stable isotope records of late quaternary climate and hydrology from mediterranean lakes the isomed synthesis lake isotope records can be used to assess the spatial coherency of late quaternary climate change across the circum mediterranean region we place modern and palaeo data within a simple conceptual lake response model to show that the isotope hydrology of most mediterranean lakes has been influenced strongly by water balance even in those systems that are chemically dilute i e freshwater 18o data on biogenic and endogenic carbonates from 24 lake basins are used to reconstruct multi millennial scale trends since the lgm while it is difficult to make direct comparisons between lake records in terms of single climatic parameters coherent regional isotopic trends can be identified during glacial times mediterranean lakes deposited carbonates isotopically heavier in 18o compared to the holocene partly due to source area effects isotopic enrichment was most marked during intervals corresponding to the h1 and younger dryas events confirming that late pleistocene cold stages in the north atlantic region were marked by aridity around much of the mediterranean almost all mediterranean lake records shifted to more depleted isotopic values during the last glacial interglacial transition lgit this shift is the reverse of the trend which characterised the same transition in lakes from northern and central europe and suggests that temperature changes were not an important direct driver of mediterranean lake isotopic records over glacial interglacial timescales in the early holocene many lakes in the eastern part of the region were more depleted isotopically than in recent millennia this corresponds with marine sapropel formation both chronologically and geographically and implies that increases in local rainfall contributed significantly to the creation of a freshwater lid and anoxia in the east mediterranean sea in contrast no such pattern is currently apparent from lake isotope records from the west mediterranean suggesting a possible nw se contrast in climate history during the holocene

geoarchaeology confirms location of the ancient harbour basin of ostia italy abstract to the northwest of the ancient city of ostia the analysis of cores revealed a stratigraphic sequence which we interpret as the filling of a harbour basin this basin located at the west of the so called palazzo imperiale presents seven characteristics 1 the maximum depth is 6 m below the roman sea level this depth allowed any type of ship even heavy tonnage to access the harbour 2 a chronostratigraphic gap at 6 m below roman sea level suggests digging operations in the basin or subsequent dredging that have caused the loss of sedimentary archives 3 the filling consists of dark clays typical of a quiet environment but open to marine and river influences 4 the dates at the base of this sequence give a range between the 4th and the 2nd century bc 5 in the harbour sequence a facies change at 2 5 m under the roman sea level involves a change in the processes of sedimentation and or operation 6 no later than the beginning of the 1st century ad the thickness of the water column in the basin is less than 50 cm and seems to be caused by a massive siltation following a succession of floods of the tiber 7 this basin was thus already abandoned during the start up of portus

the tiber river delta plain central italy coastal evolution and implications for the ancient ostia roman settlement geomorphologic stratigraphic faunistic palynological and carbon isotope analyses were carried out in the area of the tiber river mouth the results depict a complex palaeoenvironmental evolution

new insights into the palaeoenvironmental evolution of magdala ancient harbour sea of galilee israel from ostracod assemblages geochemistry and sedimentology abstract despite several studies have focused on the past bio sedimentary response of the mediterranean coastal areas to ancient seaport activities only few geoarchaeological and palaeoecological data are available on strictly lacustrine harbours to date at the archaeological site of magdala taricheae sea of galilee north israel an interdisciplinary study combining ostracod fauna composition and shell chemistry with sedimentology geochemistry of sediments and archaeological data was undertaken on the sedimentary succession buried beneath the roman harbour structures in correspondence of two key sections this approach provided detailed information about past environmental changes otherwise not visible into a high resolution pottery based chronological framework at the transition from a natural pre harbour to anthropogenically influenced harbour lacustrine depositional setting new bio sedimentary and archaeological pottery data document that remarkable hydrodynamic and hydrochemical changes took place during the hellenistic period from the 3 rd 2 nd century bc to the first half of the 1 st century ad in response to the construction of the oldest magdala harbour installations and possibly to the following hasmonean structures the high v cr concentrations observed in the harbour sediments and the substantial increase of ostracod species pseudocandona albicans preferring slow moving waters and fine grained substrates point to the establishment of a semi enclosed shallow and organic rich setting coupled ostracod geochemical analyses also testify to an alkali ions na and k enrichment within whole sediment samples reasonably driven by increasing evaporation in response to the partial isolation of the lake margin the increase in sodium and potassium concentrations is accompanied by the sudden appearance of heterocypris salina a brackish tolerant species and by the almost absolute dominance of noded valves of cyprideis torosa whose shells are enriched in na k and cl the positive covariance between na 2 o k 2 o values and the frequencies of noded c torosa seems to confirm the relation between node development and changes in ionic concentration within hypohaline settings

the magnitude timing and abruptness of changes in north african dust deposition over the last 20 000 yr reconstructions of eolian dust accumulation in northwest african margin sediments provide important continuous records of past changes in atmospheric circulation and aridity in the region existing records indicate dramatic changes in north african dust emissions over the last 20 ka but the limited spatial extent of these records and the lack of high resolution flux data do not allow us to determine whether changes in dust deposition occurred with similar timing magnitude and abruptness throughout northwest africa here we present new records from a meridional transect of cores stretching from 311 nt o 191n along the northwest african margin by combining grain size endmember modeling with 230 th normalized fluxes for the first time we are able to document spatial and temporal changes in dust deposition under the north african dust plume throughout the last 20 ka our results provide quantitative estimates of the magnitude of dust flux changes associated with heinrich stadial 1 the younger dryas and the african humid period ahp 11 7 5 ka offering robust targets for model based estimates of the climatic and biogeochemical impacts of past changes in north african dust emissions our data suggest that dust fluxes between 8 and 6 ka were a factor of 5 lower than average fluxes during the last 2 ka using a simple model to estimate the effects of bioturbation on dust input signals we find that our data are consistent with abrupt synchronous changes in dust fluxes in all cores at the beginning and end of the ahp the mean ages of these transitions are 11 870 2 ka 1s and 4 970 2 ka respectively

geoscience of ancient mediterranean harbours abstract although much has been written on the subject of ancient mediterranean harbours the relatively new area of harbour geoarchaeology remains dispersed in the geoscience and archaeological literature over a decade of research has amassed rich and varied datasets of anthropogenically forced coastal evolution with a remarkable number of between site analogies this new research field also shows the rich potential of geoscience to reconcile important archaeological questions no single publication however has yet drawn on these geological patterns to yield a detailed overview suitable for geoscientists and environmental archaeologists the aim of this review article is to 1 discuss how ancient harbours have come to be preserved in the geological record 2 expound the basic principles and palaeoenvironmental tools underpinning ancient harbour geoarchaeology 3 outline some of the most significant research advances made and 4 discuss a new chrono stratigraphic model applicable to harbour sequences

environmental changes in the maryut lagoon northwestern nile delta during the last 2000 years abstract here we interpret the evolution of maryut lagoon egypt during the past 2000 years chronostratigraphy and laboratory analyses have enabled us to identify four main phases since the 3rd century ad 1 a fluvial dominated lagoon between the 2nd 3rd and the 8 9th centuries cal ad 2 a gradual desiccation of the lagoon toward a sebkha like environment from the 9 10th to the 13th centuries cal ad 3 a fluvial dominated lagoon from the 13th century cal ad and 4 a second gradual desiccation between the 17th and the 18th centuries cal ad the general aridification trend described throughout the study period may be linked to the gradual decline of the canopic branch which supplied the maryut lagoon with freshwater nonetheless at shorter timescales the different phases of lagoon aridification and flooding coincide with land abandonment and irrigation works in the region it is suggested that the history of the alexandria countryside has been a key driver in shaping the environmental history of the maryut during the past 2000 years

the ancient harbour parasequence anthropogenic forcing of the stratigraphic highstand record abstract unique chronostratigraphic similarities are observed in recent geoscience literature on ancient mediterranean harbours from these empirical port data a clear pattern of millennial anthropogenic forcing marked by a fining up sequence can be discerned in coastal stratigraphy the stratigraphic peculiarity of this artificial or human modified parasequence leads us to define a new working model the ancient harbour parasequence

a 6000 year geochemical record of human activities from alexandria egypt abstract recent multidisciplinary investigations of sediment cores from the ancient marine bay of alexandria egypt have documented local human activities during the iron age circa 900 1000 b c prior to alexander the great s arrival in 331 b c goiran 2001 veron et al 2006 stanley et al 2007 2010 corroborating the existence of the so called rakhotis as evoked in previous archaeological literature jondet 1916 weill 1919 chauveau 1999 baines 2003 lead pb isotopic analyses lia from alexandria bay indicate a possible anthropogenic imprint as early as circa 2300 2650 200 b c and to a lesser extent 3500 3800 170 b c veron et al 2006 here we demonstrate that lia in sediments from the nearby maryut lagoon display isotopic anomalies resulting from the release of contaminant pb into the lagoon during the egyptian early dynastic at 2897 187 b c and predynastic at 3520 145 b c periods that corroborate geochemical data from alexandria bay pb concentrations in maryut sediments show enrichments that mirror isotopic findings the absence of contaminant pb imprints within the sediments from the nearby nile canopic branch confirms that isotopic anomalies found in alexandria bay and maryut lagoon sediments are local and do not originate from long distance transport of contaminant pb associated with nile suspended material and or wind derived aerosols lia in alexandria sediment cores correspond to commonly mined pb and cu copper ores from turkey black sea region cyprus crete and the oman gulf lia substantiate the use of copper based relics in the alexandria region during the pre and early dynastic periods and provide insights into metal trading within the eastern mediterranean during the chalcolithic early bronze age transition 6000 years ago

a review of palaeoclimates and palaeoenvironments in the levant and eastern mediterranean from 25 000 to 5000 years bp setting the environmental background for the evolution of human civilisation abstract the southern levant has a long history of human habitation and it has been previously suggested that climatic changes during the late pleistocene holocene stimulated changes in human behaviour and society in order to evaluate such linkages it is necessary to have a detailed understanding of the climate record we have conducted an extensive and up to date review of terrestrial and marine climatic conditions in the levant and eastern mediterranean during the last 25 000 years we firstly present data from general circulation models gcms simulating the climate for the last glacial maximum lgm and evaluate the output of the model by reference to geological climate proxy data we consider the types of climate data available from different environments and proxies and then present the spatial climatic picture for key climatic events this exercise suggests that the major northern hemisphere climatic fluctuations of the last 25 000 years are recorded in the eastern mediterranean and levantine region however this review also highlights problems and inadequacies with the existing data

molluscan and ostracod successions from dierden s pit swanscombe insights into the fluvial history sea level record and human occupation of the hoxnian thames abstract swanscombe kent is an internationally renowned hominin site located on the south bank of the river thames east of london the swanscombe sequence has been reconstructed from exposures at several localities from which important archaeological and palaeontological assemblages have been recovered the most important of these is barnfield pit where two stone tool industries clactonian and acheulian have been recorded in superposition together with three refitting pieces of a hominin skull associated with the acheulian dierden s pit ingress vale 0 5 km to the north of barnfield pit has also yielded palaeolithic artefacts but is best known as a source of abundant non marine molluscs and as the type locality for the water vole arvicola cantiana this paper describes the molluscan and ostracod successions through the dierden s pit sequence which shed light on important aspects of the fluvial sea level and archaeological histories of the thames during mis 11 a dramatic change occurs in the molluscan record at swanscombe marked by the appearance of the rhenish suite of freshwater molluscs which has previously been used to suggest confluence of the thames and rhine systems the rhenish suite occurs in the middle gravels at barnfield pit and throughout the shell bed at dierden s pit where the component species did not appear simultaneously but colonized the thames in an ordered sequence the occurrence of the rhenish suite provides a secure basis for correlation of important archaeological horizons at swanscombe which have previously been mis correlated on the basis of artefact typology moreover it enables correlation with other mis 11 sequences some of which clacton and east hyde can be directly linked to the pollen stratigraphy of the hoxnian the ostracod succession at dierden s pit provides the first clear evidence of increasing brackish influence at swanscombe and has formed the basis for palaeoclimatic reconstructions using the mutual ostracod temperature range motr method

the origin of brines underlying lake kinneret abstract lake kinneret lk is a relatively fresh water lake situated in the dead sea rift dsr valley the pore water pw in the sediments underlying lk pelagic zone have significantly higher salinity than that of the lake the concentrations of major ion solutes cl br na k mg in pw from six 2 4 m to 5 1 m long sediment cores increase linearly with depth indicating the occurrence of saline deep seated brines the upper part of the pw column is affected by the much fresher boundary with lk water and in most cores is characterized by gradually increasing br cl and decreasing na mg k cl molar ratios which tend to stabilize at about 2 0 m below the sediment surface the stable molar ratios in the deeper pw vary spatially and are supposed to represent the ratios in the deep underlying brines at each site when plotted as na cl vs br cl the stable ratios of the northern and central part of the lake fall close to a straight line which characterizes many of the brines in the dsr valley however the respective ratios in the southern part of the lake fall markedly off the dsr line moreover na cl and k cl molar ratios in the south are significantly higher than in the central and northern parts 37 cl measured in present lk water is ca 0 0 along the pw column at the lake center 37 cl is becoming more positive with depth reaching values of about 0 5 to 0 6 at 3 m depth even more positive values 0 7 to 0 8 are detected further north in pw from deeper sediment layers in contrast in pw from the southeastern part of the lake 37 cl is becoming more negative with depth 1 0 at 2 6 m it is suggested that these isotopic differences are also indicative of spatial variability in the pw brine sources 18 o and d values in the pw of all 3 m long cores are similar and resemble the respective levels in lk the source of h 2 o in 3 m deep bed sediments is claimed to be the overlying lake water and therefore water isotopes do not provide a clue regarding the original water isotopic composition in the underlying brines pw from the southeast with higher k cl and na cl but lower concentrations of these solutes suggest leaching by meteoric water of sub surface halite and post halite salt formations while the more saline pw from the northern and central parts that have lower k cl and na cl and higher br cl are similar to dsr brines and represent underlying residual brines

a numerical study on the influence of fractured regions on lake groundwater interaction the lake kinneret sea of galilee case increased lake salinity is a growing problem in arid and semi arid regions operational management which is based on a reliable hydrological understanding has the potential to reduce the lake salinity this is the case of the salinity in lake kinneret sea of galilee where saline water flows into the lake through on shore and off shore springs here we present a time dependent flow and transport numerical model that successfully reproduces the monitored groundwater level discharge and salinity of the lake springs the model utilizes a continuum approach and describes the flow through a confined saline carbonate aquifer which interacts with the discharge lake through fractures and faults in particular the model investigates the hydrology around two groups of springs fuliya and tabgha along the western shore of the lake based on seasonal characteristics of the springs and measured boundary conditions the two springs groups were defined as lake dominated springs lds fuliya and aquifer dominated springs ads tabgha the models of the two groups differ from each other in the distribution of fractured regions that link between the lake and the underlying aquifers the numerical solution shows how the fractured regions affect groundwater head spring discharge and spring salinity the different behavior of the lds and ads was reproduced with an excellent agreement between measured and calculated patterns differences in salinity within a group of springs are shown to be dependent on the depth of the fractured region it was revealed that in addition to the appropriate distribution of fractured regions some adjustment in the up stream boundary conditions is necessary to fully reproduce the system hydrology the model has improved our understanding and provides a prediction tool for future management strategies

archaeology history and geology of the a d 749 earthquake dead sea transform historical records of earthquakes can contribute significantly to understanding active faulting and seismic hazards however pre twentieth century historians were unaware of the association of earthquakes and fault ruptures consequently historical texts usually report the time and damage caused by earthquakes but not the associated faults conversely observed fault ruptures are often difficult to date in order to overcome these difficulties we have analyzed archaeological and sedimentological observations in recent excavations in the ancient city of tiberias and have combined them with interpretation of historical accounts tiberias was founded in a d 19 by king herod on the western shore of the sea of galilee kinneret herod9s stadium exposed in these excavations for the first time was damaged by boulder bearing flash floods and by an earthquake later buildings dated as late as the early eighth century are all covered by alluvium and lake deposits they are also damaged and offset by normal faults whereas buildings from the late eighth century are intact we therefore attribute the damage to the earthquake of 18 january 749 the paleoseismic observations are in good agreement with the distribution of damage on the basis of historical records both data sets indicate a 100 km long rupture segment between the kinneret and the dead sea pull apart basins demonstrating that it is capable of generating m 7 earthquakes

ancient harbors and holocene morphogenesis of the ras ibn hani peninsula syria abstract ras ibn hani peninsula a wave dominated tombolo 800 1000 m on the syrian coast provides evidence for significant holocene changes that can be linked to geological inheritance rising post glacial sea level sediment supply and human impacts initial development of ras ibn hani s coastal system began 8000 years ago when shallow marine environments formed in a context of rising post glacial sea level following relative sea level stabilization 6000 cal yr bp beach facies trace the gradual formation of a wave dominated sandbank fronted by a 2300 500 m palaeo island whose environmental potentiality was attractive to bronze age societies a particularly rapid phase of tombolo accretion is observed after 3500 cal yr bp characterised by a two to fourfold increase in sedimentation rates this is consistent with i a pulse in sediment supply probably driven by bronze age iron age soil erosion in local catchments and ii positive feedback mechanisms linked to regionally attested neotectonics archaeological remains and radiocarbon datings confirm that the subaerial tombolo was probably in place by the late bronze age these data fit tightly with other eastern mediterranean tombolo systems suggesting that there is a great deal of predictability to their geology and stratigraphy at the regional scale

recent holocene paleo environmental evolution and coastline changes of kition larnaca cyprus mediterranean sea abstract sedimentological paleontological analysis and 14c dating of 17 cores obtained in the vicinity of the phoenician military harbor viii iv bc of kition bamboula cyprus provide new paleo environmental information for the reconstruction of shoreline changes for kition and larnaca bay over the last 4000 years we propose that a communication existed between the inner harbor of bamboula presently 400 m inland and the northern district of lichines which was a marine embayment our core data led us to revisit the previous hypothesis of a direct east west channel between the harbor and the open sea nicolaou k 1976 the historical topography of kition studies in mediterranean archaeology goteborg vol 153 pp 1 373 gifford j a 1978 paleogeography of archaelogical sites of the larnaca lowlands southeastern cyprus phd thesis university of minnesota pp 1 192 we propose instead that a spit of coarse material isolated the lagoon from the open sea from 2600 to 1600 years bp

paleoecology of limnic ostracodes a review of some major topics abstract the paleoecology of limnic ostracodes is reviewd in the context of the evolution of their environment in order to understand why there is a rich ostracode fossil record we examine data such as the quantitative and qualitative distribution of living ostracode species and ostracode assemblages ways of describing and limitations importance of biological and physico chemical factors for the local accumulation of high numbers of ostracodes and diversified assemblages is emphasized we discuss the limits of extrapolations of information from ecology to paleocology we stress how paleontological knowledge can be applied to neontological studies the possibility of using holocene ostracodes as indicators of morphometric changes of lakes temperature salinity eutrophication and as a criterion of meromictic conditions is demonstrated relationships between ostracodes and the chemical environment and particularly the morphological response of the carapace are considered e g diversity and qualitative composition of assemblages and chemical stability types of carapace mineralization and ornamentation and chemistry of bottom waters these ideas developed from studies on recent material are tested for limnic cenozoic faunas in the mesozoic the main questions arising from the study of nonmarine ostracodes deal with the possible evaluation of paleosalinities in marginal lagoonal environments purbeck wealden and with evaluation of depth and hydrochemical and paleoclimatological regime in truly lacustrine intracratonic basins some peculiarities of paleozoic nonmarine ostracode assemblages are described the paleoecological cause of changes in diversity of several ostracode groups in the carboniferous and permian is emphasized

ostracod shell chemistry as proxy for paleoenvironmental change abstract the application of ostracod shell chemistry as a paleoenvironmental tool has grown within the past decades most studies have investigated mg and sr in ostracod shells as proxies for temperature and salinity and the use of a wide range of trace elements as prospective paleoenvironmental indicators has yet to be developed for lacustrine systems only a few preliminary studies have used trace metals in paleolimnological studies such as cd ba and zn as paleonutrient indicators or mn fe and u as redox and oxygenation indicators this paper reviews the state of the art of geochemical analyses in microfossils such as ostracods foraminifera and corals and provides insights in new trace element proxies with the goal to promote the use of trace elements in ostracod shells as paleoenvironmental proxies in paleoceanography foraminifera and corals are most prominently used to reconstruct past climate conditions well established proxies such as 18o mg ca and sr ca provide information about changes in sea surface temperatures in addition a great number of new proxies have been developed recently such as radiogenic isotopes and redox sensitive trace elements in paleolimnology ostracod shell chemistry is widely used to assess paleohydrological changes reconstruction of temperature and salinity changes in lake environments is often achieved by oxygen isotopes as well as mg ca and sr ca ratios but depending on the hydrological and geological settings of the lake system local calibrations are needed to assess which proxy is suited to reflect which processes new proxies need to be tested by novel techniques that recently have become available compared to conventional instrumentation used in ostracod shell chemistry methods such as laser ablation icp ms and nanosims allow single shell analysis and provide high resolution data the potential of ostracods in paleolimnology is not yet fully assessed but can be developed by learning from paleoceanographic studies

magdala harbour sedimentation sea of galilee israel from natural to anthropogenic control recent excavations undertaken within the framework of the magdala project in the ancient city of magdala tarichaee located on the western shore of sea of galilee northern israel have unearthed a harbour structure extending for more than 100 m dating from the late hellenistic 167 63 bc to the middle roman 70 270 ad period with well preserved quays and mooring stones an integrated sedimentological micropalaeontological and archaeological study of the late holocene sedimentary succession buried beneath the ancient harbour area reveals the harbour s main evolutionary stages shedding new light on the natural versus anthropogenic control on sedimentation three sedimentary sequences a few decimeters thick reflect the recent palaeoenvironmental evolution of the magdala area these include 1 a pre harbour foundation sequence 2 a harbour sequence and 3 a harbour abandonment sequence above the natural sandy beachface deposits subject to wave reworking pre harbour facies the abrupt transition to dark silty sands with high metal concentrations reveals the onset of an anthropogenic control on coastal sedimentation through the construction of harbour structures harbour facies the overlying vertically stacked sand and gravel beach deposits post harbour facies record harbour siltation and abandonment at the transition from the middle to the late roman period 270 350 ad

palaeogeographies of the magra valley coastal plain to constrain the location of the roman harbour of luna nw italy abstract the roman city of luna founded in 177 bc 2127 bp and located in nw italy was famed for its port from which the prized marble of carrara was shipped despite decades of archaeological surveys the exact location of this harbour is unknown to date progress in the palaeogeographic reconstruction of the magra valley coastal plain surrounding the ruins of luna has been possible thanks to the collection and analysis of six cores supported by radiocarbon dates and microfauna analyses the late holocene evolution of the luna surroundings was reconstructed starting from the maximum holocene transgression the latter was identified from lagoonal sediments which are chronologically connected with the most landward position attained by the shoreline after the last glacial maximum lgm lagoon sediments are topped by swamp and floodplain deposits a climate fluctuation was identified in the stratigraphic record which correlates with the first neoglacial cooling episode the coastal plain underwent major landscape changes over the last three millennia a few centuries before the colony was founded the territory was characterized by a complex delta architecture made of swamps and marshes limited by dune ridges and fluvial sand bars the positions of these morphological features were not fixed they shifted depending on the spatial interaction between the coastline and the drainage network of the plain in this paper we present new data to improve our understanding of the environmental constraints determining the position and setting of the ancient harbour of luna we suggest that its location could be searched for in the water basin once present west of the city at a distance of more than 0 25 km

ostracod palaeolimnological analysis reveals drastic historical changes in salinity eutrophication and biodiversity loss in a coastal mediterranean lake the albufera of valencia one of the largest oligohaline coastal lagoons of the iberian peninsula has suffered hydrological and landscape modifications since medieval times this paleolimnological study clears up the controversy about the factors which drove the lake to its present state lithological descriptions ostracod paleoassemblages and cyprideis torosa jones 1850 shell morphological variations and geochemistry 18o 13c and sr ca have been used to reconstruct the lake ecosystem evolution during the last two centuries the sandy sediments at the bottom of l antina core 63 cm presented a typical assemblage of brackish water ostracods with shell derived 18o values inferred salinity and sr cawater characteristic of waters with marine influence however 10 cm above coinciding with a drastic change in lithology ostracod palaeoassemblages and decreased shell 18o indicated a shift to freshwater influences at the top of the sequence inferred salinity suggests oligohaline waters and ostr

crusader castle torn apart by earthquake at dawn 20 may 1202 the crusader castle of vadum jacob an outpost overlooking the jordan river was deformed during a destructive earthquake triggered by motion along the dead sea transform the m 7 earthquake occurred at dawn 20 may 1202 and offset the castle walls by 1 6 m this exceptional precision in dating and estimating displacement was achieved by combining accounts from primary historical sources by excavating the dead sea transform where it bisects the castle and by dating faulted archaeological strata the earthquakes of october 1759 and or january 1837 may account for the remaining 0 5 m out of a total 2 1 m of offset our study exploits the potential embodied in interdisciplinary historical archaeological geological research and illustrates how detailed histories of seismogenic faults can be reconstructed

the coast range ophiolite cro debate is fraught with complimentarities and indeterminacy a few examples because we work primarily with rocks we perhaps assume that our science is immune to complimentarity and indeterminacy but these information based limitations plague tectonic analysis as they do for any branch of science an educated and unbiased if possible observer of the cro debate dickinson et al 1996 should have little trouble recognizing these limitations in the three views v1 2 3 expressed each view is dependent on missing geology v1 requires the near total destruction of two opposing subduction complex forearc systems along a nevadan suture by subduction and or erosion v2 requires an unobservable subduction zone along the axis of the great valley v3 appeals to total removal or burial of screens of older sierran lithosphere from the outer edge or within the cro each view has a different pre cretaceous origin for the source of the great valley geophysical anomaly yet basement cores from the area of the anomaly are primarily early cretaceous mafic batholithic rocks v3 is predicated on forearc magmatism this view is dismissed in v1 on the basis of forearcs being cold and amagmatic yet v1 requires a regional belt of middle jurassic pre nevadan plutons to have intruded the remnants of the juxtaposed subduction complexes v1 2 3 are all dependent on subducted slab related geochemical tracers within the cro and on absolute age relations within the igneous sequences a global survey of neogene mafic magma systems reveals large uncertainties in the geochemical tracers particularly when taking into account hydrothermal alteration and mantle metasomatism furthermore neogene arc systems show reorganization in magmatic loci and microplates at time scales comparable to typical uncertainties in absolute age determinations

multi proxy geoarchaeological study redefines understanding of the paleocoastlines and ancient harbours of liman tepe iskele turkey determining the position of liman tepe s ancient clazomenae archaeological features relative to the coastline is important for understanding their intended function and reconstructing the character of aegean maritime activities and sea based trade previous attempts at reconstructing harbour locations at liman tepe relied on extrapolating paleoenvironments based on modern surface topography in light of this samples from a sediment coring survey and terrestrial and underwater archaeological excavations were analysed using multi proxy geoarchaeological methods to determine paleoenvironmental facies micropaleontological foraminifera sedimentological grain size analysis and geochemical d 13 c d 18 o analyses resulted in the reconstruction of the coastal paleogeomorphology including the presence and absence of ancient harbouring areas neither of the previous coastal reconstructions was supported by the new results instead two separate harbouring areas were recognized one coincident with the early bronze age 4800 3900 years bp and a second during the archaic and classical periods c 2800 2400 years bp these results emphasize the necessity for multi proxy geoarchaeological studies when approaching coastal archaeological sites as a means to reconstruct paleocoastal geomorphology and understand ancient maritime development better