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Dead Sea Transform

The Dead Sea Transform (DST), also known as the Dead Sea Fault System (DSFS), is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault system extending approximately 1,000 km from the Gulf of Aqaba in the south to the Hatay Triple Junction near the East Anatolian Fault in northern Syria and southern Turkey.^[1] It forms the active transform plate boundary between the Arabian Plate to the east and the African Plate (specifically its Sinai subplate) to the west, linking the Red Sea's seafloor spreading center to the north with the ongoing continental collision between Arabia and Eurasia.^[2] The DST originated in the Early Miocene around 17 million years ago through northward-propagating faulting, resulting in a total left-lateral displacement of about 105 km since its formation.^[3] ^[4] Geologically, the DST is characterized by a series of en echelon fault segments, including pull-apart basins such as the Dead Sea Rift—a 20-km-wide valley underlain by deep sedimentary basins—and compressive push-up structures like the Lebanon Mountains.^[5] ^[6] The fault cuts through the entire lithosphere to depths of about 100 km, with crustal thickness varying markedly across it: thinned to 16–23 km with a 10-km sedimentary column on the western (Sinai) side, and thicker at ~30 km with a thinner 7-km sedimentary layer on the eastern (Arabian) side.^[5] ^[7] Current slip rates along the system are estimated at 4–6 mm per year in the northern segments and 4.7–5.4 mm per year in the southern Arava Valley, based on geodetic and paleoseismic data, though rates may vary along different fault strands.^[1] ^[8] The DST is seismically active, producing destructive earthquakes due to its strike-slip motion, with historical events including the magnitude 7.1 Safed earthquake of 1837 that killed over 5,000 people and paleoseismic records indicating non-periodic large-magnitude ruptures over the past two millennia.^[5] ^[9] Volcanism occurs along its northern segments, influenced by the fault's tectonics, while the associated basins serve as natural archives for studying Quaternary climate, sedimentation, and tectonic evolution through projects like deep-core drilling.^[10] ^[11] As a relatively simple transform fault compared to systems like the San Andreas, the DST provides critical insights into continental rifting, plate boundary mechanics, and seismic hazards in the eastern Mediterranean region.^[5]

Overview and Geological Setting

Definition and Extent

The Dead Sea Transform (DST) is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault system approximately 1,000 km in length, accommodating lateral motion between the Arabian and African plates.^[12] It extends from the northern terminus of the Red Sea spreading center at the Gulf of Aqaba in the south to the Hatay Triple Junction in southern Turkey in the north, where it connects with the East Anatolian Fault.^[13]^[1] The fault system's trace begins at the Red Sea Rift and proceeds northward through the Gulf of Aqaba, the Wadi Arabah (also known as the Arava Valley), the Dead Sea basin, the Jordan Valley, and the Hula Valley.^[14] Further north, it traverses the Lebanon mountains along the Yammouneh Fault, continues into the Ghab Valley in Syria, and terminates at the East Anatolian Fault zone.^[14]^[15] This path is characterized by an en echelon arrangement of fault segments, with alternating restraining and releasing bends that influence local topography and basin formation.^[16] Since its inception in the Early Miocene around 17 million years ago, the DST has accumulated a total left-lateral displacement of approximately 105 km, as determined from geological correlations of offset stratigraphic markers and igneous features.^[12]^[17] The overall trace of the DST can be visualized in schematic maps that highlight its segmented nature and regional connectivity, such as those illustrating plate boundary interactions in the Levant.^[18]

Tectonic Role in Plate Boundary

The Dead Sea Transform (DST) functions as a continental transform plate boundary, accommodating the relative motion between the Arabian Plate and the Sinai subplate of the African Plate. The Arabian Plate moves northward relative to the Sinai subplate in a left-lateral sense, with the DST marking the primary shear zone where this motion is transferred without significant convergence or divergence along most of its length. This configuration aligns with classic transform fault characteristics, where the fault acts as a stable boundary linking offset segments of divergent and convergent zones in the regional plate mosaic.^[5]^[12] The DST primarily accommodates approximately 5 mm/year of relative plate motion through left-lateral strike-slip faulting, as determined from geological offset markers and geodetic observations, though estimates range from 4 to 6 mm/year across segments. This rate reflects the ongoing shear deformation concentrated in a narrow zone, typically 10-20 km wide, with minor components of extension or compression arising at releasing and restraining bends that perturb the predominantly strike-slip regime. Such variations in local strain contribute to the formation of pull-apart basins and topographic uplifts but do not alter the overall transform character of the boundary.^[12]^[1]^[19] To the south, the DST connects seamlessly with the Red Sea Rift, a divergent boundary where the Arabian Plate pulls away from the African Plate at rates of 12-16 mm/year, transferring the lateral component of this separation northward along the transform. In the north, it links to the East Anatolian Fault Zone near the Hatay Triple Junction, forming a continuous left-lateral shear system that ultimately feeds into the Anatolian Plate's westward escape. This connectivity positions the DST as a critical link in the tectonic escape pathway driven by the Arabia-Eurasia collision.^[20]^[12] Euler pole models of Arabian-African plate rotations, with poles typically located in the eastern Mediterranean or Gulf of Suez region and angular velocities of about 0.4-0.5° per million years, reveal strain partitioning where the DST handles the majority of the strike-slip component of the total relative motion. These models indicate that the transform accommodates roughly 40-50% of the overall plate separation rate associated with Red Sea rifting, with the remaining divergence partitioned directly across the rift axis. Seminal kinematic analyses, such as those using NUVEL-1A plate motion parameters, support this partitioning by quantifying the vector decomposition into rift-normal opening and transform-parallel shear.^[21]^[22]^[12]

Structural Segments

Southern Segment

The Southern Segment of the Dead Sea Transform extends approximately 400 km from the Gulf of Aqaba northward through the Wadi Arabah, Dead Sea Basin, Jordan Valley, and into the basins of the Sea of Galilee and Hula in northern Israel, dominated by left-lateral strike-slip motion that promotes the development of pull-apart basins along its length.^[12] This segment accommodates the primary plate boundary displacement between the Arabian and African plates, with en echelon fault arrangements facilitating extension and subsidence in rhomboidal depressions.^[23] The Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea Fault (GADS) forms the southernmost portion, characterized by an en echelon arrangement of four principal fault strands that curve westward and link the Red Sea spreading center to the continental transform.^[23] These faults exhibit a slip rate of 4.9 ± 1.4 mm/year, determined from GPS-derived elastic modeling of fault-parallel velocities, indicating partial locking to a depth of about 12 km.^[23] The overall southern DST slip rate aligns with geological estimates of 4 ± 2 mm/year based on offset alluvial features.^[24] Northward, the Wadi Arabah represents a broad alluvial valley tracing the active trace of the transform, where left-lateral faulting displaces Quaternary sediments and produces geomorphic indicators such as stream deflections and offset channels up to several tens of meters.^[19] High-resolution seismic surveys reveal a subvertical fault zone extending to at least 4 km depth, with scattering reflectors offset eastward from the surface trace, underscoring ongoing shallow deformation.^[25] The Dead Sea Basin stands as the largest pull-apart structure in this segment, manifesting as a rhomb-shaped graben approximately 150 km long and 8-15 km wide, bounded by subvertical strike-slip faults that have induced up to 10 km of sediment accumulation since its Miocene inception.^[16] This infill, comprising clastic and evaporitic deposits, supports the formation of a hypersaline lake through isolation and arid climatic influences, with the basin's full-graben morphology reflecting prolonged extension amid the transform's sinistral shear.^[26] The Jordan Valley Fault continues the southern segment's main trace northward from the Dead Sea, maintaining left-lateral motion with a late Quaternary slip rate of about 4.1 mm/year averaged over the past 3,400 years, as constrained by three-dimensional paleoseismic trenching of offset alluvial fans.^[27] Longer-term studies spanning 48,000 years indicate variable but consistent rates around 4-5 mm/year, highlighting episodic behavior with temporal clustering of ruptures.^[28]^[23] Further north, the Sea of Galilee (Kinneret) and Hula Basins emerge as smaller pull-apart structures within the transform, each bounded by stepped fault segments that induce localized extension and subsidence up to 4 km deep in the Hula.^[29] Volcanic influences are prominent here, with Miocene-Pliocene basaltic activity tied to the intersection of the Dead Sea Transform and the northeast-trending Irbid rift, as well as the Harrat Ash-Shaam field, where off-transform extension facilitated magma ascent and basin infilling.^[30] Intervening between the Sea of Galilee-Kinnerot and Hula basins, the Korazim Plateau functions as a transpressional block, experiencing contractional deformation amid the overall strike-slip regime, as evidenced by uplift and folding that partition strain along the northern extent of this segment.^[31] This feature reflects the transform's geometric complexities, transitioning from extensional basins to localized compression without altering the dominant left-lateral plate motion.^[32]

Lebanon Restraining Bend

The Lebanon Restraining Bend constitutes the central segment of the Dead Sea Transform, spanning approximately 100 km and characterized by pronounced compressional tectonics that deviate from the predominantly strike-slip motion elsewhere along the fault system.^[33] This bend induces 10-15 km of crustal shortening, manifesting as transpressional deformation that has elevated the Mount Lebanon range to over 3,000 m, with peaks reaching 3,088 m.^[33]^[34] The structure arises from a 25-30° clockwise rotation of the fault trace relative to the main transform orientation, partitioning the relative motion between the Arabian and Sinai plates into strike-slip and convergent components.^[33] The Yammouneh Fault serves as the primary splay within the bend, extending 105 km as the main through-going strike-slip structure that links the southern and northern segments of the Dead Sea Transform.^[35] It accommodates a slip rate of 4.0-5.5 mm/year, primarily through left-lateral motion, and has been responsible for significant historical seismicity, including events that highlight its role in regional hazard potential.^[36]^[1] This fault's activity contributes substantially to the overall transpression, with geomorphic evidence of offset features supporting its long-term kinematic dominance.^[35] To the south, the Roum Fault branches off as a subsidiary structure, exhibiting a slip rate of 0.86-1.05 mm/year and incorporating thrust components alongside left-lateral strike-slip displacement.^[1] This fault integrates the restraining bend's deformation with adjacent segments, facilitating partial accommodation of the plate motion through oblique convergence.^[34] Parallel to the Yammouneh Fault on the eastern side, the Rachaya and Serghaya faults form a system of subsidiary strands that handle minor dextral motion, with a combined total offset of approximately 20 km.^[35] These faults bound the Anti-Lebanon range and contribute to distributed shortening, with the Serghaya segment showing Holocene slip rates around 1.4 mm/year.^[34] Associated tectonic features include widespread reverse faulting and folding, particularly in the Bekaa Valley, where WNW-ESE shortening has produced thrust structures and anticlinal uplifts.^[34] This deformation has led to topographic inversion, transforming former lowlands into elevated terrains through progressive crustal thickening and erosion-resistant ridge formation.^[33]

Northern Segment

The Northern Segment of the Dead Sea Transform extends approximately 200 km from northwestern Syria into southern Turkey, marking the northern termination of the fault system where it transitions from predominantly strike-slip motion to a transpressional regime with right-stepping en echelon geometry. Recent studies suggest deformation is partly accommodated by the Latakia-Tartus microplate offshore, contributing to lower geodetic slip rates.^[1] This segment accommodates left-lateral shear between the Arabian and Anatolian plates while incorporating components of compression and extension due to the irregular fault alignment, ultimately linking to the East Anatolian Fault at the Hatay Triple Junction.^[12]^[1] The segment initiates with the Missyaf Fault, a ~70 km-long structure serving as the southern boundary, characterized by left-lateral strike-slip motion with subordinate normal faulting components indicative of local transtension. Geological estimates from paleoseismic data suggest up to 6 mm/yr, but recent geodetic measurements indicate a slip rate of approximately 2.8 mm/yr (2014-2021) for the northern segment, potentially influenced by earthquake clustering and microplate dynamics.^[1] Northward, the fault splays to bound the Ghab Basin, a rhomb-shaped pull-apart depression approximately 70 km long and up to 15 km wide, which subsided during the Pliocene-Quaternary and accumulated thick sequences of Miocene to Quaternary alluvial and lacustrine sediments, reaching depths exceeding 2 km in places.^[37]^[17] In its central portion, the Hacıpaşa Fault emerges as a major splay extending from the northern Ghab Basin into the Amik Basin, bridging the Syrian and Turkish sections while carrying the primary plate-boundary displacement through a series of left-lateral faults with associated folding.^[38] The segment culminates at the Karasu Fault (also termed the Amanos Fault), the northernmost active strand with a Quaternary slip rate of 1.0–1.6 mm/year constrained by offset basalts and dated using K-Ar methods, which transfers motion to the East Anatolian Fault system at the Hatay Triple Junction.^[39] This transpressional setting, driven by the right-stepping fault configuration, promotes crustal shortening and the uplift of the Amanos Mountains, with late Pliocene to recent exhumation rates of 0.2–0.4 mm/year evidenced by incision of the Karasu Valley and exposure of pre-Cenozoic basement.^[40]

Geological Evolution

Formation and Development

The Dead Sea Transform (DST) initiated during the early Miocene, approximately 20–18 million years ago (Ma), as a sinistral strike-slip fault system in response to the separation of the Arabian Plate from the African Plate, driven by the onset of continental rifting in the Red Sea.^[41] ^[42] This tectonic reconfiguration accommodated the northward motion of the Arabian Plate relative to Africa, transitioning from earlier extensional phases associated with the broader Afro-Arabian breakup.^[41] The DST's formation marked the establishment of a major transform boundary linking the Red Sea spreading center in the south to collisional zones in the north, with a total left-lateral displacement of about 105 km since its formation.^[12] During the Oligocene-Miocene faulting phase, the DST experienced an initial left-lateral displacement of approximately 64 km along its southern segments, with fault activity commencing around 20–18 Ma based on calcite age-strain analyses in fault gouges.^[43] The system propagated northward from its connection to the Gulf of Aqaba, establishing a >500-km-long transform by the early middle Miocene, as evidenced by U-Pb dating of deformation features indicating ages of 18–17 Ma in the south and 14–13 Ma further north.^[42] ^[44] This propagation facilitated the development of en echelon fault strands and pull-apart basins, reflecting the transform's role in accommodating differential plate motion.^[45] In the Pliocene, the DST extended northward into Syria and Turkey, with the northern segment activating around 5–4 Ma and accumulating 20–25 km of offset, completing the system's ~1,000 km extent over roughly 18 Ma of total development.^[46] This evolution was influenced by regional tectonics, including the ongoing closure of the Neo-Tethys Ocean through Arabian-Eurasian convergence from the late Cretaceous to Miocene, which extruded the Anatolian Plate westward along the North and East Anatolian Faults, thereby enhancing sinistral motion along the DST.^[47] The transform's kinematic framework continues to reflect this interplay, with modern plate motions of 4–6 mm/year aligning with its long-term history.^[48] Early sedimentary records along the DST document the transition from pre-rift marine environments to fault-controlled continental deposition. Eocene-Oligocene strata consist of marine pelagic limestones and marls, such as the Bardeh Formation in Syria, deposited during relative tectonic quiescence before rifting.^[47] By the Miocene, these gave way to continental clastics and evaporites in nascent basins, with fault gouges and conglomerates indicating the onset of strike-slip deformation and uplift along the transform margins.^[12]

Kinematic History

The kinematic history of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) since the Miocene has involved predominantly left-lateral strike-slip motion accommodating the relative northwestward movement of the Arabian Plate with respect to the Sinai subplate. During the Quaternary, geodetic and geological estimates indicate an overall sinistral slip rate of 4–6 mm/year along the fault system, with spatial variations reflecting segment-specific partitioning of deformation. In the southern segment along the Arava Valley, slip rates average approximately 5.1 mm/year, while rates decrease northward to about 4.9 mm/year in the Jericho Valley and ~2.5–3 mm/year (as of 2024) north of the Carmel Fault System.^[8] ^[1] These variations arise from partial transfer of shear to subsidiary structures, such as the Carmel–Gilboa Fault System, which accommodates ~0.9 mm/year of oblique motion.^[49] Strain release along the DST varies regionally, with the southern segment exhibiting significant aseismic creep that accommodates a substantial portion of the slip budget, while the northern segment releases more strain through seismic events. Creep rates reach ~3.4 mm/year in the southern Dead Sea basin and ~2.3 mm/year in the northern Jordan Valley, indicating that up to 70% of deformation in the south occurs aseismically via mechanisms like pressure solution and frictional sliding.^[49] In contrast, the north shows higher seismicity rates, with shallower locking depths (7.8–16.5 km) promoting elastic strain buildup.^[8] This bimodal behavior influences seismic hazard distribution across the transform. GPS measurements reveal a velocity field where the Arabian Plate moves relative to the African (Nubia) Plate at ~21 mm/year in a NNE direction (Euler pole at 32.8°N, 20.9°W, rotation rate 0.98°/Myr), with the DST absorbing ~90% of the resulting shear through its left-lateral motion of 4–6 mm/year.^[50] The remaining deformation is partitioned into minor extension and compression at stepovers. The cumulative Quaternary sinistral displacement can be approximated by the relation

d = v \cdot t

where v \approx 5 mm/year is the average slip rate and t \approx 2 Ma is the approximate Quaternary duration, yielding d \approx 10 km of offset—consistent with paleoseismic and geomorphic markers of late Cenozoic slip.^[19]

Geomorphology and Features

Pull-Apart Basins and Topography

The Dead Sea Transform (DST), a major left-lateral strike-slip fault system, features several rhomb-graben pull-apart basins formed at releasing bends where en echelon fault segments create localized extension. These basins develop as rhomb-shaped depressions bounded by overlapping strike-slip faults, with subsidence driven by the transtensional stress regime accommodating the relative motion between the Arabian and African plates.^[51]^[52] Prominent examples include the Dead Sea basin, approximately 150 km long and reaching a surface elevation of -430 m below sea level, the Gulf of Aqaba basin extending about 160 km as a series of interconnected sub-basins, and the smaller Sea of Galilee basin, roughly 21 km in length. These structures exhibit characteristic rhomb-graben geometries, with widths typically 10-17 km and depths exceeding 2 km in the Dead Sea, reflecting progressive basin maturation through fault linkage and subsidence.^[53]^[54]^[55] Sedimentary infill in these basins reaches up to 10 km thick in the Dead Sea, comprising evaporites such as halite and gypsum from the underlying Sdom Formation, overlain by marls, laminated aragonites, and detrital sediments from surrounding alluvial fans. The Lisan Formation, a key marker horizon dated to approximately 70 ka, consists of varved lacustrine deposits up to 100 m thick in marginal areas, recording fluctuations in the ancient Lake Lisan that predated the modern Dead Sea. These sediments accumulate in response to rapid subsidence and isolation from marine influence, fostering hypersaline conditions.^[56]^[57]^[58] Topographic features along the DST include prominent fault scarps up to tens of meters high, sag ponds formed in tensionally dilated zones at fault steps, and deflections of drainages such as the Jordan River, which shifts southward along the basin axis due to lateral offset. Subsidence rates in the pull-apart basins average approximately 0.5 mm/year, contributing to the extreme relief and ongoing landscape modification.^[52]^[59] Soft-sediment deformation structures (SSDS) are widespread in the exposed margins of these basins, particularly in the Lisan Formation along Jordan's Lisan Peninsula, where features like slickensides, convolute bedding, and flame structures indicate liquefaction and fluidization triggered by paleoseismic events. Recent 2024 analyses of these SSDS highlight their role in reconstructing depositional environments and seismic history, with deformations concentrated in low-cohesion layers during basin evolution.^[60] Differential faulting along the DST has led to landscape inversion, where ancient topographic highs subside into lows within pull-apart zones, inverting pre-existing relief through asymmetric extension and sediment loading. This process enhances basin isolation and amplifies the stark topographic contrasts observed today.^[61]

Fault Characteristics and Crustal Structure

The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault zone exhibits a typical width of 5–15 km, as determined from seismogenic width analyses of strike-slip plate boundaries, with variations influenced by depth and local structure. Within this zone, damage and gouge layers can reach thicknesses of up to 100 m, particularly along segments like the Serghaya fault, where exposed architectures reveal a central gouge flanked by fractured damage zones. The faults are predominantly strike-slip with subvertical orientations, featuring dip angles less than 10° from vertical, minimizing significant dip-slip components and facilitating efficient lateral shear accommodation. Crustal thickness along the DST displays a pronounced gradient, thinning westward from approximately 30 km beneath the Arabian Plate to 16–23 km under the Sinai subplate in the central region, based on 2023 seismic refraction and gravity modeling. This transition is marked by a gradual Moho step of 5–10 km, initiating beneath the DST itself and extending laterally, which reflects asymmetric extension and lithospheric weakening associated with transform tectonics.^[48] Three-dimensional VP/VS tomographic models of the central Dead Sea Fault reveal prominent low-velocity zones within pull-apart basins, indicative of sedimentary infill, fluid presence, and reduced rigidity at depths of 5–15 km, as derived from recent earthquake relocations and velocity inversions. These anomalies highlight heterogeneous crustal properties, with elevated VP/VS ratios in deeper sections suggesting transitions in mechanical behavior.^[62] Variations in fault characteristics occur along the DST segments, with narrower and sharper fault zones in the southern portion, where deformation is concentrated along discrete traces like the Wadi Araba fault, contrasting with broader, more diffuse structures in the north near the Lebanon-Syria triple junction, where multiple subsidiary faults distribute strain over wider areas. Geophysical evidence points to the potential development of incipient oceanic crust beneath the northern DST, possibly involving an oblique spreading center connected to the Red Sea rift system, supported by crustal thinning of 25–50% and magmatic underplating signatures that signal a transition from continental to oceanic domains.

Seismicity and Hazards

Historical and Paleoseismic Record

The historical record along the Dead Sea Transform documents several large earthquakes that profoundly impacted the Levant region prior to the instrumental era. The 749 CE earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of Mw ~7.0, originated near the Dead Sea and caused widespread destruction, including the collapse of Umayyad palaces and monasteries in the Jordan Valley and Galilee, as evidenced by archaeological excavations revealing collapsed walls and burn layers. Another significant event was the 1202 CE earthquake in northern Syria, assigned a magnitude of Mw 7.6, which ruptured segments of the transform fault and led to severe damage in Damascus and coastal cities, with reports of ground fissures and building failures. In 1759 CE, a series of multiple earthquakes with magnitudes ranging from Mw 6.0 to 7.4 struck the Lebanon-Jordan region, including the Bekaa Valley and northern Dead Sea, triggering landslides and tsunamis in the Sea of Galilee while destroying fortifications and villages. Paleoseismic investigations, primarily through trenching across fault strands, have uncovered evidence of recurrent large-magnitude events along the Dead Sea Transform, with average recurrence intervals of approximately 1000-1500 years for Mw 7+ events on principal segments, exhibiting significant variability and nonperiodic clustering. For instance, excavations on the Jordan Valley Fault have identified surface-rupturing events dated via radiocarbon analysis of organic layers in faulted sediments, including multiple occurrences between the 1st and 7th centuries CE indicating episodic strain release.^[63] These studies highlight nonperiodic behavior, where interevent times vary significantly, but the overall pattern aligns with clustered seismicity on this left-lateral strike-slip system. Over the past two millennia, historical and paleoseismic records document around 5 large events along various segments, though not all on the same strand. The impacts of these paleoseismic events extended to ancient societies, prompting shifts in settlement patterns and leaving identifiable destruction layers in archaeological contexts across the Levant, such as abrupt terminations of Iron Age and Roman-era structures correlated with seismic shaking. The Dead Sea Transform exhibits a magnitude-frequency distribution dominated by characteristic earthquakes in the Mw 6.5-7.5 range, where slip accumulates elastically along locked segments before sudden release, as described by the elastic rebound model for strike-slip faults. This pattern is supported by paleoseismic offsets and historical intensities, emphasizing the transform's capacity for segment-specific ruptures rather than uniform activity.^[63] Subaqueous soft-sediment deformations (SSDS) in Dead Sea basin sediments act as reliable paleo-indicators of strong shaking, with layered seismites and slumps dated to approximately 4 ka along the lake margins, corresponding to major transform fault events that deformed water-saturated varves.

Recent Earthquakes and Studies

The 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake sequence in southeastern Turkey, initiated by a Mw 7.8 mainshock on the Narlı Fault segment of the East Anatolian Fault Zone, ruptured along EAF segments near the Hatay Triple Junction, increasing stress and failure potential along the adjacent Karasu Fault and northern Dead Sea Transform (DST). This event produced a surface rupture approximately 350 km long, with en-echelon patterns at the East Anatolian Fault-DST junction in the Amik Basin. Co-seismic slip reached up to 5 m on key segments, including about 4.1 m on the Kirikhan segment of the EAF, highlighting stress transfer risks to the northern DST.^[64]^[65] Updated instrumental seismicity catalogs, derived from early warning networks, indicate clustered earthquake activity in the Ghab Basin, a key pull-apart structure along the northern DST, underscoring ongoing strain accumulation. As of 2025, these catalogs show reduced activity along the DST north of the Dead Sea basin, with seismicity migrating to the Faria fault.^[66] Three-dimensional seismic tomography has revealed low-velocity anomalies along the Galilee-Dead Sea Fault, interpreted as evidence of fluid migration influencing crustal deformation and seismicity patterns.^[67] Tectono-sedimentary analyses of marginal faults in the Aqaba region, supported by Quaternary dating techniques, detail the evolutionary history of faulting and sedimentation along the southern DST, revealing episodic reactivation over the past 100,000 years.^[68] Probabilistic seismic hazard assessments (PSHA) for the DST indicate moderate-to-high hazard levels, with models estimating a 10% probability of intensity VII-VIII shaking exceedance over the next 50 years near active segments, potentially disrupting critical water infrastructure shared between Jordan and Israel, such as pipelines and reservoirs vulnerable to ground shaking and fault offsets.^[69]^[70] Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) data from the 2023 sequence document post-event surface deformations with 3-5 m horizontal offsets near the DST connection, informing models of rupture propagation and lingering afterslip effects.^[71]

References

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[24]
Seismic behaviour of the Dead Sea fault along Araba valley, Jordan
The Dead Sea fault zone is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault. South of the Dead Sea basin, the Wadi Araba fault extends over 160 km to the Gulf of Aqaba.2 Tectonic Setting · 3 Seismicity · 5 Offset Geomorphic FeaturesMissing: extent | Show results with:extent<|control11|><|separator|>
[25]
(PDF) Seismic structure of the Arava Fault, Dead Sea Transform
A 7 km long subvertical scattering zone (reflector) is offset about 1 km east of the AF surface trace and can be imaged from 1 km to about 4 km depth. The ...
[26]
[PDF] Structure of the Dead Sea Pull-Apart Basin From Gravity Analyses
Dec 10, 1993 · The basin is a long (132 km), narrow (7-10 km), and deep (-<10 km) full graben which is bounded by subvertical faults along its long sides. The ...
[27]
The formation of graben morphology in the Dead Sea Fault, and its ...
Aug 7, 2015 · A small-scale structure comprising the long and narrow (<20 km wide) rhomb-shaped pull-apart basins bounded by strike-slip faults and lying ...
[28]
Variable slip-rate and slip-per-event on a plate boundary fault
The slip rate averaged over the past 3400 years, as determined from 3D trenching, is 4.1 mm/yr, which agrees well with geodetic estimates of strain accumulation ...
[29]
A 48-kyr-long slip rate history for the Jordan Valley segment of the ...
Aug 30, 2007 · We investigate the late Quaternary active deformation along the Jordan Valley segment of the left-lateral Dead Sea Fault and provide new ...
[30]
The Hula Valley subsurface structure inferred from gravity data
The model obtained by inversion shows a rhomb-shaped graben filled with approximately 4 km of young sediments in the deepest part of the basin. The reliability ...
[31]
Why does volcanism associated with the Dead Sea fault occur only ...
Volcanic activity accompanying the DSF displacement occurred mainly along its intersection with the older NW-trending Irbid rift and Harrat-Ash-Shaam (HAS) ...
[32]
[PDF] Strain Field Associated With a Component of Divergent Motion ...
Pleistocene strain partitioning during transpression along the Dead Sea transform, Metulla saddle, northern Israel. In Dead Sea transform fault system: Reviews ...<|control11|><|separator|>
[33]
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24718-0
[34]
A validated geomechanical model for the strike-slip restraining bend ...
Nov 22, 2022 · Lebanon restraining bend represents the most prominent topographic transpressional feature along the Dead Sea Transform (DST). It consists of ...
[35]
[PDF] restraining bend of the Dead Sea Fault (Lebanon and SW Syria ...
Dec 18, 2007 · The 'Lebanese' restraining bend of the DSFS also can serve as an analogue for other large restraining bends along continental transform systems, ...
[36]
evolution of the Lebanese restraining bend of the Dead Sea Transform
Continuing coastal uplift and folding in Lebanon suggests transpression and a rightwards bend in the transform, presumably along the Levant continental margin ...
[37]
Modes and rates of horizontal deformation from rotated river basins
Sep 1, 2015 · We calculate an average slip rate on the YF since the late Miocene of 3.8–4.4 mm/yr. These rates are consistent with previous estimates obtained ...The Dead Sea Fault System In... · Kinematic Model · Landscape Evolution Modeling<|separator|>
[38]
Evidence for 830 years of seismic quiescence from ...
Our study provides the timing of late Holocene earthquakes and constrains the 6.9±0.1 mm/yr slip rate of the Dead Sea transform fault in northwestern Syria ...
[39]
Active tectonics and fault interactions in the Ghab Valley pull-apart ...
... Dead Sea fault south of the Ghab pull-apart basin in western Syria. The 60-70 km long Missyaf segment consists of a single fault branch of the north-south ...
[40]
Historical earthquake activity of the northern part of the Dead Sea ...
The northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone is one of the major active neotectonic structures of Turkey. The main trace of the fault zone (called Hacıpaşa ...
[41]
Rate of strike-slip motion on the Amanos Fault (Karasu Valley ...
... Rate of strike-slip motion on the Amanos Fault (Karasu Valley, southern Turkey) constrained by K–Ar dating and geochemical analysis of Quaternary basalts.
[42]
Late Cenozoic uplift of the Amanos Mountains and incision of the ...
Since ∼ 3.7 Ma the Amanos Mountains have formed a transpressive stepover along the northern part of the Dead Sea Fault Zone, where crustal shortening is ...
[43]
Tectonic and Geologic Evolution of Syria - GeoScienceWorld
Jan 4, 2019 · The Dead Sea transform plate boundary cuts through western Syria and ... (Brew et al., 1999). Other than this broad trough formation, no ...
[44]
Tectono-Thermal Evolution of the Red Sea Rift - Frontiers
Afro-Arabian breakup first began sometime during the late Eocene with initiation of rifting in the eastern proto-Gulf of Aden in a ∼NNE-SSW oriented far ...
[45]
Graham Brew Ph.D. Thesis - Cornell University
We examine the structure and evolution of the Ghab Basin that formed on the active, yet poorly understood, northern Dead Sea transform fault system.
[46]
http://atlas.geo.cornell.edu/syria/brew2.pdf
[47]
Impact of the Dead Sea Transform Kinematics on Adjacent Volcanic ...
Dec 14, 2019 · The Dead Sea Transform (DST) cuts through the northwestern edge of the Harrat ash Shaam volcanic field of western Arabia.Missing: Arabah | Show results with:Arabah
[48]
[PDF] Tectonic and Geologic Evolution of Syria - Cornell
The Dead Sea transform plate boundary cuts through western Syria and has ... Sawaf. Tectonic and Geologic Evolution of Syria. GeoArabia, v. 6, no. 4, p ...
[49]
Crustal Structure Across the Central Dead Sea Transform and ...
Jul 19, 2023 · The relative plate motion is slow (4.6–5.9 mm/yr, Sadeh et al., 2012), but had been continuous since 20–18 Ma (Nuriel et al., 2017), resulting ...
[50]
Spatial Variations of Slip and Creep Rates Along the Southern and ...
Sep 12, 2021 · Along the CGFS, a total slip rate of ∼0.8 mm/year in the DSF direction is found. Shallow creep is found along the southern and central sections ...
[51]
GPS constraints on Africa (Nubia) and Arabia plate motions
We use continuously recording GPS (CGPS) and survey-mode GPS (SGPS) observations to determine Euler vectors for relative motion of the African (Nubian), Arabian ...
[52]
Geometric characteristics of pull-apart basins - GeoScienceWorld
Jun 1, 2010 · Their pull-apart basins typically form sigmoidal to rhombic deep grabens, the geometries of which are dependent upon the offset architecture of ...
[53]
Drop-down formation of deep basins along the Dead Sea and other ...
The formation of these basins is usually explained by a pull-apart mechanism that predicts a rhomb-shaped basin geometry bounded by two longitudinal strike-slip ...
[54]
Tectonic evolution of the Qumran Basin from high-resolution 3.5-kHz ...
The Dead Sea Basin is the largest among these, with dimensions of 130–150 m long, 10–17 km wide and more than 2 km deep (Fig. 2a). It was formed between the ...
[55]
[PDF] Seismic structure beneath the Gulf of Aqaba and adjacent areas ...
Jun 20, 2016 · With the Gulf of Suez to the west, it extends from the northern portion of the Red Sea. The length of the. Gulf of Aqaba is 160 km, and its ...
[56]
The tectonic framework of a complex pull-apart basin: seismic ...
The Neogene Dead Sea transform is characterized by a series of deep pull-apart basins (Fig. 1). These are from south to north: Gulf of Elat (Aqaba), Dead Sea, ...
[57]
Strike-Slip Basin – Its Configuration and Sedimentary Facies
Aug 28, 2013 · The Amora, Lisan, and younger formations consist of laminated evaporitic (gypsum) and aragonite sediments that continue to accumulate in the ...<|separator|>
[58]
[PDF] Sedimentary Geology
The recent investigation of drill cores taken from the depocentre of the Dead Sea reveals that the stratigraphic thickness of the Lisan Formation is three times ...
[59]
The Tectonic Geomorphology and the Archeoseismicity of the Dead ...
The Dead Sea is a pull- apart basin that formed due to the overlap of the Wadi Araba fault (WAF) and the Jordan Valley fault (JVF). The movement along the ...
[60]
Geometry and subsidence history of the Dead Sea basin: A case for ...
Jan 13, 2012 · The subsidence rate was several hundreds of m/m.y. since the development of the DST ∼17 Ma, similar to other basins along the DST, but ...Abstract · Introduction · Basin Subsidence · Discussion: The Role of Fluids...
[61]
Interpreting Soft-Sediment Deformation Structures: Insights into ...
Aug 16, 2024 · This study extensively examines SSDSs along the Dead Sea area in Jordan, focusing on sediments near the Lisan Peninsula.
[62]
3D Interaction of Tectonics and Surface Processes Explains Fault ...
Aug 20, 2024 · Releasing and restraining bends are complementary features of continental strike-slip faults. The Dead Sea Basin of the strike-slip Dead Sea ...<|separator|>
[63]
A Paleoseismic Record of Earthquakes for the Dead Sea Transform ...
May 27, 2014 · Archaeology, history, and geology of the A.D. 749 earthquake, Dead Sea transform. Geology. The onset of the Dead Sea transform based on ...
[64]
The southern Levantine earthquake of 418/419 AD and the ...
May 13, 2021 · Numerous destruction layers at sites in the Galilee were attributed to the 418/419 earthquake, but these attributions have all been questioned ...
[65]
(PDF) The 2023 Mw 7.8 Kahramanmaras earthquake rupture ...
Aug 6, 2025 · The 2023 Mw 7.8 Kahramanmaras earthquake rupture increases failure potential along the northern Dead Sea Fault. May 2025; Tectonophysics.
[66]
Slip distribution of the February 6, 2023 Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.6 ...
Apr 24, 2023 · Slip distribution of the February 6, 2023 Mw 7.8 and Mw 7.6, Kahramanmaraş, Turkey earthquake sequence in the East Anatolian Fault Zone.
[67]
An Updated Seismicity View of the Dead Sea Transform Using an ...
Sep 20, 2025 · An Updated Seismicity View of the Dead Sea Transform Using an Early Warning Network. September 2025; Seismological Research Letters. DOI:10.1785 ...Missing: Ghab | Show results with:Ghab
[68]
Structure and Seismicity of the Dead Sea Fault and the Galilee ...
Jul 11, 2025 · Evolving deformation along a transform plate boundary: Example from the Dead Sea Fault in northern Israel. ... Lebanese Restraining Bend, Northern ...
[69]
Tectono-sedimentary evolution of a marginal fault - ResearchGate
Aug 4, 2025 · Tectono-sedimentary evolution of a marginal fault: Insights from the Dead Sea Transform Fault System. January 2025; Quaternary International ...
[70]
Data‐Driven Seismic‐Hazard Models Prepared for a Seismic Risk ...
Nov 15, 2016 · We estimate a moderate‐to‐high hazard of intensity grade VII–VIII with 10% probability of exceedance within 50 years in close vicinity to the ...
[71]
Water Resources and Water Services Infrastructure and Its ...
This study discussed the water sector as a critical infrastructural element in Jordan where the sector is exposed to the extreme events.
[72]
Surface deformations of the 6 February 2023 earthquake ... - Science
Jan 18, 2024 · The surface deformation caused from the underlying faults was complex but provides insight into fault displacement, rupture propagation, and slip transfer ...