A mechanistic approach for interpreting hydroclimate from halite‐bearing sediments

Establishing accurate palaeo-hydroclimatic reconstructions from lacustrine and marine archives is a long-standing challenge in palaeoenvironment studies. Closed-basin evaporites, especially halite, record episodes of extremely arid conditions during rapid climate change. However, the complex limnological behaviour deep hypersaline water bodies stochastic nature hydroclimatic regime its variations limit detailed interpretations such records. Therefore, mass-balance model was developed to explore hydrology–limnology–sedimentology relationships environments under both deterministic approaches that generates synthetic halite–mud sequences. Applying Holocene Dead Sea halites yields novel insights into palaeoenvironmental Levant. The framework indicates that: (i) series similar cycles, thickness each subsequent halite interval decreases, due depletion dissolved-ions storage brine; (ii) deposition requires lake levels drop below minimal level preceding cycle; (iii) time between hydrological minimum increasingly longer cycles. Thus, counter-intuitively, mostly takes place as discharge increases, providing balance still negative. approach produced random sequences comparable observed sedimentary record. It demonstrates some minima are not represented by at all. Furthermore, number beds cycle vary substantially, depending on specific realized. Finally, these results imply major pre-Holocene deglaciation (ca 14 ka BP), previously assumed be minimum, could have been pronounced suggested, must milder than early 11–10 BP).