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Late Quaternary Paleoceanography of the Gulf of Aqaba (Elat), Red Sea1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Z. Reiss
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
B. Luz
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
A. Almogi-Labin
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
E. Halicz
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
A. Winter
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
M. Wolf
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
D. A. Ross
Affiliation:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 USA

Abstract

The quantitative distribution of planktonic foraminifera, pteropods, and coccolithophorids, as well as oxygen-isotope variations were analyzed in four deep-sea cores from the Gulf of Aqaba (Elat) and the northernmost Red Sea. The core record covers about 150,000 yr. Detailed stratigraphic subdivision is facilitated by combining all calcareous plankton groups. Time-stratigraphic correlation and dating beyond the radiocarbon range are possible by comparison of the oxygen-isotope curves. During the glacial maximum salinity rose to more than 50‰, while winter temperature of the upper waters fell by at least 4°C compared to the present. The rise in salinity can be accounted for by sea-strait dynamics and lowering of sea level. The Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea were continuously connected through the Straits of Tiran, and there is no indication of desiccation during the glacial maximum.

Type
Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

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Footnotes

1

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Contribution No. 4502.

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