Drainage system reorganization and late Quaternary tectonic deformation along the southern Dead Sea Transform

2018 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yedidia Gellman ◽  
A. Matmon ◽  
Amit Mushkin ◽  
N. Porat
Keyword(s):  
Cross Sections ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Osl Dating ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Geomorphic Mapping

AbstractThe Dead Sea Transform (DST) accounts for ~105 km of left-lateral slip between the Arabian plate and the Sinai subplate since the Miocene. Paleoseismic studies along the Arava Valley segment of the DST suggest that late Quaternary deformation has been primarily concentrated along the axis of the transform valley. Here, we examine late Quaternary changes in drainage system characteristics and attribute them to recent tectonic deformation in this region. Field-based geomorphic mapping, topographic cross sections, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of fluvial deposits were used to map and date recent changes in the fluvial characteristics of catchments along the western margin of the southern Arava. Our results reveal coeval migration of channels, consistent with tectonically induced surface tilting caused by north–south compressional deformation along the western margin of the transform valley. OSL dating indicates this tilting was initiated in the late Pleistocene and continued at least into the mid-Holocene. The late Quaternary tectonic deformation along the southern Arava segment of the DST is distributed across a wider zone than previously considered and extends out to the margins of the transform valley. We associate the inferred wider deformation zone to possible changes in the geometry of motion along the DST.

scholarly journals Supplemental Material: U-Pb speleothem geochronology reveals a major ca. 6 Ma uplift phase along the western margin of Dead Sea Transform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Chaldekas ◽  
A. Vaks ◽  
et al.
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Geochronological Data ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Analytical Results ◽  
Activity Ratios ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
238U Activity ◽  
Word Document

Description of the study sites, Research Methods, U-Th analytical results and Supplemental Figures (Word Document). Dataset 1: Initial 234U/238U activity ratios of Israeli speleothems. Dataset 2: Raw U-Pb geochronological data.

scholarly journals Faulting patterns determining groundwater flow paths in the Lower Yarmouk Gorge

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nimrod Inbar ◽  
Eliahu Rosenthal ◽  
Fabien Magri ◽  
Marwan Alraggad ◽  
Peter Möller ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Flow ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Structural Constraints ◽  
Flow Paths ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Geological Maps ◽  
Fault Block ◽  
Geological Features

Abstract. Recent studies investigating groundwater parameters e.g. heads, chemical composition and heat transfer, argued that groundwater flow paths in the Lower Yarmouk Gorge area are controlled by geological features such as faults or dikes (Goretzki et al., 2016; Magri et al., 2016; Roded et al., 2013; Siebert et al., 2014). However, the nature of such features as well as their exact locations were previously unknown. In the present manuscript, we propose a new fault pattern in the Lower Yarmouk Gorge area constructed by compiling and revising geological and geophysical data from the study area including borehole information, geological maps cross-sections and seismic data from southern Golan Heights and northern Ajloun Mountain. The presented pattern is composed of strike-slip and thrust faults, which are associated with the Dead Sea Transform system and with the Kinnarot pull-apart basin. Compressional and tensional structures developed in different places forming a series of fault-blocks probably causing a non-uniform spatial hydraulic connection between them. This study provides a coarse fault block model and improved structural constraints that serve as fundamental input for future hydrogeological modelling.

Seismicity and structure of the Zagros (Iran): the Main Recent Fault between 33 and 35° N

1974 ◽  
Vol 277 (1262) ◽  
pp. 1-25 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Relative Motion ◽  
Late Quaternary ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
Tectonic History ◽  
History Of ◽  
Slip Deformation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
First Time

The most recent tectonic deformation of the Zagros, and in particular the late Quaternary right-lateral wrench movement along the Main Recent Fault, is summarized in the context of the general tectonic history of the range. The seismicity along the Main Recent Fault between latitudes 33 and 35° N is examined, and details are given for several destructive earthquakes, including the 1909 Selakhor earthquake which was associated with over 40 km of surface faulting along a segment of the Main Recent Fault and which is described here for the first time. The relation between the seismicity and the individual fault segments forming the Main Recent Fault is studied and interpreted in terms of a continuing right-lateral strike slip deformation. The implications of this contemporary deformation for the seismotectonics of the Zagros are considered, and in particular its bearing on the problem of the relative motion of the Arabian Plate with respect to Central Iran.

scholarly journals Supplemental Material: U-Pb speleothem geochronology reveals a major ca. 6 Ma uplift phase along the western margin of Dead Sea Transform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Chaldekas ◽  
A. Vaks ◽  
et al.
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Geochronological Data ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Analytical Results ◽  
Activity Ratios ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
238U Activity ◽  
Word Document

Description of the study sites, Research Methods, U-Th analytical results and Supplemental Figures (Word Document). Dataset 1: Initial 234U/238U activity ratios of Israeli speleothems. Dataset 2: Raw U-Pb geochronological data.

scholarly journals U-Pb speleothem geochronology reveals a major 6 Ma uplift phase along the western margin of Dead Sea Transform

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Chaldekas ◽  
A. Vaks ◽  
I. Haviv ◽  
A. Gerdes ◽  
R. Albert
Keyword(s):  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Plate Boundary ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Tectonic Uplift ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Western Margin ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Euler Pole ◽  
The Dead

The timing of vertical motions adjacent to the Dead Sea Transform plate boundary is not yet firmly established. We utilize laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) U-Pb geochronology of carbonate cave deposits (speleothems) to constrain paleo-groundwater levels along the western margin of the Dead Sea Transform and provide a proxy for the timing of large-scale incision and tectonic uplift. Phreatic speleothems can form in caves that are located slightly below the groundwater level. Tectonic uplift and/or base level subsidence can trigger incision of canyons and induce a drop in the groundwater table. This can cause dewatering of the caves, cessation of the deposition of phreatic speleothems, and initiation of growth of vadose speleothems. The transition between deposition of phreatic and vadose speleothems can therefore reflect tectonic or erosive events. We obtained 102 U-Pb ages from 32 speleothems collected from three cave complexes across a 150-km-long, north-to-south transect. These ages indicate that phreatic deposition began between 14.68 ± 1.33 and 11.34 ± 1.62and ended by 6.21 ± 0.59 Ma. Later, vadose speleothems grew intermittently until the Quaternary. These results suggest an abrupt drop in the water table starting at ca. 6 Ma with no re-submergence of the caves. We interpret this to indicate river incision of ∼150−200 m that was driven by uplift and folding of the western margin of the Dead Sea Transform and by inland morpho-tectonic, base-level subsidence in the Dead Sea area. The observed timing corresponds with a change in the Euler pole of the plates motion along the Dead Sea Transform. The growth period of phreatic speleothems suggests groundwater level stability and limited vertical tectonic motions between 14 Ma and 6 Ma.

scholarly journals Seismic discontinuities in the lithospheric mantle at the Dead Sea Transform

2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (3) ◽  
pp. 1948-1955
Author(s):  
Ayman Mohsen ◽  
Rainer Kind ◽  
Xiaohui Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Receiver Function ◽  
Open Data ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Entire Area ◽  
Seismic Discontinuities ◽  
S Receiver Function ◽  
The Dead

SUMMARY The Dead Sea Transform (DST) was formed in the mid-Cenozoic, about 18 Myr ago, as a result of the breakaway of the Arabian plate from the African plate. Higher resolution information about the sub-Moho structure is still sparse in this region. Here, we study seismic discontinuities in the mantle lithosphere in the region of the DST using a modified version of the P- and S-receiver function methods. We use open data from permanent and temporary seismic stations. The results are displayed in a number of depth profiles through the study area. The Moho is observed on both sides of the transform at nearly 40 km depth by S-to-p and in P-to-s converted signals. The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) on the eastern side of the DST is observed near 180–200 km depth, which is according to our knowledge the first LAB observation at that depth in this region. This observation could lead to the conclusion that the thickness of the Arabian lithosphere east of the DST is likely cratonic. In addition, we observe in the entire area a negative velocity gradient at 60–80 km depth, which was previously interpreted as LAB.

scholarly journals Seismic zonation of the Dead Sea Transform Fault area

2000 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Khair ◽  
G. F. Karakaisis ◽  
E. E. Papadimitriou
Keyword(s):  
Dead Sea ◽  
Historical Seismicity ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Transform Fault ◽  
Jordan Valley ◽  
Seismic Zonation ◽  
African Plate ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
The Dead

The Dead Sea Transform Fault constitutes the northwestern boundary of the Arabian plate, accommodating the plate’s lateral movement relative to the African plate. A complete and homogeneous catalogue of historical earthquakes has been compiled and used in the subdivision of the fault area into the following segments: 1) Araba segment, which extends along Wadi Araba and the southernmost part of the Dead Sea (29.5°-31.3°N) and trends SSW-NNE with scarce historical and instrumental seismicity; 2) Jordan-valley segment, which extends along the central and northern parts of the Dead Sea and the Jordan valley to the Huleh depression (31.3°-33.1° N) and trends S-N with moderate historical seismicity; 3) Beqa’a segment, which extends along the western margin of the Beqa’a valley in Lebanon (33.1°-34.5°N) and trends SSW-NNE with strong historical seismicity; 4) El-Ghab segment, which extends along the eastern flank of the coastal mountain range of Syria (34.5°-35.8°N) and trends S-N with moderate historical seismicity; 5) Karasu segment, which extends along the Karasu valley in SE Turkey (35.8°-37.3°N) and trends SSW-NNE, exhibiting the strongest historical seismicity of the area. Probabilities for the generation of strong (M > 6.0) earthquakes in these segments during the next decade are given, by the application of the regional time and magnitude predictable model.

A review of the tectonics of the northern Middle East region

1984 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 577-587 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. E. R. Lovelock
Keyword(s):  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Kinematic Model ◽  
Continental Collision ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Plate Motion ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Southern Boundary ◽  
The North ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Two Stages

AbstractThe structure of the northern part of the Arabian platform is reviewed in the light of hitherto unpublished exploration data and the presently accepted kinematic model of plate motion in the region. The Palmyra and Sinjar zones share a common history of development involving two stages of rifting, one in the Triassic–Jurassic and the other during late Cretaceous to early Tertiary times. Deformation of the Palmyra zone during the Mio-Pliocene is attributed to north–south compression on the eastern block of the Dead Sea transcurrent system which occurred after continental collision in the north in southeast Turkey. The asymmetry of the Palmyra zone is believed to result from northward underthrusting along the southern boundary facilitated by the presence of shallow Triassic evaporites. An important NW-SE cross-plate shear zone has been identified, which can be traced for 600 km and which controls the course of the River Euphrates over long distances in Syria and Iraq. Transcurrent motion along this zone resulted in the formation of narrow grabens during the late Cretaceous which were compressed during the Mio-Pliocene. To a large extent, present day structures in the region result from compressional reactivation of old lineaments within the Arabian plate by the transcurrent motion of the Dead Sea fault zone and subsequent continental collision.

Seismic Energy Release from Intra-Basin Sources along the Dead Sea Transform and Its Influence on Regional Ground Motions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roey Shimony ◽  
Zohar Gvirtzman ◽  
Michael Tsesarsky
Keyword(s):  
Ground Motions ◽  
Seismic Energy ◽  
Sedimentary Basins ◽  
Seismic Wave Propagation ◽  
Dead Sea ◽  
Strike Slip ◽  
Dead Sea Transform ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
The Dead ◽  
Surrounding Areas

ABSTRACT The Dead Sea Transform (DST) dominates the seismicity of Israel and neighboring countries. Whereas the instrumental catalog of Israel (1986–2017) contains mainly M<5 events, the preinstrumental catalog lists 14 M 7 or stronger events on the DST, during the past two millennia. Global Positioning System measurements show that the slip deficit in northern Israel today is equivalent to M>7 earthquake. This situation highlights the possibility that a strong earthquake may strike north Israel in the near future, raising the importance of ground-motion prediction. Deep and narrow strike-slip basins accompany the DST. Here, we study ground motions produced by intrabasin seismic sources, to understand the basin effect on regional ground motions. We model seismic-wave propagation in 3D, focusing on scenarios of Mw 6 earthquakes, rupturing different active branches of the DST. The geological model includes the major structures in northern Israel: the strike-slip basins along the DST, the sedimentary basins accompanying the Carmel fault zone, and the densely populated and industrialized Zevulun Valley (Haifa Bay area). We show that regional ground motions are determined by source–path coupling effects in the strike-slip basins, before waves propagate into the surrounding areas. In particular, ground motions are determined by the location of the rupture nucleation within the basin, the near-rupture lithology, and the basin’s local structure. When the rupture is located in the crystalline basement or along material bridges connecting opposite sides of the fault, ground motions behave predictably, decaying due to geometrical spreading and locally amplified atop sedimentary basins. By contrast, if rupture nucleates or propagates into shallow sedimentary units of the DST strike-slip basins, ground motions are amplified within, before propagating outside. Repeated reflections from the basin walls result in a “resonant chamber” effect, leading to stronger regional ground motions with prolonged durations.

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