About
Michael Lazar (PhD) is an Associate Professor and one of the founders of the Moses Strauss Department of Marine Geosciences, Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, University of Haifa. He earned his doctorate in 2004 from the Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences at Tel Aviv University.
His research focuses on shallow subsurface imaging to identify, analyze, and interpret the interactions between tectonics and geology and their impacts on the environment and human populations from the Holocene to the present day. He is also a renowned multidisciplinary artist and an expert in integrating art and science.
Publications
- Warning signal from the Dead Sea: Plastic pollution at the deepest hypersaline lake, Kalman, A., Mercurio, M., Lazar, M., Langella, A., Izzo, F., Grifa, C., Anagnostoudi, T., Pietraszek, A. V. & Goodman-Tchernov, B., 15 Jan 2026, In: Journal of Hazardous Materials. 502, 140621.
- Beyond the mole: redefining harbour capacity for the ancient Mediterranean, Nantet, E., Giaime, M. & Lazar, M., 2026, (Accepted/In press) In: Antiquity. p. 1-8 8 p.
- Refining collection-unit survey methodology: the Maharal Valley project case study, Jaffe, Y., Kletzerman, M., Barmatov-Paz, G., Shimelmitz, R., Shtober-Zisu, N., Lazar, M., Patania, I., Roskin, J. & Bar, S., Nov 2025, In: Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences. 17, 11, 213.
- Salt-related gravity-driven processes in the Levant Basin, Eastern Mediterranean: Insights from physical modeling, Anagnostoudi, T., Vendeville, B. C., Gaullier, V., Ferrer, O., Schattner, U. & Lazar, M., Jun 2024, In: Journal of Structural Geology. 183, 105134.
- Combined Geophysical Methods in Extreme Environments—An Example from the Dead Sea, Lazar, M., Cheng, L. & Basson, U., Jun 2024, In: Remote Sensing. 16, 11, 1978.
- Earthquake Damage as a Catalyst for the Abandonment of Tel Kabri, Lazar, M., Cline, E. H., Nickelsberg, R., Shahack-Gross, R. & Yasur-Landau, A., 2024, Culture and History of the Ancient Near East. Brill Academic Publishers, p. 389-406 18 p. (Culture and History of the Ancient Near East; vol. 134).
- Mid-Holocene salinity intrusion and rice yield loss on East China coast and the impacts on formation of a complex state society, Chen, Y., Lei, S., Lazar, M., Shalev, E. A. & Wang(王张华), Z., Dec 2023, In: Marine Geology. 466, 107183.
- Out of sight, out of mind. Submarine springs in the Dead Sea — An underappreciated phenomenon, Lazar, M. & Siebert, C., 1 Sep 2023, In: Geomorphology. 436, 108777.
- Modes of gas migration and seepage on the salt-rooted Palmahim Disturbance, southeastern Mediterranean, Lawal, M. A., Bialik, O. M., Lazar, M., Waldmann, N. D., Foubert, A. & Makovsky, Y., Jul 2023, In: Marine and Petroleum Geology. 153, 106256.
- Rifting-Driven Magmatism Along the Dead Sea Continental Transform Fault, Haddad, A., Chiarabba, C., Lazar, M., Mazzini, A., Polonia, A., Gasperini, L. & Lupi, M., 28 Feb 2023, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 50, 4, e2022GL099964.
- The Anthropogenic Affect—Humans and Geology: An Example from Tel Dor, Israel, Nachum, O., Bialik, O., Basson, U., Yasur-Landau, A. & Lazar, M., Feb 2023, In: Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. 11, 2, 283.
- Changing environments and human interaction during the Pleistocene–Early Holocene from the shallow coastal area of Dor, Israel, Shtienberg, G., Gadol, O., Levy, T. E., Norris, R. D., Rittenour, T. M., Yasur-Landau, A., Tamberino, A. & Lazar, M., 16 Jan 2022, In: Quaternary Research (United States). 105, p. 64-81 18 p.
- When faults diverge – High resolution imaging of an intra-fault zone in an urban environment. A case study from the city of Tiberias, Israel, Lazar, M., Basson, U., Ben-David, R. & Coddington, J., 1 Jan 2022, In: Engineering Geology. 296, 106454.
- The door to Dor: Tracing unseen anthropogenic impact in an ancient port, Lazar, M., Basson, U., Himmelstein, A. G., Levy, T. E., Arkin Shalev, E. & Yasur-Landau, A., 1 Mar 2021, In: Geoarchaeology - An International Journal. 36, 2, p. 203-212 10 p.
- Body Hegemonies 2017: An Experimental Transfer, van der Haagen-Wulff, M. C., Chyle, F. & Lazar, M., 2021, In: Journal for Artistic Research No. 23.
- A Neolithic mega-tsunami event in the eastern Mediterranean: Prehistoric settlement vulnerability along the Carmel coast, Israel, Shtienberg, G., Yasur-Landau, A., Norris, R. D., Lazar, M., Rittenour, T. M., Tamberino, A., Gadol, O., Cantu, K., Arkin-Shalev, E., Ward, S. N. & Levy, T. E., Dec 2020, In: PLOS ONE. 15, 12, e0243619.
- Tectonics of the Dead Sea Fault Driving the July 2018 Seismic Swarm in the Sea of Galilee (Lake Kinneret), Israel, Haddad, A., Alcanie, M., Zahradník, J., Lazar, M., Antunes, V., Gasperini, L., Polonia, A., Mazzini, A. & Lupi, M., 1 Oct 2020, In: Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. 125, 10, e2019JB018963.
- Earthquake damage as a catalyst to abandonment of a Middle Bronze Age settlement: Tel Kabri, Israel, Lazar, M., Cline, E. H., Nickelsberg, R., Shahack-Gross, R. & Yasur-Landau, A., Sep 2020, In: PLOS ONE. 15, 9 September, e0239079.
- Methane Bubble Ascent within Fine-Grained Cohesive Aquatic Sediments: Dynamics and Controlling Factors, Sirhan, S. T., Katsman, R. & Lazar, M., 4 Jun 2019, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 53, 11, p. 6320-6329 10 p.
- Heat flow in the Dead Sea from the ICDP boreholes and its implication for the structure of the basin, Oryan, B., Villinger, H., Lazar, M., Schwab, M. J., Neugebauer, I. & Ben-Avraham, Z., 15 Apr 2019, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 210, p. 103-112 10 p.
- Late Quaternary lacustrine deposits of the Dead Sea basin: high resolution sequence stratigraphy from downhole logging data, Coianiz, L., Bialik, O. M., Ben-Avraham, Z. & Lazar, M., 15 Apr 2019, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 210, p. 175-189 15 p.
- Identifying organic-rich intervals sourcing the pliocene-quaternary yafo petroleum system biogenic gas in the Levant Basin, Meilijson, A., Makovsky, Y., Lazar, M. & Waldmann, D. N., 2019.
- Measurements and Shape of the Dead Sea in the Hellenistic and Roman Periods: Confronting Greek and Latin Sources with Modern Physiographical Data, Binder, S. E., Lazar, M. & Nantet, E., 2019, In: Israel Exploration Journal. 69, 2, p. 175-194 20 p.
- Benthic macro-faunal abundance and diversity and sediment distribution in Akhziv submarine canyon and the adjacent slope (eastern Levant basin, Mediterranean sea), Roditi-Elasar, M., Kerem, D., Lazar, M., Barneah, O., Almogi-Labin, A. & Angel, D. L., 2019, In: Mediterranean Marine Science. 20, 3, p. 521-531 11 p.
- Structural implications of strain localization towards a continental transform fault: The example of the shift between the Levant margin and the Dead Sea Fault plate boundary, Lang, G., Lazar, M. & Schattner, U., Jan 2018, In: Marine and Petroleum Geology. 89, p. 402-414 13 p.
- Tectonic segmentation of the dead sea fault system: A review of geophysical evidence, Lazar, M., 1 Jan 2018, Transform Plate Boundaries and Fracture Zones. Elsevier, p. 417-436 20 p.
- הכינרת על המפה, לזר, מ., 2018, In: ארץ הכינרת. 20, p. 26-27 2 p.
- An extensive pockmark field on the upper Atlantic margin of Southeast Brazil: spatial analysis and its relationship with salt diapirism, de Mahiques, M. M., Schattner, U., Lazar, M., Sumida, P. Y. G. & Souza, L. A. P. D., 1 Feb 2017, In: Heliyon. 3, 2, e00257.
- Pliocene or Pleistocene, That Is the Question – New Constraints from the Eastern Mediterranean, Lang, G., Lazar, M. & Schattner, U., 2017, Quaternary of the Levant: Environments, Climate Change, and Humans. Bar-Yosef, O. & Enzel, Y. (eds.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 63-74 12 p.
- Magmatic occurrences in the Central Arava (southern Israel) based on Geology and Magnetometry, Hanan, G., Michael, R., Boris, S. & Michael, L., May 2014, In: Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 85, p. 106-116 11 p.
- Flip convergence across the Phoenician basin through nucleation of subduction, Schattner, U. & Lazar, M., Mar 2014, In: Gondwana Research. 25, 2, p. 729-735 7 p.
- Two centuries of coastal change at Caesarea, Israel: Natural processes vs. human intervention, Shtienberg, G., Zviely, D., Sivan, D. & Lazar, M., 24 Jan 2014, In: Geo-Marine Letters. 34, 4, p. 365-379 15 p.
- Tutorial: The gravity-stripping process as applied to gravity interpretation in the eastern Mediterranean, Miroslav, B., Michael, R. & Michael, L., Apr 2013, In: Leading Edge. 32, 4, p. 410-416 7 p.
- Intrusion of coastal waters into the pelagic eastern Mediterranean: In situ and satellite-based characterization, Efrati, S., Lehahn, Y., Rahav, E., Kress, N., Herut, B., Gertman, I., Goldman, R., Ozer, T., Lazar, M. & Heifetz, E., 2013, In: Biogeosciences. 10, 5, p. 3349-3357 9 p.
- The great escape: An intra-Messinian gas system in the eastern Mediterranean, Lazar, M., Schattner, U. & Reshef, M., 28 Oct 2012, In: Geophysical Research Letters. 39, 20, L20309.
- Active gas migration systems offshore northern Israel, first evidence from seafloor and subsurface data, Schattner, U., Lazar, M., Harari, D. & Waldmann, N., 1 Oct 2012, In: Continental Shelf Research. 48, p. 167-172 6 p.
- The Red Sea - New insights from recent geophysical studies and the connection to the Dead Sea fault, Lazar, M., Ben-Avraham, Z. & Garfunkel, Z., 15 Jun 2012, In: Journal of African Earth Sciences. 68, p. 96-110 15 p.
- Structural styles along the Dead Sea Fault, Ben-Avraham, Z., Lazar, M., Garfunkel, Z., Reshef, M., Ginzburg, A., Rotstein, Y., Frieslander, U., Bartov, Y. & Shulman, H., 2012, Regional Geology and Tectonics. Elsevier, p. 616-633 18 p.
- New insights into the sources of magnetic anomalies in the Levant, Rybakov, M., Goldshmidt, V., Hall, J. K., Ben-Avraham, Z. & Lazar, M., Apr 2011, In: Russian Geology and Geophysics. 52, 4, p. 377-397 21 p.
- Landscape evolution and hominin dispersal, Lazar, M. & Schattner, U., Jun 2010, In: Quaternary Science Reviews. 29, 11-12, p. 1495-1500 6 p.
- Is the Jericho escarpment a tectonic or a geomorphological feature? Active faulting and paleoseismic trenching, Lazar, M., Ben-Avraham, Z., Garfunkel, Z., Porat, N. & Marco, S., 1 May 2010, In: Journal of Geology. 118, 3, p. 261-276 16 p.
- הקידוח המדעי, לזר, מ., 2010, In: טבע הדברים. 176, p. 11 1 p.
- המבנה וההתפתחות של אגן ים המלח, בן-אברהם, צ. & לזר, מ., 2008, In: מלח הארץ. 3, p. 1-17 17 p.
- Geology and evolution of the Southern Dead Sea fault with emphasis on subsurface structure, Ben-Avraham, Z., Garfunkel, Z. & Lazar, M., 2008, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences. Jeanloz, R., Albee, A., Burke, K. & Freeman, K. (eds.). p. 357-387 31 p. (Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences; vol. 36).
- Tectonic isolation of the Levant basin offshore Galilee-Lebanon - effects of the Dead Sea fault plate boundary on the Levant continental margin, eastern Mediterranean, Schattner, U., Ben-Avraham, Z., Lazar, M. & Hüebscher, C., Nov 2006, In: Journal of Structural Geology. 28, 11, p. 2049-2066 18 p.
- Segmentation of the Levant continental margin, eastern Mediterranean, Ben-Avraham, Z., Schattner, U., Lazar, M., Hall, J. K., Ben-Gai, Y., Neev, D. & Reshef, M., 1 Oct 2006, In: Tectonics. 25, 5
- Formation of sequential basins along a strike-slip fault-Geophysical observations from the Dead Sea basin, Lazar, M., Ben-Avraham, Z. & Schattner, U., 18 Jul 2006, In: Tectonophysics. 421, 1-2, p. 53-69 17 p.
- Oligocene-Miocene formation of the Haifa basin: Qishon-Sirhan rifting coeval with the Red Sea-Suez rift system, Schattner, U., Ben-Avraham, Z., Reshef, M., Bar-Am, G. & Lazar, M., 12 Jun 2006, In: Tectonophysics. 419, 1-4, p. 1-12 12 p.
- The structure and development of the Dead Sea basin: Recent studies, Ben-Avraham, Z. & Lazar, M., 2006, In: Special Paper of the Geological Society of America. 401, p. 1-13 13 p.
- The Dead Sea Fault and its Effect on Civilization, Ben-Avraham, Z., Lazar, M., Schattner, U. & Marco, S., 2004, Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences: Perspectives in Modern Seismology, Springer Verlag Heidelberg.