The Dead Sea The Lake and Its Setting

by Niemi, Tina M.; Ben-Avraham, Zvi; Gat, Joel R.

• ISBN13: 9780195087031
• ISBN10: 0195087038
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-11-20
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Located 400 meters below sea level, at the tectonically active irregular boundary between the Mediterranean and Arabic plates, the Dead Sea is the site of many interesting phenomena. It provides a modern analog for ancient pull-apart basins and allows researchers to examine the process of evaporite deposition from deep water. It also offers insight into the adaptive ability of the life form living in the hypersaline brine. This book, based on a conference held in Tel Aviv in December 1993, focuses on the geophysics, geochemistry, hydrology, and climatology of the Dead Sea region.

Table of Contents

Contributors	ix
1. Dead Sea research--An introduction	3	(8)
Tina M. Niemi
Zvi Ben-Avraham
Joel R. Gat
PART I: STRUCTURE AND TECTONICS OF THE DEAD SEA BASIN	11	(78)
2. Topography and bathymetry of the Dead Sea depression	11	(11)
John K. Hall
3. Geophysical framework of the Dead Sea: Structure and tectonics	22	(14)
Zvi Ben-Avraham
4. The history and formation of the Dead Sea basin	36	(21)
Zvi Garfunkel
5. Hydrocarbon exploration in the southern Dead Sea area	57	(16)
Michael Gardosh
Eliezer Kashai
Shalom Salhov
Haim Shulman
Eli Tannenbaum
6. Active tectonics in the Dead Sea basin	73	(9)
Tina M. Niemi
Zvi Ben-Avraham
7. On the seismicity of the Dead Sea basin	82	(7)
Avi Shapira
PART II: PHYSICAL, CHEMICAL, AND BIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE DEAD SEA	89	(128)
8. The hydrography of a hypersaline lake	89	(15)
David A. Anati
9. Surface currents and seiches in the Dead Sea	104	(10)
Ziv Sirkes
Florian Schirmer
Heinz-Hermann Essen
Klaus-Werner Gurgel
10. Wind waves on the Dead Sea	114	(8)
Artur Hecht
Tal Ezer
Avraham Huss
Aviv Shapira
11. Evaporation estimate for the Dead Sea: Essential considerations for saline lakes	122	(11)
Ilana Steinhorn
12. Evolution of the Dead Sea brines	133	(12)
Israel Zak
13. Ion interaction approach to geochemical aspects of the Dead Sea	145	(16)
Boris S. Krumgalz
14. Halite deposition from the Dead Sea: 1960-1993	161	(10)
Ittai Gavrieli
15. Halite precipitation and sediment deposition as measured in sediment traps deployed in the Dead Sea: 1981-1983	171	(13)
Mariana Stiller
Joel R. Gat
Perla Kaushansky
16. Carbon dynamics in the Dead Sea	184	(9)
Boaz Luz
Mariana Stiller
A. Siep Talma
17. The radiocarbon content of the Dead Sea	193	(6)
A. Siep Talma
John C. Vogel
Mariana Stiller
18. Iron, manganese, and trace elements in the Dead Sea	199	(6)
Ami Nishri
Mariana Stiller
19. Microbiological studies in the Dead Sea: 1892-1992	205	(12)
Aharon Oren
PART III: QUATERNARY HISTORY OF THE LAKE AND ITS ENVIRONMENT	217	(66)
20. Geomorphology of the Dead Sea western margin	217	(9)
Dan Bowman
21. Fluctuations of Late Pleistocene Lake Lisan in the Dead Sea rift	226	(11)
Tina M. Niemi
22. The Holocene history of Dead Sea levels	237	(12)
Amos Frumkin
23. The Dead Sea region: An archaeological perspective	249	(3)
Itzhaq Beit-Arieh
24. Geochemical and hydrological processes in the coastal environment of the Dead Sea	252	(13)
Yoseph Yechieli
Joel R. Gat
25. Groundwaters along the western Dead Sea shore	265	(12)
Emanuel Mazor
26. The botanical conquest of the newly exposed shores of the Dead Sea	277	(5)
Erga Aloni
Amram Eshel
Yoav Waisel
27. Dead Sea research: Synopsis and future	282	(1)
Joel R. Gat
Tina M. Niemi
Zvi Ben-Avraham
Index	283