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Long-term talus flatirons formation in the hyperarid northeastern Negev, Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ronen Boroda ,
Ari Matmon ,
Rivka Amit ,
Itai Haviv ,
Naomi Porat ,
Dylan Rood ,
Yehuda Eyal ,
Yehuda Enzel  and
ASTERTeam
Ronen Boroda*
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
Ari Matmon
Affiliation:
The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Rivka Amit
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Itai Haviv
Affiliation:
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
Naomi Porat
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Dylan Rood
Affiliation:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550, USA
Yehuda Eyal
Affiliation:
Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel
Yehuda Enzel
Affiliation:
The Fredy & Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
ASTERTeam
Affiliation:
M. Arnold, G. Aumaître, D. Bourlès, K. Keddadouche, CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS- Aix-Marseille University, BP 80, 13 545 Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
*
*Corresponding author at: Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva 84105, Israel. E-mail address:[email protected] (R. Boroda).
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Abstract

Colluvial sediments of talus relicts (“talus flatirons”) around mesas preserve a record that sheds light on slope-forming processes at temporal scales > 103 yr. The sedimentology and soil stratigraphy of two groups of talus flatirons in the northeastern hyperarid Negev desert reveal four deposition events in the younger talus and at least two in the older one. Numerical modeling of high-resolution 10Be depth profiles suggests that these taluses were deposited during the middle Pleistocene; the younger talus group first depositional event occurred at 551 − 142+ 80 ka and its abandonment occurred at 270 − 38+ 17 ka. The abandonment of the older talus group and stabilization of its surface occurred at 497 − 114+ 176 ka. These ages indicate that the development of the studied talus sequence is not specifically associated with Pleistocene glacial–interglacial cycles. The 10Be modeled concentrations indicate significant differences in the average inheritance of talus flatirons of different groups. These differences can be attributed to variability in the transport distance and duration of gravel exposure during transport but could also reflect some temporal variability in cliff retreat. Our results also demonstrate that talus slopes in hyperarid areas, despite their steepness, can store sediment for long periods (~ 500 ka) and thus constitute a valuable archive.

Keywords

Talus flatironsLandscape evolutionHillslopeCosmogenic nuclidesNumerical modelingOSLHyperarid desertSlope processesNegevPleistocene
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 79 , Issue 2 , March 2013 , pp. 256 - 267
Copyright
University of Washington

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