Paleoclimate deduced from some early Jurassic basalt-derived paleosols from northern Israel
Abstract Earthy red layers, intercalated amid basalt flows from an early Jurassic, 2500 m thick volcanic sequence in northern Israel were examined mineralogically, micromorphologically and chemically. Distinct pedological features, such as wavy illuviation argillans and iron oxide nodules, observed by micromorphological examinations, identified the clayrich layers as basalt-derived paleosols. The clay ( By comparison with the mineralogy and micromorphology of modern basalt-derived Vertisols, a moderately wet, mediterranean-type climate with pronounced seasonality was inferred for the formation time of the paleosols. A similar Lower Jurassic paleoclimate had previously been inferred from a paleosol in the Negev.