Lithofacies and cyclicity of Mohilla evaporite basins on the rifted margin of the Levant in the Late Triassic, Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel

Lithofacies and cyclicity of Mohilla evaporite basins on the riftedmargin of the Levant in the Late Triassic, Makhtesh Ramon,southern Israel

OR M. BIALIK*, DORIT KORNGREEN� and CHAIM BENJAMINI**Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Ben-Gurion University, Beer Sheva, 84105,Israel (E-mail: [email protected])�Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem, 95501, Israel

Associate Editor – Giovanna Della Porta

ABSTRACT

Marine-connected basins with evaporites occur beneath most extensional

continental margins that originated at low-latitudes and often are of major

economic significance. Cyclicity in the evaporite lithofacies reflects the degree

of restriction of the basin, overprinted by sea-level changes, and caused by

structural movements in the barrier region, whether by fault-block rotation,

footwall uplift or hanging wall subsidence, in both extensional and

compressional basins. The Upper Triassic evaporites of the Ramon section

in southern Israel model cyclic sedimentation in such environments. The

Mohilla Formation is a carbonate–evaporate–siliciclastic succession of

Carnian age that fills a chain of basins extending along the Levant margin

from southern Israel to Jordan and Syria. The basins developed in half-grabens

adjacent to normal faults that formed during a period of regional extension.

Evaporites of this formation are well-exposed in outcrops at Makhtesh Ramon,

the southernmost of these basins. The M2 Member of the Mohilla Formation is

composed of 42 sub-metre cycles of alternating dolostone, gypsum and

calcareous shales. Field and microfacies analysis showed these cycles to

conform mostly to restricted shallow and marginal marine environments,

spatially limited by the uplifted shoulders of the half-graben systems. A total of

10 facies types belonging to six depositional environments have been

identified. From stacking patterns and analysis of bed to bed change, cycles

can be categorized into three groupings: (i) low frequency exposure to

exposure cycles that developed under eustatic or climate control; (ii) high

frequency deepening/shallowing-upward cycles, characterized by gradual

transitions due to short-term sea-level or runoff-event oscillations possibly

referable to orbital forcing; and (iii) high frequency shallowing-upward cycles,

characterized by abrupt transitions, attributable to sporadic tectonic events

affecting accommodation space or barrier effectiveness. The way facies and

cycling of the sedimentary environments was deciphered in the Mohilla

evaporite basin can be used to unravel the genesis of many other evaporite

basins with barriers of tectonic origin.

Keywords Evaporites, fault-bounded basins, Late Triassic, Levant margin,sedimentary cyclicity.

Sedimentology (2012) doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3091.2012.01336.x

� 2012 The Authors. Journal compilation � 2012 International Association of Sedimentologists 1

INTRODUCTION

Evaporites often occur on the edges of extensionalstructural settings; they are likely to accumulatewhen a rifted system occurs in a climate settingwhere total evaporation exceeds precipitation.Fluctuations of base level due to the extensionalregime potentially generate both accommodationspace and flooding on the continental margin thatcan fill restricted basins on the shoulders of therift system (Purser et al., 1987; Warren, 2006;Rahimpour-Bonab et al., 2007; Schreiber et al.,2007). In such settings, either a change in climate,sea-level, or in the characteristics of the rift systemmay control the precipitation of evaporites, butidentifying such changes from the history ofevaporite deposition is not straightforward.

During the Late Triassic, this combination ofclimate and rifting set near ideal conditions forwidespread formation of evaporites. Palaeo-climatic reconstructions indicate that theTriassic, especially the Late Triassic, was very

warm (Pollard & Schulz, 1994; Sellwood &Valdes, 2006, 2007), and vast areas of the Pan-gaean supercontinent were both hot and dry. TheLate Triassic was a time of rifting of the Pangaeancontinent itself, along with lengthy stretches of itscontinental shelf. Rifting has been related both tothe expansion of the central Neo-Tethys andits extensions (Stampfli et al., 1991, 2001;Perez-Lopez & Perez-Valera, 2007), as well asto the early stages of Arctic–Atlantic opening(Schlische, 1993; Coward, 1995; Nøttvedt et al.,1995), and was the harbinger of the breakdown ofPangaea later in the Jurassic (Glennie, 1995).Rifting generated much accommodation spaceand widespread inundation of epicontinentalseas over the supercontinent edge.

Late Triassic evaporite deposits are known frommany locations in eastern North America (ElTabakh et al., 1997, 1998; Leleu & Hartley, 2010);western South America (Suarez & Bell, 1994;Clarke, 2006); Europe (Ziegler, 1982; Bourquin &Guillocheau, 1996; Reinhardt & Ricken, 2000;

Fig. 1. Palaeogeography of the LateTriassic and relative palaeopositionof North Africa and the ArabianPlate (after: Stampfli & Borel, 2004).Enlargement shows position ofCarnian-Lower Norian evaporitedeposits on the Arabian Plate andNorth Africa (after: Ziegler, 2001;Turner & Sherif, 2007).

2 O. M. Bialik et al.

� 2012 The Authors. Journal compilation � 2012 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology

Kozur & Bachmann, 2005; McKie & Williams,2009); eastern Africa and Madagascar (Hankel,1994); northern Africa (Kamoun et al., 2001;Turner & Sherif, 2007) and the northern ArabianPlate (Sadooni & Dalqamouni, 1998; Ziegler,2001; Sharland et al., 2004). These evaporitesformed in different settings, whether in largeinland playas in siliciclastic settings, in peri-marine lagoonal settings, or as a component oflarger-scale epeiric carbonate settings (Pollard &Schulz, 1994).

Evaporitic bodies in southern Europe and theMiddle East are better attributed to peri-Tethyanrifting. Many deposits of Carnian age aredescribed from Italy (Lugli et al., 2002; Stefaniet al., 2010), North Africa (Salem et al., 1998;Turner & Sherif, 2007) and the Arabian Plate(Shinaq, 1996; Ziegler, 2001; Makhlouf &El-Haddad, 2006). The North African and Arabianplate deposits are shown in Fig. 1. These evap-orites are hosted in basins that may be very large,for example, many hundreds of kilometres inlength, such as in Iraq (Ziegler, 2001) or Libya(Turner & Sherif, 2007). In Jordan, Syria andIsrael they are much smaller, in the order of tensof kilometres (Druckman, 1974; Shinaq, 1996;Krasheninnikov, 2005; Makhlouf & El-Haddad,2006; Korngreen & Benjamini, 2010).

These Triassic evaporites are known mostlyfrom the subsurface (Shinaq, 1996; Ziegler, 2001;Turner & Sherif, 2007). Many occurrences areextensively deformed (Lugli et al., 2002). Highresolution sampling is generally impossible, andthe possibilities for reconstructions of climate,tectonics and sedimentological environments arelimited.

The Upper Triassic Mohilla evaporite episodein Israel and the West Bank represents a model forthe more broadly distributed evaporites of thisage, and is particularly relevant to evaporites ofthe north Arabian Plate. Small (tens of kilometres)basins are highly sensitive to local tectonic andsedimentary circumstances. This high suscepti-bility to change permits isolation of causes thatcan subsequently be applied to larger occur-rences. The possibility of observing environmen-tal changes at high resolution in outcrop, basedon the excellent exposures at Makhtesh Ramon, isthe motivation for the current study.

Early studies of the Mohilla Formation (Zak,1963; Druckman, 1974, 1976, 1984) were comple-mented recently by attention to detailed faciesinvestigations and exploration of patterns ofcyclicity in the Triassic of Israel (Korngreen &Benjamini, 2010, 2011). The present high resolu-

tion investigation of the Mohilla outcrops isaimed at identification of cyclic patterns ofdeposition, using them to construct a history ofdeposition, and differentiating the possible extentwhich the intrabasinal and extrabasinal controlshave on evaporite accumulation.

Geological setting

The eastern Mediterranean is the remains of alocalized arm of a Neo-Tethyan oceanic riftsystem (Stampfli et al., 2002; Stampfli & Borel,2004). It possibly originated in the Permian(Garfunkel & Derin, 1984; Sawaf et al., 2001)and expanded to a seaway in stages from theMiddle Triassic into the Jurassic (Golonka, 2007).Many thick Triassic sedimentary sequencesaround the Mediterranean can be attributed tothis rifting phase, for example, in southern Spain(Ortı & Salvany, 2004; Perez-Lopez & Perez-Valera, 2007), Germany (summarized by Kozur &Bachmann, 2005), Hungary (Haas et al., 2010),Italy (Lugli et al., 2002), Tunisia (Kamoun et al.,2001), Libya (Turner & Sherif, 2007), Algeria(Busson, 1972) and on the Arabian Plate(Sharland et al., 2004; Benjamini et al., 2005;Krasheninnikov, 2005).

Carnian rifting on the southern edge of theTethys (Brew et al., 2001; Walley, 2001; Gardosh& Druckman, 2006; Gardosh et al., 2008, 2010) isoften characterized by raised, stepped rift shoul-ders limited by large normal faults (Perez-Lopez &Perez-Valera, 2007). Uplift of the rift marginscreated elongated water bodies around the edgesof the western Tethys (Sawaf et al., 2001;Sharland et al., 2004). Sharland et al. (2004)suggested that this widespread rifting may beattributed to an early attempt at Indian Oceanopening, and/or failed back-arc rifting, in theArabian Plate region. Both extensional styleswere successful in forming oceanic basins lateron. After cessation of significant structuralactivity onshore in the Early Jurassic, a typicalMesozoic carbonate platform developed upon it.Some of the buried faults on the edge of theArabian Plate were inverted into reverse faults inthe Cretaceous, in the first stage of formation ofthe Syrian Arc fold belt (Hardy et al., 2010).

Throughout the Middle and Late Triassic, thewestern Tethys was rimmed proximally by aterrestrial clastic system, passing into a lagoonalbelt or epeiric sea where dolomites and evaporiteswere precipitated, then passing into an extensiveshallow carbonate platform and, distally, intobasinal sediments (Vrielynck & Bouysse, 2003;

Late Triassic evaporate basins in Israel 3


Golonka, 2007; Haas et al., 2010). Late Triassicrestriction of sea water circulation to the embay-ment that is now the eastern Mediterraneancontributed to widespread development of shelfevaporites into the rift basin settings, underappropriate climate conditions.

The sedimentary record of the Carnian stage inthe western Tethys was formed under the influ-ence of two main climate phases: a humid phasein the Early Carnian (Julian) and an arid phase inthe Late Carnian (Tuvalian) (Hornung et al., 2007;Stefani et al., 2010). The earlier humid phase ischaracterized by increased weathering, greaterrunoff and sporadic increases in clastic influx,known as the ‘Carnian pluvial event’ (Roghi et al.,2010; Stefani et al., 2010). A later arid phaseresulted in the formation of numerous evaporitedeposits around the western Tethys, as climateshifted to a regime of evaporation overshadowingprecipitation (Pollard & Schulz, 1994).

The Levant Basin, the easternmost part of theeastern Mediterranean system, was tectonicallyactive in the Triassic (Druckman, 1984; Garfunkel,1998) and the evaporite-bearing Mohilla Forma-tion was deposited on the epicontinental shelfadjoining this basin, during the Carnian episodesof rifting (Eicher & Mosher, 1974; Parnes et al.,1985; Benjamini, 1988; Benjamini et al., 2005;Korngreen & Benjamini, 2006, 2010, 2011). Thelithostratigraphic subdivision of the Triassic inIsrael and Jordan is shown in Fig. 2, illustratingthe correlations between this unit and the sur-

rounding Upper Triassic units. The evaporites ofsouthern Israel and Jordan are restricted toenclosed basins that formed on this epiconti-nental shelf (Druckman, 1974, 1976; Bandel &Khoury, 1981; Shinaq, 1996; Benjamini et al.,2005; Makhlouf & El-Haddad, 2006). These basinsare, for the most part, limited by normal faultscontemporary to the basin fill (Korngreen &Benjamini, 2010, 2011).

Evaporites first occur in the Ladinian in theSaharonim Formation (Fig. 2), but the thickevaporite part of the Mohilla Formation is itselfconstrained to the Late Carnian. SubsequentNorian strata (truncated at the Ramon area) donot have an evaporitic facies component in Israel.Temporal equivalents of the Mohilla Formationinclude the Abu Ruweis Formation of Jordan,and part of the Kurra Chine Anhydrite of Iraq(Sadooni & Alsharhan, 2004). In northern Israeland Syria, the evaporite-bearing basins havebroader, thicker and more carbonate-bearingsuccessions (Korngreen & Benjamini, 2010; Lucicet al., 2010). Outcrops of these evaporites areuncommon, with the Mohilla Formation exposedonly in Makhtesh Ramon, and the Abu RuweisFormation evaporites exposed only along theZarqa River.

The outcrops of the Mohilla Formation inMakhtesh Ramon have been the focus of severalstudies, including Zak (1963), Druckman (1974,1976) and Benjamini (1988). It is divided intothree members (Zak, 1963): a lower carbonate

Fig. 2. Lithostratigraphy of theMiddle–Late Triassic succession inIsrael and adjacent regions (after:Druckman, 1974; Bandel & Khoury,1981; Korngreen & Benjamini,2011).



member (M1), overlain conformably by a middleevaporite-carbonate-clastic member (M2), and anupper carbonate member, (M3) with an uncon-formable base. The present study deals with themiddle member, M2. Reconstruction of thegeomorphological history of the Ramon area(Ben-David et al., 2002) shows that the MohillaFormation at the Ramon outcrop was neverburied to a depth greater than 600 m, excludingwater depth loading, which explains the rela-tively good preservation of the unit.

METHODS

The sections were sampled and measured directlyat the abandoned quarries of NICE (Nesher IsraelCement Enterprises) Limited (WGS84 34Æ866oE/30Æ589oN and 34Æ874oE/20Æ595oN), and at roadcutoutcrops along the Trans-Israel pipeline (WGS8434Æ920oE/30Æ616oN) and near Wadi Ardon(WGS84 34Æ944oE/30Æ606oN). All of these loca-tions are shown in Fig. 3. Macroscale (outcrop)and mesoscale (hand sample) features wereobserved in the field. Supplementary analysis ofthe distribution of the formation in the subsurfaceused data from the literature (Druckman, 1974;Druckman et al., 1983; Krasheninnikov, 2005;Korngreen & Benjamini, 2006, 2010, 2011;Makhlouf & El-Haddad, 2006) as well as unpub-lished wireline logs at the Geological Survey ofIsrael archive. These data were validated whenpossible by examination of archival samples.Parameters for classification of these boreholes

are adapted from Druckman (1974) andKorngreen & Benjamini (2010, 2011). Structuralfeatures in Fig. 4 are based on Garfunkel (1981,1998), Druckman & Kashai (1981), Brew et al.(2001) and Gardosh et al. (2008, 2010). Palaeopo-sition of sections from east of the Jordan river wasgeographically corrected by restoring Mioceneage (Hardy et al., 2010) tectonic movements alongthe Dead-Sea transform to their Triassic position.

A total of 272 samples from the outcrops werecut into slabs and/or prepared as thin sections.Petrographic analysis was of thin sections, anumber of which were also polished and viewedunder the ELM-2 (Relion Co., Bedford, MA, USA)cold-cathode cathodoluminescence (CL) appara-tus. Fine grain sediments were evaluated using aPW1050 Goniometer with PW1730 Generator(Philips, Eindhoven, Netherlands) for mineralog-ical composition and using an Analysette 22MicroTec plus (Fritsch GmbH, Idar-Oberstein,Germany) with a wet dispersion unit for grain-size analysis. The interpretation of the thin-section and mesoscale data closely follows thecompilations of Flugel (2004; and referencestherein) for carbonates; carbonate classificationis based mainly on Dunham (1962). Classificationof ooids is based on Strasser (1986) and classifi-cation of clastic-bearing carbonates is based onMount (1985). Interpretation of evaporites andevaporite-bearing carbonates follows the compi-lations of Warren (2006; and references therein)and Babel (2004, 2005). Calcium sulphate struc-tures and textures were described according tothe terminology proposed by Maiklem et al.(1969).

The results of this study enabled grouping ofbeds into sedimentary facies-types reflectingoriginal sedimentary environments. The super-position and mode of succession of these facies-types are integrated here into a model of thedepositional setting.

RESULTS

Spatial distribution

Data from 27 out of 35 boreholes that penetratedthe Mohilla Formation in Israel and one in thePalestinian-administered West Bank (Ramalla-1),supplemented by the outcrops in MakhteshRamon and of the equivalent Abu RuweisFormation in Wadi Zarka in Jordan, are summa-rized in Table 1. Most samples are from theNegev, southern Israel. Each borehole was

Fig. 3. Study area and outcrops in Makhtesh Ramon,coloured area – Triassic outcrops are indicated by ‘TR’.



categorized as evaporitic, peri-evaporitic or non-evaporitic, based on the lithological composi-tion, where evaporites are represented mostly bygypsum. Successions were considered evaporiticwhere evaporite content exceeded 30%, and/orwhere intervals of pure evaporite were present.

Successions were considered peri-evaporiticwhere the evaporite content exceeded 10%,and the evaporites were mixed with carbonate.The term peri-evaporitic is used here for thegroup of facies-types (depositional environ-ments) that occur adjacent to an environment

Fig. 4. Map of the evaporite facies of the Mohilla Formation in Israel and adjacent areas, showing the position ofsuspected Mesozoic faults, corrected for movement along the Dead Sea transform. After: Garfunkel (1981, 1998);Druckman & Kashai (1981); Krasheninnikov (2005); Gardosh et al. (2008). Latitude and longitude are given in degreeslatitude/longitude (bold) and Israel Cassini Soldner grid (thin).



Table

1.

Locati

on

of

bore

hole

sp

en

etr

ati

ng

the

Moh

illa

Form

ati

on

an

dou

tcro

ps

of

the

Moh

illa

Form

ati

on

an

dequ

ivale

nt

Abu

Ru

weis

Form

ati

on

,an

dcom

posi

tion

(volu

metr

ic)

of

the

un

its

ineach

locati

on

.C

o-o

rdin

ate

sare

giv

en

ind

ecim

al

degre

es

lati

tud

e/l

on

git

ud

e(W

GS

84),

ele

vati

on

isin

metr

es

above

sea-

level,

an

dth

ebase

an

dto

pare

giv

en

inm

etr

es

dow

nh

ole

.

Bore

hole

IDL

on

git

ud

eE

Lati

tud

eN

Ele

vati

on

[m]

Top

[m]

Base

[m]

Th

ickn

ess

[m]

Lim

est

on

e%

Dolo

mit

e%

Tota

lcarb

on

ate

%E

vap

ori

te%

Sh

ale

s%

San

dst

on

e%

Ign

eou

s%

Local

facie

s

Agu

r1

34Æ3

9385

31Æ0

4431

181

4002

4094

92

020

20

60

10

00

Evap

ori

tic

Avd

at

134Æ7

6707

30Æ7

7794

549

1957

2030

73

22

46

68

011

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Barb

ou

r1

35Æ1

1331

31Æ1

3382

640

2062

2185

123

15

55

70

16

15

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Boqer

134Æ7

1268

30Æ8

7431

626

2205

2374

169

58

058

13

29

00

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

David

134Æ8

6966

31Æ8

0829

39

3812

4495

683

16

57

72

523

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Devora

2A

35Æ3

4163

32Æ6

9225

3059

3885

826

230

32

39

29

00

Evap

ori

tic

Ga’a

sh2

34Æ8

2575

32Æ2

2924

4583

4840

257

286

88

012

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Gu

rim

335Æ2

5177

31Æ2

0093

294

1698

1706

88

58

66

23

75

0P

eri

-evap

ori

tic

Ha

Qan

aim

335Æ2

9717

31Æ2

9767

279

1778

1878

100

12

30

42

47

11

00

Evap

ori

tic

Hala

mis

h1

35Æ2

7672

31Æ1

6728

217

1627

1670

43

22

37

59

21

16

30

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

Hazeri

m1

34Æ6

6539

31Æ1

7773

231

3745

3851

106

56

27

83

10

80

0N

on

-evap

ori

tic

Heim

ar

135Æ3

3046

31Æ0

3837

)270

1310

1356

46

14

77

91

09

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Ku

rnu

b1

34Æ9

8678

30Æ9

3909

355

1224

1419

195

726

33

45

22

00

Evap

ori

tic

Lot

135Æ3

4770

31Æ1

3260

316

1145

1325

180

24

45

69

227

10

Non

-evap

ori

tic

M.

Qata

n2

35Æ1

7752

30Æ9

5724

32

916

1127

211

820

28

48

25

02

Evap

ori

tic

M.

Ram

on

W(o

utc

rop

)34Æ8

5811

30Æ5

8659

590

202

0202

132

33

44

20

02

Evap

ori

tic

Mass

ad

a1

35Æ3

5730

31Æ3

1224

)262

1368

1499

131

062

62

24

14

00

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

Meged

234Æ9

7913

32Æ1

3960

3495

4613

1118

548

52

34

14

00

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

Nafh

a1

34Æ8

2467

30Æ7

2126

713

1551

1603

52

16

65

81

019

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Nafh

a2

34Æ7

6607

30Æ6

9916

722

1280

1375

95

14

68

82

018

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

Ram

all

a1

35Æ1

7445

31Æ9

5642

4670

5535

865

18

32

50

28

22

00

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

Rekh

me

134Æ8

6435

30Æ9

5590

587

1882

1991

109

042

42

33

25

00

Evap

ori

tic

Sh

eri

f1

(low

er)

34Æ8

5924

31Æ0

3581

517

2469

2544

75

––

––

––

–P

eri

-evap

ori

tic

Sh

eri

f1

(up

per)

34Æ8

5924

31Æ0

3581

517

2172

2297

125

22

52

74

323

00

Non

-evap

ori

tic

W.

Zark

a(o

utc

rop

)35Æ7

0600

31Æ2

1725

100

0100

010

10

68

22

00

Evap

ori

tic

Zavoa

134Æ8

6074

31Æ0

4504

511

2199

2315

116

59

059

14

00

0N

on

-evap

ori

tic

Zoh

ar

135Æ2

2235

31Æ2

1965

627

1879

1986

107

34

18

52

434

11

0N

on

-evap

ori

tic

Zoh

ar

835Æ2

1780

31Æ2

1882

635

1882

1971

89

463

67

12

20

00

Peri

-evap

ori

tic

Zu

kT

am

rur

135Æ3

2638

31Æ1

6635

1455

1571

116

045

45

40

15

00

Evap

ori

tic



in which evaporites are precipitated and areaffected by it. A secondary indication for assig-nation to the peri-evaporitic category is whenbarren (unfossiliferous) dolomite or shale pre-dominates. Borehole successions were consid-ered non-evaporitic when evaporite content wasbelow 10%, the primary lithology was fossilif-erous limestone, and evaporites in pores or aspseudomorphs could be considered post-depo-sitional. As the overlying Ardon Formation(Fig. 2) contains evaporites in certain areas(Goldberg & Friedman, 1974), caving of evapor-ites into non-evaporitic strata or dissolution ofoverlying evaporitic strata and redepositionmust be taken into consideration. The Sherif-1borehole was particularly problematic, as the

Mohilla Formation was apparently doubledby younger faulting, probably Cretaceous(Druckman, 1974); the upper iteration was foundto be non-evaporitic (also according to thepublished log) and the lower iteration wasfound to be peri-evaporitic.

Korngreen & Benjamini (2010, 2011) summa-rized data from north of the Negev. Most bore-holes in the coastal region were non-evaporitic.In central Israel the Meged-2 borehole was peri-evaporitic, while the Palestinian-administeredWest Bank Ramalla-1 borehole was evaporitic(Korngreen & Benjamini, 2011). There are noTriassic borehole data from the area betweenBeer-Sheva and Jerusalem, and for the entireGalilee there are data only from the evaporitic

A C

B D

Fig. 5. Outcrop, macroscale and mesoscale features in the Mohilla Formation. (A) View of the Mohilla Formationshowing three members: ‘M1’ is peri-evaporitic dolostone overlying the Saharonim Formation; ‘M2’ is gypsum,dolostone and shale of the evaporite system; and ‘M3’ is dolomite and limestone. (B) Base of the middle member,showing the three most common lithologies: gypsum (‘Gyps’), dolostone (‘Dol’) and shale, from a Makhtesh Ramonquarry. (C) Horizons of well-developed gypsum nodules (noted by arrows) along the Trans-Israel pipeline in the baseof large cycle 1. (D) Erosion surface filled with gypsum near Wadi Ardon (eastern Ramon), this erosion surfaceappears both to converge with and truncate the gypsum nodule horizons found more to the west.



Devora-2 borehole. In general, the boreholes innorthern Israel display substantially increasedthickness. Equivalent strata in Lebanon arereportedly non-evaporitic (Ziegler, 2001).Distribution of these facies spatially, projectedon the map of Early Mesozoic faults compiledby Gardosh et al. (2008, 2010) is shown inFig. 4. Distribution of subsurface evaporitescorrelative with the Mohilla Formation in Syria(Krasheninnikov, 2005) is also shown, includingtheir position relative to coeval structuralfeatures.

The spatial constraint of the evaporite succes-sions to basins in southern Israel was noted byDruckman (1974). Seven basins can be identi-fied, four in southern Israel: Ramon, Kurnub,Qanaim (identified by Druckman, 1974) andAgur; the Judea graben basin of northern Israeland the West Bank, identified structurally byGardosh et al. (2008) and by examination of thesedimentary record by Korngreen & Benjamini(2010), this basin appears to be an extension ofthe large Palmyrid Basin and related sub-basinsin Syria and northern Jordan (Krasheninnikov,2005). Also in this system is the Zarka Basin inJordan which is considered to be part of a largersystem, in the central Arabia Plate (Ziegler,2001).

These basins form a chain following a north-east/south-west trend, parallel to the faultedfabric of the substrate, and often adjacent to faultsactive in the Triassic. Non-evaporitic or peri-evaporitic successions are on the uplifted side,suggesting that the faults play a role in limitingthe extent of the evaporite basins. The evaporitedepocentres tend to be immediately adjacent tothe faults and only on one side, so their config-uration corresponds to a half-graben geometry. Inthe Qanaim Basin, there are two foci of evaporiteconcentration, both adjacent to the fault trace,whereas the other basins in southern Israel have asmaller evaporite content.

Lithology and facies-types

Three main lithologies were found in the Ramonoutcrops: dolostone, gypsum and calcareousshales, these form layers ranging from 0Æ02 to6Æ50 m in thickness with an average thickness of0Æ75 m. Among the non-evaporitic components,limestone is rare and found only in one layer.Dolostone is present in various forms, at times asdolomite mudstone mixed with quartz silt butmore commonly with Ca sulphate as laths. Thedolostones associated with evaporites havemicrocrystalline texture and low d13C values ()2

A B C

D E F

Fig. 6. Some features of the open marine and open lagoon environments. (A) Bioclastic fragments with peloids; bedM2D10. (B) Muddy dolomicrite, bright horizon is graded quartz silt; bed M2W04c. (C) Dolomicrite with no biota,most of the dark spots are artefacts of the thin section preparation; bed M2W16a. (D) Peloid grainstone; bed M2W20a.(E) Cathodoluminescence image of (B). Quartz is non-luminescent to faint blue luminescence, carbonate has a strongbright luminescence. (F) Cathodoluminescence image of (C). Dull luminescence is probably a transported bioclast.The scale in all images is 500 lm.



to )14& PDB; Magaritz & Druckman, 1984).Evaporites appear as pure crystalline gypsumand, when intermixed with dolostone, usually aslaths. Volcanic horizons, for example, in the WadiArdon outcrop, are intrusive and are youngerthan the Mohilla evaporites (Baer et al., 1995;Segev et al., 2005). The sedimentary lithologies

are not randomly distributed but they can begrouped into 10 facies-types. Outcrops and fieldresults are shown in Fig. 5 (the entire unit isshown in Fig. 5A), photomicrographic images ofthe petrology of these facies-types are shown inFigs 6 and 7. Distribution patterns of these facies-types along the section are shown in Fig. 8

A B C

D E F

G H I

Fig. 7. Facies and features of the restricted lagoon, salina and sabkha. (A) Ooids and oncoids within stromatolitelaminations. Ooids are neither spherical nor regular, forms classified by Strasser (1986) as lagoonal, but of relativelylow salinity; bed M2W46. (B) Gypsum laths in carbonate matrix; bed M216b. (C) Cathodoluminescence image of (B).Gypsum laths are non-luminescent. (D) Laminated-crust stromatolites between two beds of dolomicrite; bedM2W01a. (E) Massive gypsum, small arrows point to traces of carbonate visible only in CL; bed M2W02a. (F)Cathodoluminescence image of (E), prolonged exposure. Small bright orange specks (small arrows) probably aretraces of carbonate. (G) Close-up of a partly laminated fragment from caving breccia, desiccation in several phases:‘Br’ breccia fragment, carbonate; ‘Crb’ carbonate-gypsum cement; ‘Gyps’ gypsum; bed M2W55a. (H) Cathodolumi-nescence image of (I) – breccia clast with very bright luminescence. Two phases of cementation: one mixed withcarbonate shows spotty luminescence, while gypsum is non-luminescent. (I) Primary gypsum micro-nodule (indi-cated by ‘N’) within a laminated stromatolite; bed M2W01c. The scale in all images is 500 lm.

Fig. 8. Composite section of the Mohilla evaporite at Ramon showing: (A) position above the base of the section;(B) lithologies; (C) key sedimentary features distribution; (D) depositional environments; (E) small Transgressive-Regressive (‘TR’; presumed fifth-order) sedimentary cycles; (F) composite exposure to exposure cycles (presumedfourth-order).





Table

2.

Cla

ssifi

cati

on

of

10

obse

rved

facie

s-ty

pes

inth

eM

2m

em

ber

of

the

Moh

illa

Form

ati

on

.D

iagn

ost

icfe

atu

res,

gen

era

ld

esc

rip

tion

an

din

terp

rete

den

vir

on

men

t,fa

cie

sbelt

sas

inF

ig.

9.

BC

L(B

righ

tC

L),

DC

L(D

ull

CL

)an

dN

CL

(Non

CL

)re

fer

tolu

min

esc

en

ce

un

der

cath

od

olu

min

esc

en

ce.

Facie

s-ty

pes

Gen

era

ld

esc

rip

tion

;m

icro

facie

scom

pon

en

ts;

CL

Dia

gn

ost

icfe

atu

res

Infe

rred

dep

osi

tion

al

en

vir

on

men

tF

acie

sbelt

(Fig

.9)

Foss

ilif

ero

us

carb

on

ate

Foss

ilif

ero

us

poorl

yw

ash

ed

packst

on

es

tow

ackest

on

es

wit

hsm

all

moll

usc

s,ech

inod

erm

fragm

en

ts,

fora

min

ifera

an

d/o

rost

racod

a.

Occasi

on

al

pelo

ids

Foss

ilif

ero

us

lim

est

on

eO

pen

mari

ne

syst

em

,n

orm

al

or

near

norm

al

sali

nit

yO

pen

lagoon

facie

sse

t(b

elt

1a)

Mu

dd

yd

olo

mic

rite

Lam

inate

dd

olo

mic

rite

,bed

ded

wit

hgra

ded

or

non

-gra

ded

silt

icqu

art

z,

com

mon

lysm

all

am

ou

nts

of

Fe

oxid

es;

DC

L-B

CL

Bed

ded

dolo

mic

rite

wit

hqu

art

zsi

ltR

est

ricte

dse

ttin

g,

pro

bably

ele

vate

dsa

lin

ity

belo

w70&

,p

robably

hyp

oxic

,d

ista

lfl

uvia

lin

pu

t

Sali

ne

op

en

lagoon

facie

sse

t(b

elt

1b)

Dolo

mit

em

ud

ston

eM

ass

ive

un

iform

dolo

mic

rite

wit

hra

revery

small

(up

to150

lm)

bio

cla

sts,

qu

art

zsi

lt,

DC

L-B

CL

Non

-foss

ilif

ero

us

dolo

mic

rite

Rest

ricte

dse

ttin

g,

pro

bably

ele

vate

dsa

lin

ity

belo

w70&

,p

robably

hyp

oxic

,li

mit

ed

terr

est

rial

infl

ux

Pelo

idal

dolo

mit

eD

olo

mit

ized

packst

on

eto

gra

inst

on

e;

BC

LW

ell

sort

ed

pelo

ids,

non

-fo

ssil

ifero

us

Hig

hsa

lin

ity

bu

tbelo

w70&

,re

stri

cte

dse

ttin

g

Dom

e-s

hap

ed

stro

mato

lite

sD

om

e-s

hap

ed

stro

mato

lite

sw

ith

ou

td

esi

ccati

on

cra

cks,

wit

hd

efo

rmed

an

delo

ngate

dooid

s;B

CL

Dom

e-s

hap

ed

stro

mato

lite

s,in

ass

ocia

tion

wit

hooid

sL

agoon

al

sett

ing

wit

hm

ari

ne

rech

arg

ean

dn

orm

al

sali

nit

y

Mari

ne-r

ech

arg

ed

rest

ricte

dla

goon

facie

sse

t(b

elt

2a)

Gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

Lam

inate

dd

olo

mic

rite

wit

hgyp

sum

lath

sm

ost

lysu

b-p

ara

llel

tobed

din

g.

Str

uctu

rem

ay

suggest

alg

al

mat

ass

ocia

tion

Gyp

sum

lath

sin

dolo

mic

rite

matr

ixR

est

ricte

dla

goon

wit

hh

igh

sali

nit

y(7

0to

140&

)H

igh

sali

nit

yre

stri

cte

dla

goon

facie

sse

t(b

elt

2b)

Lam

inate

dd

olo

mit

ecru

sts

Dolo

mit

icm

ud

ston

ew

ith

thin

,h

ori

zon

tall

yto

sub-h

ori

zon

tall

ybed

ded

wit

hoccasi

on

al

bu

rrow

ing

or

cra

ckin

g;

DC

L-B

CL

Lam

inate

dcru

sts,

mic

robia

lite

wit

hou

tgyp

sum

or

min

or

traces

Rest

ricte

d,

shall

ow

,ra

ised

sali

nit

y(4

5to

70&

)

Calc

are

ou

ssh

ale

sF

ine-b

ed

ded

gre

en

,gre

yor

bla

ck

cla

yst

on

e;

cla

y,

dolo

mit

e,

som

equ

art

z.

Oft

en

wit

hgyp

sum

vein

s

Calc

are

ou

ssh

ale

sS

tagn

an

th

yp

er-

sali

ne

sett

ing,

dyso

xic

toan

oxic

bott

om

wate

r

Sali

na

facie

sse

t(b

elt

3a)

Mass

ive

tola

min

ate

dgyp

sum

Mass

ive

gyp

sum

wit

htr

aces

of

carb

on

ate

Near

pu

regyp

sum

Hig

hsa

lin

ity

(140

to350&

?)aqu

eou

sen

vir

on

men

t

Gyp

sum

nod

ule

san

dm

icro

-kars

tsG

yp

sum

nod

ule

s(5

to15

mm

ind

iam

ete

r)in

dolo

mic

rite

or

alg

al-

mat

matr

ix.

Mic

ro-k

ars

tw

ith

coll

ap

sebre

ccia

an

dm

ixed

gyp

sum

-carb

on

ate

cem

en

t;B

CL

Gyp

sum

nod

ule

san

d/o

rm

icro

-kars

tsfi

lled

wit

hgyp

sum

Su

baeri

al

exp

osu

rein

evap

ori

tic

sett

ing

Sabkh

afa

cie

sse

t(b

elt

3b)



(column C); their description, diagnostic featuresand the interpretation of the depositional envi-ronments described below, are shown in Table 2.

Fossiliferous carbonate (Fig. 6A)Bioclastic micrite-rich carbonates, commonly re-placed by dolomite. Intact or broken skeletal

remains of a poorly diverse fauna, mainly bivalvesand/or ostracodes, and some foraminifera, occurwithin a matrix of poorly-washed wackestones topackstones. Faecal pellets and non-uniform pe-loids are commonly interbedded with the fossils.Foraminifera were mostly of the genus Lamelli-conus and one Glomospira sp. was found, both

Fig. 9. General model for deposi-tional settings during deposition ofthe middle member of the MohillaFormation. There are three mainsettings: open lagoon with normalmarine edge and a more saline edge;restricted lagoon receiving marinerecharge at the distal edge butincreasing in salinity to evaporiticlevels at the proximal edge; andwater body completely cut off fromthe marine system with sabkhaforming on its proximal edge whendesiccation is achieved. Salinityranges are based on precipitationranges of evaporite minerals (afterFriedman & Sanders, 1978). Dolo-mite genesis is penecontemporane-ous and assumed to be microbial inorigin; the presence of a seepagescenario for post-depositional dolo-mitization beneath the barrier is notdiscounted (Adams & Rhodes,1960). R.S.L. = relative sea-level.



known from the Mohilla Formation (Benjamini,1988; Korngreen & Benjamini, 2006). Echino-derm fragments are rare or absent. Micritizationof carbonate grains is present but it is notubiquitous.

Laminated muddy dolomicrite (Fig. 6B and E)Laminated, non-fossiliferous, dolomite mudstonewith up to 30% clastic quartz silt (muddy dolo-micrite, sensu Mount, 1985). Quartz grains arerounded to well-rounded, with high sphericity,present either as sorted coarse to medium siltsuspended in micrite, or normally-graded fromcoarse silt to micrite. Bedding is non-uniform andlamination ranges from ca 1 to 10 mm. Ironoxides are sometimes present. Cathodolumines-cence is dull to bright. Normally graded beddingis present mainly in the lower parts of unit M2,with grading sometimes characterizing a singlebed some tens of centimetres in thickness, con-taining up to 50 graded laminations.

Dolomite mudstone (Fig. 6C and F)Poorly laminated or non-laminated mudstoneconsists of dolomite, barren or with rare skeletalremains <150 lm, that may have been trans-ported. Cathodoluminescence is homogeneousbright to dull.

Peloidal dolomite (Fig. 6D)Peloid-rich packstones or grainstones, usuallydolomitized, and lacking evaporites. These sed-iments contain sporadic fragments of skeletalremains that may have been transported. Pe-loids are elongated, about 100 lm in diameterand 200 to 300 lm in length, uniform in shapeand size in each bed, and well-sorted. Thegrainstone texture probably is the result of totalbiogenic pelletization of micritic sediment. Ca-thodoluminescence is usually homogeneousbright to dull.

Dome-shaped stromatolites (Fig. 7A)One bed identified in the M2 section is charac-terized by dome-shaped stromatolites, barrenboth of faunal remains and evaporites. Domesare partially connected, ranging from 15 to 25 cmin radius, where the base radius is sub-equal toheight. The stromatolites contain irregular orsomewhat deformed ooids and oncoids lodgedbetween laminae, as well as fenestrae structures.Ooid diameters are 250 to 500 lm, with poorlypreserved internal textures. Similar ooid assem-blages occur in the underlying Ladinian–LowerCarnian Saharonim Formation at Ramon

(Druckman, 1974), and are known from boreholesof the Mohilla Formation at other sites(Druckman, 1976). The ooids belong either totype 2 or type 3 lagoonal ooids of Strasser (1986);where both types are present, type 2 is dominant.There are no desiccation features indicating sub-aerial exposure. Cathodoluminescence is usuallyhomogeneous, and bright.

Gypsum dolomicrite (Fig. 7B and C)Gypsum-carbonate mixtures are representedmostly as gypsum laths suspended in a dolomitemicrite matrix, a texture that is sometimes erasedby more comprehensive replacement of the car-bonate by gypsum. Gypsum laths are mostlyoriented sub-parallel to bedding with lath lengthaveraging about 300 lm. The resulting texture hasbeen termed ‘aligned-felted’ (sensu Maiklemet al., 1969). In the same samples, ghosts oflaminated microbial mats are preserved. Cathodo-luminescence of the carbonate is usually homo-geneous bright to dull.

Laminated dolomite crusts (Fig. 7D)Micritic dolomite, gypsum-free, with crinklytextured laminae indicative of a microbial origin.Laminae are <200 lm thick, horizontal to sub-horizontal, sometimes with burrowing and desic-cation features. These laminations are usually inbundles several centimetres thick. Cathodolumi-nescence is usually bright to dull.

Massive to laminated gypsum (Fig. 7E and F)Nearly pure gypsum in a range of textures, somedescribed by Druckman (1976) as ‘laminar mosaicgypsum lithofacies’; these are mainly non-oriented, subhedral to anhedral gypsum mosaics(sensu Maiklem et al., 1969). Traces of carbonatemay be preserved within the gypsum itself,highlighted by cathodoluminescence (Fig. 7F).

Calcareous shales (in Fig. 5B)Thin-bedded green, grey or black calcareousshales. The shales generally are finely laminatedand particle-size analysis shows them to becomposed of fine to very fine silt. X-ray diffrac-tion examination shows quartz, gypsum, illiteand abundant dolomite. Similar compositionswere reported by Heller-Kallai et al. (1973) fromthese and from the Sinai outcrops, as well as byMakhlouf & El-Haddad (2006) from the Jordanoutcrop. Shales are accompanied by gypsum inveins of varying thickness, or in concretionsconsisting of clusters of lenticular crystals 4 to5 mm in length.



Gypsum nodules and micro-karsts (Figs 5C, 5Dand 7G to I)The host matrix of this lithofacies is laminated orpartially laminated dolomite mudstone, withsome iron staining, penetrated or replaced by Casulphate nodules or micro-karst cavities. Micro-karst cavities are filled with brecciated material,cemented by a gypsum-dolomite mixture (Fig. 7Gand H). In quarry outcrops, nodules are 5 to15 mm in diameter (longest axis), at times withlater fracturing also filled with Ca sulphate. Thenodules become larger in the eastern exposuresand merge into horizons composed entirely ofgypsum nodules (Figs 5C and 7I). Eroded sur-faces with cavities filled by gypsum are present aswell (Fig. 5D). No carbonate cements are presentin this facies-type (or in any other within theunit), and pores are sometimes filled by gypsum,or by a mixture of gypsum and micrite. Thincarbonate laminations in which the nodules arepresent often have a crinkly texture, consistentwith the observed presence of laminated-cruststromatolites. Cathodoluminescence of the asso-ciated carbonates is mostly bright.

Facies sets and interpretation of depositionalenvironment

These facies associations (facies-types) can bearranged into a pattern of environmental beltscharacteristic of shallow-water carbonate andevaporite systems. Each facies-type can be as-signed to such an environment and positionedaccording to proximity to land or the open marinecarbonate system. Facies-belt concepts for suchsettings, such as developed by Wilson (1975),need to be modified significantly to accommodateevaporite belts ranked according to varying de-grees of restriction. A facies belt model for the M2data is shown in Fig. 9, of depositional settingsranging from open lagoon to intertidal sabkha. Themost distal belt present is open lagoonal, incontact with the open marine environment. Thenext inner belt reflects the more highly salineproximal edge of such a lagoon. A more restrictedlagoon, receiving some marine recharge at thedistal edge but becoming increasingly saline toevaporitic, is placed more proximally. Moreextreme restriction then leads to salina-type basinspotentially accumulating thick evaporites. Thelandward edge of the restricted lagoon is repre-sented by intertidal to supratidal sabkhas. ‘Lagoo-nal’ in this context refers to sediments thataccumulate in a sub-basin behind a barrier;whether the barrier is a calcarenitic or biogenic

shoal according to the classic model, or of tectonicorigin, is not addressed in the definition of faciestypes.

Open lagoon facies setThe fossiliferous wackestone and packstonefacies-type can be attributed to the open lagoon.The presence of bioclasts indicates a functionalmarine-connected ecosystem. Nevertheless,diversity is very low and peloids are verycommon, features common in lagoonal settings(Wilson, 1975; Flugel, 2004).

Saline open lagoon facies setPeloidal dolomite, dolomite mudstone and mud-dy dolomicrite facies-types are placed in thisfacies belt. It represents a subtidal, saline lagoonof low water energy and increasing salinity, withsporadic biotic colonization or transport bystorms or tides. Indigenous fauna is inhibited byraised or changing salinity, but the pelletizedmicrite suggests a low-diversity, possibly singlespecies soft-bottom community, not uncommonin high salinity settings. Cathodoluminescenceindicates low availability of oxygen in pore-waters within the sediment (Boggs & Krinsley,2006). High rates of evaporation cause a gradientof increased salinity inland when sea-level fallcauses increased isolation of the basin, or whentectonic uplift causes increased effectiveness ofan oceanward barrier (Briggs, 1957; Lucia, 1972).The microcrystalline dolomite with preservedoriginal textures, the d13C values of the dolomiteand the association with evaporites, are allfeatures that suggest a penecontemporaneousorigin for the dolomite, related to microbialactivity (Vasconcelos et al., 1995; McKenzie &Vasconcelos, 2009).

Marine-recharged restricted lagoon facies setThis environment is represented by a barren,oolite-bearing dome-shaped stromatolite bed.Domal stromatolites of this type are reported toform under sub-aqueous conditions in lakes, andin some modern sub-tidal environments (Mann &Nelson, 1989; Feldmann & McKenzie, 1998).Under low-energy marine conditions, they occureither behind a barrier or below wave base(Braga et al., 1995; Mary & Woods, 2008). Theooids indicate transport into the lagoon alongthe distal edge of a shoal (Strasser, 1986).Although Dupraz & Visscher (2005) classifiedthe association of dome-like stromatolites andooids as indicative of a normal-saline openmarine environment, the absence of faunal



Table

3.

Tra

nsi

tion

patt

ern

of

facie

s-ty

pe

shif

tsin

42

cycle

sw

ith

inth

eM

2m

em

ber

of

the

Moh

illa

Form

ati

on

:p

osi

tion

above

base

,th

ickn

ess

,fa

cie

s-gro

up

tran

siti

on

s.F

acie

sty

pes

an

dse

tsare

desc

ribed

inT

able

2an

dil

lust

rate

din

Fig

.9.

Cycle

no.

Base

[m]

Top

[m]

Th

ickn

ess

[m]

Sh

ifts

of

facie

s-ty

pes

Facie

sse

ttr

an

siti

on

s(s

ee

Table

2an

dF

ig.

9)

10

0Æ1

70Æ1

7U

nkn

ow

nfi

lam

inate

dd

olo

mit

ecru

sts

?fi

2b

20Æ1

70Æ5

0Æ3

3D

olo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

1b

fi2b

30Æ5

0Æ8

30Æ3

3D

olo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

mass

ive

tola

min

ate

dgyp

sum

nod

ule

san

dm

icro

-kars

ts1b

fi3b

40Æ8

31Æ6

30Æ8

Gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

fim

ass

ive

tola

min

ate

dgyp

sum

ficalc

are

ou

ssh

ale

s2b

fi3a

51Æ6

32Æ3

80Æ7

5M

ud

dy

dolo

mic

rite

ficalc

are

ou

ssh

ale

s1b

fi3a

62Æ3

83Æ2

10Æ8

3M

ud

dy

dolo

mic

rite

fid

olo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

1b

fi2b

73Æ2

15Æ5

12Æ3

Dolo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

mu

dd

yd

olo

mic

rite

figyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

1b

fi3a

85Æ5

17Æ3

91Æ8

8D

olo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

1b

fi2b

97Æ3

98Æ4

41Æ0

5D

olo

mit

em

ud

ston

efi

gyp

sum

dolo

mic

rite

fiu

nkn

ow

n1b

fi2b

fi?

10

12Æ1

612Æ4

60Æ9

3U

nkn

ow

nfi

lam

inate

dd

olo

mit

ecru

sts

?fi

2b

11

12Æ4

613Æ0

90Æ6

3D

olo

mit

em

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remains suggests a restriction, while the absenceof evaporites or their pseudomorphs suggeststhat salinity was below the point of gypsumprecipitation. There are no indications for sub-aerial exposure. Therefore, this facies set pointsto a partly restricted, low energy non-evaporiticsubtidal environment.

High salinity restricted lagoon facies setThis environment is represented by the gypsumdolomicrite and laminated dolomite crust facies-types. Gypsum laths can form directly in thewater body (Schreiber & El Tabakh, 2000) or growwithin the sediment and even within microbia-lites (Babel, 2005), although this feature may bethe result of replacement of carbonate by gypsumin the earliest diagenetic stage (Aref, 1998;Warren, 2006). In either case, salinity was sig-nificantly elevated within the lower waterbody. Microbial lamination is horizontal tosub-horizontal with occasional disturbance byburrowing and/or desiccation cracks, indicating atidal or tidal edge setting on the proximal edge ofan evaporating water body (Shearman, 1978;Warren, 2006). This restricted setting withcoexisting gypsum and carbonate precipitationindicates elevated but not extreme salinity,limited by an external factor, more likely to bemarine inflow rather than runoff.

Salina facies setThis environment is characterized by the mas-sive to laminated gypsum and barren calcareousshale facies-types. Because little to no carbonateis present, and because halite did not accumu-late, the gypsum would have formed in acontinuously evaporating and recharging highsalinity aqueous environment (between 140&

and 350&; Friedman & Sanders, 1978; Warren,2006). The control on gypsum versus shales inthis facies may very well be related to theintensity of runoff into the basin or oxidationconditions within the basin where the latterinhibits the precipitation of gypsum if sulphatereducing conditions prevail and only shales,detritic or authigenic, will be deposited. Thecrystal form (lenticular) of the gypsum concre-tions occurring within the shales was associatedby Cody & Cody (1988) with warm water and thepresence of organic matter.

Authigenic deposition of Ca sulphate usuallyis as gypsum (Shearman, 1985). However,Makhlouf & El-Haddad (2006) claim that notextural interpretation of gypsum lithofacies isvalid, as all gypsum is secondary. During burialT

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of just a few hundreds of metres, gypsumbecomes dehydrated to anhydrite, and is thenrehydrated into gypsum upon exhumation. Thisnear-surface, low temperature process results inthe general destruction of the original textures ofevaporites that undergo burial in the geologicalrecord, and their replacement by neomorphicgypsum (Testa & Lugli, 2000). High heat-flowcompounds this transition. The Mohilla evapo-rites were never buried to a depth greater than600 m of rock (Ben-David et al., 2002) andadditional overlying water thickness, whichwas probably sufficient for this transition. More-over, local heat flow was probably elevated attimes, for example, during magmatic episodes ofthe Norian (Baer et al., 1995) and Cretaceous(Segev et al., 2005); for all these reasons crystaltextures are likely to be neomorphic. However,the original morphology of gypsum crystals canbe preserved when set in a dolomite matrix.Such gypsum crystal forms are observed both inthe field and under petrographic observation.

Sabkha facies setThis setting is marked at Ramon by a fewoccurrences of gypsum nodules and micro-karsts,together with laminated-crust stromatolites,indicating an intertidal or supratidal edgeenvironment (Shearman, 1978; Warren, 2006).Micro-karst cavities and gypsum nodules conclu-sively indicate subaerial exposure (Wood & Wolf,1969; Kendall, 1979; Schreiber & El Tabakh, 2000;Warren, 2006). Gypsum nodules are known toform in supratidal evaporitic mud flats of salinitygreater than 140&. Bright luminescence occurswhen Fe2+ and Mn2+ are mobilized into thecarbonate lattice under anoxic conditions withinthe sediment (Boggs & Krinsley, 2006). However,highly evaporative conditions can also concen-trate Mn2+ and Fe2+ (Buggisch et al., 1994). Thusa number of occurrences of transient or incipientconditions for the sabkha environment took placeat Ramon.

Sedimentary models for shifts in depositionalenvironment in evaporite successions can beclassified into two types:

(i) Lateral shift of facies, governed by lateralfilling of accommodation, analogous to progra-dation/aggradation in carbonates. One model ofthis type, relevant to evaporitic conditions, is ofan increased evaporation gradient on the land-ward side of the basin (Briggs & Pollack, 1967, forthe Michigan Basin, USA; Salvany et al., 2007, inthe Ebro Basin, Spain).

(ii) Rapid transitions between modes, witheffectively no lateral shift of facies. This type oftransition has been attributed to control purely byrelative sea-level change. Some examples includethat of Hite (1970) for the Paradox Basin, Butleret al. (1995) for the Messinian of western Sicily,including partial tectonic control on the barrier,and of Shi et al. (2010) on the southern NorthChina Basin, including tectonic control on par-tially fault-related subsidence.

It is here that the relatively small size of theRamon Basin (ca 30 km; Druckman, 1974) iso-lates the role of sea-level change from tectoniceffects (in this case, a bounding fault) in control-ling accumulation of evaporites, by limiting thepossible lateral extent of facies shifts. A sedimen-tary model showing how facies in this type offault-bounded evaporite basin can develop suc-cessively is presented in Fig. 9. Three mainsettings (grouping the six facies sets) can bedescribed – marine open setting (Fig. 9A), marinerestricted setting (Fig. 9B) and fully restrictedevaporite setting (Fig. 9C). The restriction of thewater body controls the mineralogy of the accu-mulated mineral, as with greater restriction, thewater becomes more saline, gypsum becomes thedominant precipitated mineral as opposed tocarbonate, and macrofauna is eliminated.

Burial curves for the Triassic of northern Israelsupport a strong element of structural control onthe Middle to Late Triassic evaporite basins(Korngreen & Benjamini, 2010, 2011). Activefaulting along the Levant margin in the Triassicwas described by Garfunkel & Derin (1984),Druckman (1984), Gardosh & Druckman (2006)and Gardosh et al. (2008, 2010). In this context,the consistent proximity of Mohilla evaporitebasins to normal faults active in the Early Meso-zoic (Fig. 4), especially in southern Israel, issignificant; the Ramon evaporite basin is itselfadjacent to the Ramon fault, which was activethrough the Mesozoic (Garfunkel, 1998).

Vertical facies transitions in the Ramonsuccession

The depositional environment (facies set) for eachbed at Ramon, based on these facies types, isshown in Fig. 8 (column D). The explanations forthe sequence of depositional events in the verticalsuccession, for the transitions between them intime, and how their stacking pattern can explainthe genesis of the large-scale sedimentary systemare more complex.



Transitions occurring abruptly across beddingplanes suggest a sharp shift of sedimentary envi-ronments. Patterns of shallowing or deepening-upwards facies shifts, the latter usually followedby a shallowing-upwards shift, form the basis forsubdivision of the section into cycles. Cycles as

used here are defined as the section accumulatedfrom the top of a bed of the shallowest setting in asequence to the top of the following shallowestbed (sensu Vail et al., 1977; Van Wagoner et al.,1988, 1990). Each cycle is usually comprised ofone or two transitions or relays (Hennbert & Lees,

A C

D

B

Fig. 10. Nature of changes observed in the cycles between depositional environments, indices (1a to 3b) refer to theenvironments discussed in Fig. 9 and Table 2. Abrupt changes: (A) rapid shallowing from open lagoon dolomicriteinto sabkha with gypsum nodules and micro-karsts; and (B) shallowing from open lagoon peloidal carbonates intocalcareous shale salina facies. Gradual changes: (C) initial deepening, from restricted lagoon gypsum dolomicrite toopen lagoon dolomicrite or muddy dolomicrite, followed by shallowing upwards into calcareous shale/salina facies;and (D) shallowing-upwards from open lagoon dolomicrite to restricted lagoon gypsum dolomicrite facies andcalcareous shale salina facies. Lack of a deepening stage may be intrinsic to the cycle, or may indicate some internalcontrol.



1985) between depositional environments. Thecharacteristics of the relays between the facies-types shown in Table 2 are detailed in Table 3and Fig. 8 (column E). A total of 42 small-scalecycles were found, which are highly variable inthickness, and range from 0Æ16 to 10Æ12 m/cycle(Table 3).

Three main types of cycle are present in thesection: type 1 – single-relay shallowing upwardscycle; type 2 – two-relay deepening/shallowingupwards cycle, and in one case (cycle 39) athree-relay cycle; type 3 – two-relay shallowingupwards cycle.

A type 1 cycle (Fig. 10A and B) usuallyconsists of a transition from the saline openlagoon set to a more restricted set, such as fromnon-evaporitic to evaporite-bearing sabkha(Fig. 10A) or salina (Fig. 10B) facies set, withoutany intermediate facies. This type of successionaccounts for about half of the transitions atRamon, and tends to be more dominant in thelower part of the section.

A type 2 cycle (Fig. 10C) displays a steppedtransition, usually from the high salinity re-stricted lagoon facies set to the saline open lagoonfacies set, and back to the restricted facies set. Inthis type of transition the evaporite componentdecreases gradually until non-evaporitic condi-tions are established, then returning to the initialconditions. Cycles of this type account for about athird of the cycles.

The type 3 cycle (Fig. 10D) is least common,occurring only three times (cycles 16, 19 and 30).These cycles begin with a saline open lagoonfacies set overlying either a sabkha (cycle 16) orsalina (cycle 19) from the previous cycle, passingto a high-salinity restricted lagoon, and thenreturning to salina facies.

The changes described above are likely to be theresponse of the evaporite system to either gradualsea-level or climate changes, or to abrupt tectonicmovements or clastic influx events. The waythese cycles are stacked indicates a repetitive orcyclic pattern applicable to their causes.

A

B

Fig. 11. Illustration of transitionfrom a salina to open lagoon settingby: (A) a tectonic mechanism; or (B)eustatic or climatic change. In thefirst scenario a barrier opens due totectonic movement, generating ashift from initially restricted to moreopen conditions, a change that israpid and abrupt. In the secondscenario, a more gradual change(eustatic, climatic or other) gener-ates a shift from initially restrictedconditions (b1) until a stable, highrelative sea-level (RSL) is achieved(b2), followed by shallowing eitherdue to reversal of the change, orfilling of accommodation space.(b3). The next cycle will commencewhen the next change occurs. If therate of deposition permits, all inter-mediate stages can be represented.



Two orders of cycle stacking are present withinthe M2 succession: a low frequency cycle (LF orLO cycles) averaging 24 m in thickness, boundedby subaerial exposures at sequence boundaries(SB), and smaller, higher frequency Transgres-sive–Regressive (TR) cycles (HF or HO cycles),averaging around 2Æ3 m in thickness, although inone case, a 10 m thickness was deposited. Thesetwo orders are shown in Fig. 8 columns E and F.

Sabkha facies, whether incipient or well-developed, effectively indicate subaerial exposureand therefore can be used to indicate sequenceboundaries (SB), in accordance with most strati-graphic approaches (i.e. Van Wagoner et al., 1988,1990; Hunt & Tucker, 1992). Four sequence bound-aries of this type are shown (Fig. 8, column F),defining four low-order cycles. The SB-boundedlow-order cycles are superposed on the high-ordercyclic pattern. Low-order cycle 1 (including smallcycles 3 to 15) and cycle 3 (small cycles 30 to 35)are reduced in thickness in comparison with low-order cycles 2 (small cycles 16 to 30) and 4 (smallcycles 36 to 41).

DISCUSSION: EUSTASY, CLIMATE ANDSTRUCTURAL CONTROL

Only three global third-order cycles were demon-strated for the entire Carnian (Embry, 1988; Haq

et al., 1988). Korngreen & Benjamini (2010) con-sidered the entire Mohilla evaporite event tocorrespond to only one of these, with a preferencefor the second of the three global cycles, in theabsence of good biostratigraphic constraints. Thecycles at Ramon are therefore of a higher fre-quency, probably fourth-order (low order - LO)and fifth-order (high order - HO) cycles.

The typically high rate of sedimentation inevaporite/peri-evaporite systems (from 500 m/Myrto over 2000 m/Myr; Schreiber & Hsu, 1980)supports a time span for these cycles of the orderof several tens of thousands of years, at most.Such a span would be within the range of orbital-forcing cyclicity. The LO cycles should corre-spond to the eccentricity band of Milankovitchcyclicity (Schwarzacher, 1993, 2000; Weedon,2003). The HO cycles would then correspondto either obliquity, precession or even sub-Milankovitch bands. Despite a large body ofdetailed biostratigraphic work on the Triassic inMakhtesh Ramon (e.g. Eicher & Mosher, 1974;Parnes et al., 1985; Benjamini, 1988), at this timethe biostratigraphic resolution for the Mohillaevaporites is insufficient to place these cyclesinto such a precise high-resolution time frame.

Facies dominance in the low order cyclesindicate long time-scale changes. Low-ordercycles 1 and 3 are dolomite-rich, but do not reachthe open lagoon facies. In contrast, cycles 2 and 4

A

B

Fig. 12. (A) Distribution of three styles of cycles of this section. The section begins with dominantly tectonic cyclesand passes into more dominantly eustatic or climatic cycles. (B) Cumulative departure from mean cycle thickness(2Æ3 m), in metres, of the small cycles within the studied section. The initial phase is characterized by smaller cycleswhich increase in thickness as the style changes to more dominantly allochtonous-controlled cycles.



are richer in gypsum and therefore should bemore restricted, but they do in fact achieve openlagoon facies. This disparity can be explained bylarge-scale connectivity, sea-level, or climatechanges. If low connectivity and greater restric-tion of the lagoon are coupled with lower eva-poration rates, the consequent precipitation ofdolomite is mediated by organic matter andoxidation conditions (Mazzullo, 2000), whilehigher evaporation rates would give a thin eva-porite topped by sabkha features. Thus, greatermarine connectivity can be coupled to both moregypsum and to more carbonate. More gypsum isdeposited when higher influx and evaporationprevail over longer periods of time. When evap-orative conditions are suppressed, larger quanti-ties of marine carbonate can be deposited underfavourable conditions. Predictably, the likelihoodof gradual transitions is higher during longer,connectivity-controlled cycles. The climate in theLate Carnian in the western and southern Tethysapparently shifted between short periods of ele-vated humidity and more lengthy periods ofaridity (Stefani et al., 2010), a pattern that mayapply to the eastern Tethys as well.

The high-order, TR-type cycles are stacked intolow-order cycles, and can be differentiated by thepresence or absence of intermediate stages withinthe cycle, especially within the transgressivephase of the cycle. Type 1 cycles reflect abruptchanges from less restricted to more restrictedsettings and back again, across bedding planes.Type 2 and, to some extent, type 3 cycles reflectgradual or stepped changes, with intermediatestages between end members.

Abrupt transitions can be attributed to rela-tively rapid changes in the connectivity of thebasin to the open sea. These transitions can begenerated by either a short-term internal mech-anism, for example, tectonic uplift of a barrier/block, or by an externally-controlled fall in sea-level, consequent shallowing upon an existingsubmerged barrier, and drawdown due to evap-oration tracking sea-level change. Within thecontext of the studied system, the externalmechanism is not likely. Evaporative drawdownof such a system does not remain in a long-termsteady state, and would produce an evaporativefacies set ending in a substantial thickness ofhalite, not observed in this sequence. Moreover,under these conditions the basin would becompletely filled by evaporites topped by clas-tics (Yechieli & Wood, 2002). The best explana-tion for a rapid fall of sea-level in the geologicalrecord is glaciation, which has not been pro-

posed for the warm Late Triassic (Sellwood &Valdes, 2006). However, the possibility thatgradual drawdown played a role in the transitionto evaporite facies cannot be ruled out com-pletely.

The structure of the sedimentary basin, asderived from contemporary structural elementsand the observed facies distribution, can explainthe evolution of the sedimentary sequence. Inparticular, a phase of Triassic extensional faultingwas active in southern Israel during the time ofdeposition of the Mohilla Formation (Fig. 4; Zak,1963; Druckman, 1984) and control on waterinflux is attributed to movement on these faults(Fig. 11A).

Movement on basin-adjacent faults can di-rectly create accommodation space by deepeningof the basin, or remotely, by vertical movementof a silled-basin barrier. Intermittent slip onactive faults would cause more abrupt changesin the local section than would climate oreustatic change. Short-term climate-relatedevents, such as flash floods, may cause suchchanges; however, no evidence for such singularevents was identified. Furthermore, sea waterinflux into a subsiding shelf crossed by anextensional fault system forming multiple basinsand ridges can be controlled by activation of anyof the faults that lie between a basin and theopen sea. This may explain the lack of evidenceof local seismic activity, such as seismites,which were not unequivocally identified withinthe unit.

Most of the type 1 (abrupt-change) cycles areunder 1 m thick, but the majority of type 2(gradual-change) cycles are over twice that thick-ness, indicating that two mechanisms were oper-ating, the latter with a longer bandwidth.Mechanisms responsible for type 2 cycles areeither eustatic? sea-level change, affecting waterlevel within the basin, or climate change. Climateamelioration is marked by an increase in the rateof runoff influx, reducing the salinity and conse-quently evaporite deposition, their replacementby carbonates, and clastic input. Increased arid-ity, on the other hand, led to deposition of thickevaporites (Fig. 11B). Both sea-level change andclimate shifting are much more gradual processesthan are tectonic pulses that affect accommoda-tion space and efficacy of the barriers. Type 3cycles are marked by sudden onset, then gradualchange, possibly commencing with a tectonicpulse when sea-level was low but rising.

The evolution of the Ramon evaporite basin canbe tracked via the stacking pattern of cyclicity and



changes in relative thickness of each cycle(Fig. 12A). The lower part of the sequence con-sists mostly of sub-metre abrupt type 1 HO cycles,indicating dominance of tectonic activity, whichprobably formed the basin in the first place.Muddy dolomicrite beds in these cycles displaytightly packed normal grading, indicating rede-position. The average thickness of a cycle prior tothe exposure event terminating LO cycle 1 is onlyone third of the thickness of the overlying cycles.Therefore, the thicker HO cycles that constituteLO cycles 2, 3 and 4 higher in the section are type2 gradual cycles that indicate a return to externalcontrol by sea-level.

A Fischer plot-like cumulative departure curve(Fig. 12B; following Sadler et al., 1993) showsthe tectonic generation of accommodation space,and the sedimentary-fill response, for this se-quence. As above, accommodation space formedin the lower part of the sequence, until the end ofLO cycle 1, by tectonic means, possibly withsome seismic activity and, concomitantly, thisphase became increasingly restricted, until ter-minated by an exposure event. The overlyingcycles represent a subsidence/sedimentationinterplay in which, finally, sedimentation ratesexceed formation of new accommodation space,the basin fills, and a minor unconformity charac-terizes the top of the sequence. This is a fillingpattern similar to that observed in larger Triassichalf grabens in northern Israel (Korngreen &Benjamini, 2011). It should be noted that thecycles at Ramon include episodes of subaerialexposure or truncation, and therefore it is notpossible to make the assumption that a completerecord of Milankovitch-type oscillations wasrecorded.

The initial restriction of the Ramon and adja-cent basins begins prior to the main evaporiteunits of the M2 member, as evaporites are alsopresent in the Ladinian (Benjamini et al., 2005).Korngreen & Benjamini (2011) have shown byfacies analysis in northern Israel that, in theCarnian, the seaward side of the Levant shelf wascharacterized by a shallow facies belt that servedas a barrier to more proximal basins in whichevaporites accumulated.

Previous studies (Benjamini et al., 2005;Korngreen & Benjamini, 2010, 2011) consideredthe Mohilla evaporites to represent a pulse ofactivation of Neo-Tethyan rifting, or a local sub-set related to the same rifting. The stackedsedimentation cycles that respond to a tectonictrigger correspond to a reactivation of this riftsystem, and to a time of formation of Late Triassic

evaporites throughout the western Tethys (Perez-Lopez & Perez-Valera, 2007; Turner & Sherif,2007). Whether the trigger was a localized Levantshelf movement or part of a large-scale Tethyanrifting event is unknown, but correspondence toboth is highly likely.

There are few studies of high-resolution cycli-city in Late Triassic evaporites of the Tethyanrealm. Reinhardt & Ricken (2000) and Vollmeret al. (2008) examined such cyclicity in clastic-dominated playa cycles of the uppermostCarnian–Norian in Germany. Orbital forcing wasinvoked for most of the cyclicity, as well as in thecoeval shallow marine section of the ItalianDolomites (Preto et al., 2001; Preto & Hinnov,2003), and in fluvial and lacustrine half-grabenfill in eastern North America (Olsen & Kent, 1996,1999). An orbital-forcing based rhythm for sedi-mentation is therefore present at this time. Zuhlkeet al. (2003) and Mundil et al. (2003) have shownthat, at least in the case of the Dolomites, there isalso a sub-Milankovitch order of cyclicity. Thereis an a priori assumption in most of these studiesthat tectonics do not overprint or otherwise affectthe observed cyclicity.

Olsen (1997) and Leleu & Hartley (2010) showthat sedimentary patterns were affected by tec-tonic phases in half-grabens related to the LateTriassic Central Atlantic Margin rift system inEastern North America; they are mirrored inwestern North Africa where evaporites are com-mon (Olsen, 1997). Leleu & Hartley (2010) alsonoted that internal higher-frequency cycles ofclastic-evaporite systems within these basins arediachronous, explained by tectonic control onthese cycles. Similar observations of Carniancycles in the Paris Basin (Bourquin et al., 1998)showed that synsedimentary activity of localfaults governed sedimentary supply into thebasin. The resulting cycles have few relays andoften have sharp transitions without intermediatephases. Therefore, platform and internal cratonicbasins may not have a recognizable tectonicoverprint, but rift-edge half-grabens, such as theRamon basins, most certainly do.

Three mechanisms are at work within theRamon Basin – long-period eustatic or climatechange, similar but much shorter-period oscilla-tions that can possibly be related to orbitalforcing, and tectonic activity on the basin marginor barrier. All of these factors affect the connec-tivity of the basin by changing relative sea-level orphysically restricting water flow across a barrier.All mechanisms work simultaneously and inde-pendently and their effects may overlap. The fast



rate of evaporite sedimentation is such thatchanges even at sub-Milankovitch scales can beregistered.

The activation of the Neo-Tethyan rift systemplays an important role in the formation ofcircum-Mediterranean epicontinental seaways(Arabian Plate, North Africa, and southern Eur-ope) during the Late Triassic (Hirsch, 1991). TheMohilla evaporite episode is a relatively small-scale phenomenon, occurring in basins rarelyexceeding 50 km in width, but it is representativeof a significant event on the Arabian Plate thatreverberated throughout the adjacent Tethys dur-ing the Late Triassic. On the Arabian Plate in theCarnian, uplift, faulting and the restriction ofstructural basins of various scales led to wide-spread evaporite deposition that together gener-ated a plate-wide trend of relative sea-level fall(Sharland et al., 2004) at a time when global sea-level was in fact rising towards a maximum.

CONCLUSIONS

The middle member of the Mohilla Formationwas deposited in a fluctuating, peri-evaporitic toevaporitic epicontinental basin of Late Triassicage (Carnian). The main lithologies include dolo-stone, Ca sulphates, and minor silt and clay.Facies analysis of common lithologies and earlydiagenetic features shows that the lagoonal set-ting was dominant, filled for the most part withwater of elevated salinity approaching the rangefor gypsum precipitation, but not halite precipi-tation. Four desiccation horizons are representedby sabkha facies.

A new model for the bed-level transitionsbetween depositional environments, based onfacies successions and the tectonic framework, ispresented. At least two orders of cyclicity werefound, a low-order cyclicity (sensu Vail et al.,1977) bounded by subaerial exposure surfaces, anda higher order (fifth) cyclicity of rapid or gradualshifts of depositional environments. These cycleswere contained within a short time span, as can bededuced from their restriction within the third-order cycles of the global sea-level curve (Embry,1988; Korngreen & Benjamini, 2010).

The high-order cycles are attributed to regionalor even global eustatic/climate cycling withabrupt localized tectonic pulses originating fromthe rift-related tectonic setting of this region.These processes operated simultaneously, affect-ing accommodation space, connectivity to themarine source, and alternating carbonate or evap-

orite dominated deposition, with pulses of clasticinflux. There remains some ambiguity as towhether the gradual cycles are better explainedby climate or sea-level change.

The untangling of the diversity of facies andcycling of sedimentary environments in this tensof kilometres wide evaporite basin opens a win-dow regionally to the genesis and control over thechain of evaporite basins parallel to the Levantmargin. There are many analogues to other small,marine-connected evaporite basins in structurallyactive zones. This approach may also be applica-ble to other systems in which both tectonicactivity in an extensional half-graben basin andeustatic or climatic elements play a role in theformation and evolution of evaporite basins (forexample, the Messinian section in Sicily, asdescribed by Butler et al., 1995).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This research was done in the framework of thePh.D. thesis of OMB at the Department of Geo-logical and Environmental Science at Ben GurionUniversity, under the supervision of DK and CB,and in cooperation with the Geological Survey ofIsrael. It was partially funded by a grant from theIsrael Ministry of Science to CB and the RamonScience Center. D. Kushashvili provided labora-tory assistance. Special thanks are extended toNICE Limited Raw Material Division for assis-tance and access to prospect reports. Thanks aredue to B. Charlotte Schreiber, Federico Ortı,Christopher Kendall and the editors, for theircritical review and comments.

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Manuscript received 17 April 2011; revision accepted27 March 2012



Documents

Lithofacies and cyclicity of Mohilla evaporite basins on the rifted margin of the Levant in the Late Triassic, Makhtesh Ramon, southern Israel