these biogenic gas discoveries is still unknown. We integrate geophysical and sedimentological/geochemical analysis of offshore well samples, with the intent of identifying these source rocks, and have identified three potential organic-rich (1–4 % TOC) source rocks, composed of gas-prone kerogen type III organic matter: a ∼200 m interval underlying the thick (1.8 km) MSC salt; discreet diatomite layers with a cumulative thickness of 25–40 m interbedded within the salt; a 20 m interval about 25 m above the top of the MSC unit.

This study presents evidences for fluid flow manifested as pipe structures in the post-evaporitic overburden characterised from a 3D seismic data from the Levant Basin, offshore central Israel. Interestingly these pipes are genetically and spatially contextualized east and west of the study area, all rooted in the Messinian evaporite substratum. Pipes in the western group accounts for 83% of the pipe population, are crudely cylindrical, oval to elliptical in planform, with diameter and height ranging ∼350–2000 m and ∼320–420 m, respectively. Internal configurations within this group varies from chaotic to concave upward reflections diagnostic of fluid induced collapse. Pipes in the eastern group are seepage pipes appearing conical in shape, with height of ∼350–510 m and diameter of ∼320–420 m. The eastern group pipes are characterized by lack of internal reflectivity and/or disrupted stratal reflections. The western group indicates an episode of fluid flow till the mid-Pliocene, compared to late Pliocene in the eastern group. A conceptual model for the pipes in the western group is proposed to have occurred from subjacent dissolution of the Messinian evaporite under deep-water marine conditions during the Pliocene by vertically focused fluid flow from intra-Messinian realm dissolving the top evaporites and inducing systematic collapse in the overburden, the onset of which may have been triggered by seismicity. Conversely, pipes in the eastern group are proposed to have developed from breaching the top evaporite by pressurized fluids that developed from lateral pressure transfer due to differential loading of the overburden and salt tectonics. These pipe structures may pose a potential risk to deep-water exploration and development. The fluid expulsion phenomena documented in this study has wider implications for the hydrodynamics of many basins where thick evaporite layers are widely developed.

This study presents geochemical evidence for biogenic methane formation (methanogenesis) in the shallow sediments of the oligotrophic SE Mediterranean continental shelf at water depths between 46 and 88 m. Depth-profiles of methane concentrations and related chemical parameters such as dissolved sulfate, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and the stable carbon isotope composition of DIC and methane (δ 13 C DIC , δ 13 C CH4 , respectively) were measured in six sediment cores (each 4.2–5.4 m long) in order to characterize the processes that involve methane production and decomposition. All the sediment cores reached the consumption depth of the entire sulfate pool and the in-situ microbial methane production (methanogenesis) zone. Methane concentrations reached saturation levels in one of the cores, but not in the others, probably because the zone of maximum methanogenesis was at a greater depth. Although the sediments exhibit a low TOC content of ~1%, the biogenic methane formation indicates a relatively high organic carbon lability capable of sustaining all redox microbial activity potential. Anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) was also evident in the sulfate–methane transition zone, showing a distinct isotope signature in diffusion limited conditions.

A new high resolution bathymetric map of the Levant Basin between Israel and the Eratosthenes Seamount reveals previously undetected folds, faults and channels. The map facilitates a regional map-view analysis of structures that were previously examined only in cross section. The systematic mapping of morpho-structural elements in the entire basin is followed by a kinematic interpretation that distinguished between two main processes sculpting the seabed from bottom and top: salt tectonics and sediment transport. We show that the contractional domain related to salt tectonics is far more complex than previously thought. Ridges, previously interpreted as contractional folds are, in fact, surficial undulations of the seabed reminiscent of sediment waves. Moreover, other folds previously interpreted as downdip contraction of the westward gliding Plio-Quaternary section are, in some parts of the basin, caused by updip climbing of this section eastwards as a result of the regional pattern of salt flow away from the Nile Cone. In the context of sediment transport, we show that the northern Sinai continental slope is covered by a dense net of turbidite channels, whereas the Levant slope has no channels at all. Particularly interesting is the Levant Turbidite Channel, described and named here for the first time. This feature begins at the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean at water depths of ~ 1100 m, continues along the valley between the Sinai and Levant slopes, and reaches the deepest part of the basin, in water depths of ~ 2500 m, northeast of the Eratosthenes seamount. However, this prominent feature cannot be explained by the current drainage, consisting of two minor rivers that enter the basin at that point, and thus most likely reflects periods of wetter climate and/or lower sea-level, when these rivers were more active and possibly connected to the submarine channel system.

The northern Gulf of Elat/Aqaba is located in the transition between the deep marine basins of the gulf and the shallow onland basins of the Arava Valley. Interpretation of 500 km of high-resolution seismic reflection data collected across the northern shelf reveals the tectonic structure and evolution of this transition. Six NNE-trending faults and one E-W trending transverse fault are mapped. Slip rates are calculated based on measured offsets and age determination based on a radiocarbon-calibrated sedimentation rate and a Quaternary age model. The most active fault is the Evrona Fault that absorbs most of the left lateral slip within the basin with an average sinistral slip rate of 0.7 ± 0.3 mm/yr through the Late Pleistocene and 2.3–3.4 mm/yr during the Holocene. Two intrabasin faults east of the Evrona Fault that have been inactive for the last several tens of thousands of years were mapped, and motion from these faults has likely transferred to the Evrona Fault. The basin is flanked on the west by the Elat Fault and on the east by the Aqaba Fault. Both faults are marked by large bathymetric escarpments. Based on displaced seismic reflectors, we calculate a Holocene vertical slip rate of 1.0 ± 0.2 and 0.4 ± 0.1 mm/yr for the Elat and Aqaba Faults, respectively. The geometry, slip rates, and slip history of the northern Gulf of Elat/Aqaba faults show that during the Late Pleistocene several intrabasin faults became dominant across the basin but that during the Holocene the Evrona Fault accommodates most of the strike slip.

Methane (CH 4 ) is the most abundant hydrocarbon and one of the most important greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. CH 4 bubble growth and migration within muddy aquatic sediments are closely associated with sediment fracturing. In this paper we present the modeling of buoyancy-driven CH 4 bubble growth in fine-grained muddy aquatic sediment prior to the beginning of its rise. We designed a coupled mechanical/reaction-transport numerical model that enables a differential fracturing over the bubble front (as it occurs in nature), when the fracturing increment stays constant at the bubble head and subsides towards bubble tail during bubble growth. We show that this differential fracturing over the bubble front controls the bubble shape and size temporal evolution, and is significantly affected by the critical stress intensity factor of the muddy sediment. The intercalated stages of elastic expansion and fracturing during the bubble growth shorten with time as the bubble approaches its terminal size (prior to its ascent). Our simulations reveal a high asymmetry in the bubble shape growing with time, with respect to its initial symmetric penny-shaped configuration. It was found that the bubble grows allometrically, while the importance of the bubble surface area growth with time. We also confirmed the earlier predictions about the ”inverted tear-drop” bubble cross-section just prior to the beginning of its rise. Modeling of the terminal bubble characteristics will permit prediction of the delivery of gaseous methane from the sediment to the atmosphere via the water column.

The Karakoram fault (KKF) is the 1000 km-long strike-slip fault separating the western Himalaya from the Tibetan Plateau. From geologic and geodetic data, the KKF is argued either to be a lithospheric-scale fault with hundreds of km of offset at several cm/a, or to be almost inactive with cumulative offset of only a few tens of kilometers and to be just the upper-crustal localization of distributed deformation at depth. Here we show 3He/4He ratios in geothermal springs along a 500-km segment of the KKF are 3–100 times the normal ratio in continental crust, providing unequivocal evidence that a component of these hydrologic systems is derived from tectonically active mantle. Mantle enrichment is absent along the Indus–Yarlung suture zone (ISZ) just 35 km southwest of the KKF, suggesting that the mantle fluids flow only within the KKF. Within the last few Ma, the KKF must have accessed tectonically active Tibetan mantle northeast of the “mantle suture” which we therefore locate vertically beneath the KKF, very close to the surface trace of the ISZ. Hence, in southwestern Tibet, Indian crust may not now be underthrusting substantially north of the ISZ, even though Miocene underthrusting may have placed Indian crust north of the ISZ in the lower half of the Tibetan Plateau crust. This is in significant contrast to central and eastern Tibet where underthrust Indian material not only forms the lower half of the Tibetan crust but is also currently underthrusting for ∼200 km north of the ISZ. Our new constraint on KKF penetration to the mantle allows an improved description of the continuously evolving Karakoram fault, as a tectonically significant yet perhaps geologically ephemeral lithospheric structure.

The Dead Sea Fault System (DSFS) steps-over at the northern head of the Gulf of Aqaba (GOA), crossing the evolving continental shelf. We report detailed processing and interpretation of high resolution sub-bottom profiles of the north western tip of the GOA down to a depth of about 120 m. Our data reveal stepping seafloor morphology comprising a series of relict coastline features, primarily fossil reefs whose present depth results from the combined effect of sea level rise and tectonic displacements. On the northern slope, the fossil reefs are embedded in a predominantly single phase ∼ 30 m thick retrograde sedimentary stack that evolved presumably during sea level rise since the last glacial maximum, about 20 Ka. Large variations in character within this sedimentary stack bear evidence for large episodic changes in the rates of sea level rise and ensuing environmental conditions during the Holocene. A prominent terrace and face, a suggested relict coastline feature, accommodated on the order of 10 m down to the east vertical offsets across the surveyed area at the north western GOA since submergence, presumably late Pleistocene to early Holocene. The trace of an active strike strike-slip fault crossing the northern slope is defined by: a. NE striking bathymetric features; b. discontinuities offsetting the sedimentary layering from just below the sea floor to the deepest layers imaged; c. a 30 ± 10 m sinistral and 10 ± 1 m down to the west offset of a fossil reef at a depth of about 65 m. Global sea level curves constrain the age of the 65-m deep reef to 11.5 ± 2 Ka, yielding an estimated average Holocene sinistral slip rate of 2.7 ± 1.5 mm/yr, about half the regional slip of the DSFS. We conclude that the submarine fault defined here is a principal strand of the DSFS, a southward left stepping echelon of the Avrona fault. Such secondary echelon segmentation may be typical for the accommodation of strike-slip at tips of transform basins.

Mass transport complexes (MTCs) are significant constituents of the post-evaporitic overburden in the Levant Basin, offshore Israel. Analysis of a new 3D seismic dataset offshore central Israel reveals that the Israel Slump Complex (ISC) consists of three stacked mass transport deposits (MTDs). The MTDs vary in lateral extent from between ~351 and 752 km2 with thicknesses between ~190 and 325 m, accounting for a remobilised sediment volume of ~35–94 km3. Interestingly, each MTD is unique, exhibiting different geometries, internal architectures, and halokinetic-related imprints. We document a novel palm-like erosional morphology, blocky facies, arcuate facies, mounded structure, syn-depositional thrust systems, and a channelised geometry. These configurations indicate different transport distance, mechanics, and kinematic history for each MTD within the complex, and may suggest different trigger events. The results of this study shed light on the interplay of multiple MTDs within a greater MTC. It also provides new insights into the nature and formation of the ISC in the offshore area of central Israel, which arose from at least three short-timed mass wasting events during the Late Pliocene. Likewise it may serve as an analogue to understand the configurations of MTDs in basins with well-developed evaporite layers.

Seismic bright spots are commonly interpreted to mark fluid concentrations, but their nature (melt or aqueous) is usually inferred only from circumstantial evidence of the geologic setting. A band of bright spot reflections has been imaged by Project INDEPTH (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalayas) at about 15 km depth along 150 km of the northern Yadong-Gulu rift, southern Tibet. We use INDEPTH three-component wide-angle seismic data to measure seismic velocities at the bright spot reflector, and theoretical rock physics bounds to constrain the nature of the fluids. Merging of data from multiple bright spots allows us to use a one-dimensional approximation. Travel time modeling yields average P and S velocities for the upper crust above the bright spots of 5.3±0.2 and 3.2±0.2 km s−1, respectively. Reflection-amplitude variation with offset (AVO) modeling constrains the P and S velocities of the bright spots to 3.0±0.8 and 1.6±0.8 km s−1, respectively. Multiple modeling procedures suggest these velocities are not model dependent. Our results imply that of the order of 10% volume of free aqueous fluids in the Tibetan middle crust produces the observed bright spot reflections. The presence of relatively large quantities of free aqueous fluids, presumably mostly saline supercritical H2O, does not preclude the presence of melt but does constrain the maximum temperature at the bright spots to the wet granite solidus (about 650°C) and thus the maximum surface heat flow to ≤110 mW m−2. The observed bright spots can alternatively be explained as a result of transient flow of aqueous fluids through a lower temperature and lower heat flow southern Tibetan crust.

Project INDEPTH (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya) has collected over 300 km of multichannel, deep seismic reflection data using explosive sources as part of a multidisciplinary effort to image the structure of the crust and uppermost mantle of the Tibetan plateau. The reflection profiles lie within the Yadong-Gulu rift and were acquired in the summers of 1992 and 1994. Data processing utilized typical industry tools, and a new method was used to migrate the data. Both unmigrated and migrated sections are presented here in large format to facilitate further interpretations.

INDEPTH geophysical and geological observations imply that a partially molten midcrustal layer exists beneath southern Tibet. This partially molten layer has been produced by crustal thickening and behaves as a fluid on the time scale of Himalayan deformation. It is confined on the south by the structurally imbricated Indian crust underlying the Tethyan and High Himalaya and is underlain, apparently, by a stiff Indian mantle lid. The results suggest that during Neogene time the underthrusting Indian crust has acted as a plunger, displacing the molten middle crust to the north while at the same time contributing to this layer by melting and ductile flow. Viewed broadly, the Neogene evolution of the Himalaya is essentially a record of the southward extrusion of the partially molten middle crust underlying southern Tibet.

A deep seismic common midpoint (CMP) profile, shot across the southern margin of the Tethyan Himalaya as the first stage of Project International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya (Indepth), imaged the top (Main Himalayan Thrust or MHT) and bottom (Moho) of the Indian continental crust underthrusting the Himalaya. We used portable seismographs to record the CMP-profile shots at a wide range of offsets, up to 155 km. Our short-offset data corroborate the CMP-profile data, while our large-offset data are dominated by a band of reflectivity. We interpret the bright onset of this reflective band as the basal detachment of the South Tibetan Detachment system and a phase at the end of the reflective band as the MHT. We used the CMP-profile first-break data to model the uppermost 2 km in detail. The depth of young extensional basins of the Yadong rift system along the CMP profile was constrained to a maximum of 2 km, yielding a throw of 4.6 km across the eastern flank of the rift and a rough estimate of approximately 1.5% east-west extension by normal faulting in the Tethyan Himalaya. The wide-angle data were used to construct a crustal seismic-velocity model down to the MHT. The South Tibetan Detachment System (STDS) basal detachment reflector is observed dipping 12.5°NNE from a depth of about 6 km beneath the surface under the south end of the CMP profile to a depth of 22 km, then flattening to a dip of only 2.5°NNE. Thus our observations suggest that the STDS basal detachment is a deep-rooted basement fault. For the MHT we observe a dip of 7.5°NNE from 20 km depth below sea level at the crest of the High Himalaya crystalline sheet to 36 km below sea level (40 km beneath the surface) at a distance of about 70 km south of the Indus-Yarlung Suture (IYS). From geometrical arguments we suggest that Indian crust underthrusts the surface expression of the IYS within the crust but does not form the lower crust of central and northern Tibet.

On 12 May, a great earthquake (Ms=8.0) on the Longmenshan thrust fault rumbled through Chinas Sichuan province, killing more than 69,000 people and injuring 374,000. The Longmenshan thrust is part of the eastern border of the Tibetan Plateau, but it is not the plateaus only restless margin. An even larger earthquake (Ms=8.1) on the Kunlun fault shook northeastern Tibet in 2001, fortunately in a sparsely populated area. These massive quakes underscore the importance of understanding the tectonic response of Asia to collision by India. The International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya (INDEPTH) program explores the dynamics of the India-Asia collision. Though many past geophysical studies have focused on the Himalayas and the southern Tibetan Plateau, the INDEPTH IV project examines the deep structure of the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.

Three-component wide-angle seismic data acquired in southern Tibet during Project INDEPTH show strong P-to-S converted reflections from reflectors that are aligned at a depth of approximately 15 kilometers beneath the northern Yadong-Gulu rift. These converted reflections are locally higher in amplitude than the corresponding P-wave reflections. Modeling of reflection mode conversion as a function of incidence angle indicates that this condition obtains for a reflector that is a solid over fluid interface; it is not typical of a solid-solid interface. The likely candidates for a fluid trapped within the crystalline crust of southern Tibet are granitic magma and water (brine).

In recent years the Transantarctic Mountains (TAM), the largest noncontractional mountain belt in the world, have become the focus of modelers who explained their uplift by a variety of isostatic and thermal mechanisms. A problem with these models is a lack of available data to compare with model predictions. We report here the results of a 312-km-long geophysical traverse conducted in 1993/1994 in the hinterland of the TAM. Using detailed subglacial topography and gravity measurements, we confirm the origin of the TAM as a flexural uplift of the edge of East Antarctica. Using an elastic model with a free edge, we can jointly fit the topography and the gravity with a plate having an elastic thickness of 85±15 km and a preuplift elevation of 700±50 m for East Antarctica. Using a variety of evidence, we argue that the uplift is coincident with a relatively minor tectonic event of transtensional motion between East and West Antarctica during the Eocene rather than the Late Cretaceous rifting event that created the Ross Embayment. We suggest that this transtensional motion caused the continuous plate to break, which created an escarpment that significantly increased the rates of erosion and exhumation. Results from the geophysical traverse also extend our knowledge of the bedrock geology from the exposures within the TAM to the ice covered interior. Our interpretation suggests that the Ferrar flood basalts extend at least 100 km westward under the ice. The Beacon Supergroup of Paleozoic and Mesozoic sediments thins gradually under the ice and its reconstructed thickness is reminiscent of profiles of foreland basins. Finally, there is no indication in the gravity field for an incomplete rebound due to significant melting of the East Antarctic ice sheet since the last glacial period.

International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya (INDEPTH) deep reflection data in the Yangbajain-Damxung graben of southern Tibet yield evidence of magmatism and deformation beneath the southern Lhasa terrane and Yarlung-Zangbo suture. Shallow reflections and low-velocity first arrivals indicate a thin, Quaternary graben fill of generally less than a few hundred meters thickness. Underlying stratified reflections, extending to a maximum of about 11.5 km depth, likely originate from deformed Paleozoic-Cenozoic supracrustal strata of the Lhasa terrane. A prominent, undulatory band of reflections within the crystalline basement extends beneath the length of the Yangbajain-Damxung graben (depth ranges from ∼12 km to ∼18 km). This horizon has been interpreted to mark the top of a midcrustal partial-melt zone underlying southern Tibet. The undulatory character of this horizon additionally suggests that it may be tectonically deformed. A somewhat deeper, subhorizontal, wide-angle reflection extends southward beneath the outcrop of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture, indicating that the suture is cut off or superposed by a younger structure at depth. Three gently north dipping reflections at 19 km, 24 km, and 27 km depth beneath the Gangdese batholith are suggestive of a midcrustal duplex and may mark the northward (downdip) extension of the late Oligocene-early Miocene Gangdese thrust system. A prominent ∼40° north dipping reflection imaged in the deep crust beneath the Gangdese batholith, between 40 and 60 km depth, might mark the downdip expression of the Yarlung-Zangbo suture or, alternatively, a younger reverse fault in the lower crust (or both). Viewed in aggregate, the reflection data are suggestive of moderate, postcollisional shortening of the upper crust of the Lhasa terrane, accompanied by melting of the middle crust. Although the data are permissive of wholesale underthrusting or fluid injection of Indian continental crust beneath the Lhasa terrane, they show no direct evidence for this having occurred.

76 Since 1992, project INDEPTH (International Deep Profiling of Tibet and the Himalaya) geoscientists from Chinese, American, British, German, and Canadian institutions have collaborated to collect high-quality seismic, MT, and geologic data along a roughly north–south transect from the Himalaya to northern Tibet. The current field effort from 2007–2009, INDEPTH IV, targets the NE margin of the plateau, with goals of testing models of subduction (relict and current) near the Kunlun and Jinsha sutures and probing the deep geometry of key features such as the Kunlun and Altyn Tagh Faults. Our new datasets are intended to shed light on the possible existence of a lower-crustal flow channel beneath northern Tibet, analogous to the weak (and flowing?) lower crust evidenced by INDEPTH observations of mid-crustal low seismic velocities, seismic bright spots and high electrical conductivities (Nelson et al. 1996) in southern Tibet. INDEPTH IV further aims to evaluate the possible subduction of Asian crust from the north beneath the Kunlun suture (Kind et al. 2002) and to probe whether the Kunlun and Jinsha sutures act as crustal-scale faults. Active seismic experiment, summer 2007