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RADIOCARBON RESERVOIR AGES IN THE HOLOCENE DEAD SEA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2020

Nurit Weber Open the ORCID record for Nurit Weber [Opens in a new window] ,
Boaz Lazar ,
Ofra Stern ,
George Burr ,
Ittai Gavrieli ,
Mark Roberts ,
Mark D Kurz ,
Yoseph Yechieli  and
Mordechai Stein
Nurit Weber*
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmund Safra Campus, Givat-Ram, Jerusalem9190401, Israel Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem9692100, Israel
Boaz Lazar
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmund Safra Campus, Givat-Ram, Jerusalem9190401, Israel
Ofra Stern
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmund Safra Campus, Givat-Ram, Jerusalem9190401, Israel Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem9692100, Israel
George Burr
Affiliation:
NSF-Arizona AMS Laboratory, University of Arizona, TucsonAZ85721-0081, USA Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
Ittai Gavrieli
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem9692100, Israel
Mark Roberts
Affiliation:
NOSAMS, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA02543, USA
Mark D Kurz
Affiliation:
NOSAMS, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA02543, USA
Yoseph Yechieli
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem9692100, Israel Department of Hydrology and Microbiology, Zuckerberg Center, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boker8499000, Israel
Mordechai Stein
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Edmund Safra Campus, Givat-Ram, Jerusalem9190401, Israel Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha’ayahu Leibowitz St., Jerusalem9692100, Israel
*
*Corresponding author. Email: nurit.weber@mail.huji.ac.il.
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Abstract

The sources and fate of radiocarbon (14C) in the Dead Sea hypersaline solution are evaluated with 14C measurements in organic debris and primary aragonite collected from exposures of the Holocene Ze’elim Formation. The reservoir age (RA) is defined as the difference between the radiocarbon age of the aragonite at time of its precipitation (representing lakeʼs dissolved inorganic carbon [DIC]) and the age of contemporaneous organic debris (representing atmospheric radiocarbon). Evaluation of the data for the past 6000 yr from Dead Sea sediments reveal that the lakeʼs RA decreased from 2890 yr at 6 cal kyr BP to 2300 yr at present. The RA lies at ~2400 yr during the past 3000 yr, when the lake was characterized by continuous deposition of primary aragonite, which implies a continuous supply of freshwater-bicarbonate into the lake. This process reflects the overall stability of the hydrological-climate conditions in the lakeʼs watershed during the late Holocene where bicarbonate originated from dissolution of the surface cover in the watershed that was transported to the Dead Sea by the freshwater runoff. An excellent correlation (R2=0.98) exists between aragonite ages and contemporaneous organic debris, allowing the estimation of ages of various primary deposits where organic debris are not available.

Keywords

aragoniteDead SeaHoloceneradiocarbonreservoir ages
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 62 , Issue 5 , October 2020 , pp. 1453 - 1473
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© 2020 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona

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