Physiographic discontinuity along the Levant-Margin hinge-belt of the Arabian Plate (Late Cenomanian, northern Israel)

Abstract

The paleo-depositional hinge-belt of the Levant is a zone of rapid proximal-to-distal carbonate facies transitions that defined the western edge of the passive Mesozoic Levant Margin of the Arabian Plate. It was striking parallel to the present day Mediterranean coastline, from northern Sinai to northern Lebanon, but in the mid-Cretaceous a “gap zone”, in which the facies transitions are unclear, extended from northern Israel to southern Mt. Lebanon. This study examines the paleo-physiography and sedimentary evolution in this “gap zone” in the Late Cenomanian of northern Israel. The sedimentary evolution in this region is reflected by five genetic–stratigraphic units representing systems tracts, which were proximal in the Galilee region to the north and distal to the SSW in the Carmel region. During the early Late Cenomanian a carbonate ramp sloped gently from the Galilee towards the Carmel region. Later in the Cenomanian the Galilean part of the ramp was strongly uplifted and...