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Seascape and Seaforms of the Levant Basin and Margin, Eastern Mediterranean

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Landscapes and Landforms of Israel

Part of the book series: World Geomorphological Landscapes ((WGLC))

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Abstract

The modern seascape (seafloor morphology) of the Levant basin and margin was shaped through an interaction between tectonic, oceanographic, and sediment-transport processes that vary in time and space. These processes include plate and salt tectonics (vertical and lateral motions on land and offshore), oceanographic modifications (circulation, water bodies, and sea-level variations), climatic processes (e.g., aridification), and changes in sedimentation (sediment sources, supply, distribution, and downslope sediment-transport processes). The chapter attempts to disentangle the individual effects of each process and assess the mode of their interaction. We divide the 26,500 km2 area of the Israeli Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) into four distinct morphological domains, examine the seaforms (morphological features) in each domain, and estimate their timing. The evolution of the seafloor in space and time is illustrated for the Levant margin and deep-marine basin.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Mt. Carmel, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    Uri Schattner

  2. Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Anne Bernhardt

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  1. Uri Schattner
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  2. Anne Bernhardt
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Correspondence to Uri Schattner .

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  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Amos Frumkin

  2. School of Environmental Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel

    Nurit Shtober-Zisu

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Schattner, U., Bernhardt, A. (2024). Seascape and Seaforms of the Levant Basin and Margin, Eastern Mediterranean. In: Frumkin, A., Shtober-Zisu, N. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of Israel. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-44764-8_10

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