Ichnology and bottom dynamics of an Eastern Mediterranean tropical carbonate-dominated Upper Miocene canyon (Beer Sheva, Israel)

Submarine canyons are highly dynamic sedimentary environments that host complex benthic ecosystems influenced by pronounced environmental gradients and episodic sediment disturbance since they are conduits for sediment transfer from continental shelves to deep-water environments. However, seafloor conditions for macrobenthos along a canyon (from proximal to distal) and through time (from excavation until complete infill) remain poorly constrained, particularly in carbonate-dominated systems. This study presents the first ichnofabric analysis of the Upper Miocene carbonate fill of the Beer Sheva Canyon (southeastern Levant Basin, Israel), aiming to reconstruct seafloor environmental dynamics and sedimentary processes in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. Ichnological data were analysed across canyon head, axis, and flank settings, encompassing deposits related to erosion, gravity-driven sediment transport, and in situ carbonate production. Distinct ichnofabrics characterize each canyon domain, reflecting pronounced environmental gradients within the canyon system. At the canyon head, basal breccias and coarse colluvial deposits display sparse, low-diversity bioturbation, indicative of episodic high-energy sedimentation, substrate instability, and intermittent hardground development. Along the canyon axis, fine-grained clinobeds associated with gravity flows record diverse and intense bioturbation, whereas facies linked to channelized sediment flows and mass-transport deposits remain largely unbioturbated due to rapid, high-energy emplacement of these deposits. Along the canyon flanks, rhodolithic and reef-derived sediments document autochthonous to parautochthonous carbonate production, with bioturbation confined to finer-grained interbeds deposited during periods of quiescence, and bioerosion recording phases of substrate stabilization. Overall, ichnofabric distribution reveals alternations between rapid sedimentation, sediment-starved conditions, and early lithification, under generally well‑oxygenated bottom waters. These results refine existing sedimentological models for the Beer Sheva Canyon and highlight the value of ichnofabric analysis for deciphering environmental evolution in tropical carbonate canyon systems as those developed in the eastern Mediterranean during the Late Miocene before the Messinian Salinity Crisis.