New research uncovered remarkable evidence of past climate patterns in the Levant region through analysis of a 220,000-year-old Dead Sea sediment core. Led by Yochanan Kushnir of Columbia University, in collaboration with Prof. Mordechai Stein and Dr. Yonatan Goldsmith from the Earth Sciences Institute at the Hebrew University, the study reveals that extensive salt deposits in the core indicate prolonged periods of aridity in the Eastern Mediterranean, occurring during specific orbital configurations and abrupt cooling events in the North Atlantic. Published in PNAS, their research demonstrates how these ancient climate patterns were driven by changes in the North Atlantic's surface temperature gradient, which affected atmospheric circulation and rainfall patterns across the region. Particularly significant is the discovery that similar mechanisms are at play today, as greenhouse gas-driven climate change intensifies the North Atlantic's temperature gradient, suggesting that understanding these past climate dynamics may provide crucial insights into current and future climate trends in the Eastern Mediterranean.