RAPID: US Contribution to ICDP Dead Sea Deep Drill Core Project (DSDDP)

Goldstein/1115312死海位于死海盆地（Dead Sea Basin，DSB），是地球上大陆海拔最低的地区（低于海平面约425米），在冰河时期交替扩张，在温暖时期收缩。在最后一个冰河时代的最高水位为冰川湖Lisan（~165 mbsl），它从现在的位置向北填充DSB，包括加利利海。其大小和组成随时间的变化反映了气候-水文历史及其所在地的构造结构，包括中纬度地区、大陆以及撒哈拉沙漠和地中海气候区之间的边界。这些变化被记录并保存在湖泊沉积物中，使其具有独特的潜力，可用于研究这些气候带的扩张和收缩，以及高纬度和热带气候之间的联系。此外，由于DSB是由死海转换断层形成的，它处于一个活跃的构造区，沉积物保存了地震历史。DSB也是人类的所在地？从旧石器时代到现代，这里都是人类的家园。对死海深海沉积剖面的研究已被应用于与古气候、构造、古地震学、古地磁学和人类历史相关的全球和区域问题。国际大陆科学钻探计划（ICDP）于2009年10月同意资助死海深海钻探项目，该项目预计将恢复最长、最连续、最完整的深海钻探。是中东地区保存最完好的古环境和古地震档案，岩芯长达500米，覆盖时间约为800-1000 ka。ICDP提案包括来自以色列、德国、日本、瑞士和美国的PI。综合社区发展方案提供了80万美元，约占210万美元预算的40%，并要求各项目执行机构从各自国家寻求配套资金。更广泛的影响：DSDDP现在是六个国家（以色列、德国、日本、挪威、瑞士、美国）的合作项目。死海盆地是人类发展的一个关键区域，是人类离开非洲的路线，以前的工作已经证明了来自古老湖泊（如Lisan湖）的沉积物对古环境，古构造和考古研究的价值。因此，这些结果将引起各学科科学家和公众的极大兴趣。这些核心将用于许多研究生和本科生论文项目。PI在指导博士后、研究生和本科生方面有着悠久的历史。此外，该项目需要人员配备，并将有美国的本科生和研究生直接参与。该区域缺水，该区域几乎所有可用的淡水都被周边国家使用，这给本已糟糕的国际关系增加了额外的压力。早期钻探阶段的观察结果显示，死海会周期性地干涸，这表明过去淡水资源已经减少，气候模型表明，随着干旱的增加，未来将发生这种情况。因此，了解过去干旱的历史对于能够规划未来的水资源短缺非常重要。死海在公众的想象中有一个特殊的位置，因为它与圣经故事的联系，钻井计划将产生许多媒体报道，因为它的位置，并引起公众对地球科学的兴趣增加。以色列研究小组正在努力吸收约旦和巴勒斯坦的科学家，如果这能带来任何额外的交流与合作，将产生更广泛的影响。

Goldstein/1115312The Dead Sea, located in the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) at the lowest continental elevation on Earth (~425 m below sea level), has alternately expanded during ice ages and contracted during warmer periods. At its maximum level during the last ice age as glacial Lake Lisan (~165 mbsl), it filled the DSB from its present location northward to include the Sea of Galilee. Its changing size and composition through time reflect the climatic-hydrologic history and the tectonic architecture of its location, in the mid-latitudes, on the continent, and on the boundary between the Saharan desert and Mediterranean climate zones. These changes are recorded and preserved in the lake sediments, giving them unique potential for investigating the expansion and contraction of these climatic zones, as well as the linkages between high latitude and tropical climate. Moreover, because the DSB formed by the Dead Sea Transform Fault, it is in an active tectonic region and sediments preserve the earthquake history. The DSB is also the locus of humankind?s migration out of Africa, and the home of peoples from Paleolithic to modern times. Studies of the sedimentary sections exposed on the Dead Seamargins have been applied to issues with global and regional implications associated with paleoclimate, tectonics, paleoseismology, paleomagnetism, and human history.The International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP) agreed in October 2009 to fund the Dead Sea Deep Drilling Project, which is expected to recover the longest, most continuous, and best-preserved paleo-environmental and paleo-seismic archive in the Middle East, with 500 m of core and covering the last ~800-1000 ka. The ICDP proposal included PIs from Israel, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, and the USA. The ICDP is providing $800,000, ~40% of the budget of $2.1M, and has requested that the PIs seek matching funds from their respective countries.Broader impacts: The DSDDP is now a collaboration of six countries (Israel, Germany, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, USA). The Dead Sea Basin is a key region for human development as the route that humans took out of Africa, and previous work has demonstrated the value of sediments from older lakes (e.g. Lake Lisan) for paleo-environmental, paleo-tectonic, and archeological studies. The results will thus be of great interest to scientists in a variety of disciplines, and the public. These cores will be used for numerous graduate and undergraduate thesis projects. The PIs have a long track record in mentoring postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. Moreover, the project needs staffing and there will be direct participation by US-based undergraduate and graduate students. The region is water-starved, with virtually all of the available fresh water in the region used by the surrounding countries, which adds severe additional stresses to already poor international relations. The observation from the early drilling phase, that the Dead Sea dries up periodically, shows that fresh water resources have diminished in the past, and climate models indicate that this will happen in the future with increased aridity. Thus learning about the history of aridity in the past is important to be able to plan for future water scarcity. The Dead Sea has a special place in the public imagination because of the associations with the stories of the Bible, and the drilling program will generate much media coverage due to its location and engender increased public interest in the geosciences. The Israeli team is making major attempts to include scientists from the Jordan and Palestine, and if this results in any additional communication and cooperation it will be a major broader impact.