The Aptian to Albian Carbonate platform of Northern Israel

Martina Bachmann and Jochen Kuss

Subproject of the DFG-Project Ku 642/13

During the lower Cretaceous, northern Israel was part of the eastern Levant platform, extended from present Mediterranean coast toward the Arabian-Nubian Massive in the east and south. A platform geometry with a shelf hinge situated close to the Mediterranean coast line is recorded by Sass & Bein (1982), Ross (1992) and others. The sedimentation during the Lower Cretaceous is characterized by two 2nd-order sea-level transgressions (Rosenfeld et al. 1995) resulting in the deposition of carbonate platform sediments. During the interrupting regression, sandstones as well as iron ooids and shales, partly in terrestrial facies progrades over the platform.
These deposits nowadays are situated on both sides of the Dead Sea transformfold.

The project is focused on the Aptian to Albian sediments in Northern Israel and the Golan Heights. Detailed sectioning and sampling, biostratigraphic and facies investigations allow to analyse the sedimentation patterns and to reconstruct the depositonal environment as well as to interpret third-order sea-level variations.

References

Rosenfeld, A., Hirsch, F., Honigstein, A., 1995, Early Cretaceous ostracodes from the Levant. In: Riha, J. (ed), Ostracoda and biostratigraphy; proceedings. International Symposium on Ostracoda, 12, 111-121.

Ross, D. J. (1992) Sedimentology and depositional profile of a Mid-Cretaceous shelf edge rudist reef complex, Nahal Ha'mearot, northwestern Israel. Sedimentary Geology, 79, 161-172.
Sass, E., Bein, A. (1982) The Cretaceous carbonate platform in Israel. Cretaceous Research, 3, 135-144.

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