Palaeoclimate Evolution in the Eastern Mediterranean Region During the Last 58 000 Years as Derived from Stable Isotopes of Speleothems (Soreq Cave, Israel)

摘要

The study focuses on the continental palaeoclimate during the last 58 ka in the eastern Mediterranean, which today has a semiarid climate. The paper presents a continuous stable isotopic record obtained from cave deposits (speleothems). The Soreq Cave is approximately 60 km inland from the Mediterranean coast of Israel and 400 m above sea level. Mean annual rainfall is 500 mm and average air temperature is 20deg C. The stable isotope record of the Soreq Cave speleothems is shown to provide detailed insight into the climatic evolution of the late Pleistocene and Holocene and to be the eastern Mediterranean reflection of global climatic conditions.