Center of Excellence

Geochemistry and Dating Research Sub-Group

Prof. Abraham Starinsky

Research Interests:

Geochemistry of brines
Isotope geochemistry of Sr, S, B, Li
Geochronology (Rb-Sr; K-Ar)
Radioactivity of groundwater

Research Projects:

Boron isotopes in waters in Israel (with A. Katz)
Water-rock interaction in the Dead Sea Rift (in cooperation with the BGS, Nottingham)
Radioactivity of groundwater along the Dead Sea Rift (with Y. Kolodny; a joint project with the Free University, Berlin)
The geochemistry of the Dead Sea waters
Salinization and contamination phenomena in groundwater along the Mediterranean coast of Israel

Publications:

Amit H., Lyakhovsky V. Katz A., Starinsky A. and Burg A. (2002) Interpretation of springs recession curves, Groundwater, 40(5), 543-551.

Chan L.-H., Starinsky A. and Katz A. (2002) The behavior of lithium and its isotopes in oilfield brines: Evidence from the Heletz-Kohav field, Israel, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 66, 615-623.

Krumgalz B., Magdal E. and Starinsky A. (2002), The evolution of a chloride sedimentary sequence – simulated evaporation of the Dead Sea, Israel J. Earth Sci., 51, 253-267.

Stein M., Agnon A., Katz A. and Starinsky A. (2002) Strontium isotopes in discordant dolomite bodies of the Judea Group, Dead Sea basin, Israel J. Earth Sci., 51, 219-224.

Bottomley D.B., Chan L.-H., Katz A., Starinsky A. and Clark I.D. (2003) Lithium isotope geochemistry and origin of Canadian Shield brines, Groundwater, 41(6), 847-856.

Katz A. and Starinsky A. (2003), Iodine-129 constrains on residence times of deep marine brines in the Canadian Shield, Geology, 31(1), 93-94.

Starinsky A. and Katz A. (2003) The formation of natural cryogenic brines, Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 67(8), 1475-1484.

Kass A., Gavrieli I., Yechieli Y., Vengosh A., Starinsky A. (2005) The impact of freshwater and wastewater irrigation on the chemistry of shallow groundwater: a case study from the Israeli Coastal Aquifer, Jour. of Hydrology. 300, 314-331.

Waldmann N., Starinsky A. and Stein M. (2007) Primary carbonates and Ca-Chloride brines as monitors of paleo-hydrological regime in the Dead Sea basin, Quaternary Science Reviews, 26,2219-2228.

Stein M., Almogi- Labin A., Goldstein S.L., Hembleben C. and Starinsky A.(2007) Late Quaternary changes in desert dust inputs to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden from ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in deep- sea cores, Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 261,104-119.