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The origin and disappearance of the late Pleistocene–early Holocene short-lived coastal wetlands along the Carmel coast, Israel
- Source :
- Quaternary Research. 76:83-92
- Publication Year :
- 2011
- Publisher :
- Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2011.
-
Abstract
- The formation of short-lived backswamps along the Carmel coast of Israel coincides with the rapid global sea-level rise during the late Pleistocene–early Holocene transition. The current study shows that the wetland phenomena originated around 10,000 yr ago and dried up shortly before the local Pre-Pottery Neolithic humans settled on the wetland dark clay sediments 9430 cal yr BP. Palaeontological and stable-isotope data were used in this study to elucidate previously published sedimentological reconstruction obtained from a core drilled into the western trough of the Carmel coastal plain. The water body contained typical brackish calcareous fauna, with variable numerical abundance and low species richness of ostracods and foraminifera. The δ18O and δ13C of the ostracod Cyprideis torosa show close similarity to the present Pleistocene coastal aquifer isotopic values. This study therefore concludes that the wetlands were shallow-water bodies fed by groundwater, with no evidence of sea-water mixing. It seems that they developed as the result of high groundwater levels, transportation of sediments landward, and deposition of sand bars at the paleo-river mouths. It is still not fully understood why these wetlands deteriorated abruptly and disappeared within less than 1000 yr.
- Subjects :
- 010506 paleontology
geography
geography.geographical_feature_category
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
biology
Pleistocene
Coastal plain
δ18O
Wetland
biology.organism_classification
01 natural sciences
Deposition (geology)
Foraminifera
Paleontology
Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Ostracod
General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Geology
Holocene
0105 earth and related environmental sciences
Earth-Surface Processes
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 10960287 and 00335894
- Volume :
- 76
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Quaternary Research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........5749a81b9df968d5b0de492588544ee3