PLEISTOCENE PALEOCLIMATE OF THE ARID REGION OF ISRAEL AS RECORDED IN CALCITE DEPOSITS ALONG REGIONAL TRANSVERSE FAULTS AND IN VEINS

The δ18O and δ13C values of the calcites associated with E-W and NE-SW transverse faults in the Negev, Israel, indicate that calcite was deposited from meteoric water. A regional change in the δ18O and δ13C values was observed. The 18O content in the calcite increases, from the southwestern (δ18O = -17.8‰) to the northeastern (δ18O = -2.9‰) part of the region. The δ13C values show the opposite trend of the 13C content decrease: from +2‰ in the south to -10‰ in the northeast. These trends had to reflect changes in regional paleoclimate, suggesting a change in the isotopic composition of the solution from which the calcite was deposited in different periods. The variations in the δ18O values reflect shifts in the δ18O values of precipitation and are associated with a change in the source of moist air masses which came from the equatorial Atlantic in the early Pleistocene and from the Mediterranean during a later period. Variations in δ13C values reflect changes from humid to arid conditions. Two modes of calcite deposition are suggested: (1) precipitation of calcite minerals in the unsaturated zone following the dissolution in the soil or (2) calcite deposition that occurred as CO2 was lost during emergence of paleogroundwater from Lower Cretaceous and Jurassic aquifers. © 1992.