Climate controls on limestone cavernous weathering patterns in Israel

Carbonate terrains exhibit diverse weathering features shaped by physico-chemical processes, which lend them distinctive characteristics. In Israel, limestone strata hosting cavernous weathering are distributed across various climate zones, providing an ideal setting for investigating rock decay processes. This study focuses on the interplay of moisture and tensile strength in geomorphic processes in hard lime and dolomitic rocks that host cavernous weathering forms: inland notches (elongated C-shaped caverns) and tafoni (pseudoregular meter-sized caverns). In the inland notches of the Mediterranean climate zone, the evaporation front (capillary water presence) was observed at the rock surface, with no detectable salts. Conversely, in arid and hyper-arid regions characterized by prevalent tafoni features, capillary water subsides to greater depths as precipitation decreases. Predominant salts identified within the arid region include halite and gypsum. The transition from inland notches to tafone-rich landscapes transpires at an annual precipitation threshold of approximately 250–300 mm, marking the shift from karstification to salt weathering regimes. This study thus indicates that the climate, and hence the water source abundance (e.g., rain, dew) in the environment, affects not just rock decay processes but also the specific forms of cavernous weathering observed in the exposed strata.