WOLFGANG E. KRUMBEIN In this section we deal with special aspects of the Gavish Sabkha, and in two contributions with the very similar environments of the Ras Muhammad Pool (Chap. 10) and the Solar Lake (Chap. 15). Comparisons are made, however, in the individual contributions to other evaporative systems. Much ofthe work was stimulated by our late friend Eli Gavish during his pro ductive years of sedimentological studies along the shores of the Gulf of Elat. An other stimulus was initiated by the agreement that the Solar Lake and the Gavish Sabkha were selected as model cases for a Project of the International Geological Correlation Program. Its subject is Early Organic Evolution and Mineral and En ergy Resources. It is presently chaired by one of the chapter authors (M. Schid lowski). A subproject, chaired by S. Golubic and W. E. Krumbein is entitled Fossil stromatolitic microbial ecosystems and their modern analog. Another sub project chaired by G. Eglinton deals with the possibilities of finding marker mol ecules in ancient oil-producing sedimentary environments by comparison with nonpolluted modern systems. Also, this group had chosen the Solar Lake and the Gavish Sabkha as case study systems. Organic geochemistry, metal deposit for mation in the biosedimentary environment and the comparison of recent and an cient productivity and sulfate reduction systems thus were the main purposes of the specialized studies undertaken in the Gavish Sabkha and the Solar Lake.

Inhalt
A. Introduction.- Obituary.- Purpose of this Book.- Synopsis.- B. General Framework of Hypersaline Environments with Special Reference to the Red Sea.- 1. Introduction and Definitions.- 2. The Northern Red Sea, a Historical Sketch.- 3. Gulf of Elat (Aqaba). Geological and Sedimentological Framework.- 4. Coastal Evaporite Systems.- 5. Hypersaline Sea-marginal Flats of the Gulfs of Elat and Suez.- 6. Anchialine Pools Comparative Hydrobiology.- 7. Botanical Studies on Coastal Salinas and Sabkhas of the Sinai.- C. The Gavish Sabkha A Case Study.- 8. Introduction.- 9. Geomorphology, Mineralogy and Groundwater Geochemistry as Factors of the Hydrodynamic System of the Gavish Sabkha.- 10. The Ras Muhammad Pool: Implications for the Gavish Sabkha.- 11 Salinity and Water Activity Related Zonation of Microbial Communities and Potential Stromatolites of the Gavish Sabkha.- 12. Structure and Physiology of Square-shaped and Other Halophilic Bacteria from the Gavish Sabkha.- 13. Photoactive Pigments in Halobacteria from the Gavish Sabkha.- 14. Photosynthetic Microorganisms of the Gavish Sabkha.- 15. The Fauna of the Gavish Sabkha and the Solar Lake a Comparative Study.- 16. Trace Metal Concentrations in Sediments from the Gavish Sabkha.- 17. Biogeochemistry of Gavish Sabkha Sediments I. Studies on Neutral Reducing Sugars and Lipid Moieties by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.- 18. Biogeochemistry of Gavish Sabkha Sediments II. Pyrolysis Mass Spectrometry of the Laminated Microbial Mat in the Permanently Water-Covered Zone Before and After the Desert Sheetflood of 1979.- 19. Carbon Isotope Geochemistry and 14C Ages of Microbial Mats from the Gavish Sabkha and the Solar Lake.- D. Applied Aspects and Paleoecology.- 20. Introduction.- 21. A Paleobiological Perspective onSabkhas.- 22. Applied and Economic Aspects of Sabkha Systems Genesis of Salt, Ore and Hydrocarbon Deposits, and Biotechnology.- Acknowledgements.- References.- Taxonomic Index.