Seascape and Seaforms of the Levant Basin and Margin, Eastern Mediterranean

The modern seascapeSeascape (seafloor morphology) of the LevantLevant basin and margin was shaped through an interaction between tectonicTectonics, oceanographic, and sediment-transport processes that vary in time and space. These processes include plate and salt tectonics (vertical and lateral motions on land and offshore), oceanographic modifications (circulation, water bodies, and sea-level variations), climatic processes (e.g., aridification), and changes in sedimentationSedimentation (sediment sources, supply, distribution, and downslope sediment-transport processes). The chapter attempts to disentangle the individual effects of each process and assess the mode of their interaction. We divide the 26,500 km2 area of the Israeli Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) into four distinct morphological domains, examine the seaforms (morphological features) in each domain, and estimate their timing. The evolution of the seafloor in space and time is illustrated for the LevantLevant margin and deep-marine basin.