The Eastern Mediterranean - Levant late Quaternary climates: Paleohydrology and Extreme Floods from the Dead Sea ICDP Core (PALEX-II)

极端水文气象事件，特别是洪水是人类面临的主要威胁。因此，研究洪水的起源和机制，以更好地预测其频率和幅度以及对区域环境的影响，是科学面临的一个新挑战。就环境条件和政治局势而言，近东的死海地区是一个非常敏感的地区。预计正在进行的全球变化甚至会增加世界这一地区的环境压力，特别是水文过程。因此，这是地球和环境研究的理想和非常有趣的区域。PALEX（来自死海ICDP沉积物岩心的古水文和极端洪水）项目通过来自以色列、巴勒斯坦和德国的科学家在德国科学基金会DFG的三方计划下的共同努力，解决了该地区极端水文气象事件的各个方面。我们采用了一种新颖的方法，将最新的山洪观测与死海沉积物记录中数千年来的高时间分辨率的长洪水时间序列的先进重建相结合。在这方面，ICDP（国际大陆科学钻探计划）从死海深盆地钻探获得的长沉积物岩心提供了一个独特的档案，可以重建过去200年的自然水文气候变化。此外，对洪水的气象起源及其对侵蚀、泥沙运输和沉积的影响的综合过程理解，通过我们的综合气象和沉积监测，可以更好地解释这一特殊的沉积物记录，利用事件触发沉积物作为过去洪水的代用物。通过这种方法，我们旨在研究洪水的发生和动态变化与气候边界条件变化的关系，并验证气候变暖中极端洪水的预测增加。除了科学目标之外，PALEX还在中东进行能力建设和国际网络方面的重大努力，以促进和平合作，解决共同问题并开发人力和技术资源。因此，项目概念的一个关键部分是联合培训来自巴勒斯坦、以色列和德国的早期研究人员。PALEX的个人指导理念将使年轻科学家有机会与所有参与机构的资深科学家密切合作，发展他们的研究技能。

Extreme hydrometeorological events and especially floods are a major threat for humans. Therefore, it is an emerging challenge for science to investigate origin and mechanisms of floods in order to better anticipate their frequency and amplitudes as well as their impacts on regional environments. A very sensitive region in terms of both environmental conditions and the political situation is the Dead Sea area in the Near East. Ongoing global change is expected to even increase the environmental pressure and in particular hydrological processes in this part of the world. Therefore, this is an ideal and highly interesting region for Earth and environmental research. The PALEX (Paleohydrology and Extreme Floods from the Dead Sea ICDP sediment core) project addresses all aspects of extreme hydro-meteorological events in this region through a joint effort of scientist from Israel, Palestine and Germany within the trilateral program of the German Science Foundation DFG. We apply a novel approach of combining the observation of recent flash floods using cutting-edge technologies with advanced reconstructions of long flood time-series over several thousand years from the Dead Sea sediment record at high temporal resolution. In this respect, the long sediment cores obtained by the ICDP (International Continental Scientific Drilling Program) drilling from the deep basin of the Dead Sea provide a unique archive to reconstruct the natural hydro-climatic variability for the last 200 kyrs. In addition, the comprehensive process understanding of the meteorological origin of floods and their effects on erosion, sediment transport and deposition revealed by our combined meteorological and sedimentological monitoring allows an improved interpretation of this exceptional sediment record to utilize event-triggered sediments as proxies for past flooding. With this approach we aim at investigating the relation of changes in the occurrence and dynamics of floods to changing climatic boundary conditions and test the predicted increase of extreme floods in a warming climate. Beyond the scientific goals, PALEX undertakes major efforts in capacity building and international networking in the Middle East to foster peaceful collaboration for solving common problems and development of human and technical resources. A crucial part of the project concept, therefore, is joint training of early stage researchers from Palestine, Israel and Germany. The PALEX personal mentoring concept will give young scientists the opportunity to work closely with senior scientists from all participating institutions and develop their research skills.