The boundary between Eurasia and Gondwana (currently the suture between Eurasian and the African plates) has been the site of violent tectonic deformation and changing geography since the Triassic. The Mesozoic seas of this zone and their extension into the Himalayan region are known as the Tethys Sea, while the Tertiary seas are usually called the Mediterranean. 

In the present course we aim to trace the history of the region, from the breakup of Pangea at the end of the Triassic through the present times. The course includes preliminary frontal lectures on the general geology of the region, which will provide the necessary background information to be learned prior to a 3 days fieldtrip. The students will learn about the different processes occurring through time, from the evolution of the carbonate platform to its demise and replacement by a siliciclastic environment. Furthermore, emphasis will be made to understanding deep-water marine processes as identified in the geological record, such as mass transport deposits (e.g. Eocene outcrops), sedimentary facies in reef settings (e.g. Carmel Mountain) and deep-water diagenetic processes (e.g. Upper Galilee). Apart of understanding the evolution of the region from the Jurassic onwards, the students will learn about the interplay between the geology, landscape evolution and a pinch of human occupation, which have left important impacts in the region’s history.

The course will be held together with students from the Department of Marine Geosciences and from the Department of Geography (supervised by Dr. Nurit Shtober-Sizu).

The course includes:

• Two introductory sessions to provide the background: 1) The birth of the Mediterranean Sea and 2) Geology and geomorphology of Israel.

• One session after our return from campus 

• Three field trip days 

Topics:

• Geological history of the Levant region from the Jurassic until the present.

At the end of the course students will be able to:

• Understand and learn about the general geological framework of the Levantine region since the Jurassic until present day. 

• Correlate the information gathered from the outcrop with the geological setting of the deep Levant Basin in the East Mediterranean. 

• Learn about the evolution of the landscape in light of changing climate and tectonic conditions.

Requirements: Report and synthesis of a specific subject in a frontal class presentation.