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

死海位于地球上大陆海拔最低的死海盆地(DSB)，在冰期交替扩张，在暖期收缩。在上一次冰川期的最高水位(约165Mbsl)时，它从现在的位置向北填满了DSB，包括加利利海。其大小和组成随时间的变化反映了其在中纬度、大陆以及撒哈拉沙漠和地中海气候带交界处的气候-水文历史和构造结构。这些变化被记录并保存在湖泊沉积物中，使它们有独特的潜力来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，由于死海转换断层形成的DSB处于活动构造区，沉积保存了地震历史。DSB也是人类迁出非洲的所在地？S，是从旧石器时代到现代的人们的家园。对暴露在死海边缘上的沉积剖面的研究已被应用于与古气候、构造、古地震、古地磁和人类历史相关的全球和区域影响的问题。国际大陆科学钻探计划(ICDP)于2009年10月同意资助死海深钻井项目，该项目有望恢复中东最长、最连续、保存最完好的古环境和古地震档案，核心长500米，覆盖最后约800-1000 ka。ICDP的提案包括来自以色列、德国、日本、瑞士和美国的PI。ICDP将提供80万美元，约占210万美元预算的40%，并已要求私人投资机构从各自国家寻求匹配的资金。广泛影响：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关键区域，是人类离开非洲的途径，以前的工作已经证明了来自较老湖泊(如里三湖)的沉积物对于古环境、古构造和考古学研究的价值。因此，这一结果将引起不同学科的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的论文项目。PI在指导博士后、研究生和本科生方面有着长期的记录。此外，该项目需要人员配备，美国本科生和研究生将直接参与。该地区缺水，该地区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严重的额外压力。从早期钻探阶段观察到，死海周期性地干涸，这表明淡水资源在过去有所减少，气候模型表明，未来这种情况将随着干旱的加剧而发生。因此，了解过去的干旱历史对于能够为未来的缺水制定计划是很重要的。死海在公众的想象中具有特殊的地位，因为它与圣经的故事有关，钻探计划将因其所处的位置而引起媒体的广泛报道，并增加公众对地球科学的兴趣。以色列团队正在作出重大努力，争取让约旦和巴勒斯坦的科学家参与进来，如果这会带来更多的交流与合作，将会产生更广泛的重大影响。

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.