Between January 22 and May 16, 1999, the German research vessel Meteor conducted cruise no. 44, divided into four legs, two of which took place in the Red Sea, including one in the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat. Scientists from various research institutes participated in collecting oceanographic, geophysical, geochemical, and geological data for studying the Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat.
A major focus was the sampling of 12 sediment cores from water depths ranging from 135 to 838 meters, spanning from Aqaba Port to Ras Burka. The objective was to investigate the Shlomo Graben and Eilat Fault intersection, using both multicore and gravity core techniques. Cores sampled from depths exceeding 500 meters revealed numerous erosion surfaces and coarse-grained layers, with a greater number of documented events compared to shallower cores. This observation suggests the accumulation of turbidites in the deeper basin.
Preliminary radiocarbon dating from previous studies indicates that the cores capture a relatively complete Holocene record. Additionally, prior research has identified a correlation between historical turbidite events and documented seismic activity. For example, the 1068 CE earthquake, which caused widespread destruction in the ancient city of Ayla, and the 1458 CE earthquake, an event felt as far as Cairo that impacted the seafloor structure.
Further core analyses in this study will examine ~40 suspected turbidites of varying thicknesses, potentially extending the record to ~12,000 years before present. The research will include detailed dating and use of geochemical proxies to characterize turbidites and distinguish seismically triggered turbidites from flood deposits. Initial XRF scans suggest that Sr/Ca, Sr/Ti and Fe/Ca ratios may indicate variations in the fractions of carbonate input from coral reef collapses and terrigenous inputs related to runoff inputs.