Implications of submonthly oxygen and carbon isotope variations in late Pleistocene Melanopsis shells for regional and local hydroclimate in the upper Jordan River valley

Addison Rice, Elizabeth Bunin, Birgit Plessen, Gonen Sharon, Steffen Mischke

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Many water-stressed regions of the globe have a highly seasonal precipitation regime. However, seasonality in the past and under changing climates is little studied. Submonthly records of sclerochronological δ18O and δ13C values of Melanopsis shells from the Jordan River Dureijat archaeological site (JRD) in the upper Jordan River valley presented here document the hydrology of paleo-Lake Hula. These records were assessed for changes in seasonal hydrology in the lake and compared with modern shells collected from present-day waterbodies in northern Israel and with models of δ18Oshell. Results from shells in sediments dating from the last glacial maximum (LGM) to the Bolling-Allerod imply changes in waterbody size that qualitatively parallel changes in the late Pleistocene Lake Lisan levels; Hula Lake was well buffered when Lake Lisan stood at a high stand and poorly buffered when water levels were lower. Furthermore, data from shells dated to the LGM suggest inflowing water with lower δ18O values than local rainfall, providing evidence for a greater proportion of snow in the catchment than today. Reconstruction of water δ18O and mixing-model calculations suggest that snowmelt contribution to spring water during the LGM may have been more than twice the amount in the modern-day catchment.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)146-159
Number of pages14
JournalQuaternary Research
Volume115
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Sept 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 University of Washington. Published by Cambridge University Press.

Funding

The authors would like to thank Frank Riedel for providing lab space. We would also like to thank Frank Riedel and Niels de Winter for valuable input on earlier drafts of the article. This research was supported by the University of Iceland Research Fund (Rannsóknasjóður Háskóla Íslands) and the Erasmus+ program of the European Union. The JRD excavation (Israel Antiquity Authority license no. G-75/2018) is supported by the Israel Science Foundation (GS, grant no. 918/17). Constructive comments and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers, associate editor Bob Booth, and the journal's senior editor Nicholas Lancaster helped to improve the original article.

FundersFunder number
Israel Antiquity Authority license
European Commission
Israel Science Foundation918/17
Háskóli Íslands
Erasmus+

    Keywords

    • Epipaleolithic
    • Hula Basin
    • Last glacial maximum
    • Levant
    • Sclerochronology
    • Seasonality

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