SEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHIC INTERPRETATIONS IN THE SOUTHERN DEAD-SEA BASIN, ISRAEL

A chronostratigraphic framework has been developed to date the late Te rtiary and Pleistocene fill of the southern Dead Sea basin. This frame work is based on a sequence stratigraphic interpretation of seismic da ta tied to eustatic sea-level curves. The limited biostratigraphic dat a available for the Dead Sea basin stratigraphy make this chronostrati graphy tentative, but nine third-order sequence boundaries have been i dentified and related to climatically driven lake-level falls that app ear to correlate with eustatic events. In contrast, higher-order seque nce boundaries were interpreted to reflect changes in both climate and local tectonics and the consequent sediment supply. The seismic strat igraphic interpretation indicates that fan-delta sediments accumulated at the southern and northern ends of the basin, while lacustrine elas tic sediments filled the rest, Interfingering of southern and northern source sediments has been recognized in the northern part of the basi n. The changing position of interfingering was interpreted as a respon se to lake-level changes, the lake-level falls inducing increased sedi ment flux from the northern source, and lake-level highstands favoring the influx and progradation of sediments from the south.