Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-v9fdk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T10:56:45.261Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Abrasion-derived sediments under intensified winds at the latest Pleistocene leading edge of the advancing Sinai–Negev erg

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Yehouda Enzel ,
Rivka Amit ,
Onn Crouvi  and
Naomi Porat
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
Rivka Amit
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Onn Crouvi
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 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Naomi Porat
Affiliation:
Luminescence Dating Laboratory, Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem 95501, Israel
*
⁎Corresponding author. Fax: +972 2 5662581. E-mail address:yenzel@huji.ac.il (Y. Enzel), rivka@gsi.gov.il, crouvi@gsi.gov.il (O. Crouvi), naomi.porat@gsi.gov.il (N. Porat).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Quaternary desert loess and sandstone–loessite relationships in the geological record raise questions regarding causes and mechanisms of silt formation and accretion. In the northern Sinai–Negev desert carbonate terrain, only sand abrasion in active erg could have produced the large quantities of quartzo-feldspathic silts constituting the late Quaternary northwestern Negev loess. In the continuum of source (medium to fine sand of dunes) to sink (silts in loess) the very fine sand is unaccounted for in the record. This weakens the sand abrasion model of silt formation as a global process. Here, we demonstrate that, as predicted by experiments, abrasion by advancing dunes generated large quantities of very fine sand (60–110 μm) deposited within the dune field and in close proximity downwind. This very fine sand was generated 13–11 ka, possibly synchronous with the Younger Dryas under gusty sand/dust storms in the southeastern Mediterranean and specifically in the northern Sinai–Negev erg. These very fine sands were washed down slope and filled small basins blocked by the advancing dunes; outside these sampling basins it is difficult to identify these sands as a distinct product. We conclude that ergs are mega-grinders of sand into very fine sand and silt under windy Quaternary and ancient aeolian desert environments.

Keywords

Sand abrasionSiltSandDustDuneLoessNegevIsraelSinaiGeomorphologyAeolianDesertAridLate PleistoceneHolocenePaleoclimate
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , July 2010 , pp. 121 - 131
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.)

Footnotes

1 Fax: +972 2 5380688.

References

Ahlbrandt, T.S. Textural parameters of eolian deposits. A Study of Global Sand Seas. McKee, E.D. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper 1052 (1979). 21–51.Google Scholar
Blumberg, D.G., Neta, T., Margalit, N., Lazar, M., and Freilikher, V. Mapping exposed and buried drainage systems using remote sensing in the Negev desert, Israel. Geomorphology 61, (2004). 239–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bullard, J.E., McTainsh, G., and Pudmenzky, C. Aeolian abrasion and modes of fine particle production from natural red dune sands: an experimental study. Sedimentology 51, (2004). 1103–1125.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coudé-Gaussen, G. The perisaharan loess: sedimentological characterization and paleoclimatical significance. GeoJournal 15, (1987). 177–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crouvi, O., Amit, R., Enzel, Y., Porat, N., and Sandler, A. Sand dunes as a major proximal dust source for late Pleistocene loess in the Negev desert, Israel. Quaternary Research 70, (2008). 275–282.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crouvi, O., Amit, R., Enzel, Y., Gillespie, A.R., and McDonald, E.V. The significance of studying primary hilltop, eolian loess: an example from the Negev desert, Israel. Journal of Geophysical Research, Earth Surface 114, (2009). 1–16. doi:10.1029/2008JF001083 F02017 Google Scholar
Crouvi, O., Amit, R., Enzel, Y., and Gillespie, A.R., in press. Active sand seas and the formation of desert loess. Quaternary Science Reviews.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dayan, U., Ziv, B., Shoob, T., and Enzel, Y. Suspended dust over South-Eastern Mediterranean and its relation to atmospheric circulations. International Journal of Climatology 28, (2008). 915–924.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derimian, Y., Karnieli, A., Kaufman, Y., Andreae, M.O., Andreae, T.W., Dubovik, O., Maenhaut, W., Koren, I., and Holben, B.N. Dust and pollution aerosols over the Negev desert, Israel: properties, transport, and radiative effect. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, (2006). D05205 CrossRefGoogle 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.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Friedman, G.M., and Sanders, J.E. Principles of Sedimentology. (1978). J. Wiley, New York.Google Scholar
Galbraith, R.F., Roberts, R.G., Laslett, G.M., Yoshida, H., and Olley, J.M. Optical dating of single and multiple grains of quartz from Jinmium rock shelter, northern Australia: Part I. Experimental design and statistical models. Archaeometry 41, (1999). 339–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ganor, E., (1975). Atmospheric dust in Israel — sedimentological and meteorological analysis of dust deposition. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, The Hebrew University, .Google Scholar
Ganor, E., Foner, H.A., Brenner, S., Neeman, E., and Lavi, N. The chemical composition of aerosols settling in Israel following dust storms. Atmospheric Environment 25A, (1991). 2665–2670.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ginzburg, D., and Yaalon, D.H. Petrography and origin of the loess in the Be'er Sheva Basin. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 12, (1963). 68–70.Google Scholar
Goring-Morris, N., and Goldberg, P. Late Quaternary dune incursions in the southern Levant: archeology, chronology and paleoenvironments. Quaternary International 5, (1990). 115–137.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Levin, Z., Joseph, J.H., and Mekler, Y. Properties of Sharav (Khamsin) dust — comparison of optical and direct sampling data. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences 37, (1980). 882–891.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Livingstone, I. Grain-size variation on a ‘complex’ linear dune in the Namib Desert. Frostick, L., and Reid, I. Desert Sediments: Ancient and Modern. Geological Society (London) Special publication. (1987). 281–291.Google Scholar
Magaritz, M., and Enzel, Y. Standing-water deposits as indicators of late Quaternary dune migration in the northwestern Negev, Israel. Climate Change 16, (1990). 307–318.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muhs, D.R. Mineralogical maturity in dunefields of North America, Africa, and Australia. Geomorphology 59, (2004). 247–269.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muhs, D.R. Loess deposits, origins and properties. Elias, S.A. Encyclopedia of Quaternary Sciences. (2007). 1405–1418.Google Scholar
Muhs, D.R., and Bettis, A.E.I. Quaternary loess–paleosol sequences as example of climate-driven sedimentary extremes. Extreme Depositional Environments: Mega End Members in Geologic Time: Boulder, Colorado. Chan, M.A., Archer, A.W. Geological Society of America Special Paper 370, (2003). 53–74.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, (2000). 57–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nir, D. Geomorphology of Israel. (1970). The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, (in Hebrew) Google Scholar
Offer, Z.Y., and Goossens, D. Airborne particle accumulation and composition at different locations in the northern Negev desert. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie 45, (2001). 101–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Porat, N. Analytical procedures in the luminescence dating laboratory (in Hebrew). (2007). The Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem. 33 Google Scholar
Pye, K. The nature, origin and accumulation of loess. Quaternary Science Reviews 14, (1995). 653–667.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pye, K., and Tsoar, H. The mechanics and geological implications of dust transport and deposition in deserts with particular reference to loess formation and dune sand diagenesis in the Northern Negev, Israel. Frostick, L., and Reid, I. Desert Sediments: Ancient and Modern. Geological Society (London) Special Publication. (1987). 139–156.Google Scholar
Reimer, P.J., Baillie, M.G.L., Bard, E., Bayliss, A., Beck, J.W., Bertrand, C.J.H., Blackwell, P.G., Buck, C.E., Burr, G.S., Cutler, K.B., Damon, P.E., Edwards, R.L., Fairbanks, R.G., Friedrich, M., Guilderson, T.P., Hogg, A.G., Hughen, K.A., Kromer, B., McCormac, G., Manning, S., Ramsey, C.B., Reimer, R.W., Remmele, S., Southon, J.R., Stuiver, M., Talamo, S., Taylor, F.W., van der Plicht, J., and Weyhenmeyer, C.E. INTCAL04 terrestrial radiocarbon age calibration, 0–26 cal kyr BP. Radiocarbon 46, (2004). 1029–1058.Google Scholar
Sharon, D., Margalit, A., and Berkowicz, S.M. Locally modified surface winds on linear dunes as derived from directional rain gauges. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 27, (2002). 867–889.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smalley, I. Making the material: the formation of silt-sized primary mineral particles for loess deposits. Quaternary Science Reviews 14, (1995). 645–651.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sneh, A. Redeposited loess from the Quaternary Besor Basin, Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 32, (1983). 63–69.Google Scholar
Soreghan, G.S., Soreghan, M.J., and Hamilton, M.A. Origin and significance of loess in late Paleozoic western Pangea: a record of tropical cold?. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 268, (2008). 234–259.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swezey, C., Kocurek, G., Lancaster, N., Deynoux, M., Blum, M., Price, D., and Pion, J.-C. Response of aeolian systems to Holocene climatic and hydrologic changes on the northern margin of the Sahara: a high-resolution record from the Chott Rharsa basin, Tunisia. The Holocene 9, (1999). 141–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsoar, H., (1977). The Dynamics of Longitudinal Dunes. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, (in Hebrew with English abstract) The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, . 253 p.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H., and Moller, J.T. The role of vegetation in the formation of linear sand dunes. Nickling, W.G. Aeolian Geomorphology. (1986). Allen and Unwin, Boston. 75–95.Google Scholar
Tsoar, H., and Pye, K. Dust transport and the question of desert loess formation. Sedimentology 34, (1987). 139–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tsoar, H., Blumberg, D.G., and Wenkart, R. Formation and geomorphology of the North-Western Negev sand dunes. Breckle, S.W., Yair, A., Veste, M. Arid Dune Ecosystems, Ecological Studies v. 200, (2008). 25–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whalley, W.B., Smith, B.J., McAlister, J.J., and Edwards, A.J. Aeolian abrasion of quartz particles and the production of silt-size fragments: preliminary results. Frostick, L., and Reid, I. Desert Sediments: Ancient and Modern. Geological Society (London). (1987). 129–138.Google Scholar
Yaalon, D.H., (1971). Origin of desert loess, in Etudes sur le Quaternaire dans le Monde. vol. 2, p. 755, Assoc. Fr. pour l'Etud. du Quat., Paris.Google Scholar
Yaalon, D.H. Saharan dust and desert loess: effect on surrounding soils. Journal of African Earth Sciences 6, (1987). 569–571.Google Scholar
Yaalon, D.H., and Dan, J. Accumulation and distribution of loess derived deposits in the semi-desert and desert fringe areas of Israel. Zeitshrift fur Geomorphologie 20, (1974). 91–105.Google Scholar
Yaalon, D.H., and Ganor, E. The influence of dust on soils during the Quaternary. Soil Science 116, (1973). 146–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yair, A., and Enzel, Y. The relationship between annual rainfall and sediment yield in arid and semi-arid areas; the case of the northern Negev. Catena Supplement 10, (1987). 121–135.Google Scholar
Zilberman, E. The geology of the Qeren-Haluza area. Israel Geological Survey Report, Jerusalem, Israel. (1982). 38 Google Scholar
Ziv, B., Dayan, U., Kushnir, Y., Roth, C., and Enzel, Y. Regional and global atmospheric patterns governing rainfall in the southern Levant. International Journal of Climatology 26, (2006). 55–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar