Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-15T11:17:10.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Systematic Mn fluctuations in laminated rock varnish developed on coeval early Holocene flint artifacts along a climatic transect, Negev desert, Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 August 2012

Yonaton Goldsmith ,
Yehouda Enzel  and
Mordechai Stein
Yonaton Goldsmith*
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhei Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Yehouda Enzel
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Mordechai Stein
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhei Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
*
⁎Corresponding author at: The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. Email Address:[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study presents an assessment of the potential application of Mn content in rock varnish laminae as a paleoclimate indicator. To investigate the environmental controls on varnish formation, we determined Mn composition in rock varnish formed on flint artifacts produced during the earliest Holocene from eight coeval prehistoric sites in the Negev desert, Israel. These sites lie along a north–south annual rainfall transect ranging between 120 and 30 mm yr− 1. The varnish is ~ 100 times enriched in Mn relative to the content in the desert dust source material. Chemical profiles across the varnish display 4–6 distinct Mn peaks in all sampled sites, pointing to systematic fluctuations within the varnish along a wide range of environmental settings. The mean Mn contents in the various sites range between 10.7 and 15.6 at.%, yet within this range, the Mn content in the Negev varnish does not show a correlation with mean annual rainfall. As moisture is needed for Mn mobility, wetting cycles by dew or light rain, which are not adequately represented by the mean annual rainfall amounts but control the number of wetting–drying cycles may explain the variance within the results from the arid and hyperarid Negev varnish.

Keywords

Rock varnishHolocenePPNBNegev desertMn fluctuationsDustPaleoclimate
Type
Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 78 , Issue 3 , November 2012 , pp. 474 - 485
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amit, R., Enzel, Y., and Sharon, D. Permanent Quaternary hyperaridity in the Negev, Israel, resulting from regional tectonics blocking Mediterranean frontal systems. Geology 34, (2006). 509–512.Google Scholar
Amit, R., Enzel, Y., Crouvi, O., Simhai, O., Matmon, A., Porat, N., McDonald, E., and Gillespie, A.R. The role of the Nile in initiating a massive dust influx to the Negev late in the middle Pleistocene. Geological Society of America Bulletin 123, (2011). 873–889.Google Scholar
Bao, H., Michaelski, G.M., and Thiemens, M.H. Sulfate oxygen-17 anomalies in desert varnishes. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 65, (2001). 2029–2036.Google Scholar
Barzilai, O. Social Complexity in the Southern Levantine PPNB as Reflected Through Lithic Studies: The Bidirectional Blade Industries. (2009). PhD thesis, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem. 397 Google Scholar
Beck, W., Donahue, D.J., Jull, A.J.T., Burr, G., Broecker, W.S., Bonani, G., Hajdas, I., and Malotki, E. Ambiguities in direct dating of rock surfaces using radiocarbon measurements. Science 280, (1998). 2132–2139.Google Scholar
Bierman, P.R., and Gillespie, A.R. Accuracy of rock-varnish chemical analyses: implications for cation-ratio dating. Geology 19, (1991). 196–199.Google Scholar
Bierman, P.R., and Gillespie, A.R. Evidence suggesting that methods of rock-varnish cation-ratio dating are neither comparable nor consistently reliable. Quaternary Research 41, (1994). 82–90.Google Scholar
Broecker, W.S., and Liu, T. Rock varnish: recorder of desert wetness?. GSA Today. (2001). Aug, 4–10 Google Scholar
Cohen, R., and Yizraeli, T. A Neolithic site by Ain Mor. Mitekufat Haeven 9, (1969). 14 (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Dietzel, M., Kolmer, H., Polt, P., and Simic, S. Desert varnish and petroglyphs on sandstone—geochemical composition and climate changes from Pleistocene to Holocene (Libya). Chemie der Erde 68, (2008). 31–43.Google Scholar
Dorn, R.I. Rock Coatings. (1998). Elsevier, Amsterdam : New York. p. 427 Google Scholar
Dorn, R.I. Baking black opal in the desert sun: the importance of silica in desert varnish: comment and reply. Geology 35, (2007). 122–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorn, R.I. Rock varnish. Nash, D.J., and NcLaren, S.J. Geochemical Sediments and Landscapes. (2007). Blackwell, London. 246–297.Google Scholar
Dorn, R.I., and Oberlander, T.M. Microbial origin of desert varnish. Science 213, (1981). 1245–1247.Google Scholar
Dorn, R.I., and Oberlander, T.M. Rock varnish. Progress in Physical Geography 6, (1982). 317–367.Google Scholar
Dragovich, D. Desert varnish and environmental change near Broken Hill, western New South Wales. Earth-Science Reviews 25, (1988). 399–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dragovich, D. Rock engraving chronologies and accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon age of desert varnish. Journal of Archaeological Science 27, (2000). 871–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engel, C.G., and Sharp, R.P. Chemical data on desert varnish. Geological Society of America Bulletin 69, (1958). 487–518.Google Scholar
Enzel, Y., Amit, R., Dayan, U., Crouvi, O., Kahana, R., Ziv, B., and Sharon, D. The climatic and physiographic controls of the eastern Mediterranean over the late Pleistocene climates in the southern Levant and its neighboring deserts. Global and Planetary Change 60, (2008). 165–192.Google Scholar
Farr, T.G., and Adams, B.A. Rock coatings in Hawaii. GSA Bulletin 95, (1984). 1077–1083.Google Scholar
Fleisher, M., Liu, T., and Broecker, W.S. A clue regarding the origin of rock varnish. Geophysical Research Letters 26, (1999). 103–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garvie, L.A.J., Burt, D.M., and Buseck, P.R. Nanometer-scale complexity, growth, and diagenesis in desert varnish. Geology 36, (2008). 215–218.Google Scholar
Goldsmith, Y. Characterizing rock varnish developed on earliest Holocene Negev flint artifacts as a potential paleoenvironmental or paleoclimatic indicator. (2011). Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem. 120 http://www.gsi.gov.il/_Uploads/1502Goldsmith_2011_Varnish_GSI_Report.pdf Google Scholar
Goring-Morris, A.N. From foraging to herding in the Negev and Sinai: the Early to Late Neolithic transition. Paleorient 19, (1993). 65–89.Google Scholar
Goring-Morris, A.N., and Rosen, S.A. Nuclear power plant—Shivta site, preliminary safety analysis reports, Appendix 2.5E. Late Cenozoic Geology in the Site Area Attachment A—Prehistoric Archaeology. (1987). TAHAL Consulting Engineers LTD, Google Scholar
Guvrin, Y., (2009). Salvage excavations in Nahal Hava—unpublished report. http://ngsba.org/he/our-salvage-projects/nahal-hava (in Hebrew).Google Scholar
Hodge, V.F., Farmer, D.E., Diaz, T., and Orndorff, R.L. Prompt detection of alpha particles from 210Po: another clue to the origin of rock varnish?. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity 78, (2005). 331–342.Google Scholar
Hooke, R.L.B., Yang, H.Y., and Weiblen, P.W. Desert varnish: an electron probe study. Journal of Geology 77, (1969). 275–288.Google Scholar
Israel, E.J., Arvidson, R.E., Wang, A., Pasteris, J.D., and Jolliff, B.L. Laser Raman spectroscopy of varnished basalt and implications for in situ measurements of Martian rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, (1997). 28705–28716.Google Scholar
Krinsley, D., Dorn, R.I., and Tovey, N.K. Nanometer‐scale layering in Rock Varnish: implications for genesis and paleoenvironmental interpretation. Journal of Geology 103, (1995). 106–113.Google Scholar
Krumbein, W.E., and Jens, K. Biogenic rock varnishes of the Negev desert (Israel) an ecological study of iron and manganese transformation by cyanobacteria and fungi. Oecologia 50, (1981). 25–38.Google Scholar
Kuijt, I., and Goring-Morris, N. Foraging, farming, and social complexity in the Pre-Pottery Neolithic of the southern Levant: a review and synthesis. Journal of World Prehistory 16, (2002). 361–440.Google Scholar
Lee, M.R., and Bland, P.A. Dating climatic change in hot deserts using desert varnish on meteorite finds. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 206, (2003). 187–198.Google Scholar
Liu, T., (1994). Visual microlaminations in rock varnish: a new paleoenvironmental and geomorphic tool in drylands. PhD dissertation, Arizona State University, Tempe AZ., pp. 191.Google Scholar
Liu, T. Blind testing of rock varnish microstratigraphy as a chronometric indicator: results on late Quaternary lava flows in the Mojave Desert, California. Geomorphology 53, (2003). 209–234.Google Scholar
Liu, T., and Broecker, W.S. Holocene rock varnish microstratigraphy and its chronometric application in the drylands of western USA. Geomorphology 84, (2007). 1–21.Google Scholar
Liu, T., and Broecker, W.S. Rock varnish evidence for latest Pleistocene millennial-scale wet events in the drylands of western United States. Geology 36, (2008). 403–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, T., and Broecker, W.S. Rock varnish microlamination dating of late Quaternary geomorphic features in the drylands of western USA. Geomorphology 93, (2008). 501–523.Google Scholar
Liu, T., and Dorn, R.I. Understanding the spatial variability of environmental change in drylands with rock varnish microlaminations. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 86, (1996). 187–212.Google Scholar
Liu, T., Broecker, W.S., Bell, J.W., and Mandeville, C.W. Terminal Pleistocene wet event recorded in rock varnish from Las Vegas Valley, southern Nevada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 161, (2000). 423–433.Google Scholar
McFadden, L.D., Ritter, J.B., and Wells, S.G. Use of multiparameter relative-age methods for age estimation and correlation of alluvial fan surfaces on a desert piedmont, eastern Mojave Desert, California. Quaternary Research 32, (1989). 276–290.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, C.B., and Elvidge, C.D. Desert varnish. Bender, G.L. Reference Handbook on the Deserts of North America. (1982). Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn. 527–536.Google Scholar
Noy, T., and Cohen, R. Nahal Boker: an early Pre-Pottery Neolithic B site. Mitekufat Haeven 12, (1974). 15–25. (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Perry, R.S. Biological Chemicals in Rock Coatings. (2004). PhD Thesis, University of Washington, Seattle, Seattle. 217 Google Scholar
Perry, R.S., and Adams, J.B. Desert varnish: evidence for cyclic deposition of manganese. Nature 276, (1978). 489–491.Google Scholar
Perry, R.S., Kolb, V.M., Lynne, B.Y., Sephton, M., McLoughlin, N., Engel, M.H., Olendzenski, L., Brasier, M., and Staley, J.T. How desert varnish forms?. Astrobiology and Planetary Missions 5906, (2005). 276–287.Google Scholar
Perry, R.S., Lynne, B.Y., Sephton, M.A., Kolb, V.M., Perry, C.C., and Staley, J.T. Baking black opal in the desert sun: the importance of silica in desert varnish. Geology 34, (2006). 537–540.Google Scholar
Potter, R.M., and Rossman, G.R. Desert varnish: the importance of clay minerals. Science 196, (1977). 1446–1448.Google Scholar
Potter, R.M., and Rossman, G.R. Mineralogy of manganese dendrites and coatings. American Mineralogist 64, (1979). 1219–1226.Google Scholar
Probst, L.W., Allen, C.C., Thomas-Keprta, K.L., Clemett, S.J., Longazo, T.G., Nelman-Gonzalez, M.A., and Sams, C. Desert varnish—preservation of biofabrics and implications for Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIII, (2002). Google Scholar
Raymond, R. Jr., Reneau, S.L., and Harrington, C.D. Elemental relationships in rock varnish determined by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive X-ray elemental line profiling. Scanning Microscopy 5, (1991). 37–46.Google Scholar
Reneau, S.L. Manganese accumulation in rock varnish on a desert piedmont Mojave Desert, California, and application to evaluating varnish development. Quaternary Research 40, (1993). 309–317.Google Scholar
Reneau, S.L., Raymond, R. Jr., and Harrington, C.D. Elemental relationships in rock varnish stratigraphic layers, Cima volcanic field, California: implications for varnish development and the interpretation of varnish chemistry. American Journal of Science 292, (1992). 684–723.Google Scholar
Schyle, D. Ramat Tamar and Metzad Mazal:‎ The Early Neolithic Economy of Flint Mining and Production of Bifacials Southwest of the Dead Sea. (2007). Ex Oriente, Berlin.Google Scholar
Servello, F. Nahal Divshon: a Pre-Pottery Neolithic hunting camp'. Marks, A.E. Prehistory and Paleoenvironments in the Central Negev, Israel. The Avdat/Aqev Area, Part 1 Vol. I, (1976). SMY Press, Dallas. 349–370.Google Scholar
Thiagarajan, N., and Aeolus Lee, C.-T. Trace-element evidence for the origin of desert varnish by direct aqueous atmospheric deposition. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 224, (2004). 131–141.Google Scholar
Watchman, A. A review of the history of dating rock varnishes. Earth-Science Reviews 49, (2000). 261–277.Google Scholar
Wayne, D.M., Diaz, T.A., Fairhurst, R.J., Orndorff, R.L., and Pete, D.V. Direct major- and trace-element analyses of rock varnish by high resolution laser ablation inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA–ICPMS). Applied Geochemistry 21, (2006). 1410–1431.Google Scholar
Zangvil, A. Six years of dew observations in the Negev Desert. Journal of Arid Environments 32, (1996). 361–371.Google Scholar
Zerboni, A. Holocene rock varnish on the Messak plateau (Libyan Sahara): chronology of weathering processes. Geomorphology 102, (2008). 640–651.Google Scholar