Pleistocene lakes in southern Israel and Jordan: the environmental conditions of the first step out of Africa

在以色列南部和约旦的沙漠中发现的更新世湖泊沉积物和相关的史前文物是目前极度干旱地区明显湿润的证据。湖泊沉积物在该地区许多地点的出现，为研究更新世的环境和气候条件提供了一个独特的机会，利用从地中海到主要湿气来源的西向东梯度增加距离。通过沉积学、地球化学和古生物学等手段，对以色列和约旦南部更新世湖泊的范围、水深和水化学进行了重建。综合地质资料和补充考古资料将有助于更好地理解(1)以色列南部和约旦早、中、晚更新世的环境和气候历史；(2)可能引起湿度波动的大气环流模式的变化；(3)以色列南部和约旦在原始人离开非洲的迁徙和占领过程中所起的作用。(4)地下水补给的时间和局部表现。与正在进行的ICDP对死海盆地的研究相比，我们的研究将为最南端的黎凡特提供重要的气候推断，死海盆地主要受以色列北部和约旦的湿度条件控制。

Pleistocene lake sediments and associated prehistoric artifacts in the deserts of southern Israel and Jordan are evidence for significantly wetter conditions in the presently hyperarid region. The occurrence of lake sediments at a number of sites in this area provides a unique opportunity to investigate the environmental and climatic conditions in the Pleistocene using a West-East gradient of increasing distance from the Mediterranean Sea as a major moisture source. The extent, water depth, and water chemistry of the Pleistocene lakes in southern Israel and Jordan will be reconstructed by sedimentological, geochemical and palaeontological means. A synthesis of the geological and supplementary archaeological data will contribute to a better understanding of (1) the early, mid and late Pleistocene environmental and climatic history of southern Israel and Jordan, (2) of the shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns that potentially caused moisture fluctuations, (3) of the role of southern Israel and Jordan in the migration and possibly occupation of hominids on their way out of Africa, and (4) of the timing and local expression of groundwater recharge. Our study will provide important climate inferences for the southernmost Levant in comparison to the ongoing ICDP study of the Dead Sea Basin which is mainly controlled by the moisture conditions in northern Israel and Jordan.