Abstract: Six specimens accessioned to the Bavarian State Collection for Palaeontology and Geology in Munich, Germany, in 1966 are identified as coming from a gigantic pterodactyloid pterosaur. The previously undescribed material was obtained in 1955 by Jean Otto Haas and compares favourably in size with the type specimen of the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) azhdarchid pterosaur Arambourgiania philadelphiae ( Arambourg 1959 ) from the same locality/region. The material represents fragments of two cervical vertebrae, a neural arch, a left femur, a ?radius, and a metacarpal IV and bones of problematic identity, and does not duplicate the type material of Arambourgiania . The timing of its collection and its locality of Ruseifa, Jordan suggest it might pertain to the same individual as the holotype.

Abstract Recent drilling activity in the Levant Margin offshore Israel has resulted in the discovery of up to 25 TCF of gas. As exploration efforts continue, the previously under-explored Levant Margin is revealed as one of the most prolific petroleum provinces of the Mediterranean region. Study of regional seismic data show that this margin evolved in three main tectonic phases: Permian to Early Jurassic riffing, middle Jurassic to middle Cretaceous passive margin and late Cretaceous to Tertiary inversion and partial subsidence. Well results indicate the existence of both biogenic and thermogenic petroleum systems. Dry-gas found in Mari-B, Tamar, Leviathan, and several smaller fields suggests basin-wide charge of reservoirs containing bacterial gas, likely originated in Late Tertiary, organic-rich deep-marine shale. Two play types are associated with the biogenic gas system: (A) the Tamar play includes lower Miocene, deep-water turbidite sands in upper Miocene compressional structures; and (B) the Yafo play includes lower Pliocene turbidites in basin-floor fans and mobilized sand mounds. The existence of thermogenic petroleum systems in the Levant Margin is indicated by significant, highgrade oil shows found in several wells, although commercial production of these oils has not yet been established. Potential source rocks are organic-rich carbonates of mid-Triassic, mid-Jurassic, late Cretaceous, and early Tertiary age. Two types of plays are considered: (A) Jurassic, fractured shallow-marine carbonates in compressional structures located near the basin margin; and (B) Cretaceous, deep-water turbidite sands found in the deep, central part of the basin. Both play types are planned to be soon tested by drilling.

This paper examines the development of a crisis over a critical military-security issue raised by the severe earthquakes that destroyed defensive structures throughout Nur al-Din's Sultanate of Syria, the Crusader Principality of Antioch, and the County of Tripoli. The earthquakes that struck Syria in 1157 and 1170 are well documented by contemporary historians. The accounts of destruction concentrate on the collapse of many fortresses and town walls. This circumstance strongly influenced regional politics and military affairs. While the first earthquake led to an increase in tension and a rise in violence between the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Muslim Sultanate in Syria, the destruction wrought by the 1170 earthquake forced the two sides to accept a formal peace treaty. The two case studies presented here examine the impact of earthquake destruction on decision makers in the complex international arena of medieval Syria.

The recently discovered 6-km-diameter impact structure Jebel Waqf as Suwwan of Jordan (31°02.9′N, 36°48.4′E) has a prominent outer rim and a well-exposed central uplift of ~1000 m diameter, which provides a section through the entire target stratigraphy. The impact occurred into sedimentary rocks of considerable competence contrast. The innermost area of the central uplift exposes Lower Cretaceous sandstones, the oldest strata of the crater. Limestones and marly limestones surround this core and are dismembered into competent blocks that are internally folded. The limestone blocks, in turn, are encircled by a sequence of incompetent marls and chalks. These weak beds accommodated space incompatibilities during block deformation of the competent beds beneath and above. Thick chert beds form the prominent outer collar of the central uplift. Radial folding and faulting are the most conspicuous structural attributes of this sequence. In the southwestern part of the collar, normal layering dominates, and fold axes plunge outward, whereas overturning of strata and fold axes is the rule in the northeastern part. This indicates a top-to-NE shearing component that is explained by an oblique impact scenario with an impact from the southwest. The inferred trajectory runs parallel to the SW-NE axis of symmetry of the central uplift defined by the exposure of strata. Block sizes in limestones and cherts of the central uplift increase with increasing radial distance; however, block sizes are also influenced by the different strength properties of limestone and chert. Shatter cones are abundant throughout the Waqf as Suwwan central uplift, but they also occur prominently along its periphery. Other shock features, such as planar deformation features, planar fractures, and feather features, occur exclusively in Lower Cretaceous sandstones; limestone and microcrystalline chert—the dominant lithologies—are devoid of such effects. The moat between the central uplift and crater rim is largely covered by alluvial wadi sediments. The crater rim is composed of white marls and massive chert beds of Eocene age, the youngest strata of the crater, which also provide a maximum age for the cratering event. Both antithetic and synthetic block slumping are common along the uplifted crater rim.

Abstract Unusual dike-like bodies and lenses of paralava, up to 1–5 m long and 10 cm thick, are found in the “olive” unit of the combustion metamorphic complex in the Hatrurim Basin, Israel. High-temperature rocks of the “olive” unit are composed of anorthite and clinopyroxene (diopside-hedenbergite-esseneite) and are connected with pipe-like explosion structures. The paralavas are cryptocrystalline rocks that exhibit vesicular and fluidal textures. The main mineral assemblage in these rocks, identified by electron-microprobe analysis and X-ray diffraction, consists of basic plagioclase + Fe-Ti oxides + clinopyroxene + K-feldspar + tridymite ± apatite. The silica content of the paralavas is similar to that of basalt, whereas the high calcium content suggests similarity to anorthosite. The occurrence of glass in the paralava is evidence for melting. The glasses are compositionally similar to rhyolites and more acidic melts. Melting temperatures were at least 1100 °C. The presence of pipe-like explosion structures, the occurrence of melted rocks, and various geological relationships throughout the Hatrurim Basin provide evidence for a new hypothesis about the genesis of this pyrometamorphic complex. The combustion metamorphic rocks in the Hatrurim Basin in Israel formed as a result of repeated ignition of hydrocarbon gases. The setting we envisage has many geological features typical of mud-volcano provinces. The occurrence of paralavas is restricted to the areas of gas ignition.

Abstract Considerable natural remanent magnetization of the calcareous rocks in the Mottled Zone, Israel, is commonly related to surface combustion metamorphism. The vector sum of inductive and remanent magnetization (effective magnetization) was determined based on a study of the magnetic properties of rocks and interpretation of T (the modulus of geomagnetic field vector) and ▵ Z (the increment of vertical component of geomagnetic field) anomalies. Ground multiscale magnetic measurements indicate that the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the Mottled Zone, which have a spotty distribution, are characterized by extensive variations in magnetic fields and susceptibility, with a median value of ∼200 × 10 −5 SI. This magnetic pattern is similar to other areas of combustion metamorphism. Low-temperature hydrothermal rocks have a relatively homogeneous magnetic susceptibility with the same median value. Relatively homogeneous and moderate magnetization also was observed in some outcrops of the Mishash formation, which underlies the Mottled Zone rocks. High-grade metamorphism and locally varying magnetization may be due to the burning of gases. The local aeromagnetic maxima observed within the Hatrurim Basin and quantitative interpretation of some magnetic anomalies suggest magnetic sources with relatively homogeneous and stable magnetization and greater area and depth. The formation of such bodies requires a regional source for magnetization processes (e.g., gas flow from depth along faults). A more detailed study, including a helicopter survey and special ground and laboratory analyses, must be performed for a complete characterization of the complex magnetic system.

The position of the Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary, as classically used, is an issue still under discussion by the International Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy (ISCS), and no level has been established yet. At present, there are two oryctocephalid trilobite species–based Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point (GSSP) proposals in the literature, Oryctocephalus indicus and Ovatoryctocara granulata . These two species have not yet been found in the Mediterranean subprovince. For this reason, other correlation tools that approximate these levels are needed. A complete chronostratigraphy for the Lower and Middle Cambrian Series of Iberia was proposed by Sdzuy (1971a , b ). Recently Geyer and Landing (2004) made a new proposal for the Lower–Middle Cambrian chronostratigraphy of West Gondwana. They proposed the Agdzian Stage. This stage is more or less equivalent to the Bilbilian and Leonian Stages of Spain. The main problem with the Agdzian Stage is that its boundaries are not correlative with a potential global Cambrian Series boundary. Those levels would be in the middle part of the Agdzian Stage. In order to make a more accurate correlation, we prefer to use the previous Spanish scale and try to clarify the correlation between different sequences of this time interval in the Mediterranean subprovince. Here we present a summary of biostratigraphical data from the Bilbilian and Leonian Stages, the boundary of which is placed at the first appearance datum (FAD) of Acadoparadoxides mureroensis . This, the classical Lower–Middle Cambrian boundary in the Paradoxides realm, is constrained by the data of various areas of the Mediterranean region. A revised correlation chart comparing the Mediterranean and other regions is presented. The position of the Bilbilian–Leonian boundary roughly coincides with the two GSSPs proposed by the ISCS.

The carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of pedogenic calcite from mid-Turonian paleosols in Israel was analyzed to evaluate paleoenvironmental conditions and calculate paleoatmospheric p CO 2 . The central area of Israel was a part of a marine carbonate shelf that emerged during the mid-Turonian stage, as evidenced by karstic phenomena, fluvial sandstone, and soil profiles. The paleosols have the characteristics of equivalent modern calcic Vertisols but are distinguished by the predominance of palygorskite, which formed as an essential part of the soil processes. The pedogenic calcite and the underlying and overlying marine limestone beds have mean δ 13 C (‰, Vienna Peedee belemnite [VPDB]) values of −6.15 ± 0.93, −2.82 ± 1.87, −1.33 ± 2.17, respectively, and δ 18 O values of −5.03 ± 1.24, −6.31 ± 0.87, and −5.81 ± 0.97, respectively. In most sections, the δ 18 O values of pedogenic calcite are much heavier than those of the limestone due to evaporation. Since most of the pedogenic calcite formed at >50 cm depth and did not show diagenetic modification, the δ 13 C values were used to calculate p CO 2 according to the Cerling model (as applied by Ekart et al., 1999 ). This marks the first Turonian p CO 2 estimate calculated from pedogenic calcite. The calculated range for the mid-Turonian is 1450–2690 ppmv CO 2 . This high p CO 2 level is similar to or somewhat higher than other estimates for the Cretaceous and in accord with calculated high Turonian temperatures from many studies. La zona central de Israel formó parte de una plataforma marina carbonática que emergió durante el Turoniense medio, tal como indican los fenómenos cársticos, las areniscas fluviales y los perfiles edáficos. Los paleosuelos tienen características similares a vertisuelos cálcicos recientes, y presentan como rasgo distintivo la abundancia de paligorskita, que se formó durante los procesos edáficos. El registro continental indica un aumento progresivo de la aridez. Se analizó la composición isotópica de carbono y oxígeno de las calcitas pedogénicas de estos paleosuelos del Turoniense medio con objeto de evaluar las condiciones ambientales y calcular los paleoniveles de CO 2 atmosféricos. Los valores medios de las calcitas pedogénicas y de las calizas marinas infra y suprayacentes son, respectivamente, −6.15 ± 0.93, −2.82 ± 1.87, −1.33 ± 2.17 (‰, VPDB) para el δ 13 C, y −5.03 ± 1.24, −6.31 ± 0.87, −5.81 ± 0.97, para el δ 18 O. En la mayoría de las secciones los valores de δ 18 O de las calcitas pedogénicas son más pesados que los de las calizas, debido a la evaporación. Puesto que la mayoría de las calcitas pedogénicas se formaron a profundidades superiores a 50 cm y no presentan rasgos de modificación diagénetica, sus valores de δ 13 C se usaron para calcular la p CO 2 de acuerdo con el modelo de Cerling (Ekart et al., 1999 ). Esta es aparentemente la primera estimación realizada a partir de calcita pedogénica para el Turoniense. Los cálculos realizados asumen una baja tasa de respiración de CO 2 en el suelo (Sz = 4000 ppmV), 25 °C como temperatura del suelo y valores de 2‰ para el δ 13 C de los carbonatos oceánicos superficiales. Los datos obtenidos para el Turoniense medio indican valores de 1450 a 2690 ppmv de p CO 2 . Estos valores elevados son similares o algo más altos que otras estimaciones realizadas para el Cretácico y son coherentes con las elevadas temperaturas que se han calculado en otros estudios para el Turoniense.

Recent studies on the evolution of the Dead Sea basin have shed light on the intricate tectonic regime of the area. Combined with newly available data from Jordan, a new picture of a symmetrical deep basin is emerging. Salt is prevalent over the entire width of the basin in the south. The original thickness of this layer was calculated to be ∼2 km, but at present it does not exceed 900 m. Crustal studies indicate a difference between the southern and northern basins, which are separated by a large, normal fault. Depth to the basement in the northern basin is estimated to be 6–8 km, while that of the southern basin is 12 km. Relocation of deep earthquakes revealed that the majority of well-constrained micro-earthquakes (M L ≤ 3.2) occurred at depths much deeper than previously expected (20–32 km). Seismicity and the low value of regional heat flow suggest that the lower crust might be cool and brittle. A lithospheric strength profile was calculated, indicating a narrow brittle-to-ductile transition at a depth of 31 km. Uplift measurements, submersible studies, and combined geological-geophysical mapping are some of the new techniques applied to the area to solve the complex neotectonic structure. Results indicate that the southern and northern basins are both currently active. In addition to tectonics, activity is also inferred by the presence of salt diapirs, whose uplift or subsidence may be related to current motion along active faults. Discrepancies in earthquake-reoccurrence times may indicate that the main fault in the northern Dead Sea basin, the Jericho fault (also known as the Jordan fault), is segmented, or that earthquakes occur in clusters. One such segment is responsible for the formation of a small subbasin on the northwestern shore of the lake, the Qumran basin, whose complex neotectonic regime includes strike-slip, reverse and normal faulting, folding, right bending splays, and a migrating depocenter. Recent global positioning system measurements provide slip-rates of 2.6–3.8 mm/yr for the current plate motion in this area. An open crack between the seafloor and a sharp bathymetric cliff in the lake provides visual evidence for this motion, while data from shallow seismic surveys present paleoseismic information on this activity.

The Dead Sea Depression is an ∼230-km-long and up to ∼10-km-deep structural-gravitational low along the southern Dead Sea Transform plate boundary between Africa and Arabia. Following an early Miocene–Pliocene deformation phase of localized strike slip faulting and intense fluvial deposition in confined pull-apart basins, delocalization of the Dead Sea Transform and formation of a shear zone over the entire current width of the Dead Sea Depression took place in late Pliocene–early Pleistocene time. Integration of relocated epicenters and focal mechanisms of M L 2.5 earthquakes with a range of structural and geophysical data shows that the late-phase asymmetrical shear zone consists of a distinct sinistral boundary fault in the east and a broad zone of distributed shear to the west. It is characterized by a penetrative, bimodal (NW and NE) structural orientation pattern reflected in earthquake focal mechanisms, segments of the western boundary fault system, fracture sets, geomorphic lineaments, and linear clusters of collapse sinkholes. These phenomena are a manifestation of a long-term persistent deformation field that involves at least the entire upper crust. The shear zone fault structure consists of normal-dextral, NE-oriented faults that extend northeastward from the western boundary fault and intervening NW-trending normal faults. These fault sets produce subsided, fault-bounded depocenters within the Dead Sea basin. The NE-oriented and axially extending blocks are expected to rotate in a clockwise sense with the relative sinistral plate motion, resulting in both normal-dextral and normal-sinistral slip events along the western boundary fault system. Since the Dead Sea Transform plate boundary is non-convergent and probably driven by sinistral basal flow, the Dead Sea Depression shear zone is internally contracting and subsiding. Partition of the relative plate motion between sinistral slip along the eastern boundary fault and distributed shear within the Dead Sea Depression may explain the apparent deficiency in seismic slip along the southern Dead Sea Transform relative to average long-term geological slip.

Mount Sedom is the surface expression of a salt diapir that has emerged since the Pleistocene in the southwestern part of the Dead Sea basin. Milestones in the uplift history of the Sedom salt diapir since its inception were deduced from angular and erosional unconformities, thickness variations, caprock formation, chemistry and isotope composition of lacustrine aragonite, cave morphology, precise leveling, and satellite geodesy. Thickness variations of the overburden observed in transverse seismic lines suggest that significant growth of the Sedom diapir may have initiated only after this thickness exceeded ∼2400 m in the Late Pliocene. The formation of the caprock signifies the arrival of the Sedom diapir from depth to the dissolution level between 300,000–100,000 yr B.P. During this period and later, angular and erosional unconformities in the upper part of the overburden near Mount Sedom are attributed to the piercing diapir. Rapid solution of rock salt from parts of Mount Sedom inundated by Lake Lisan after ca. 40,000 yr B.P. is inferred from Na/Ca ratios in aragonite and their relation to δ 13 C. On the mountain itself, the older parts (70,000–43,000 yr B.P.) of the lacustrine Lisan Formation are missing. The top of the preserved sediments is covered by alluvial sediments that must have been deposited when the elevation of Mount Sedom was not higher than 265 m below sea level (mbsl) at ca. 14,000 yr B.P. The present elevation of these sediments at 190 mbsl indicates an average uplift rate of ∼5 mm/yr over the past 14,000 yr. Similar uplift rates of 6–9 mm/yr are inferred for the Holocene from displacement of the “salt mirror” and hanging passages of caves. The present uplift rate, calculated from precise leveling and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), is similar to the average Holocene rate. Based on the gathered data, we reconstruct the topographic rise of Sedom diapir and its relation to lake level variations during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

The Dead Sea, located along the boundary separating semiarid climate from arid climate, is prone to flash flooding caused mainly by severe convection generating heavy precipitation. An overview of the main responsible synoptic systems (tropical and extra-tropical) accounting for most of the major flash floods is presented. The moisture for developing intensive convection over the region can be originated not only from the adjacent Mediterranean Sea but also from distant upwind sources. Under tropical air mass intrusions, convection generated by static instability seems to play a more important role than synoptic-scale vertical motions. The essential subsynoptic scale processes leading to deep convection and the resulting spatio-temporal rainfall characteristics are discussed through examples of selected storms previously analyzed.

The Dead Sea (drainage area of ∼42,200 km 2 ) is a terminal lake fed from the north by the Jordan River. The main water source into the Dead Sea is runoff, and its level is highly sensitive to the annual rainfall in the upper Jordan River drainage basin. Here, we summarize relevant data about present and past surface-water hydrology in the drainage basin and water input into the Dead Sea. The lower Jordan River, with a natural mean annual discharge of ∼1100 10 6 m 3 yr −1 , drains Mediterranean to semiarid areas in northern Israel, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Additional water is contributed from tributaries such as the Zarqa River (64 10 6 m 3 yr −1 ). The diversion of water from these and other sources since the 1960s to an inflow of only ∼210 10 6 m 3 yr −1 caused a 20 m decline of the Dead Sea level. The ephemeral Nahal Arava drains hyperarid areas south of the Dead Sea and contributes small volumes of water (∼5 10 6 m 3 yr −1 ) but experiences occasional large floods (up to 1000 m 3 s −1 ); the smaller, steep ephemeral tributaries west of the Dead Sea produce relatively large floods (up to 775 m 3 s −1 ) due to their wetter headwaters, but their volumes are relatively small (<3 10 6 m 3 ). The annual inflow (∼200 10 6 m 3 yr −1 ) to the Dead Sea from the eastern, semiarid tributaries is divided between base flows (∼65% of annual discharge) and winter floods. In the arid part of the basin, transmission losses and recharge into the shallow alluvial aquifers and probably also to the deeper aquifers during floods are directly related to flow volume. Transmission losses in Nahal Zin decrease with flood magnitude from ∼86% to 100% in small floods of <10 m 3 s −1 to ∼10% for large floods of up to 1500 m 3 s −1 . During the largest floods, the volume of these losses can exceed 4 10 6 m 3 . Rare paleofloods during the past 2000 yr in the Negev were 2–3 times larger than present-day measured floods. The temporal distribution of paleofloods shows that periods with a high frequency of large floods alternate with periods of few large floods. Periods with a high frequency of large floods correlate with high Dead Sea levels, and a low frequency of floods correlates with low lake levels.

The Dead Sea rift valley serves as a deep base level, to which surface waters and groundwaters drain. Two lakes are currently located within the rift: the fresh-water Sea of Galilee (210 m below mean sea level [bmsl]) and the hyper-saline Dead Sea (415 m bmsl). Fresh groundwaters and hot brines flow toward these lakes through carbonate, basaltic, sandstone, and alluvium aquifers. The Dead Sea rift is a unique global site for studying the coupled relationships between basin evolution and groundwater flow. The temporal and spatial distributions of elevations and salinities of groundwaters and lakes are strongly related to past conditions of tectonics, sedimentation, and erosion. Moreover, climate variations have induced changes in the rift's water mass balance, triggering lake level fluctuations and temporal and spatial changes in lake salinity. These effects were analyzed using basin-scale transient hydrogeological numerical models that solve the coupled variable-density groundwater flow and transport of heat and solutes. Furthermore, several ambiguous hydrological phenomena are currently observed at the Dead Sea rift: the existence of fresh and saline springs near each other as well as hot and cold ones; direct and opposite relationships between springs' discharge-salinity-temperature; different geochemical compositions of waters and brines; and complicated spatial distribution of groundwater heads. These phenomena are also explained and analyzed using various hydrogeological numerical models. In addition, quantitative examples of groundwater flow regimes in a few aquifers at the rift vicinity are provided.

The Dead Sea is an extremely dynamic hydrologic system, where the base level is currently declining at a rate of ∼1 m/yr. The groundwater level follows this drop within a relatively short time (a few days in the case of the extensive floods in the winter of 1991–1992). The fresh-saline water interface is very shallow, compared to that of the ocean, due to the large density difference between the fresh and saline water bodies. The interface was found to be steeper near the marginal faults, tracked in a time domain electromagnetic geophysical survey, due to the relatively low horizontal hydraulic conductivity at the fault zone. SUTRA code simulations support this result. Near the shoreline of the Dead Sea, a new coastal area is exposed, whereby the main processes are flushing of most of the section and evaporation and precipitation of salts near the surface. The effect of flushing is seen in several in situ profiles that show much lower concentrations than the original Dead Sea brine, which existed only a few decades ago. Preliminary simulations on a larger scale imply that the Dead Sea water level drop will influence groundwater levels at least several kilometers from the shoreline, increasing the hydraulic gradient and thus also the discharge to the Dead Sea.

Precise and high-resolution chronologies of continental sedimentary records (e.g., lacustrine and cave deposits) are instrumental for establishing Quaternary climatic pattern on the continents and for comparison to marine and ice core records of climate change. Radiocarbon is the major dating method for establishing Holocene and late-glacial chronologies, yet its use often requires determination of the reservoir age, and beyond ca. 24 ka cal. B.P., the calibration curve to calendar years is not well established. Thus, beyond the youngest portion of the last Glacial period, U-Th dating of carbonates becomes the major means in obtaining high-resolution chronologies. However, these age determinations are hampered by contamination of the samples with detrital U and Th and by the presence of aqueous Th. Here we summarize the approaches used to address the problems in U-Th and radiocarbon dating of the late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary records of the Dead Sea basin. This mainly includes solutions for the problem of detrital U and Th and aqueous (initial) Th in the Lisan carbonates and the evaluation of “reservoir ages” in the determination of carbonate radiocarbon ages. The calendar U-Th and calibrated radiocarbon ages are used for establishing the environmental (climate and seismological) chronology of the region (e.g., reconstruction of a high-resolution lake level curve and correlation with global climatic records), for paleomagnetic reconstruction (e.g., the documentation of secular variations and geomagnetic excursions such as the Laschamp Event ca. 40 ka cal B.P.), and extending the calibration of the radiocarbon time scale.