Abstract
Stalactites and stalagmites in the Soreq Cave, a well known tourist attraction in Israel, provide a very detailed climatic record for the Eastern Mediterranean region during the last 25,000 years (Bar-Matthews et al., 1997a) and 58,000 years (Bar-Matthews et al., 1997b). These studies indicate that the isotopic compositions of speleothems that are older than about 6,500 BP are significantly different from those of present-day speleothems; and that about 6,500 years ago the isotopic composition of the speleothems became similar to that of today. Thus, the climatic conditions that prevailed in the Eastern Mediterranean area before ~ 6,500 BP were very different from now. Only from that time have the conditions become similar to those of the present day. Soreq Cave is one of a series of karstic caves situated within the steeply westward dipping flank of the Judean Hill anticline. Its geological and hydrological setting and its environment are summarized by Asaf (1975), Even et al. (1986) and Bar-Matthews et al. (1991). The cave is located approximately 40 km inland from the Israeli Mediterranean coast, and is 400 m above sea level. Presently, the climate in the Soreq Cave area is typical of the semi-arid Mediterranean type, with an average annual air temperature of ~20.5°C, a cave water temperature varying between 18.0 and 20.5°C (and a mean annual rainfall of ~500 mm). The area is located in a narrow transition zone between humid and arid climates; and slight climatic variations, such as changes in the annual rainfall, would have affected the desert boundary and the inhabitants in the past.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Almogi-Labin, A., Henleben, C., Meischner, D., and Erlenkeuser, H. (1991) Paleoenvironmental events during the last 13,000 years in the central Red Sea as recorded by pteropoda. Paleoceanography 6, 83–98.
Amiran, H.K. (1991) The climate of the ancient Near East. The early third millennium BC in the northern Negev of Israel. Erdkunde 45 (3), 153–162.
Asaf, M. (1975) Karstic Phenomena in the Soreq Cave. Unpublished M.Sc. dissertation. Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Ayalon, A., Bar-Matthews, M. and Sass, E. (1998) Rainfall-recharge relationships within a karstic terrain in the Eastern Mediterranean semi-arid region, Israel: SD characteristics. Hydrology (in press).
Bar-Matthews, M., Matthews, A. and Ayalon, A. (1991) Environmental controls of speleothems mineralogy in a karstic dolomitic terrain (Soreq Cave, Israel). Journal of Geology 99, 189–207.
Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Matthews, A., Sass, E., and Halicz, L. (1996) Carbon and oxygen isotope study of the active water-carbonate system in a karstic Mediterranean cave: implications for paleoclimate research in semiarid regions. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 60, 337–347.
Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A. and Kaufman, A. (1997) Late Quaternary paleoclimate in the eastern Mediterranean region from stable isotope analysis of speleothems at Soreq Cave, Israel. Quaternary Research 47, 155–168.
Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A. and Kaufman, A. (1997) Paleoclimate evolution in the eastern Mediterranean region during the last 58,000 yr as derived from stable isotopes of speleothems (Soreq Cave, Israel). In P. Murphy (ed.), Proc. of the Inter. Symp. on Isotopes Techniques in the Study of Past and Current Environmental Changes in the Hydrosphere and the Atmosphere. Inter. Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna (in press).
Frumkin, A., Magaritz, M., Carmi, I., and Zak, I. (1991) The Holocene climatic record of the salt caves of Mount Sedom, Israel. The Holocene 1, 191–200.
Gat, J.R. and Magaritz, M. (1980) Climatic variations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea area. Naturwissenschaften 67, 80–87.
Goodfriend, G.A. (1987) Chronostratigraphic studies of sediments in the Negev Desert, using amino acid epimerization analysis of land snail shells. Quaternary Research 28, 374–392.
Goodfriend, G.A. (1991) Holocene trends in land snails shells from the Negev Desert and their implications for changes in rainfall source areas. Quaternary Research 35, 417–426.
Goodfriend, G.A., Magaritz, M. and Carmi, I. (1986) A high stand of the Dead Sea at the end of the Neolithic period: Paleoclimatic and archaeological implications. Climatic Change 9, 349–356.
Hemleben, C., Meischner, D., Zahn, R., Almogi-Labin, A., Erlenkeuser, H, and Hiller, B. (1996) Three hundred eighty thousand year long stable isotope and faunal records from the Red Sea: Influence of global sea level change on hydrography. Paleoceanography 11, 147–156.
Hendy, C.H. (1971) The isotopic geochemistry of speleothems I. The calculation of the effects of different modes of formation on the isotopic composition of speleothems and their applicability as paleoclimatic indicators. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 35, 801–824.
Issar, A.S. (1990) Water Shall Flow from the Rock. Springer Verlag, Heidelberg.
Issar, A.S. (1992) The Impact of Climatic Variations on Water Management Systems and Related Socioeconomic Systems. UNESCO/IHP Project IIc.
Issar, A.S., Govrin, Y., Geyh, M.E., Wakshal, E., and Wolf, M. (1991) Climate changes during the upper Holocene in Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 40, 219–223.
Magaritz, M. and Heller, J. (1980) A desert migration indicator—Oxygen isotopic composition of land snail shells. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 32, 153–162.
Magaritz, M., Rahner, S.,Yechieli,Y., and Krishnamurthy, R.V. (1991) Ratio in organic matter from the Dead Sea area: paleoclimatic interpretation. Naturwissenschaften 78, 453–455.
Muzzolini, A. (1985) Les climats au Sahara et sur ses bordures, du Pleistocene final a l’aride actual. Empuries 47, 8–27.
Neev, D. and Emery, K.O. (1995) The Destruction of Sodom, Gomorrah, and Jericho. Oxford University Press.
Nicholson, S.E. and Flohn, H. (1980) African environmental and climatic changes and the general atmospheric circulation in Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Climatic Change 2, 313–348.
O’Neil J.R., Clayton R.N., and Mayeda T.K. (1969) Oxygen isotope fractionation of divalent metal carbonates. Journal of Chemical Physics 30, 5547–5558.
Perron, J. (1968) La prehistoire Palestinienne, un supplement au dictionnaire de la Bible. VIII: 416–438.
Street, F.A., and Grove, A.T. (1979) Global maps of lake-level fluctuations since 30,000 BP. Quaternary Research 12, 83–118.
Street-Perron, F.A., and Perrott, R.A. (1990) Abrupt climatic fluctuations in the tropics: The influence of Atlantic Ocean circulations. Nature 34, 607–612.
Weiss, H., Corty, M.A., Wetterstorm, W., Guichard, E, Senior, L., Meadow, R., and Curnow, A. (1993) The genesis and collapse of third millennium north Mesopotamian civilization. Science 261, 995–1,004.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., Kaufman, A. (1998). Middle to Late Holocene (6,500 Yr. Period) Paleoclimate in the Eastern Mediterranean Region from Stable Isotopic Composition of Speleothems from Soreq Cave, Israel. In: Issar, A.S., Brown, N. (eds) Water, Environment and Society in Times of Climatic Change. Water Science and Technology Library, vol 31. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3659-6_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-3659-6_9
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-5114-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-3659-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive