Download Calcareous dunes of the United Arab Emirates and Noah`s Flood

Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
Calcareous dunes of the United Arab Emirates and Noah's Flood:
the postglacial re#ooding of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf
J.T. Teller *, K.W. Glennie, N. Lancaster, A.K. Singhvi
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2
Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, UK
Quaternary Sciences Center, Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada, USA, 89512
Physical Research Lab, Ahmedabad 380 009 India
Abstract
Aeolian dunes cover most of the United Arab Emirates and a large part of the eastern Arabian Peninsula. Although these sands, as
well as older aeolianites, are largely composed of quartz, there is a high percentage of detrital carbonate in them south of the Persian
(Arabian) Gulf for more than 40 km; this percentage decreases inland. These carbonate grains consist mainly of marine bioclastic
fragments and calcareous ooids, and were derived from the #oor of the Persian Gulf, which was exposed during low sea level of the last
glacial period.
The postglacial rise in sea level rapidly re#ooded the #oor of the Persian Gulf, cutting o! the source for these aeolian sediments.
Between 12 and 6 ka, the sea transgressed more than 1000 km, inundating the extended route of the Tigris}Euphrates River and
forcing people living on the exposed #oor of the Gulf to abandon their settlements. Because of the varying rate of eustatic sea level rise,
these waters at times #ooded across the #at #oor of the Persian Gulf at more than a kilometer per year. We proposed that the stories
of a great #ood, recorded in the Bible as Noah's Flood and in Babylonian history on clay tablets (excavated in the Tigris}Euphrates
delta) as the Epic of Gilgamesh, are a record of this rapid postglacial #ooding of the #oor of the Persian Gulf. 2000 Elsevier
Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The Persian Gulf is a shallow basin with an average
depth of 35 m and a maximum depth of about 100 m
(Fig. 1) (Purser and Seibold, 1973); waters in this large
basin are also referred to as the Arabian Gulf. The basin
is bounded on the north by the Zagros Mountains of Iran
and on the south by the eastern Arabian Peninsula. The
modern waters of this basin extend for nearly 1000 km
southeast from the Tigris}Euphrates}Karun #uviodeltaic system of Iraq to the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean,
to which this epeiric sea is linked through the Straits of
Hormuz (Fig. 1). The average salinity of the Gulf is
37}40, which is high relative to the ocean because of
the high evaporative rate over this restricted basin; values
of 40}50 or higher are reached in shallow waters along
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) coast (Purser and
Seibold, 1973).
* Corresponding author. Fax: #1-204-474-7623.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J.T. Teller).
Runo! into the Persian (Arabian) Gulf comes from
rivers draining the Zagros Mountains to the north and
from the Tigris, Euphrates, and Karun Rivers, which
enter at the western end of the basin in Iraq and drain the
region as far west as Syria and Turkey and the western
part of the Zagros Mountains of Iran. Together these
form the Shatt-al-Arab River. Virtually, no runo! is
received from the arid Arabian Peninsula, where precipitation is very low ((100 mm/yr) and daily temperatures
average from 183C in winter to about 353C in summer
(United Arab Emirates University, 1993).
Fringing the southern side of the Persian Gulf are
coastal islands, coral reefs, tidal channels, tidal #ats,
raised beaches, and coastal sabkhas (e.g. Kendall and
Skipwith, 1969; Purser, 1973). Inland from this for about
1000 km is a large area of aeolian dunes called the Rub' al
Khali, which covers much of the Arabian Peninsula,
including most of United Arab Emirates and eastern
Saudi Arabia (Fig. 2). These dunes, many of them large,
can be divided into a number of distinct morphological
regions that are interpreted as being related to varying
wind-#ow patterns associated with changing Quaternary
climate. In many areas, active dunes overlie older dunes
1040-6182/00/$20.00 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
PII: S 1 0 4 0 - 6 1 8 2 ( 0 0 ) 0 0 0 5 2 - 5
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J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
Fig. 1. Map showing the modern bathymetry of the Persian Gulf (after Purser and Seibold, 1973; in Kendall et al., 1998).
and aeolianite, and are interpreted as having been derived partly from the older sands. The origin of aeolian
sands in the UAE is mainly from alluvial sediments
derived from the uplands of Saudi Arabia to the west,
as well as from the #oor of the Persian Gulf (Glennie,
1994). Net wind transport is in a generally southerly
direction as is re#ected by dune morphology and trends
in mineralogy.
This paper describes the linkage of the last phase of
calcareous dune construction in the Emirates with the
availability of these marine components when the #oor of
the Persian Gulf was exposed to wind de#ation. We also
advance the hypothesis that the rapid rate at which the
#oor of the Persian Gulf was re#ooded at the end of the
Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), which brought calcareous
dune accumulation to an end, is the #ood recorded in
Babylonian history and in the Bible as Noah's Flood.
2. Calcareous dunes and the Persian Gulf
was the source for the calcareous sands in dunes of the
adjacent Arabian Peninsula (Kassler, 1973; Glennie,
1998). The #oor of the Gulf is very #at, and bathymetric
maps show most of the basin to be covered by (70 m of
water, with a large area along the UAE coast where
waters are (20 m deep today (Fig. 1) (Purser and
Seibold, 1973); only in the eastern end, where the
paleo-Tigris and Euphrates River system entrenched its
channel during interglacials to reach the Arabian Sea
(Kassler, 1973; Lambeck, 1996), do water depths exceed
90 m. Thus, during the LGM, about 21}18 ka, when sea
level was at !120 m, the entire #oor of the Persian Gulf
was exposed. Leading up to the LGM from the last
interglacial (Stage 5e) there was a long period of retreating
sea water from the basin as high-latitude ice sheets
thickened on the continents. Following the LGM, sea level
transgressed back into the basin, reaching a maximum of
1}3 m above its modern level about 4}6 ka, as re#ected by
dated terraces and marine sediments in many areas along
the southern shore of the Gulf (Al-Asfour, 1978; Felber
et al., 1978; Uchupi et al., 1996; Lambeck, 1996).
2.1. Introduction
2.2. General morphology of dunes
It has long been realized that the #oor of the Persian
Gulf was exposed during the Last Glacial Maximum
(LGM) (e.g. Sarnthein, 1972; Kassler, 1973) and that it
At least six generations of dunes can be identi"ed on
satellite images of the United Arab Emirates (Glennie,
J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
299
Fig. 2. Extent of dunes and orientation of their crests on the Arabian Peninsula (grey) and approximate extent of the postglacial marine transgression
into the Persian Gulf basin at 12, 11, 10, and 8 ka (after Glennie, 1998). Dominant modern wind directions are shown by arrows. Occurrence of late
Pleistocene aeolianite is indicated by darker cross hatching pattern to the south of the Persian Gulf; in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) these
paleo-dunes extend as far south as about Liwa Oasis (AL), which is just north of the Saudi Arabia border.
1994, 1998, 1999; Pugh, 1997). Geomorphic relations
indicate that older periods of dune formation have been
modi"ed by later periods of aeolian activity, including
modern wind #ow patterns. In addition, at least two
periods of older aeolian sedimentation lie beneath these
dunes, and in some places have been cemented into
aeolianites (Fig. 3). Kirkham (1998) notes that the major
linear dune trends on land extend seaward as `carbonate
paleo-seifsa at least as far as the northern margins of the
barrier islands along the Emirates coast and probably
much farther; he states that these aeolianites were originally barchan dunes that were remolded into linear
forms. Thus, the modern aeolian morphology is a complex combination of active dunes and paleodune
bedforms, some of which have been cemented into
aeolianites.
Some of the largest and most widespread dunes are the
roughly west}east oriented 50}100-m-high complex
linear dunes that are found throughout the northern and
eastern part of the UAE, as well as in the southeastern
part of the country and adjacent areas of Oman and
Saudi Arabia (areas B and C in Fig. 4). Dunes of this type
are spaced 2}5 km apart and are clearly visible on satellite images. Crescentic dunes are superposed on these
linear features in the northern and eastern regions, and
star dunes on those in the southeastern region. Within
about 50 km of the coast, these linear features are today
being reworked by northwesterly winds into crescentic
dunes and into obliquely oriented small linear dunes that
are superimposed on the large linear dunes. In area
D (Fig. 4) linear dunes are overlain by simple and compound crescentic dunes with a spacing of less than 300 m.
In the Liwa area (E, Fig. 4), very large (100- to 150-mhigh) compound barchanoidal (crescentic) dunes are
migrating very slowly across inland sabkhas where the
groundwater table lies near the surface and interdune
sediments are being cemented by gypsum. To the east of
this, the large crescentic dunes of the Liwa area merge
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Fig. 3. Photo of cross bedding in aeolianite about 50 km south of Abu Dhabi (A in Fig. 4). Sand consists of about equal amounts of calcite ooids and
amber to reddish quartz, but relative percentages vary between laminae. The detrital carbonate at this site has been dated at 32,320$370 (Beta
130627).
with the west}east oriented complex linear dunes of
area B. To the northwest, dunes are successively overlain
by two younger generations of small crescentic dunes,
and by north}south oriented simple linear features. Modern dunes close to the coast are mainly crescentic forms
that migrate to the southeast and invade areas of older
linear dunes.
2.3. Composition of the dunes
The dunes in the Emirates are comprised mainly of
"ne-grained sand composed of varying amounts of
quartz, feldspar, calcite, dolomite, heavy minerals, anhydrite and gypsum, and lithic fragments. Detailed studies of the grain characteristics and mineralogy of dune
sands have been made by Pugh (1997) and Hadley et al.
(1998) in central UAE, by Ahmed et al. (1998) and
Alsharhan et al. (1998) in eastern UAE, and by El-Sayed
(1999) in southeastern UAE. Pugh (1997) concluded that
most quartz and feldspar in the dunes of central UAE were
derived from Pliocene and younger alluvial sediments;
these have been supplemented by marine carbonates,
evaporites, and other continental lithoclasts and grains.
The relative proportion of siliciclastics to detrital carbonates in the dunes is variable, with lower calcareous
percentages inland. Pugh (1997) shows a carbonate
decrease in the modern dunes in central UAE from 70%
in the coastal region to 30% 70}100 km inland; Hadley
et al. (1998) show a similar progression, with carbonates
decreasing below 30% about 40 km inland. Our observa-
tions are that south of about 40}50 km from the coast,
modern dunes contain (10% carbonate; this limit may
re#ect the southernmost extent of aeolian sands that were
derived from marine sediments deposited in the coastal
lowlands during the mid-Holocene high sea stand.
Aeolianites of older dunes (Fig. 3) also show this progressive decrease to the south, but contain an average of
10}20% less detrital carbonate, which Pugh (1997) concludes is the result of either a more distant carbonate
source on the #oor of the Persian Gulf or is a function of
the greater time that the older dune sediments have had
for post-depositional dissolution of the more soluble
carbonate grains. The progressive decrease inland of the
clastic carbonates, especially the aragonitic shell fragments, both in the modern and ancient dunes, is the result
of the down-wind destruction of these mechanically less
durable grains, the addition of siliciclastics during transport and selective dissolution of these grains over time.
Ahmed et al. (1998) "nd the range of carbonate grains
in dunes along a 120 km west}east transect between the
cities of Abu Dhabi (on the coast) and Al Ain (see Fig. 4)
to be from 43 to 61% (as determined by X-ray peak
heights); they also found dolomite in the dunes with
a range of 16}41%, but do not describe the nature of the
dolomite nor its origin. Our preliminary analyses of the
sand-sized fraction in this area indicates a much lower
percentage of calcite and dolomite than those reported
by Ahmed et al. (1998). Kirkham (1998, p. 27) notes that
carbonate dunes along the coast in the Northern
Emirates become more siliciclastic toward the northeast
J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
301
Fig. 4. Morphological regions of dunes in the Emirates (A}F) described in the text. Arrows indicate dune-forming wind directions deduced from
bedding attitudes (after Glennie, 1998).
`partly because the o!shore sea bed pro"le is steeper and
o!ered a less extensive [and more distant] aeolian carbonate provenance during lower relative sea levelsa.
According to Pugh (1997), bioclastic carbonate grains
in the dunes of the central Emirates include (in order of
abundance) coralline red algae, mollusks, miliolid
foraminifera, echinoid spines, and calcareous worm
tubes. Allochemical carbonate grains consist mainly of
(1) ooids with cores of quartz (commonly reddish coloured) or occasionally aragonite or shell fragments that
are coated by a thin layer of low-magnesium calcite, (2)
ooids (pellets) of micritic calcite, (3) oolites, and (4) ooids
that form &&shells'' around hollow centers. The latter are
interpreted as the result of post-depositional solution of
a more soluble aragonitic bioclast fragment; shell-cored
ooids are common in the Holocene calcareous marine
sands of the coastal lowlands, where conditions
(and time) have not yet allowed the solution of these
bioclast fragments.
2.4. Source of aeolian calcareous grains
Today, as in previous interglacial high sea level periods, the warm waters of the Gulf result in the production
of calcareous bioclast grains and, in the shallower waveagitated waters, oolite and ooid accretion. These
sediments and their formative environment have been
described by many (e.g. Emery, 1956; Kendall and
Skipwith, 1969; Purser, 1973; Walkden and Williams,
1998). Detrital siliciclastics comprise a signi"cant proportion of the sediments on and below the #oor of the
Gulf, as a result of runo! from the tectonically active
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J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
Zagros Mountains and the in#ux from the transgressing
and regressing Tigris}Euphrates #uviodeltaic system
(Sarnthein, 1972; Baltzer and Purser, 1990; Walkden and
Williams, 1998). Along the southern side of the Gulf is
a shallow shelf (Fig. 1) where carbonates are forming;
fringing the tidal zone is the well-known sabkha #ats of
the United Arab Emirates (area A, Fig. 4) (e.g. Kendall
and Skipwith, 1969). Modern beaches along this sabkha
are composed of very high percentages of bioclastic
grains and ooids; however, no modern dunes appear to
be accumulating inland from them, although there are
active dunes composed of detrital carbonates on some of
the nearshore islands that are today separated from the
mainland by lagoons (e.g. Evans et al., 1973).
When sea level fell below about !70 m during the last
glacial period, nearly the entire #oor of the Persian Gulf
was exposed (Fig. 1). During the preceding regressive
phase along the Emirates coast, shallow-water shells,
ooids, and oolites, as well as allochthonous siliciclastics
and other authochthonous chemical sediments such as
gypsum and dolomite were exposed (cf. Kendall and
Skipwith, 1969; Purser and Evans, 1973; Evans et al.,
1973; Loreau and Purser, 1973), leading to the potential
for de#ation of these materials by the strong Shamal
winds that blow from the northwest (Fig. 2). Sarnthein
(1972) described and discussed areas of relict bioclastic
and ooid-bearing sands across the #oor of the Gulf at
water depths below !40 m (as well as at shallower
depths), which originally formed in shallow water. He
also reported relict oolitic sands at depths as great as
!101 m that must have formed in very shallow water.
Kassler (1973) also reported oolitic sands at depths below
!80 m. In the northwestern part of the basin in 40}64 m
of water, Sarnthein (1972) identi"ed long linear dune
features oriented northwest}southeast and composed of
ooid sands, which he interpreted as relict seif dunes.
The greatest potential for wind de#ation probably
would have been shortly after these clastics were exposed
by receding waters and before the sand-sized grains were
stabilized by diagenesis (cf. Whittle et al., 1998; Evamy,
1973; Evans et al., 1973; Bush, 1973) or vegetative cover.
For example, bioclastics and ooids deposited along the
Emirates coast during the mid-Holocene high sea stand
are now "rmly cemented by calcite (Whittle et al., 1998),
although previously de#ated grains continue to migrate
inland. Cemented bioclastic grains and ooliths (limestone) relating to glacial low sea level are reported o! the
coast of the Emirates (Uchupi et al., 1996). Thus, the
source of calcareous grains for the dunes of the Arabian
Peninsula would have progressively retreated northward
during the decline of sea level after Stage 5e.
2.5. Age of calcareous dunes
The age of dune activity in the Emirates, as determined
by luminescence dates on quartz sand, re#ects the long
(but probably variable) de#ationary stage between about
100 and 12 ka (see dates in Juyal et al., 1998; Pugh, 1997).
Radiocarbon dates on aeolianites of the Aradah Formation range from 12}43 ka (Wood and Imes, 1995) and
these sediments are considered by Hadley et al. (1998) to
have been deposited during the last glacial, 12.2 to
'70 ka. Dates from `miliolitesa (calcareous ooids and
foraminifera) in dunes in the Emirates whose bedding
extends below sea level suggest that dunes were forming
20}30 ka (Kassler, 1973). Aeolian dunes in the Northern
Emirates have been dated at 9}20 ka (Dalongaville et al.
in Kirkham, 1998).
Two new radiocarbon dates on detrital calcite in
aeolianites 30}40 km from the coast are also in this
range: 21,710$140 (just south of Gayethi; 23348.96,
52349.73E; Beta 130626) and 32,320$370 (50 km south
of Abu Dhabi; [A in Fig. 4]; 24300.93, 54324.51E; Beta
130627). The upwind source for these detrital carbonates
cannot be the nearby raised-marine nearshore sands
along the coastal sabkha of the Emirates, because these
clastics relate to the mid-Holocene high sea level that is
dated at 4}6000 yr BP (Felber et al., 1978; Evans et al.,
1969; McClure and Vita-Finzi, 1982; Bernier et al., 1995;
Lambeck, 1996); new radiocarbon dates on carbonates in
these raised bioclastic deposits (2}3 m above sea level)
from west of Jebel Dhanna (J in Fig. 4) are 5520$70
(23356.26, 53309.22E; Beta 130624) and 4170$50
(23356.98, 52308.39E; Beta 130623). Therefore, the
source for the detrital dune carbonate (aeolianite) must
have been on the #oor of the Persian Gulf when it was
exposed during the last glacial episode. Kassler (1973)
and Sto!ers and Ross (1979) report relict shallow-water
carbonates in relatively deep water areas of the Persian
Gulf, with many ages comparable to those of the calcareous dunes of the UAE.
The roots of still older dunes are exposed in interdune
areas and form the cores of some modern dunes. These
aeolianites have been isotopically and radiocarbon dated
at '160 to 800 ka (Hadley et al., 1998).
3. Re6ooding of the Persian Gulf
During the LGM, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
extended across the subaerially exposed #oor of the
Persian Gulf (Sarnthein, 1972; Kassler, 1973; Lambeck,
1996; Glennie, 1998). A few studies have identi"ed morphological or sedimentological traces of this ancient
waterway, although no details are known. A marshy,
lake-dotted environment comparable to that along the
modern Tigris and Euphrates Rivers (Ionides, 1937)
probably extended eastward along this ancient waterway
for more than 1000 km to the Straits of Hormuz (Fig. 1).
Between the last interglacial (Stage 5e) and the LGM at
18}21 ka, the main source for calcareous detritus for the
dunes of the Emirates had grown more distant as Gulf
J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
waters receded. By the time sea level had fallen to
!100 m, wind de#ation of clastics on the Gulf #oor may
have become di$cult because sediments had been
cemented or stabilized by vegetation. The subsequent
postglacial rise in sea level #ooded those sediments and
permanently eliminated them as a source for the dunes.
This explains why ages for detrital carbonate in the dunes
are mainly '18 ka.
As sea level rose after the LGM, the ocean transgressed
back through the Straits of Hormuz and across the #at
#oor of the Persian Gulf, inundating the #oodplain of the
extended Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and (progressively)
drowning its lower reaches. Most of the Holocene sequence was deposited over a glacial hiatus (`accoustic
basementa) (Uchupi et al., 1996). Evans et al. (1969)
indicate that the sea transgressed over aeolian sands
along the UAE coast and Sarnthein (1972, p. 262) stated
that the rapid rise in sea level `left the Gulf bottom evenly
covered with polymict coquina sandsa. Postglacial global
sea level appears to have risen without interruption until
about 6 ka, albeit somewhat irregularly (e.g. Fairbanks
et al., 1989; Lambeck, 1996).
By 14 ka, the ocean had begun to enter the Gulf
through the Straits of Hormuz, and by about 12 ka
a narrow waterway extended several hundred kilometers
to the west (Fig. 2). The most rapid postglacial rise in sea
level occurred between 12 and 8 ka (e.g. Bard et al., 1990;
Lambeck, 1996). If sea level #ooded across the 1000 km
length of the Persian Gulf from the Straits of Hormuz to
the Tigris}Euphrates delta in 7000 years (between 13 and
6 ka), then the average rate would have been 140 m per
year. Sarnthein (1972) estimated that the sea transgressed
across the Gulf #oor at an average rate of 100}120 m per
year, although he felt that there were stillstands in the rise
(at depths of 61}64 m, 40}53 m, and 30 m) (Fig. 1), as well
as periods of more rapid transgression. Kassler (1973)
describes stratigraphic and morphological evidence for
a #uctuating rise in sea level across the Gulf #oor, with
relatively rapid rises occurring between about 12}11 ka,
9.5}8.5 ka, and around 7.0 ka. Fairbanks (1989), based
on the Barbados coral record, concluded that rising global sea level was marked by two rapid increases in
meltwater in#ux, the "rst increase was from !100 m to
!70 m at about 12}11.5 ka (meltwater pulse 1A), the
second from about !50 m to !30 m at 9.5 to 8.5 ka
(meltwater pulse 1B). The sea level curve of Bard et al.
(1990) shows two abrupt rises in sea level superposed on
the overall rise during the last deglaciation, one about
12 ka (14,000 BP calendar years) and another about
9.5 ka (11,000 BP calendar years). Blanchon and Shaw
(1995) used corals to conclude that more than half of the
global sea level rise around 12 ka (13.5 m) occurred in
(290 years.
Using a `glacio-hydro-isostatic modela, Lambeck
(1996) plotted the postglacial rise in sea level across the
#oor of the Persian Gulf. He noted that this rise is not
303
spatially uniform and `will di!er substantially from the
eustatic sea level curvea (p. 44), although it is consistent
with the eustatic curve of Fairbanks (1989). Because of
eustatic unloading of the Persian Gulf basin during the
last glaciation, its #oor was more elevated at the start of
the postglacial transgression, resulting in a delay in the
re-#ooding of the Gulf #oor (Lambeck, 1996). Although
the marine arm extended west across the #oor of the
basin by 10 ka, large areas of the southern and western
parts of the basin still would have remained dry (Fig. 2)
(Lambeck, 1996).
Combining various interpretations of postglacial sea
level rise, we conclude that the transgressing shoreline of
the rising waters must at times have exceeded one kilometer per year. This is especially likely along the deeper
axis of the basin and across the very #at central part,
where there is only an 18 m rise in elevation across
a distance of about 500 km (Fig. 1, but see large detailed
bathymetric map in Kassler, 1973). Using the eustatic sea
level curve of Fairbanks (1989, his Fig. 2) and Bard et al.
(1990, his Fig. 1), this part of the basin would have been
re#ooded around 12 ka during meltwater pulse 1A
(Fig. 2). Adjusting this for Lambeck's (1996, Fig. 5) delay
in the early re-#ooding of the basin, this rapid marine
incursion may have been closer to 11 ka. Fairbank's
(1989) sea level rise from !100 m to !75 m at
12}11.5 ka would have caused waters of the Persian
Gulf to #ood westward along the axis of the basin
from the Straits of Hormuz (573E) to at least
523E, a distance of about 500 km in 500 years, or
1 kilometer per year. Depending on the details of
the bathymetry of the Gulf basin around 523E, this expansion may have been closer to 700 km, meaning
a 1.4 km per year transgression during this period.
Similarly, using the rapid rise of 13.5 m around 12 ka
identi"ed by Blanchon and Shaw (1995), transgression
along the axis of the eastern Gulf basin over this period
probably would have exceeded 1 km per year for three
centuries.
During the subsequent rapid rise in sea level of 20 m,
about 9.5 to 8.5 ka (Fairbanks, 1989), which Bard et al.
(1990) placed at 9.5 ka, waters would not have expanded
as rapidly, perhaps transgressing across the shallow shelf
of the northwestern and southern basin at 100}150 m per
year (cf. Lambeck, 1996, Fig. 7; Kennett and Kennett, in
press). Blanchon and Shaw (1995), however, identi"ed
a very rapid sea level rise of 7.5 m (from about !55 to
!49 m) for a short period just after 10 ka (possibly
meltwater pulse 1B); with their interpretation, transgression across the Gulf #oor may again have exceeded 1 km
per year at this time. Furthermore, the Persian Gulf at
one time extended at least 260 km farther to the northwest to about the now-abandoned city of Ur in Iraq
(once a seaport) (e.g. Cooke, 1987; Sanlaville, 1992), and
the modern shoreline and bathymetry in the shallow
northwestern end of the Gulf (Fig. 1), have changed in the
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J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
past several thousand years because the Tigris}
Euphrates}Karun delta has been prograding. When that
is taken into consideration, the rate of transgression into
the northwestern end of the basin may have been even
more rapid during the last eustatic rise into the shallow
northwestern end of the basin.
Thus, at several times during the postglacial period,
humans living on the exposed #oor of the Arabian Gulf
would have witnessed rapid inundation along the leading
edge of the transgressing sea in only a few decades. Large
areas became salinized and submerged within a person's
lifetime; settlements, pasture, and cultivated land would
have to have been abandoned, navigation along the extended course of the ancient Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
changed, and civilization in the region was forever
dislocated.
4. Noah's Flood?
Although the chronological details of sea level rise are
not yet clearly de"ned in terms of a human lifetime, there
is enough evidence to suggest that at times the transgressing margin of the ocean would have produced a very
notable rate of re#ooding across the low-gradient Persian (Arabian) Gulf #oor during the last deglaciation.
The rate of re#ooding was variable and may have been
punctuated by very rapid sea level rises such as those of
meltwater pulse 1A and 1B (Fairbanks, 1989), or possibly
as a result of the abrupt release of large volumes of
subglacial or proglacial meltwater (e.g. Blanchon and
Shaw, 1995).
We believe humans residing on the #at #oor of the
Persian Gulf * to the east of what is regarded as
the center of some of the earliest human activity in the
Middle East (in Mesopotamia) * would have been impressed by this #ooding. Stories of the continuing event
(or of one of the speci"c rapid rises in sea level) would
have been told, and probably embellished. Such stories
may have originated from a particularly #at area on the
Gulf #oor where the rate of transgression was especially
rapid, or from an area where in#uential story tellers lived
and whose tales survived; one descriptive story may have
merged with other related stories during successive generations. Eventually, when picture writing was replaced
by the cuneiform script in the 4th millennium BC (e.g.
May, 1984) long after most sea level rise had occurred,
the Sumerians recorded this event.
Most scholars suggest that the Biblical account of
Noah's Flood must have been derived from Mesopotamian legends, speci"cally from the Epic of Gilgamesh
(e.g. King, 1918; Magnusson, 1977; Keller, 1981), which
was recorded during the Old Babylonian Period about
1800 BC. The Flood, as told in the Bible, cannot be
assumed to re#ect a single `40-day and 40-night eventa.
Complicating all accounts is the fact that #oods along the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers are common, and abrupt
shifts in the routes of these rivers across the delta have
been common (Aqrawi and Evans, 1994). Therefore, the
stories of big #oods may not all refer to `thea big #ood,
nor even to the same #ood.
In addition to the #ooding of the Persian Gulf #oor by
postglacial sea level rise, there may have been an increase
in precipitation during the early Holocene, perhaps in
part as a result of a shift in the monsoon belt (e.g. Sirocko
et al., 1993; Naidu and Malmgren, 1996; cf. HoK tzl et al.,
1984; Yan and Petit-Maire, 1994). In fact, the dune systems of part of the Arabian Peninsula became stabilized
and lakes "lled some interdune depressions at this time
(e.g. McClure, 1976, 1978, 1988; Sanlaville, 1992; Glennie,
1998). HoK tzl et al. (1984) discuss the widespread evidence
for wetter conditions on the Arabian Peninsula 6}9000
years ago, and Hadley et al. (1998) suggest that paleodunes in the UAE were cemented at this time, coincident
with rising groundwaters. A series of sediment lobes in
the northern Gulf basin were deposited by rivers draining
southwestern Iran (Uchupi et al., 1996). The increase in
runo! through the ancient Tigris and Euphrates system
and from the Zagros Mountains to the north may have
compounded the real or perceived `cataclysmica impact
of the transgressing Persian Gulf waters. Glennie (1997,
p. 26}27) paints the following scenario in relation to
the Biblical story: `Noah's family possibly lived in
the drier environment of a gentle rise to escape the e!ects
of a rainfall that was considerably higher than any experienced today. As sea level rose in the Gulf, Noah's
pasturage would have been cut o! from the mainland
and 2[would have become progressively smaller],
leading to the need for a boat or barge if he and his
family and #ocks were to survive the encroaching
seaa.
Thus, during the last deglaciation, humans residing on
the subaerially exposed #oor of the Persian Gulf were
forced to abandon their land and to `#eea in front of
rising waters. Some may have chosen to move south on
to the semiarid Arabian Peninsula, which probably was
vegetated at that time (Potts, 1997; McBrearty, 1999), or
north into the Zagros Mountains, where sparse evidence
suggests that people were there 8}10,000 years ago (e.g.
Potts, 1992; NuK tzel, 1979). However, we believe it is
logical that many migrated to the west, probably along
the ancient course of the Tigris and Euphrates River,
eventually re-settling in Mesopotamia where conditions
would have been comparable to those of the region they
were forced to abandon. This migration no doubt was
incorporated into legend, and may be the source of the
stories about a deluge that are found in a number of
cultures. Most scholars believe that #ood stories pre-date
the rise of the great empires of the Middle East and
also occurred before the #owering of the dynasties in
Mesopotamia that led to the Sumerian and Babylonian
Empires.
J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
5. The human record in the region
5.1. A brief overview of the Holocene
The record of human history around the modern
Persian Gulf is complex and far beyond the scope of this
paper. Archaeological records are very scattered and
incomplete for the "rst half of the Holocene, and chronological resolution of human events during the time when
sea level transgressed across the Gulf #oor and reached
its maximum extent (i.e. prior to about 6 ka) is poorly
known. The best records come from Mesopotamia (now
mainly Iraq) at the western end of the Persian Gulf.
However, frequent shifts in the routes of the distributaries of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and the progradation of their #uviodeltaic sequence into the Gulf, as well
as normal #ooding by these rivers, has buried and destroyed much of the late Holocene record there (Cooke,
1987; cf. Larsen and Evans, 1978). Kennett and Kennett
(in press) provide an excellent review of the human history of the region at the western end of the Gulf that
describes the relationship of people to rising Holocene
sea level. It seems likely that early people had settled on
the exposed #oor of the Gulf and were driven west as the
Tigris and Euhrates system retreated during sea level
transgression (J. Kennett, personal communication,
1999). Ancient #oods in the Near East that had catastrophic results are described in a number of cultures
(e.g. King, 1918; Cohn, 1996; Hoerth, 1998). However,
many would place The Flood described in Genesis
(Chapters 7 and 8) and in the Old Babylonian Epic of
Gilgamesh (written on twelve clay tablets about 1800 BC
and uncovered near Ur in the Tigris}Euphrates delta;
Stiebing, 1976; Keller, 1981; Kovacs, 1989; Lambert and
Millard, 1970) prior to 6000 yr BP, probably in the Neolithic (about 5500}8000 yr BP) or Mesolithic Period
(about 8000}10,000 yr BP). The latter was a time of
food-gathering, animal domestication, and scattered village development in the region, whereas the Neolithic
Period saw the rise of village life and development of
agriculture (Potts, 1997). Perhaps the #ood legend had its
beginning in the Paleolithic Period before 10 ka (8000
BC). Potts (1990) says that stone tools from sites in
Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have been assigned to
the Middle Paleolithic by a number of scholars. Civilization in the borderland of Kurdistan and the Zagros
Mountains is known to have begun by about 9}10,000
years ago (NuK tzel, 1979).
Bibby (in Ridley and Seeley, 1979) indicates that the
Ubaid people were the "rst agricultural settlers to move
into the lower Tigris and Euphrates valleys around 7000
years ago, where the Epic of Gilgamesh is likely to have
originated (Keller, 1981). Kennett and Kennett (in press)
hypothesize that the development of complex state-level
societies in southern Mesopotamia was partly stimulated
by eustatic sea level rise (and the eventual stabilization of
305
sea level) in the region between 7.5 and 5 ka; this,
combined with higher rainfall, provided special environmental changes that led to the `earliest known development of cities and complex hierarchical societies
anywhere in the worlda by about 5.5 ka (the late Ubaid
Period; Kennett and Kennett, in press). Eventually, the
Sumerian culture became established in Mesopotamia by
about 5 ka; Genesis (11 : 2) says that these people came
from the east. The oldest written records known from this
region date to the 4th millennium BC, which is the time
of the "rst cuneiform script (May, 1984).
5.2. Living conditions on the Gulf yoor
During the early Holocene, conditions on the exposed
#oor of the Persian Gulf are likely to have been favorable
to life, including people, probably being similar to those
along the modern Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; as noted
before, there is evidence to suggest that the region may
have been somewhat cooler and wetter than today. During unfavorable times, nomadic groups would have been
able to retreat north into more livable conditions in the
Zagros Mountains (NuK tzel, 1979). Of course, the ancient
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers would have provided fresh
waters both for the nearby ecosystem and for humans; as
well, this river system would have provided a transportation route for people between the Mediterranean-Near
East region and the Indian Ocean-Far East. Settlements,
nomadic or otherwise, likely would have been along this
paleo-river system (NuK tzel, 1979; Lambeck, 1996).
Lambeck (1996) suggests that fresh water lakes may have
existed on the #oor of the basin, both along the central
part near the river and along the southern side.
No records of early civilization on the now-drowned
#oor of the Persian Gulf have been discovered. However,
because all early biblical stories have a Mesopotamian
background (e.g. Keller, 1981; May, 1984), accounts of
Noah's Flood in early chapters of Genesis are believed to
have had their origin in the region around the Persian
Gulf, almost certainly in the lower Tigris and Euphrates
River valleys as recorded in the Epic of Gilgamesh (e.g.
King, 1918; Keller, 1981). It is possible that the a!ected
peoples lived far east of the present mouth of this river
along its extended route in the deepest part of the basin
(NuK tzel, 1979). Archaeological records to the north and
south of the Persian Gulf basin indicate that people were
present there by 8}10,000 years ago (Potts, 1992; NuK tzel,
1979). Pottery of the Ubaid type was present in many
coastal sites in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain,
and the islands of Kuwait by 7000 years BP, indicating
contact with people from southern Mesopotamia (Potts,
1992, 1997).
Did the Ubaid people, the earliest settlers along the
lower Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and precursors of the
Sumarians who built advanced cities at the western end
of the Persian Gulf, "rst live on the now-submerged #oor
306
J.T. Teller et al. / Quaternary International 68}71 (2000) 297}308
of the Gulf? Were these people forced to migrate upslope
into what would become Mesopotamia, as rapidly rising
sea level #ooded their settlements? Would this forced
displacement lead to stories, then legend, then gospel
about this natural #ood?
Although several have suggested that the postglacial
rise in sea level in the Persian Gulf basin may have
become incorporated into legends about a Deluge and
even the Biblical Flood (e.g. Fairbridge, 1960; Boulton,
1993; Lambeck, 1996; Glennie, 1997, 1999; Teller et al.,
1999), none are known to have elaborated on the possible
linkage. In part, this may have been because the time
frame for the most rapid marine transgression pre-dates
the generally accepted age of Noah's Flood. Importantly,
however, it may have been an underestimation of the
actual rate of sea level transgression across the Gulf #oor
and a failure to realize that the extended Tigris}
Euphrates River valley would have been a likely place for
people to have lived. We believe that hundreds of meters
of shoreline encroachment each year would have made
a major impact on peoples of the region and would have
initiated stories that probably would have `evolveda
during the Holocene into what eventually became recorded in script as The Flood.
6. Summary and conclusions
The dunes of the United Arab Emirates contain up to
70% carbonate bioclastic grains, ooids, and ooilites in
the northern area closest to the Persian (Arabian) Gulf;
this calcareous detritus decreases downwind until dunes
50}100 km inland contain mainly quartz. Because the
bioclastic and ooid grains must have formed in shallow
marine waters, the source for these materials was the
exposed #oor of the Persian Gulf. Radiocarbon dates on
these carbonates and luminescence dates on associated
quartz grains indicate that these sediments were de#ated
from the #oor of the Gulf during low sea level of the last
glacial period, about 100}12 ka.
Transgressing waters into the subaerially exposed
Persian Gulf basin at the end of the LGM cut o! the
supply of calcareous grains to these dunes; many of these
glacial-age dunes are now stabilized by calcite cement,
perhaps resulting from slightly wetter conditions in the
region during the early Holocene.
The rate of the marine re#ooding of the Persian Gulf
basin was very rapid at times. Notable rapid eustatic rises
occurred around 12}11.5 ka and 9.5}8.5 ka. Combined
with the extremely #at #oor of the Gulf, marine waters
would have transgressed an average of '100 m per year;
at times of rapid eustatic rise this transgression probably
exceeded a kilometer per year. Early people who were
living on the riverine plain along the extended Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers on the #oor of the Persian Gulf would
have been displaced by rising waters. The rapid submerg-
ence of their land and villages continued for many generations and dramatically impacted on their lives. Stories
of this forced migration must have been told and passed
on to succeeding generations. We propose that this postglacial re#ooding of the #oor of the Persian Gulf is the
#ood event recorded in the Epic of Gilgamesh after the
"rst cuneiform script was invented and as Noah's Flood
in Genesis 7}8 of the Bible.
Acknowledgements
Financial support for this research was received from
a University of Manitoba Research Development Grant.
Our thanks to the Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil
Exploration (ADCO) for their support of our "eld e!orts.
Additional support was received from Natural Sciences
and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).
Special thanks to Cherylee Black, University of Manitoba, for her help in sample analysis and in the development of ideas about early human history of the region.
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