2020
2020 NEWS
November 2020 | Congrats to Dr. Yin Lu, former postdoc at PetroLab for the new fantastic paper in Science Advances!
Large earthquakes (magnitude ≥ 7.0) are rare, especially along slow-slipping plate boundaries. Lack of large earthquakes in the instrumental record enlarges uncertainty of the recurrence time; the recurrence of large earthquakes is generally determined by extrapolation according to a magnitude-frequency relation. We enhance the seismological catalog of the Dead Sea Fault Zone by including a 220,000-year-long continuous large earthquake record based on seismites from the Dead Sea center. In the current paper published in Science Advances, we constrain seismic shaking intensities via computational fluid dynamics modeling and invert them for earthquake magnitude. Our analysis shows that the recurrence time of large earthquakes follows a power-law distribution, with a mean of 1400 ± 160 years. This mean recurrence is notable shorter than the previous estimate of 11,000 years for the past 40,000 years. Our unique record confirms a clustered earthquake recurrence pattern and a group-fault temporal clustering model, and reveals an unexpectedly high seismicity rate on a slow-slipping plate boundary.
Congrats Yin for the successful work in Science Advances!
November 2020 | Congrats to Dr. Or Bialik on the new paper in Sedimentary Geology!
Another new paper just came out from Or Bialik's oven! The paper entitled: Short-lived early Cenomanian volcanic atolls of Mt. Carmel, northern Israel just was published this month in Sedimentary Geology. The paper deals with new interpretations on the presence of Cenomanian age volcanic atolls in the Carmel Mt. These atolls are a few kilometers in diameter and differ significantly in facies from their surroundings, which are dominated by chalky calcareous mudstone and wackestone. The atolls are composed of grainstone, floatstone, rudstone and bafflestone facies, which are dominated by molluscans, notably gastropods, rudists, oysters and other bivalves. Corals and green algae are absent throughout these atolls. The studied sections of these atolls display a full succession, beginning with aggradation and ending with drowning. Age constraints for the volcanic phases suggest that deposition occurred within a relatively short time interval (<1 Myr) and the sequence represents a keep-up to give-up transition, within rising global and local sea-level trends. The inability of these atolls to keep up with rising sea level is attributed here to a suppressed carbonate factory, either due to drowning, turbidity and/or nutrient excess. The paper provides new light on the dynamics of carbonate buildups during the Late Cretaceous and their ability to persist.
Congrats Or!
September 2020 | Congrats to Aaron Meilijson for the fantastic new paper in Marine and Petroleum Geology!
Dr. Aaron Meilijson just published a new paper in MPG entitled: Significance to hydrocarbon exploration of terrestrial organic matter introduced into deep marine systems: Insights from the Lower Cretaceous in the Levant Basin. The paper deals with an in-dept study of organic-rich layers from the Lower Cretaceous in Israel. High resolution analyses show intervals of increased terrestrial sourced organic matter and thus pointing to the presence of a new gas-prone source rock unit in northern Israel. Interpretation of the paleoenvironment indicates that transport-mixing mechanisms might have been a major component in affecting source-rock properties and so the petroleum systems. Th study suggests that thermogenic gas identified in such marine settings can be misinterpreted as from marine organic matter, and mislead exploration towards potential occurrence of an oil reservoir.
Congrats Ari for this exceptional piece of work!
August 2020 | Congrats Or Bialik for receiving the Early Career Researcher Award from the International Association of Sedimentologists!
We are happy to announce that Dr. Or Bialik will be the awardee for the International Association of Sedimentologists (IAS) Early Career Researcher award. Or was until recently a research associate at PetroLab in association wth Dr. Yizhaq Makovsky. The IAS awards an Early Career Researcher only once every two years in recognition of substantial contribution in any area of sedimentology.
Or received his PhD from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and had since been a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science, Princeton University and the University of Hamburg. Or is currently a Marie Currie research fellow at the University of Malta’s Department of Geosciences. His interdisciplinary works includes modern chemical oceanography of the Mediterranean, the evolution and impact of connectivity between the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, diagenesis of carbonate rocks and reconstruction of past marine environments of the Tethyan realm. Or received this award mostly based on the large amount of successful papers published on his work done at the Charney School of Marine Sciences. Moreover, as part of his position at the University of Haifa, Or was much valued contributor in several projects, including THEMO monthly cruises and several interdisciplinary projects.
We wish to congratulate Or on receiving this award, one of the most significant early career awards in his field, and are assured we’ll hear more of his successes in the future.
July 2020 | Our paper in Frontiers in Earth Science got to the national news!
Our paper in Frontiers in Earth Sciences dealing with the sedimentary record from Lake Kuntilla got to the news! The paper shows new paleomagnetic analyses confirming that the lacustrine archive dates back to 1.5 Ma. The exceptional record enlighten with novel information about the paleoenvironmental conditions ruling the Negev desert through the initial dispersal of hominins through the Levantine corridor. The work was carried out in an international collaboration with scientists from Israel, Iceland and Spain.
For more details, see the following file.
July 2020 | New paper from PetroLabers dealing with Oligocene records from Cyprus!
Our paper entitled "Lenticular bedding-like bioturbation in Oligocene Carbonate drifts, Cyprus" in Journal of Sedimentary Research just got published! The paper proposes that the overlap of abundant isolated cone-shaped burrows of Zoophycos is the origin of lenticular layering recorded in the Oligocene fine-grained carbonate deposits of Cyprus, traditionally identified as drifts. Since this bedding is not related to currents in the study sections, the consideration of these carbonate deposits of Cyprus as drifts should be reevaluated. This has crucial implications for the recognition of carbonate drift outcrops elsewhere. We conclude that onshore carbonate drift outcrops wherein lenticular bedding is the main diagnostic criterion should be revisited and evaluated ichnologically. Congrats Jesus!
July 2020 | New paper from PetroLab members about the Maldives!
A new paper just came out of the oven from PetroLab members Or Bialik and Nicolas Waldmann. The paper entitled: "Source shifts to periplatform deposits during the early to middle Miocene in response to climatic and oceanographic forcing, Maldives, western Indian Ocean" (published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology) utilizes continuous core sequences retrieved during IODP expedition 359 (Sept-Nov 2015). The paper shows that the evolution of the Maldives carbonate platform during the Early and Middle Miocene was driven by variations of the nutrient state, the atmospheric pCO2 and sea level. The linkage between these factors dictated the platform growth and the structure of biological communities. High nutrient conditions appear to be related to lowering temperature, intensification of currents in the Arabian Sea and expression of the NW Indian Ocean OMZ. The periods of lowered neritic production appear to relate to a slower growth rate of the platform.
July 2020 | New paper from our petrolaber member, Mariana Olivo!
A new paper just came out of the oven by Mariana Olivo! The work was done in Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and presents an integrated stratigraphic and sedimentological analysis of the Mulichinco Formation, an exposed fluvial–inner estuarine analogue for a reservoir unit. Hierarchy of anisotropies in this sequence were investigated combining architectural analysis, vertical and lateral facies organization, and porosity and permeability distributions in different channel-body types. Several facies associations were defined, which characterize the deposition in a proximal to distal fluvial and inner estuarine systems. Sequence stratigraphic analyses suggest the fluvial–estuarine succession evolved from low-accommodation to high-accommodation settings. This multiscale analysis contributes as a predictive model for exploration and development strategy of fluvial–inner estuarine reservoirs; and particularly provides robust outcropping analog data for the contemporary gas-producer intervals within the Mulichinco unconventional play (tight-gas) located immediately to the East in the Neuquén Embayment.
July 2020 | Drilling Erk el Ahmar Formation!
We made a pause of the COVID situation and went to the field to retrieve some cores from the Pliocene lacustrine Erk el Ahmar Formation! Although it was very (very) hot and dry, we had a very good success in obtaining over 25 m of continuous core sections from this magnificent lake sequence! This drilling operation opens a new possibility for exploring in more details the sedimentary record, hoping to provide clues into the environmental setting that prevailed in the region during the Pliocene.
June 2020 | New paper published by Petrolabers in Chemical Geology!
A new paper leaded by own Chinese partners at Nanjing University, has just been accepted in Chemical Geology entitled "Extracting Mg isotope signatures of ancient seawater from marine halite: a reconnaissance". The paper deals with the development of a method to accurately measure the isotope compositions of Mg out from fluid inclusions in marine halite minerals. The study shows that δ26Mg values of marine halites with early precipitation and limited influence by mineral inclusions, which reasonably matches the Mg isotope curve for seawater based on studies of dolomite, whereas the δ26Mg values of recrystallized halite or halite precipitated in the late stage of brine evolution could be remarkably lower than the expected values for contemporaneous seawater. It is proposed that a number of processes can deviate the measured δ26Mg values in halite including: 1) isotopic evolution of brine following mineral precipitation, 2) entrapment of evaporite minerals into halite during halite precipitation, 3) post-depositional deformation, and 4) re-crystallization and dissolution of pre-existing Mg minerals. Collectively, we suggest that Mg isotopes in halite are a new geochemical proxy to study the secular variations in seawater chemistry.
May 2020 | An ICDP proposal for drilling Lake Nam Co (Tibet, China) has been accepted!
Considering that almost one third of the population of the world depends on the water supply from the Tibetan Plateau, the future development of the monsoon on the Tibetan Plateau will have a major societal impact. To define parameters for future climate change scenarios (IPCC) and their consequences for ecosystems, it is necessary to improve our knowledge of timing, duration, and intensity of past climatic variability and environmental impact, not only on short but also on long geologic time scales.
Nam Co represents one of the largest and deepest lakes on the Tibetan Plateau. Due to this location in the modern monsoon regime (wind, precipitation), paleoclimate proxies reflect the spatial and temporal development of large-scale atmospheric circulation systems.
A continuous high-resolution record for these long time scales from Nam Co will further enable to study sediment budget changes under varying climatic and tectonic settings, and contribute to a better understanding of the Quaternary geomagnetic field. The proposed ICDP project is leaded by Dr. Torsten Haberzettl from the University Of Greifswald (Germany) and Prof. Liping Zhu from the Chinese Academy of Geosciences, Institute for Tibetan Plateau Research (China). For more details, please follow this link.
May 2020 | New paper out of the oven in Frontiers in Earth Sciences!
A new paper just came out of the oven from the PetroLab group members in Frontiers. The paper entitled "Magnetostratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the Kuntila Lake sediments, southern Israel: Implications for late Cenozoic climate variability at the northern fringe of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt" deals with the chronology improvement of a lacustrine phase in southern Israel. In fact, the Negev Desert hosts a number of late Cenozoic lacustrine and palustrine sedimentary sequences that attest for past wetter conditions in what today constitutes one of the driest deserts on Earth. These sequences are of special importance because the region forms part of the Levantine Corridor, which was probably the only continental bridge that enabled initial out-of-Africa expansion of our genus Homo. Yet, the paleoclimatic significance of these sequences still remains unknown, mainly due to their uncertain (late Pliocene to early Pleistocene) age. In the current paper a combined sedimentologic, paleontologic and magnetostratigraphic study is carried out on the so-called Kuntila Lake sediments, located in the Nahal Paran basin. Sedimentological evidence and ostracod faunas indicate that these sediments accumulated in a long-lasting lacustrine basin that underwent periodic lake-level variations. Magnetostratigraphic measurements enable the recognition of a normal (N1) and a reverse (R1) polarity zones in the lower and upper halves, respectively, of the Kuntila Gate section. Correlation of N1 to the Olduvai Subchron (1.778 and 1.945 Ma) appears as the most likely option in view of previously published 10Be ages derived for the uppermost part of the Kuntila Member in nearby sections. The inferred wetter conditions in the Negev Desert have facilitated the biogeographic connection between Africa and Eurasia, greening the path for the initial out-of-Africa dispersal of Homo. Further research on the Kuntila Lake sediments will be necessary to better determine the timing, extent and significance of such biogeographic connection.
May 2020 | Dr. Nicolas Waldmann gives a talk to the public through Facebook live and zoom.
The Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Haifa has decided to provide scientific talks to the public during these Covid-19 outbreak days. As part of this series, Dr. Nicolas Waldmann gave a talk entitled: "Rocks talks: climate change from the dinosaurs era to the corona times". The talk deals with explaining the mechanisms controlling climate change and the increasing impact of humans in modulating and affecting this fragile system.
The talk was given in Hebrew and was well attended by a large audience of young people and elders and can also be accessed through YouTube in the following link:
March 2020 | Dr. Silas Dean joins PetroLab!
Dr. Silas Dean joined PetroLab with an exciting project on the lacustrine sedimentary record of the 'Ubeidiya Formation (northern Israel). Dr. Silas will dive into this sedimentary record, in hope to provide a concise reconstruction of the paleoenvironmental setting and the associated variability through time. Dr. Dean's work will enlighten with new and important information that will serve as a pillar for understanding the impact of climate change on the Levantine Corridor during the transition and migration of early humans through the region.
Congrats Silas and looking forwards for a fruitful mutual work!
February 2020 | New paper published in Sedimentology!
Dr. Mariana Olivo just put a paper out of the oven on Sedimentology! The paper deals with morphological complexities and sedimentary mechanisms of unconformities in basin margins systems. Although the development of unconformities entails significant sediment delivery to be considered when analysing ‘source to sink’ systems, as well as large palaeogeographical changes related to basin reconfiguration episodes, the complexity that unconformities can reveal towards basin margins has been scarcely explored. A sedimentological and architectural analysis combining outcrop and subsurface datasets shows five palaeoenvironmental evolutionary stages and four key stratigraphic surfaces in a constrained ca. 2 Ma Valanginian interval on the southern margin of the Neuquén back‐arc basin (Argentina). A complex‐type subaerial unconformity was identified, composed in turn of two subaerial unconformities exhibiting both single and composite motifs, different morphologies and facies shifts representative of large palaeogeographical changes. In the studied stratigraphic interval, two erosional stages occur linked to combinations of exclusively non‐marine‐driven processes involved in unconformities developing. The two subaerial unconformities differ in nature and distribution, representing a novel case of complex unconformities and stratigraphic architectures in non‐marine lowstand wedges. The Valanginian complex subaerial unconformity entails a high diachroneity along strike and depositional dip, implying that the hiatus created in landward settings occurred during relative sea‐level fall and rise stages during a period longer than in basinward areas. Disagreeing with classical sequential models, two third‐order sequence components of a complex lowstand wedge are preserved in proximal settings. Subsidence‐controlled accommodation and interplay between second‐order and third‐order cycles were combined, increasing the prospects of sediment storage and preservation potential of composite sequences towards landward areas. This work improves current comprehension about complex subaerial unconformities formation and related lowstand architectures in proximal settings, providing criteria to understand and re-valuate lowstand wedge geometries, particularly for more complex examples, such as the case reported in this contribution.
Congrats Mariana!
February 2020 | New paper published in the Depositional Record!
A new paper is just out of the over and online at the Depositional Record! The paper deals with the reconstruction of sedimentation volumes and patterns, suspended sediment yields, wind‐induced circulation patterns and sediment trapping efficiency of Lake Strynevatnet, western Norway as an integrated source to sink system. The lake became deglaciated ca 11 ky cal bp, with glacio‐isostatic uplift isolating the basin from the nearby fjord (Nordfjord) ca 9.2 ky cal bp. Based on geophysical data collected in 2010, the upper 15-20 m of Holocene sediment accumulation in the lake was mapped. A sediment body in the center of the lake indicates a depositional mechanism dominated by suspension sedimentation. The source of this sediment is associated with the adjacent glaciated catchments westward of the lake. The degree to which wind conditions could have affected the lake depositional patterns were studied utilizing an open‐source coupled hydrodynamic and sediment transport model. The results show that fluvial discharge alone is incapable of generating a circulation pattern in the lake currents. Suspended sediment concentrations in the lake are highest for strong winds. Modeled sediment accumulation on the lake floor shows that mild or absent winds lead to a proximal to distal sediment thickness trend, while strong winds result in uniform sediment thickness. As such, seismic data of lake infills, in combination with numerical modelling, may provide valuable palaeoclimatic information on wind patterns.
February 2020 | New paper published in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology!
Dr. Or Bialik, a research associate at PetroLab, just published a new paper in Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology. The paper deals with the dynamics of upwelling in the Arabian Sea during the middle to late Miocene. In this new paper, we use organic and inorganic proxies combined with sedimentary and paleontological records to constrain the evolution of upwelling at Ocean Drilling Program Site 722B between ~15 and ~8.7 Ma. Our record shows that Mn depletion occurred at ~14.5 Ma, likely due to regionally confined OMZ formation at that time. Biogenic silica accumulation intensified between ~12.5 and ~11 Ma. The δ15N values (>6‰) provide evidence for the onset of at least intermittent denitrification between ~11 and ~9.5 Ma during the apex of the global “carbonate crash.” Our data demonstrate that upwelling and OMZ intensity in the Arabian Sea were linked to the reorganization of the Indian Ocean circulation system and South Asian Monsoon during the Miocene. The initiation of these systems occurred once the regional tectonic configuration (i.e., the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau ~25 Ma and the closure of the Tethyan seaway ~20 Ma) was in place. The subsequent development of monsoonal upwelling after 14 Ma responded to latitudinal shifts in climatic belts following the progressive Miocene glaciation of Antarctica.
Congrats Or!
January 2020 | New paper published in Quaternary Science Reviews!
A great start of 2020! Dr. Yin Lu, a former postdoctoral associate researcher at PetroLab who is currently doing his research at University of Liege in Belgium, published a paper entitled: "A 45 kyr laminae record from the Dead Sea: Implications for basin erosion and floods recurrence". The paper deals with understanding how climate change impacts flood recurrence, basin erosion and sedimentation in the Dead Sea Basin. The aragonite-detritus laminae couplets well identified in the lacustrine sediment sequences from the Dead Sea Basin have long been considered to robustly represent seasonal runoff variation and thus can serve as flood gauges. As part of the current paper, we counted a total of ~5600 laminae couplets deposited in the last 45 kyr (MIS 3-MIS 1) at the Dead Sea depocenter, which encompass the upper 141.6 m of the ICDP 5017-1 core. The present study shows that aragonite and detritus laminae couplets are thinner and occur at high frequency during MIS 3-2, while they are much thicker and less frequent during MIS 1. By analyzing multiple climate factors that include lake levels, dust input and vegetative cover, we suggest a decoupling mechanism between significant reduction in lake-levels and associated water volume during the Holocene and the resulting laminae couplet thicknesses. We interpret this last deglaciation decoupling to imply a low transport capacity of flash-floods and saturation by the oversupply of erodible materials. We further suggest that the observed thicknesses and frequencies distribution of aragonite-detritus laminae points to the possible presence of high frequency of small-magnitude floods during the last glacial period, in contrast to low frequency and large-magnitude floods during the Holocene.
Congrats Yin!
