Abstract
In a recent paper, Nof et al. (J Paleolimnol 35:417–439, 2006) suggest a physical mechanism which could account for the formation of ice on Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) in northern Israel. Based on the sea surface temperature record of sediment cores from the Mediterranean Sea the authors argue that centennial-scale cold events had the potential to trigger local ‘springs ice’ formation on the lake in the past. Here, we demonstrate that a closer inspection of the paleoceanographic record in combination with correlation and regression analyses of meteorological data provides no evidence for such cold events in the lake region during the last 10,000 years. Thus, the formation of ‘springs ice’ on Lake Kinneret was unlikely at least since the beginning of the Neolithic.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Arz HW, Lamy F, Pätzold J, Müller PJ, Prins M (2003) Mediterranean moisture source for an early-holocene humid period in the northern Red Sea. Science 300:118–121
Cacho I, Grimalt JO, Canals M, Sbaffi L, Shackleton NJ, Schonfeld J, Zahn R (2001) Variability of the western Mediterranean Sea surface temperature during the last 25,000 years and its connection with the Northern Hemisphere climatic changes. Paleoceanogr 16:40–52
Dubowski Y, Erez J, Stiller M (2003) Isotopic paleolimnology of Lake Kinneret. Limnol Oceanogr 48:68–78
Emeis KC, Struck U, Schulz HM, Rosenberg R, Bernasconi S, Erlenkeuser H, Sakamoto T, Martinez-Ruiz F (2000) Temperature and salinity variations of Mediterranean Sea surface waters over the last 16,000 years from records of planktonic stable oxygen isotopes and alkenone unsaturation ratios. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclim Palaeoecol 158:259–280
Hazan N, Stein M, Agnon A, Marco S, Nadel D, Negendank JFW, Schwab MJ, Neev D (2005) The late Quaternary limnological history of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel. Quatern Res 63:60–77
ILEC (International Lake Environment Committee Foundation) (1999) World lakes database. http://www.ilec.or.jp, cited 1 Dec 2006
Nof D, McKeague I, Paldor N (2006) Is there a paleolimnological explanation for ‘walking on water’ in the Sea of Galilee? J Paleolimnol 35:417–439
Prange M, Lohmann G, Gerdes R (1997) Sensitivity of the thermohaline circulation for different climates – Investigations with a simple atmosphere-ocean model. Palaeoclim 2:71–99
Rimbu N, Lohmann G, Felis T, Pätzold J (2001) Arctic oscillation signature in a Red Sea coral. Geophys Res Lett 28:2959–2962
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Prange, M., Arz, H. & Lamy, F. Comment on “Is there a paleolimnological explanation for ‘walking on water’ in the Sea of Galilee?”. J Paleolimnol 38, 589–593 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9136-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10933-007-9136-8