Detrital zircon and rutile U-Pb, Hf isotopes and heavy mineral assemblages of Israeli Miocene sands: Fingerprinting the Arabian provenance of the Levant

Isolated, Miocene continental basins scattered over Israel and Jordan represent the remnants of a continental-wide fluvial system, which originated in Arabia and transported siliciclastic sediments westward to the deep Levant Basin. These basins define two geographically separated sedimentary provinces. The detrital zircon age spectra in both provinces are dominated by Neoproterozoic U-Pb ages (550-1,000 Ma), resembling those of Paleozoic-Mesozoic sandstones exposed along the uplifted Red Sea Rift flank. However, while the southern province exhibits two prominent peaks at similar to 600 and similar to 1,000 Ma, similar to those seen in Cambrian-Ordovician sandstones in southern Israel and Jordan, the northern province shows an additional significant age peak at similar to 800 Ma and its overall spectrum resembles that of Devonian sandstones in northern Saudi Arabia. These variations distinguish the two Miocene clastic outliers as pertaining to two separate, NW-directed transport systems delivering siliciclastic sediments from Arabia towards the deep Levant Basin. The detrital zircon U-Pb-Hf signal of the Israeli Miocene clastic units differs from that of the River Nile, particularly in the lack of Cenozoic-Mesozoic-aged zircons in the former. This allows us to distinguish the properties of the fluvial system that existed in Arabia, on the eastern side of the Red Sea, from that of the River Nile that drained its western flanks. While it is commonly accepted that the (proto-)Nile River played a key role in the Levant Basin fill, the eastern fluvial system that prevailed on the Arabian side may have been also important.

Automated summary

The Miocene continental basins in Israel and Jordan preserve remnants of a continental-wide fluvial system originating in Arabia, with distinct sedimentary provinces in the north and south showing differences in detrital zircon age spectra. The detrital zircon U-Pb-Hf signal of the Israeli Miocene clastic units differs from that of the River Nile, indicating separate fluvial systems on the eastern side of the Red Sea and the western side drained by the River Nile.