Geophysics represents a dynamic research field that delves into the intricate physical properties and processes that shape the Earth and its surrounding space environment [...]

Rujm el-Hiri has long been considered one of the most enigmatic archaeological monuments in the Southern Levant. Variously interpreted as a funerary, ceremonial, or astronomical locale, it has been the centre of multiple studies spanning over more than 50 years. While traditionally viewed as an isolated protohistoric monument, our study reveals it as the most elaborate example of a widespread regional tradition of large, circular basalt stone structures. This study presents a comprehensive regional reassessment of these large circular stone structures in the basalt highlands surrounding Rujm el-Hiri, revealing over 30 previously undocumented examples within a 25 km radius. Utilizing high-resolution satellite imagery, geophysical modelling, and spatial analysis, we document a consistent architectural tradition characterized by concentric and radial basalt walls, often associated with dolmens, tumuli, and field systems. These structures exhibit similarities in design and landscape placement, frequently located near seasonal water sources and integrated within broader agro-pastoral land-use networks. Our findings challenge the view of Rujm el-Hiri as an isolated monument, instead situating it within a wider phenomenon of protohistoric monumental architecture in this region. This expanded dataset provides new perspectives on landscape organization and monumentality in the protohistoric southern Levant. The application of remote sensing techniques proves crucial in overcoming previous survey limitations, revealing a complex and interconnected archaeological landscape hitherto underappreciated.

The origin of humans on Earth is closely linked to understanding how ancient populations dispersed into adjacent territories. Traditionally, studies have identified landscape and climatic changes as the primary factors in this dispersal. However, we propose that regional tectonic and geodynamic factors also played a significant role in shaping these movements. To analyze this phenomenon, we employed several primary methods, including radiometric dating, magnetostratigraphy, paleomagnetic correlation, isotope–oxygen analysis, tectonothermal studies, gravity mapping, paleobiogeographic assessment, lithofacies analysis, and event and cyclic stratigraphy. Our research indicates that the Akchagylian hydrospheric maximum, which reached up to +200 m, significantly limited the early dispersal of hominins from Africa to Eurasia. The migration corridor was shaped by tectonic activity between the Dead Sea Transform and the boundary of the Mesozoic Terrane Belt carbonate platform. We argue that, during the early stages of hominin evolution in East Africa, the Levantine Corridor (LC) had not yet developed into an optimal route for dispersal, either tectonically or paleogeographically. Suitable habitats for early hominins emerged only after the regression at the end of the Middle Gelasian, around two million years ago, when sea level fell by approximately 200 m, leading to the dissection of the coastal high plateau of the Eastern Mediterranean. We therefore suggest that the LC became established only after the termination of the Akchagylian transgression and the subsequent landscape reconfiguration of the Eastern Mediterranean. Our integrated analysis, combining paleomagnetic, structural, tectonic, and event stratigraphy data, indicates that the age of the renowned ‘Ubeidiya site in northern Israel is several thousand years older than previously thought. This paleogeographic impact had not been considered in earlier studies. Considering the diverse and complex factors that governed hominin dispersal from Africa into Eurasia within this multifaceted region, we propose that the scope of research should be broadened. Our detailed study of the Carmel area, located northeast of the Levantine Corridor and influenced by it during the Pleistocene, indicates that this region was inundated during the early phases of hominin migration out of Eastern Africa. Besides this, we have conducted an integrated geological–geophysical landscape analysis of the central part of the Israeli coastal plain.

Considering the latest data in paleomagnetic, tectonic-geodynamic, paleogeographical mapping, and event stratigraphy [1], several essential characteristics of the sites of the most ancient hominin of the Levant are generalized. The region transitioning from the East African dispersal of ancient hominin to the Eastern Mediterranean is called the Levantine Corridor. In the Late Cenozoic, it was a carbonate platform cut by the essential tectonic element – the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This structure determined the nature of geodynamics, volcanic processes, and landscape conditions during the ancient hominin movement from Africa to Eurasia. An elevated sea level carbonate platform was within the Levantine corridor in the Late Pliocene and Eopleistocene, corresponding to paleomagnetic Chrons of Gauss and Matuyama (C2An-C1r). In the west, the platform 2.0-2.5 Ma was covered by marine transgression, with levels up to 200 m higher than today. Three habitat zones were determined in the Levant to describe the ancient hominin dispersal: (a) Lacustrine-alluvial basin of the Kinneret-Kinnarot depression (Israel) within the DST. Two suites of sedimentary rocks are developed here – 'Ubeidiya (zone C2r) with numerous artifact horizons and Erk el-Ahmar (C2An) – by paleomagnetic data. According to facies data, these are typically pluvial complexes of terrigenous-carbonate rocks, which we compared with the Akchagylian hydrosphere maximum [1]. Palinspastic reconstructions of paleomagnetic maps showed that to the north, the 'Ubeidiya lacustrine basin is replaced by an extensive field of Ruman basalts with radiometric dates of 2.04-2.52 Ma and reverse magnetization rocks averagely corresponding to the paleomagnetic zone C2r; (b) Volcanic-swamp-alluvial Zarqa basin (Jordan) within the DST-shifted northeastern block of the Negev terrane. A complex of volcanogenic-sedimentary rocks is developed here, clearly dated paleomagnetically and radiometrically (1.98-2.52 Ma), with a dominant reverse magnetization of the rocks (C2r) (Scardia et al., 2019). Oldowan artifacts are developed in the upper alluvial layer of the section; (c) Volcanic-alluvial basin of the Yiron plateau of the Upper Galilee uplift on the eastern margin of the Galilea-Lebanon terrane. Here, as in the Zarqa section on the opposite side of the DST, the Ruman basalts series, with a radiometric age of 2.22-2.47 Ma, is developed. It is underlain by gravel-clayey formations, forming an erosional incision with an amplitude of up to 20 m, and is covered by a younger soil-volcanogenic layer. Artifacts attributed to the Acheulean in the incision and soil horizon were found [2]. Thus, all three landscape zones of the Levantine Corridor indicate the development of a unified pluvial complex ('Ubeidiya formation corresponding to the paleomagnetic zone C2 (Early Matuyama)) of lacustrine and alluvial formations on both sides of the DST and in the Kinnarot basin. During this epoch, optimal conditions were formed for the large-scale hominin dispersal from East Africa to Eurasia through the Levantine Corridor. References [1] Eppelbaum, L.V. and Katz, Y.I., 2023. Multidisciplinary Geological-Geophysical Analysis Unmasks Anthropological Site Structure in the Northern Part of the Levantine Corridor. Jour. of Anthropological and Archaeological Sci., 8(3), 1056-1078. [2] Ronen, A., 1991. The Yiron-gravel lithic assemblage artifacts older than 2.4 Ma in Israel. Archäologisches Korrespondenzblatt, 21(2), 159-164.

The Paratethyan South Caspian and Mediterranean Levant basins relate to the significant hydrocarbon provinces of Eurasia. The giant hydrocarbon reserves of the SCB are well-known. Within the LB, so far, only a few commercial gas fields have been found. Both the LB and SCB contain some geological peculiarities. These basins are highly complex tectonically and structurally, requiring a careful, multi-component geological–geophysical analysis. These basins are primarily composed of oceanic crust. The oceanic crust of both the South Caspian and Levant basins formed within the complex Neotethys ocean structure. However, this crust is allochthonous in the Levant Basin (LB) and autochthonous in the South Caspian Basin (SCB). This study presents a comprehensive comparison of numerous tectonic, geodynamic, morphological, sedimentary, and geophysical aspects of these basins. The Levant Basin is located directly above the middle part of the massive, counterclockwise-rotating mantle structure and rotates accordingly in the same direction. To the north of this basin is located the critical latitude 35° of the Earth, with the vast Cyprus Bouguer gravity anomaly. The LB contains the most ancient block of oceanic crust on Earth, which is related to the Kiama paleomagnetic hyperzone. On the western boundary of the SCB, approximately 35% of the world’s mud volcanoes are located; the geological reasons for this are still unclear. The low heat flow values and thick sedimentary layers in both basins provide opportunities to discover commercial hydrocarbon deposits at great depths. The counterclockwise-rotating mantle structure creates an indirect geodynamic influence on the SCB. The lithospheric blocks situated above the eastern branch of the mantle structure trigger a north–northeastward movement of the western segment of the Iranian Plate, which exhibits a complex geometric configuration. Conversely, the movement of the Iranian Plate induced a clockwise rotation of the South Caspian Basin, which lies to the east of the plate. This geodynamic ensemble creates an unstable geodynamic situation in the region.

The modern state of Israel is located between 29o and 33o north of the Earth’s equator. It is a small (about 22,000 km2) subtropical region between the temperate and tropical zones, characterized chiefly by semi-arid and arid climates. Such climate causes increased productivity and water-use efficiency due to elevated CO2, which tends to increase ground cover, counteracting the effects of higher temperatures. As a result of this effect, Israel, while small in size, exhibits complex soil formations with variable physical properties, even within small areas. Despite its comparatively diminutive dimensions, Israel has been a focus of human exploitation and settlement since the earliest days of human expansion. More than 27,000 recorded sites form a long record of human presence in the area, starting around 1.5 Mya, presenting one of the densest national archaeological records in the world. While some sites are still clearly visible on the surface, most ancient remains of various ages and origins occur in the subsurface layers at depths of 0.5-8 m (usually in multi-layered archaeological sites). Hundreds, if not thousands, of new sites are discovered yearly due to construction and development activities, and more than 300 salvage excavations are conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority yearly. Traditional archaeological survey methods are based on covering transects of areas by foot and, while prolific, are by nature highly time-consuming and costly. Moreover, they usually do not supply information on the extent and character of sub-surface remains. Different attempts have been made over the years to apply surface geophysical methods (e.g., GPR, ERT, magnetic, paleomagnetic, subsurface seismics, self-potential, thermal, VLF, induced polarization, piezoelectric, and microgravity) for the identification of archaeological remains as rapid, effective, and noninvasive alternatives for ‘traditional’ archaeological survey methods. However, these attempts have not always been successful, mainly because of the environmental variability and complex physical-archaeological conditions. Remote Sensing (RS) is a low-expensive tool used for detecting and monitoring the physical attributes of objects of interest on or below the Earth’s surface from a considerable distance. RS has been proven instrumental in archaeological investigations and in comprehending historical contexts on a large scale. This is attributed to RS’s rapid data acquisition, expansive coverage, high resolution, and spectral sensitivity to anomalies associated with surface, subsurface, buried, and underwater archaeological features. Archaeologists gain aid in enhanced discoveries and comprehension of archaeological context by utilizing passive and active sensors on drones, satellites, aircraft, and uncrewed aerial vehicles. Active RS (such as radar and LiDAR) offers advantages in detecting buried sites in deserts or concealed archaeological landscapes within forested areas compared to passive RS (encompassing photography and multi-/hyperspectral techniques). The advanced RS application in Israel enabled the unmasking of unknown archaeological targets in the Wadi Asekt (northern Israel) and the Biq’at Sayyarim (southern Israel). Detailed surface geophysical studies (GPR and magnetic) and archaeological investigations will be conducted at the following stage in the selected areas. Information theory approaches and modern wavelet methodologies will be applied to integrate RS data numerically with geophysical (and possibly geochemical) methods.

Based on available data, the cyclic diagrams of the mineralogical composition of a light fraction within facies zones different stratigraphic intervals, i.e., in Break suite, Balakhani, Sabunchi, and Surakhani suites. As it is known, the paleo-Volga sediments are characterized by a very high content of quartz washing out from the Russian platform's crystalline basement. The average quartz content is about 40-55%, up to 90% in some cases. The presence of the rest of the light fraction components – feldspars and rock waste - does not exceed 20%. As a distributive province, the Greater Caucasus is thought to play an important role, though not as the Russian platform, in developing many SCB structures. The clastic material has been supplied from the northern slope by mountain rivers to the paleo-Volga itself. It merged in the total balance of solid runoff from the southern slope to the basin itself. The distinctive feature is that the rock debris is widely present in light fracture (up to 60-80%) while the rest components are lacking.

Investigation of sedimentary rocks in the South Caspian Basin (SCB) based on up-to-date laboratory analysis methods allows a correct estimate of HC potential in the PS and, hence, its role in forming discovered oil and gas commercial accumulations. This estimation has been carried out based on the pyrolysis of core samples from the wells drilled in on potential structures and fields on land and sea of the SCB. Oil fields in the PS have been formed due to allochthonous hydrocarbon inflow from the underlying deposits. The low-governed nature of spatial distribution and the vertical section of isotopic-geochemical features in oil composition and thermobaric parameters confirm this conclusion. All these features indicate that the HC feeding source is present in the underlying Oligocene-Miocene deposits.

The South Caspian Megabasin (SCMB) is a significant tectonic element of the Earth's crust and a highly potential sedimentary basin within the central segment of the Alpine-Himalayan mobile belt (AHMB). The SCMB appears to have a distinct tectonic position and includes the most deep-seated depression of the South Caspian Basin (SCB) and its troughs: the Kur Trough (KT) from the west and the West-Turkmenian trough (WTT) from the east. The two troughs being opened and widened appear to coalesce with the SCB. The megabase trends in a sub-latitudinal direction and is framed by the Greater Caucasus, Kopetdag, Lesser Caucasus, Talysh, Elburs, and Aladag-Benaluda mountain structures. The SCMB modern structure has been formed due to the active tectonic movements and intensive sedimentation processes dominated during separate evolutional stages. All the SCB, KT, and WTT sections are distinguished by the presence of many types of structural elements and sedimentary complexes being different by their scales and preservation degree as well as by individual geometrical and morphological features from those developed within the other basins of the mobile belt and neighboring platform region.

Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of integrated archaeo-geophysical tools in resolving various geological-environmental challenges. This involves combining geophysical methods in archaeological fieldwork or remote sensing methods for preliminary survey and analysis of archaeological sites, potentially enhanced by machine learning techniques to estimate object shapes and characteristics. This study highlights the potential of employing informational and probabilistic approaches as optimal tools for evaluating and integrating critical information for archaeological research. Our proposed procedure for assessing the reliability of tools or toolsets is based on improved methodologies utilizing conditional probability, which were suggested in previous authors' publications. We illustrate examples of combining remote sensing, known for its low cost, portability, and effectiveness in initial archaeological site identification, with machine learning methods to locate and discover new sites in archaeologically well-studied areas in Israel. Subsequently, we conduct an informational assessment of remote sensing data and propose steps to correlate this data with other geophysical information probabilistically.

Nonlinear solitary waves influence the Earth’s crust because wave pressure on the ocean bottom contains non-hydrostatic components. Our physical-mathematical model allows us to calculate the surplus super-hydrostatic pressure on the Earth’s crust. It depends on the amplitudes of solitary waves and the depth of an ocean. The surplus wave pressure averages 50% from hydrostatic pressure on the shallow ocean shelves. Thus, the solitary wave’s tsunami class can provoke novel (repeated) earthquakes (or landslides) because surplus stresses affect the seismic focus. Theoretical results and experimental physical modeling of soliton waves have shown good agreement. A calculated example of the mega-tsunami in Lituya Bay and a described example of Dickson Fjord (AK, USA) indicate changes in the dynamic pressure after the onset of the tsunami. The presented studies demonstrate a first attempt at creating a numerical model of this phenomenon.

The complexity of Azerbaijan's territory's geological structure stems from its location in the Alpine-Himalayan tectonic belt (AHTB). The NE part of Azerbaijan is a fragment of the Pre-Caucasian foreland filled with Cenozoic terrigenous sediments. A heterogenic Nakhchivan folding system is in the SW part, where Paleozoic carbonate strata and Cenozoic magmatic formations are mixed. At the mega-anticlinorium of the Greater Caucasus, stratified Cenozoic and Mesozoic thick (predominantly sedimentary) strata are presented. The prevalence of Mesozoic magmatic formations is typical of the mega-anticlinorium of the Lesser Caucasus. The Kur mega-synclinorium, dividing the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, is characterized by an accumulation of thick (up to several kilometers) Cenozoic terrigenous sediments. The Talysh anticlinorium is located on the SE flank of the Kur depression, where Paleogene magmatic associations are widely distributed. The frequently changing geological associations on Azerbaijan territory's vertical and lateral axes are typical. The geological structure complicates multifarious folds, fault structures, and regional and local metamorphism. All these factors make the development of reliable physical-geological models of these media sufficiently complex. The deep structure of Azerbaijan was studied using seismic methods and seismological models, gravity (satellite-derived and surface observed), magnetic (3D combined gravity-magnetic), thermal, and electromagnetic data.

An essential factor determining the reserve amount and the outlook of the structure is its location and distance from the nearest regions of HC generation. An analysis of the area in the South Caspian shows that HC reserves are more in case the hydrocarbon field is confined to a significant structure surrounded by several troughs containing oil- and gas-generating series. Prospecting works in 15 areas carried out by western oil companies in the last 30 years, only five areas appeared to be commercial oil and gas-bearing. The number of discovered productive traps is about 36% of all prospecting areas. The efficiency of prospecting works according to the number of productive wells is about 34%. Based on the facts mentioned, the SCB water area ranks according to the outlook degree.

The South Caspian Basin's main oil and gas-bearing complex (SCB) is the Productive-Red Series of the Lower Pliocene age. This complex is characterized by a higher specific density of the explored (proved) reserves and prospective and expected oil and gas resources. Within the SCB, 531 uplifts have been estimated, including 274 at sea and 257 – on land. Of those, 206 (86 at sea and 120 – on land) have been prospected by drilling. The currently estimated exploration and efficiency coefficients by sea are 0.314 and 0.477, respectively. By land, those are 0.467 and 0.600, 0.388 and 0.548 all over the basin. The current existing oil and gas zonation scheme of the SCB region is given.

The most important feature of the South Caspian basin is that its section contains intervals with anomalous high pores and reservoir pressures. Analysis and generalization of many temperature measurements in wells show that the temperature distribution in sections reflects the essential tectonic features of the South Caspian Basin. The Pliocene–Quaternary interval in SCB sedimentary cover is characterized by a very low geothermal gradient ranging from 12 to 27 °C/km with anomalous low values marked within the basin water area. Low heat flow values connected with eastern and southeastern South Caspian have coincided with the tectonically stable region. The zones of high heat flows correspond to the regions of large oil/gas fields and mud volcano locations. The generation of abnormal pressure in clay rocks increases progressively during their submergence, reaching its maximum at 105–110 °C.

It is known that detailed (precise) seismostratigraphy includes an interpretation of particular features of different-age sedimentary series, their lithofacies and stratigraphic peculiarities, paleogeographic conditions of formation, clarification of their origin, and an assessment of lithofacies features of stratigraphic units (of medium and small ranks) of the section and also such of applied problems as detection and mapping of non-anticlinal traps, the discovery of oil-and gas-bearing series and so on. Some results of precise (detailed) seismostratigraphy of the Early Pliocene are given in the present chapter. The Early Pliocene sedimentation seismo-complex-SSC-7 deserves close attention as an essential part of the SCMB sedimentary cover that causes its structural characteristics and oil-gas content. These deposits present a thick terrigenous formation formed relatively quickly (1.7-6.1 Ma) within an enclosed sea/lake isolated from the world ocean under rapid earth's crust subsidence conditions, sharply contrasting tectonic movements, and growth of surrounding mountain structures. The Early Pliocene sedimentary complex is the primary oil and gas-bearing complex in the SCMB and named the Productive series (PS) within the western Caspian and Azerbaijan, while it is called a red bed series (RBS) within the eastern Caspian and western Turkmenistan. No unique fauna has been found in the PS and red-bed series terrigenous deposits. Therefore, the Early Pliocene age of these series is defined because they are underlaid by the Pontian clays having Upper Miocene fauna and overlapped with clay deposits of the Absheronian-Akchagylian stages of the Upper Pliocene.

Global warming firstly influences the permafrost regions where numerous and rich world hydrocarbon deposits are located. Permafrost thawing has caused severe problems in exploring known hydrocarbon deposits and searching for new targets. This process is also dangerous for any industrial and living regions in cold regions. Knowledge of permafrost’s ice and unfrozen water content is critical for predicting permafrost behavior during the water–ice transition. This is especially relevant when ice and permafrost are melting in many regions under the influence of global warming. It is well known that only part of the formation’s pore water turns into ice at 0 °C. After further lowering the temperature, the water phase transition continues, but at gradually decreasing rates. Thus, the porous space is filled with ice and unfrozen water. Laboratory data show that frozen formations’ mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties strongly depend on the moisture content. Hence, porosity and temperature are essential parameters of permafrost. In this paper, it is shown that by combining research in three fields, (1) geophysical exploration, (2) numerical modeling, and (3) temperature logging, it is possible to estimate the porosity of permafrost in situ. Five examples of numerical modeling (where all input parameters are specified) are given to demonstrate the procedure. This investigation is the first attempt to quantitatively analyze permafrost’s porosity in situ.

The Oligocene-Miocene source rocks, both in good sections and at outcrops, macro, and micro features of the texture of these rocks, thermodynamic conditions of their occurrence main forms, phases, directions, and distance of migration of hydrocarbons in geological conditions of the SCB were examined. These comprehensive studies allowed a more complete understanding of the formation of hydrocarbon fields in the geological conditions of the SCB. The various efficiencies of the expulsion of hydrocarbons from source rocks in various parts of SCB are concluded. The transport of oil in the form of a molecular solution in connate waters cannot be considered in the SCB as a potential mechanism of primary migration of oil because the bulk of these waters was discarded up to the depth of 3-4 km, but oil window is situated at depths interval 5-9 km. The primary migration of oils is assumed mainly in the gas/gas-condensate phase.