Chronostratigraphy of aeolianites from the Sharon Coastal Plain of Israel

Quaternary International 89 (2002) 31–44

Chronostratigraphy of aeolianites from theSharon Coastal Plain of Israel

Manfred Frechena,*, Alexander Neberb, Birgit Dermannb, Alexander Tsatskinc,Wolfgang Boenigkb, Avraham Ronenc

a Institut f .ur Geowissenschaftliche Gemeinschaftsaufgaben (GGA), S3FGeochronologie und Isotopenhydrologie, Stilleweg 2,

D-30631 Hannover, GermanybGeologisches Institut, Universit .at zu K .oln, Z .ulpicher Str. 49a, D-50674 K .oln, GermanycThe Zinman Institute of Archaeology, The University of Haifa, Haifa 31905, Israel

Abstract

The Sharon Coastal Plain in Israel is composed mainly of sand dune fields and aeolianite ridges. Three major sand accumulationperiods are documented in the terrestrial record along the cliffs of the Sharon Coastal Plain, between 65 to 50 ka, from 7 to 5 ka and

from 5 to 0.2 ka. These seem to correlate with the periods of sapropel formation in the Mediterranean Sea and so with periods ofstrongly increased African monsoon activity. The accumulation of the stratigraphically oldest aeolianite (Kurkar, Unit 5) appears tocorrelate with sapropel S2, formed about 55 kaBP. The uppermost aeolianite (calcareous sandstone, Unit 2) seems to correlate with

sapropel S1, formed at about 7.874.0 kaBP. Major soil formations occurred between 35 and 25 ka resulting in a Rhodoxeralf soil/Grumusolic Dark Brown soil, and between 15 and 12 ka resulting in a Rhodoxeralf (hamra) soil. At least seven weak weatheringhorizons (regosol-type soils) are intercalated in the aeolianite of Unit V and two regosols are present in the Holocene aeolian sand of

Unit I. r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In Israel, the central coastal plain is characterized bysand dune fields and ridges formed from carbonaceousaeolianite sandstone. The latter, locally termed ‘‘kur-kar’’, run parallel to the modern coastline (e.g. Issar,1968). Yaalon and Laronne (1971) proposed that thecross-bedding present in kurkar beds is dominated bysteep avalanche slipfaces, which is characteristic forbarchan and barchan-like dune types. They indicate thata westerly and southwesterly wind regime prevailed inthe past, as it does today. The mineral spectra of theaeolianites are dominated by quartz with a littlefeldspar. Emery and Neev (1960) postulated that long-shore currents carry most of the sand material from theNile Delta to the Israeli beaches. Goldsmith and Golik(1980) developed a sediment transport model for long-shore currents along the Mediterranean coast, whichindicate that net sand transport in the ‘‘Nile littoral cell’’is northward in southern Israel and southward in

northern Israel. The sand migrates inland formingdifferent types of dunes.Kurkar ridges were formed owing to several sedimen-

tary cycles (Ronen, 1975a, b, 1983; Brunnacker et al.,1982; Gvirtzman et al., 1984; Boenigk et al., 1985;Neber, in press). The carbonaceous sandstone units areintercalated by red, sandy, loam-rich soils, locallytermed ‘‘hamra’’ (Yaalon and Dan, 1967). The aeolia-nites and the intercalated palaeosols (the latter oftenincluding archaeological horizons) are an importantarchive of climatic and environmental change in thestudy area. Yaalon and Dan (1967) correlated hamraformation with periods of high precipitation, whichresulted in the complete dissolution and removal ofcarbonates from the palaeosols. Periods of moderateprecipitation resulted in a partial dissolution of carbo-nate, as shown by carbonate nodules in the soil (Wiederand Yaalon, 1974), and hence in the stabilization ofsand dunes and the formation of a thin crust of sandyregosol (‘‘caf!e-au-lait’’ soil-type of Avnimelech, 1952).Typical examples are the upper Nahsholim sands andwithin the Ta‘arukha sands (Gvirtzman et al., 1998,2000; Neber, 1999).

*Corresponding author.

E-mail address: [email protected] (M. Frechen).

1040-6182/02/$ - see front matter r 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.

PII: S 1 0 4 0 - 6 1 8 2 ( 0 1 ) 0 0 0 7 9 - 9

A 15m thick sequence of aeolian Quaternary sedi-ments is exposed in the coastal cliff near the town ofGivat Olga in the northern part of the Sharon CoastalPlain. South of the city of Netanya, a similar sequenceup to 35m thick is exposed along the coastal cliff(Fig. 1).To obtain a more reliable chronological framework, a

multidisciplinary approach combining sedimentology,pedology and luminescence chronology was carried outfor the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene sequences at theGivat Olga and Netanya South sections. Sedimentolo-gical and pedological results and the chronostrati-graphic correlation of the aeolianites and palaeosolsare presented in this study. These results are comparedwith those by Ritte et al. (1997) from Ga‘ash. The

chronostratigraphy of Middle and Upper Pleistocenekey sites of the Carmel Coastal Plain (Fig. 1) will bepresented in a further study (Frechen et al., in prep.).

2. Lithology and site geology

The Quaternary sediments from the sections at GivatOlga and Netanya South were each studied in a profilealong the coastal cliff. Palaeosols were describedaccording to the Soil Survey Staff (1975) and TheClassification of Israel Soils (1979). Particle-size dis-tribution for all the beds was determined on dry samplesafter homogenization and removal of carbonates byetching with hydrochloric acid. Sieve sizes were chosenaccording to the Udden/Wentworth Phi grade scale(Lewis and McConchie, 1994). A reduction in the siltand clay fraction owing to the pretreatment withhydrochloric acid was taken into account. Thin sectionsof all beds were analysed by polarizing transmissionlight microscopy after impregnation with polyester resin(Hillquist, Scotland). Thin sections from palaeosolswere described according to Bullock et al. (1985).Infrared spectra were obtained by a Fourier TransformInfrared Spectrometer (Midac. Corp., Mesa, California)using KBr pellets at 4 cm�1 collection resolution.

2.1. Givat Olga

In order to reconstruct changes in sedimentaryenvironments during the geological past, we investigatedthe major stratigraphic units from the key sectionlocated in the northern part of the Givat Olga outcrop(Fig. 2). The coastal cliff at Givat Olga is composed ofseveral lithological units. The base of the exposedQuaternary sediments is formed by an aeolianite (Unit5). On top of this aeolianite, two welded palaeosols,Unit 4 and Unit 3, occur in a morphologic depression.The palaeosols are covered by calcareous sandstone(Unit 2) indicating a phase of re-activated sandmigration. The youngest deposits (Unit 1) are aeoliansands intercalated by weakly developed soils defined asregosols. These palaeosols occur sporadically on top ofthe sequence.The uppermost Unit 1, about 5m thick, is composed

of loose aeolian sand interstratified by weakly developedpalaeosols. These youngest deposits are now partlystabilized by vegetation. Unit 1 includes two majorhorizons. The upper horizon is a brownish-yellow dunesand (Munsell colour on dry material: 10YR6/6) and iscomposed of quartz and calcareous fragments, mainlysnail shells. The lower horizon of Unit 1 contains twoweakly developed palaeosols. The two A horizons havea dark yellow–brown (10YR5/6-4/6) colour, very similarto the surface regosol on top of the modern dune.Particle-size analysis indicates that the uppermost

Fig. 1. Map showing kurkar ridges between Netanya and Haifa and

the location of the sections at Givat Olga, Netanya South and Ga‘ash

in the Sharon Coastal Plain of Israel.

M. Frechen et al. / Quaternary International 89 (2002) 31–4432

1.50m of the sequence is coarse-grained, while theweakly developed soils are enriched by fine-grainedmaterial (Fig. 3). Infrared spectrometry shows thatshells of land snails are composed of aragonite, whilethe sand consists of low-Mg calcite, aragonite andquartz.

Unit 2 is an indurated calcareous sandstone (aeolia-nite), about 2m thick, showing cross-bedding with awide unimodal range of north to northeast dippingdirections. Solution cavities indicate a relatively highpermeability of these partially cemented deposits. Themain rock-forming components (60–90%) are shells andskeletal fragments of foraminifer, algae, coral, mollusc,bryozoa and echinoderms, some with traces of aragonitedissolution. Microsparitic cement has formed at grain-to-grain boundaries, maintaining the porosity. In rarecases, sparitic cement has grown into open pore space.According to infrared spectrometry, aragonite and lowMg-calcite are the major carbonate minerals. Grains arewell-sorted subangular to subrounded quartz, andminor amounts of feldspar.

Unit 3 is a yellow–red (5YR4/6), bedded loamy sand,designated as a palaeosol with an AB horizon, between8.10 and 9.00m below the surface. Abundant insectburrows and small calcareous nodules occur at the top,as well as a few scattered secondary carbonate rootletsthroughout the unit (Fig. 3). About 9.00m below thesurface, a bed of layered yellowish red sand occurs,occasionally with secondary carbonate nodules 1–2 cmthick. At the base of the unit, 1–2 cm thick brown bands(of erosional origin?) occur above the contact with Unit4. The boundary between the two units is sharp andbears clear signs of unconformity. Deposits below thisunconformity were examined in a profile about 5m tothe south.Thin sections indicate that the palaeosol of Unit 3 has

a much lower clay content with only few layered ferric-humus-clay coatings, usually upon sand grains. Theupper A horizon of Unit 3 contains cambic-argillicplasma material with sparite infillings and concentra-tions. The lower part, in contrast, demonstrates strong

impoverishment in plasma and an increase in quartzsand. From soil micromorphology, as well as fromparticle size distribution (Fig. 3), it is clear that thepalaeosols of Units 3 and 4 developed on differentsubstrates and under different environmental condi-tions. The upper palaeosol of Unit 3 is a quartz-richred–brown soil, which may be designated as Rhodox-eralf soil (hamra). It probably developed under condi-tions of reduced precipitation, albeit with signs oferosional disturbance which should be taken intoaccount.

Unit 4 is a 2.50m thick, dark brown (7.5YR4/6),prismatic sandy loam with faint slickensides, and small1.0–1.5 cm carbonate concretions, which are moreabundant at the top of the layer. The upper contactalso shows a few fissures, which are inclined northwardat an angle of 10–151 (Fig. 3). At about 13.50m belowsurface, a strongly reworked dark yellowish-brown(10YR3/6) sandy loam occurs with crotovinas, contain-ing large semi-indurated carbonate concretions. Theboundary between Unit 4 and Unit 5 is gradual.Thin sections display clay illuviation features in Units

3 and 4, although in varying abundance. The mostextended development of argillic plasma with thick claycoatings, occasionally juxtaposed with micritic calcite,and various ferric stains, occur in the upper third ofthe palaeosol in Unit 4. Skeleton grains are basi-cally composed of quartz with few feldspar andnegligible heavy minerals. All feldspar grains are stronglyweathered.The lower palaeosol of Unit 4 shows features

characteristic of both Rhodoxeralf soils (Hamra, ac-cording to Dan and Yaalon, 1971) and GrumusolicDark Brown soils (Wieder and Gvirtzman, 1999). Theseimply that the soil developed primarily under conditionsof enhanced precipitation, controlled by both climaticand geomorphologic factors.

Unit 5, about 15m below the surface, is an induratedaeolianite. Parts of this unit lack preserved beddingstructures and contain nodular carbonate and rhyzolithsas well as patches of poorly cemented quartz sand.

Fig. 2. Cross-section of the Givat Olga cliff and location of the investigated profiles. Vertical exaggeration � 2.

M. Frechen et al. / Quaternary International 89 (2002) 31–44 33

Cross-bedded areas are shown by alternating cemen-ted and non-cemented layers. Leeward deposits show awide unimodal range of dipping directions fromnorth to northeast. The proportion of bedding setsis characteristic for barchanoid dunes (Yaalon andLaronne, 1971).

In thin section, the cemented parts of Unit 5 containwell-sorted, subangular to subrounded quartz grains,with minor amounts of feldspar and heavy minerals.Corrosion embayments on quartz are due to peripheralreplacement of quartz by calcite. Microsparitic tosparitic cement completely filled former pore spaces.The fossil species are similar to those of Unit 2 but lessabundant. Owing to neomorphic re-crystallization, mostaragonite has been replaced by calcite. The fossiloutlines are preserved by micritic envelopes (Gavishand Friedman, 1969). In the infrared spectra low-Mgcalcite and aragonite could be distinguished. Particle-size analysis of cross-bedded sets indicates coarser grainsin the cemented layers. These inversely graded stratawere formed by the deposition of coarser particles andcarbonate fragments in the upper part of slopes (Yaalonand Laronne, 1971; Schenk, 1992).

2.2. Netanya South

Similarly to Givat Olga, the coastal cliff in the southof Netanya is also composed of several lithological units(Fig. 4).

Unit 1 is composed of unconsolidated sand andintercalated regosols. These deposits are nearly 2m thickand cover parts of the coastal cliff. The upper horizon ofthis unit is dune sand, mainly quartz and calcareousfragments. This aeolian sand is covered by a modern,weakly developed soil. In contrast to the section atGivat Olga, the lower sand/regosol horizon of this partof the Holocene record contains only one regosol.

Unit 2 is a partially indurated calcareous sandstone(aeolianite) up to 3m thick. It shows weakly preservedcross-bedding and is composed of quartz sand with alarge amount of marine carbonate fragments. Shells ofland snails are also abundant.

Unit 3 is a well-developed mature reddish palaeosol,which can be traced for many kilometres in the coastalcliff. At the top of the unit, there is 10 cm of loose palecalcareous sand with snail shells. At the lower contact,the sand includes reddish soil material and rootlets. TheA horizon (7.5YR5/6) is a reddish-brown sandy loam,about 15 cm thick, strongly calcareous and withabundant insect burrows. This horizon covers a Bcahorizon probably above a discontinuity, best exposed ona nearby dry wall of the section. The Bca horizon has astronger red coloration (2.5YR4/4). Abundant calcar-eous nodules are present from about 2mm to 1.5 cm.The Bca horizon grades downward into a BC horizonapproximately 0.60m thick, with reddish patches andyellow–red (5YR4/6) sand with crotovinas. The BChorizon has a gradual contact with the underlyingyellowish sand covering the kurkar of Unit 4. Thistransition is marked by a few crotovinas filled by reddishsoil material and calcareous nodules. The reddishpalaeosol at Netanya (Unit III) is basically similar to a

Fig. 3. Lithological sequence with median grain-size, carbonate

content and Munsell color results of the section at Givat Olga.

Median; - - - - - - - - Mean grain size.


Hamra soil elsewhere in the Israeli coastal plain.However, it is not clear whether the sandy, calcareousA horizon relates to a single major episode of soilformation, as evidenced by the (A)–B–C profile de-scribed above, or whether it relates to a younger, short-lived soil-forming episode which superimposed sandover a palaeo-hamra. In contrast to the Givat Olgasequence, the hamra at Netanya South has a rathershallow profile with no erosional features in its lowerpart but possibly some in the upper part.

Units 4 and 5 are the base of the exposed cliff at thesection at Netanya South (Fig. 4). Unit 5 consists of anapproximately 28m thick sequence of indurated aeolia-nite. This aeolianite is intercalated by up to sevenweakly developed palaeosols (Unit 4). The lowermostpart of this sequence is composed of a cross-beddedkurkar with a unimodal dipping direction to theNortheast. This structured sediment changes graduallyinto an unstructured, less-indurated aeolianite withpatches of weakly cemented sand, carbonate nodulesand rhyzoliths. This aeolianite is covered by a regosol, a‘‘caf!e-au-lait’’ soil type senso Avnimelech (1952), tracingthe initial dune morphology of the kurkar deposit. Thisregosol is the very prominent one in the exposedaeolianite. It contains large amounts of land snail shellsand shows a colour change from whitish-grey at thebottom to dark brown at the top. The overlying cross-bedded aeolianites indicate various degrees of cementa-tion and cross-bedding directions range from northeastto southeast. Periods of sand accumulation wereinterspersed by periods of reduced sand deposition withsynchronous regosol formation. These upper weaklydeveloped palaeosols include land snail shells and arehorizontally bedded, indicating that after the initialdune sand deposition, several periods of re-activatedsand movement alternated with periods of stagnation.The sediment first accumulated and filled morphologicaldepressions and then, accreted in horizontal layers.

3. Luminescence dating and methodological results

Comprehensive reviews of the ‘‘state of the art’’ ofthermoluminescence (TL) and optically stimulatedluminescence (OSL) dating methods are provided byBerger (1995), Duller (1996), Prescott and Robertson(1997) and Wintle (1997). The application of combinedinfrared optically stimulated luminescence (IRSL) andTL dating of aeolian sediments has proved successfulwhere radiocarbon and other dating methods are notapplicable (Frechen et al., 1997, 1999; Zander et al.,2000). TL and IRSL is the light emitted from crystals ofquartz and feldspar when they are stimulated with heator infrared radiation after receiving a natural orartificial radiation dose. As a result of natural radiationin sediments, the number of electrons migrating to trapslocated in some type of impurities and crystal latticedefects increases with time and dose. The equivalentdose (ED) or palaeodose is a measure of the pastradiation absorbed. In combination with the dose rate,it yields the time passed since the last exposure tosunlight. The equivalent dose is determined by measur-ing luminescence of the sediment using thermal and/oroptical stimulation. An important assumption of TLand IRSL dating techniques is that the luminescencesignal of the mineral grains was bleached and reset tozero, or near zero, before deposition.Bleaching experiments were carried out for IRSL

using exposure to natural sunlight (Cologne, Germany)and artificial UV light (Osram Ultravitalux 300W UVlamp) on potassium-rich feldspars of sample OLG3.After an exposure of 1–2min, the zero level wasachieved for IRSL, whereas it took several hours untilthe unbleachable residual was achieved for TL (Fig. 5aand b).In previous studies, no anomalous fading was

reported for samples from the Israeli coastal plain(Porat and Wintle, 1994; Ritte et al., 1997; Engelmann

Fig. 4. Cross-section of the Netanya South cliff and location of the investigated profiles.


et al., 2001; Frechen et al., 2001). In this study, extensivefading experiments over a period of ten months havebeen carried out for a suite of samples from the GivatOlga section covering most of the stratigraphic layers(Fig. 6). No anomalous fading was determined for theIRSL method, as suggested by the previous studies.However, a tendency of signal decrease is obvious forthe mean values of the TL method ranging from about5–14% (Fig. 6). The highest value of anomalous fading(TL) was determined for sample OLG10, which wastaken from the Red Palaeosol (Hamra) at section GivatOlga.The suitability of quartz using green light stimula-

tion (GLSL) was investigated in a multiple aliquotapproach. The different steps of quartz preparation

are described by Frechen (1995). The luminescencemeasurements were applied using the stimulation of agreen halogen lamp (420–550 nm) of the Ris� Reader inCheltenham with a detection filter pack of three HoyaU-340. The luminescence results indicate that quartz isalready in saturation for samples OLG5 and OLG4,asindicated by no or little signal increase with dose(Fig. 7).Examples of IR decay and TL glow curvesand the resulting growth curves are presented in Figs. 8aand b.A re-calculation of the total dose rate concerning the

attenuation of the cosmic dose (cf. Aitken, 1998) for theNetanya South section was necessary following furtherfield-inspection. The IRSL age estimates of this lattersection were re-calculated with the same approach as for

Fig. 5. Bleaching experiments for sample OLG3. The results indicate a zero level for the IRSL method after 1–2min or 5–6min exposure to natural

sunlight and artificial UV light, respectively: (a) bleaching with artificial UV light (Osram Ultravitalux 300W UV lamp); (b) bleaching with natural

sunlight in Cologne, Germany.


the Givat Olga section (Frechen et al., 2001). Thesedosimetric results and revised IRSL age estimates aresummarized in Table 1.

4. Chronostratigraphical results and discussion

Gvirtzman et al. (1998) tried to correlate the kurkarand hamra units by lithological evidence, whereasRonen (1975a, b, 1977, 1983) used archaeological findsto improve the Quaternary stratigraphy. More recently,kurkar deposits have been investigated by luminescencedating methods in several sections on the Sharon

Coastal Plain, for example Ga‘ash (Ritte et al., 1997),Netanya South (Engelmann et al., 2001) and GivatOlga (Frechen et al., 2001). Gvirtzman et al. (1984,1998) and Neber (in press) pointed out that kurkar andhamra sequences are very similar along the coastal plain,and so it is possible to correlate these sediments. Thefollowing units can be distinguished from top to bottom:

Unit This study Gvirtzman et al. (1998)1. Aeolian sand Ta‘arukha and

Hadera sands2. Aeolianite

(calcareous sandstone)Tel Aviv Kurkar

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

+20

+10

100%

-10

-20

IRSLTime since Irradiation

(month)

TLTime since Irradiation

(month)Sample

OLG1

OLG5

OLG8

OLG10

OLG13

Fig. 6. Fading experiments over a period of 10 months for samples OLG1, 5, 8, 10 and 13 for IRSL (left) and TL (right). The IRSL results do not

indicate anomalous fading whereas the TL results have a tendency for fading up to 14% (see sample OLG10).


3. Red palaeosol (Hamra) Netanya Hamra4. Red-brown palaeosol Not defined5. Aeolianite (Kurkar)

intercalated by severalregosols

Dor Kurkar

The stratigraphically oldest units at the sectionsat Givat Olga, Netanya South and Ga‘ash consist ofcalcareous sandstone aeolianite. A mean IRSL ageof 53.979.1 ka was determined for this aeolianitefrom Givat Olga (including samples OLG1+3 and

0 10 20 30 40 50 60Dose (a.u.)

10

20

30G

LSL

inte

nsity

(co

unts

)OLG5, normalized

0 10 20 30 40 50 60Dose (a.u.)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

TL

inte

nsity

(co

unts

)

OLG4, normalized

Fig. 7. Regression analysis for samples OLG5 and OLG4. Samples were normalized and stimulated with OSL (green light) using quartz grains.

Besides the significant sample-to-sample scattering, both samples do not indicate an increase of signal intensity with dose. These quartz samples are

most likely in saturation.

Fig. 8. IRSL decay curves and TL glow curves and regression analysis for monomineralic potassium-rich feldspars from sample OLG13 (a) and

sample OLG1 (b), respectively.


Fig. 8. (continued)

Table 1

Dosimetric and chronological results for samples from the section at Netanya South

Sample Depth (m) Cosmic dose (mGy/a) Total dose (mGy/a) IRSL age (1000 yr)

NET24 0.20 150710 14537119 3.570.3NET23 0.50 150710 11687113 10.471.1NET22 1.10 150710 11007113 6.270.7NET21 4.20 10575 11787154 13.071.9NET20 4.50 10075 13857167 13.173.0NET19 6.75 7075 13457116 14.071.8NET18 7.75 5075 11987106 57.477.2NET17 11.00 3075 1154796 47.676.7NET16 16.00 1572 11617106 46.279.0NET15 20.50 1071 11897106 69.2719.3NET14 21.50 1071 12437100 44.576.9NET13 22.20 1071 1134796 48.076.7NET12 22.80 1071 12707100 37.376.5NET11 24.50 1071 11877100 38.074.6NET10 25.50 571 13047100 50.876.1NET9 27.00 571 12257100 52.379.9NET8 29.50 571 1139797 54.976.9NET7 31.80 571 1138796 43.376.7NET4 32.80 571 1356789 46.474.5NET3 33.30 571 1325796 63.4711.4NET2 34.50 571 1184787 52.375.2NET1 35.00 571 1207795 54.878.0


OLG4-6). The lowermost kurkar at the sections atNetanya South and Ga‘ash gave luminescence meanages of 50.478.5 ka (ranging from 37.376.5 to 69.2719.3 ka) and 53.673.9 ka (ranging from 48.574.0 to57.872.6 ka), respectively. Although these chronologi-cal results show a significant sample-to-sample scatter-ing, it is very likely that these aeolianites weredeposited with high accumulation rates during a shortperiod of time, probably within the error bars ofthe present dating results (Fig. 9). The lowermostaeolianite sequence at the Netanya South section has athickness of more than 28m. A statistical approachindicates only a negligible increase of age with depth,and so a very rapid deposition is most likely for thisunit (Fig. 10). This lowermost kurkar unit was most

likely deposited along the Sharon Coastal Plain bet-ween 65 and 50 kaBP, early in OIS3. The trueaccumulation period was probably much shorterthan 15 ka. The latter value is caused statisticallyand calculated by the sample-to-sample scatteringof the data only. The resolution of the data set istoo low to determine chronologically the periods ofregosol formation.In all three key sites, this Aeolianite (Kurkar) is

superimposed by soil formation. At Givat Olga, apedocomplex developed on top of the kurkar. Thelower soil of Unit 4 gave IRSL age estimates (i.e.deposition ages) from 55.775.0 to 33.072.8 ka. Thisindicates soil formation probably between 35 and25 kaBP.

Fig. 9. Idealized lithological sequence, sample position and IRSL age estimates with error bars for the section at Givat Olga. The data set is

published elsewhere (Frechen et al., 2001).


The IRSL age estimates of this study are in agreementwith those determined by Ritte et al. (1997) for the lowerpart of the polycyclic ‘‘Netanya hamra’’ at the Ga‘ashsection, as indicated by deposition ages between 5675and 39.571.9 ka. However, a detailed soil study forsection Ga‘ash has not yet been published.At the Givat Olga section, the upper Red Palaeosol

yielded IRSL age estimates between 19.472.0 and12.371.4 ka. This is in good agreement with data from(a) the hamra exposed at section Netanya South, whichranges from 14.071.8 to 13.171.9 ka and (b) the upperhamra from Ga‘ash with IRSL age estimates of about13.9 ka. A period of soil formation during the LateGlacial or Early Holocene is most likely.The pedosediments are covered by a calcareous

sandstone with luminescence age estimates ranging from5.670.7 to 4.170.3 ka and 6.270.7 ka at the GivatOlga and Netanya South sections, respectively. This unitis probably an equivalent of the Tel Aviv Kurkar. Ritteet al. (1997) determined an IRSL age of 5.370.3 ka forthe Tel Aviv Kurkar at section Ga‘ash. Porat andWintle (1994) determined a deposition age of 5.070.5 kafor this calcareous sandstone.

At the Givat Olga section, the Aeolian sand (Unit 1)above the Tel Aviv Kurkar yielded IRSL age estimatesbetween 5.370.7 and 3.370.5 ka. At the Ga‘ash section,the unconsolidated dune sand and the intercalatedregosols of the Ta‘arukha and Hadera sands weresignificantly younger with IRSL ages ranging from2.070.2 to 0.1670.02 ka (Ritte et al., 1997).

5. Conclusion

Three major sand accumulation periods are evidentalong the coastal cliffs of the Sharon Coastal Plain:

Unit Lithology Mean IRSL ageestimate

1. Aeolian sand 5–2 kaBP and modern2. Aeolianite

(calcareous sandstone)7–5 kaBP

5. Aeolianite (Kurkar) 65–50 kaBP.

During these major accumulation periods most of thekurkar ridge material was deposited. It is interesting to

Fig. 10. Idealized lithological sequence, sample position and revised IRSL age estimates with error bars for the section at Netanya South. The data

set is published elsewhere (Engelmann et al., 2001); the recalculated cosmic dose and IRSL age estimates are presented in Table 1.


note that two of the major periods of sand accumulationin the Sharon Coastal Plain coincide chronologicallywith periods of sapropel formation in the MediterraneanSea. A sapropel forms under anoxic conditions in theMediterranean Sea owing to interruption of therecycling of bottom sea water, accompanied by anincreased biological productivity owing to increasedavailability of nutrients. Sapropel formation is desig-nated to represent periods of increased freshwater inputinto the Mediterranean Sea. Kallel et al. (2000)discussed evidence for the close relationship betweenhigh Northern Hemisphere insolation, sapropel forma-tion, strong summer monsoon and enhanced rainfallover and around the Mediterranean area. The fresh-water input is caused by a significantly stronger Africansummer monsoon resulting in significantly higher

precipitation and so by a higher amount of sedimentload of the river Nile. At present, it is unclear whetherthe enhanced freshwater input had an influence on thesediment transport of the ‘‘Nile littoral cell’’. In general,the periods of increased African summer monsoon aresupposed to be in phase with interglacial and stronginterstadial conditions, and very seldom during glacialconditions (Cheddadi and Rossignol-Strick, 1995;Lourens et al., 1996).In the deep-sea record of the Mediterranean, sapropel

S2 formed about 55 kaBP (Lourens et al., 1996),which is in phase with the sand accumulation of theAeolianite between 65 and 50 kaBP in the SharonCoastal Plain. The deposition of the uppermost Aeo-lianite (Unit 2) is in phase with the age estimatesof sapropelite S1, for which two independent age

Fig. 11. Idealized profile for the Sharon Coastal Plain using chronological data (Ritte et al., 1997; Engelmann et al., 2001; Frechen et al., 2001).


estimates are available: 7.874.0 kaBP (Cheddadi andRossignol-Strick, 1995) and about 8.5 kaBP (Lourenset al., 1996).The periods of sand accumulation and desertification

are followed by soil formation. Two main periods of soilformation are obvious. The Brown Palaeosol and theRed Palaeosol (Hamra), both in Unit 4, formed mostlikely between 35 and 25 kaBP and between 15 and12 kaBP, respectively. The Brown Palaeosol developedprimarily under conditions of enhanced precipitationand wetness, as indicated by thick clay coatings,strongly weathered feldspar grains, the prismatic struc-ture and the presence of crotovinas. The Red Palaeosol(Hamra) has a much lower clay content than the BrownPalaeosol and most likely formed under conditions ofreduced precipitation (Fig. 11).Several weak weathering horizons resulting in rego-

sol-type soils were formed during the accumulation ofUnit 5 and Unit 1. These periods of soil formations areobviously not in phase with periods of high freshwatersupply and so increased precipitation in the easternMediterranean area. This multidisciplinary study hasprovided a better understanding of climate and envir-onment change in the Sharon Coastal Plain of Israel,although additional data are needed to resolve temporaldetails fully.

Acknowledgements

We thank the German-Israeli Foundation for fund-ing [Project-No. I132-301.02/95], Frank Chambers,Anette Engelmann and Terry Hill, all of Cheltenham,for valuable comments on an earlier version of themanuscript.

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Chronostratigraphy of aeolianites from the Sharon Coastal Plain of Israel