Bathymetry and uplift rate of the Gulf of Aqaba, Dead Sea Fault.

Initially described in the late 50&#8217;s, the Dead Sea Fault system connects at its southern end to the Red Sea extensive system, through a succession of left-stepping faults. In this region, the left-lateral differential displacement of the Arabian plate with respect to the Sinai micro-plate along the Dead Sea fault results in the formation of a depression corresponding to the Gulf Aqaba. We acquired new bathymetric data in the areas of the Gulf of Aqaba and Strait of Tiran during two marine campaigns (June 2018, September 2019) in order to investigate the location of the active faults, which structure and control the morphology of the area. The high-resolution datasets (10-m posting) allow us to present a new fault map of the gulf and to discuss the seismic potential of the main active faults.We also investigated the eastern margin of the Gulf of Aqaba and Tiran island to assess the vertical uplift rate. To do so, we computed high-resolution topographic data and we processed new series of U-Th analyses on corals from the uplifted marine terraces.Combining our results with previous studies, we determined the local and the regional uplift in the area of the Gulf of Aqaba and Strait of Tiran.Eventually, we discussed the tectonic evolution of the gulf since the last major change of the tectonic regime and we propose a revised tectonic evolution model of the area.&#160;

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Interseismic deformation in the gulf of aqaba from GPS measurements

Geophysical Journal International ◽

10.1093/gji/ggab353 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nicolás Castro-Perdomo ◽

Renier Viltres ◽

Frédéric Masson ◽

Yann Klinger ◽

Shaozhuo Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Gulf Coast ◽

Accumulation Rate ◽

Slip Rate ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Northern Region ◽

Fault System ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Dead Sea Transform ◽

Red Sea Rift ◽

The Dead

Summary Although the Dead Sea Transform fault system has been extensively studied in the past, little has been known about the present-day kinematics of its southernmost portion that is offshore in the Gulf of Aqaba. Here we present a new GPS velocity field based on three surveys conducted between 2015 and 2019 at 30 campaign sites, complemented by 11 permanent stations operating near the gulf coast. Interseismic models of strain accumulation indicate a slip rate of $4.9^{+0.9}_{-0.6}~mm/yr$ and a locking depth of $6.8^{+3.5}_{-3.1}~km$ in the gulf’s northern region. Our results further indicate an apparent reduction of the locking depth from the inland portion of the Dead Sea Transform towards its southern junction with the Red Sea rift. Our modelling results reveal a small systematic left-lateral residual motion that we postulate is caused by, at least in part, late postseismic transient motion from the 1995 MW7.2 Nuweiba earthquake. Estimates of the moment accumulation rate on the main faults in the gulf, other than the one that ruptured in 1995, suggest that they might be near the end of their current interseismic period, implying elevated seismic hazard in the gulf area.

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Exploring the dynamics of the Dead-Sea Transform fault using data-integrated numerical models

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-7496 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Thomas Ulrich ◽

Alice-Agnes Gabriel ◽

Yann Klinger ◽

Jean-Paul Ampuero ◽

Percy Galvez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dead Sea ◽

Strike Slip ◽

Fault System ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Back Projection ◽

Earthquake Cycle ◽

Transform Fault ◽

Dynamic Rupture ◽

Dead Sea Transform ◽

The Dead

The Dead-Sea Transform fault system, a 1200 km-long strike-slip fault forming the tectonic boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate, poses a major seismic hazard to the eastern Mediterranean region. The Gulf of Aqaba, which terminates the Dead Sea fault system to the South, results from a succession of pull-apart basins along the Dead-Sea Transform fault system. The complexity of the fault system in the Gulf has been recently evidenced by Ribot et al. (2020), who compiled a detailed map of its fault traces, based on a new multibeam bathymetric survey of the Gulf. Part of the Gulf of Aqaba was ruptured by an Mw 7.3 earthquake in 1995. Teleseismic data analysis suggests that it may have been a multi-segment rupture (Klinger et al., 1999). This event occurred offshore, in a poorly instrumented region, and therefore the exact sequence of faults that ruptured is not precisely known. The detailed fault mapping of Ribot et al. (2020) offers a fresh view of this earthquake. In particular, it identifies many oblique faults between the major strike-slip faults, which may have linked these segments.Relying on this new dataset, on a new back-projection study, and on 3D dynamic rupture modeling with SeisSol (https://github.com/SeisSol/SeisSol), we revisit the 1995 Aqaba earthquake. Using back projection, we identify 2 strong radiators, which we associate with 2 step-overs. Using 3D dynamic rupture modeling, we propose scenarios of the 1995 earthquake, compatible with the various dataset available. Our modeling allows constraining the regional state of stress in the region, acknowledging transtension, offers constraints on the nucleation location and confirms the role of the oblique faults in propagating the rupture to the North. It offers new constraints on the regional seismic hazard, in particular on the expected maximum moment magnitude.Finally, we explore the dynamics of the Gulf of Aqaba fault system using earthquake cycle modeling. For that purpose, we rely on QDYN (https://github.com/ydluo/qdyn), a boundary element software, which simulates earthquake cycles under the quasi-dynamic approximation on faults governed by rate-and-state friction and embedded in elastic media. We inform our parameterization of the earthquake cycle modeling using the previously described datasets and modeling results. Recently Galvez et al. (2020) demonstrated the capability of the method to model the dynamics of complex fault system in 3D. Here new code developments are required to adapt the method to the Gulf of Aqaba fault system, e.g. to allow accounting for normal stress changes and for variations in the fault rake.Overall, we aim to better understand how large earthquakes may nucleate, propagate, and interact across a complex transform fault network. Our findings, e.g. on fault segmentation or the conditions that promote larger earthquakes, will have important implications for other large strike-slip fault systems worldwide.

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Tectonic evolution of the gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea transform fault system

Tectonophysics ◽

10.1016/0040-1951(90)90371-e ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 180 (1) ◽

pp. 49-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

M Barjous ◽

Sh Mikbel

Keyword(s):

Tectonic Evolution ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Fault System ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Transform Fault ◽

Dead Sea Transform

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Lithostratigraphy and Depositional History of Part of the Midyan Region, Northwestern Saudi Arabia

GeoArabia ◽

10.2113/geoarabia0404503 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 4 (4) ◽

pp. 503-542 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

G. Wyn Hughes ◽

David J. Grainger ◽

Abdul-Jaleel Abu-Bshait ◽

M. Jarad Abdul-Rahman

Keyword(s):

Red Sea ◽

Upper Cretaceous ◽

Middle Miocene ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Arabian Plate ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Eastern Coast ◽

Lower Miocene ◽

Sedimentary Succession ◽

The Dead

ABSTRACT The Midyan region provides a unique opportunity in which to examine exposures of the Upper Cretaceous and Neogene sedimentary succession. Recent investigations have yielded new interpretations of its depositional environments, stratigraphic relationships, and structure. In this paper, all the lithostratigraphic units of the Midyan succession are considered to be informal in advance of an on-going process of formalization. The region is bounded to the north and northeast by mountains of Proterozoic rocks and to the west and south by the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea, respectively. The Wadi Ifal plain occupies most of the eastern half of the region, beneath which is a thick sedimentary succession within the Ifal basin. The oldest sedimentary rocks are the fluviatile Upper Cretaceous Adaffa formation and marine siliciclastics and carbonates of the lower Miocene Tayran group, unconformable on the Proterozoic basement. The Tayran group is unconformably overlain by the deep-marine lower Miocene Burqan formation that, in turn, is overlain by marine mudstones, carbonates, and evaporites of the middle Miocene Maqna group. The poorly exposed middle Miocene Mansiyah and middle to upper Miocene Ghawwas formations consist of marine evaporites and shallow to marginal marine sediments, respectively. The youngest rocks are alluvial sands and gravels of the Pliocene Lisan formation. A complex structural history is due to Red Sea Oligocene-Miocene extension tectonics, and Pliocene-Recent anti-clockwise rotation of the Arabian Plate relative to Africa on the Dead Sea Transform Fault. The Upper Cretaceous succession is a probable pre-rift unit. The Oligocene?-Miocene syn-rift 1 phase of continental extension caused slow subsidence (Tayran group). Syn-rift 2 was an early Miocene phase of rapid subsidence (Burqan formation) whereas syn-rift 3 (early to middle Miocene) was another phase of slow deposition (Maqna group). The middle to late Miocene syn-rift 4 phase coincided with the deposition of the Mansiyah and Ghawwas formations. The Lower Pliocene to Recent succession is related to the drift (post-rift) phase during which about 45 kilometers of sinistral movement occurred on the Dead Sea Fault. The structural control on sedimentation is evident: the Ifal basin was formed by east-west lithospheric extension; pull-apart basins occur along major left-lateral faults on the eastern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba; and basin-bounding faults controlled deposition of the Burqan, Ghawwas, and Lisan formations. Pliocene to Recent earth movements may be responsible for activating salt diapirism in the Ifal basin. Extensive Quaternary faulting and regional uplift caused the uplift of coral reefs to at least 6 to 8 meters above sea level.

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A review of the tectonics of the northern Middle East region

Geological Magazine ◽

10.1017/s0016756800030727 ◽

1984 ◽

Vol 121 (6) ◽

pp. 577-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 99

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.

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Active faults' geometry in the Gulf of Aqaba, southern Dead Sea fault, illuminated by multi beam bathymetric data

10.1002/essoar.10504675.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Matthieu Ribot ◽

Yann Klinger ◽

Sigurjón Jónsson ◽

Ulas Avsar ◽

Edwige Pons-Branchu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Active Faults ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Gulf Of Aqaba ◽

Bathymetric Data

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Empirical Relationship for Assessing the Near-Field Horizontal Coseismic Displacement Using GPS Seismology Data

Geofísica Internacional ◽

10.22201/igeof.00167169p.2021.60.1.2025 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 60 (1) ◽

pp. 31-50

Author(s):

Ryad Darawcheh ◽

Riad Al Ghazzi ◽

Mohamad Khir Abdul-wahed

Keyword(s):

Near Field ◽

Empirical Relationship ◽

Active Faults ◽

Historical Earthquakes ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Fault System ◽

Coseismic Displacement ◽

Data Set ◽

Earthquake Parameters ◽

Gps Station

In this research, a data set of horizontal GPS coseismic displacement in the near-field has been assembled around the world in order to investigate a potential relationship between the displacement and the earthquake parameters. Regression analyses have been applied to the data of 120 interplate earthquakes having the magnitude (Mw 4.8-9.2). An empirical relationship for prediction near-field horizontal GPS coseismic displacement as a function of moment magnitude and the distance between hypocenter and near field GPS station has been established using the multi regression analysis. The obtained relationship allows assessing the coseismic displacements associated with some large historical earthquakes occurred along the Dead Sea fault system. Such a fair relationship could be useful for assessing the coseismic displacement at any point around the active faults.

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Numerical simulation of structural growth in the Lebanese restraining bends, Dead Sea fault system

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-2229 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jakub Fedorik ◽

Francesco E. Maesano ◽

Abdulkader M. Alafifi

Keyword(s):

Numerical Simulation ◽

Lateral Displacement ◽

Dead Sea ◽

Geometrical Model ◽

Experimental Models ◽

Strike Slip ◽

Boundary Element Methods ◽

Fault System ◽

Arabian Plate ◽

Restraining Bend

Strike-slip structures are rarely validated because commonly used 2D restoration techniques are not applicable. Here we present the results of 3D numerical simulation of the restraining bends in Lebanon using boundary element methods of fault deformation implemented in MOVE&#8482;. The Lebanon restraining bend is the largest transpressional feature along the Dead Sea Transform (DST), and consists of two mountain ranges: Mount Lebanon on the west, dominated by the active Yammouneh fault, and the Anti-Lebanon Range to the east, influenced by the Serghaya and other faults. We built a new 3D geometrical model of the fault surfaces based on previous mapping of faults onshore and offshore Lebanon, complemented by interpretation of satellite images and DEM, and analogy with experimental models of restraining bend or transpressional structures. The model was simulated in response to the regional stress produced by the left-lateral displacement of the Arabian plate. The simulation accurately predicted the shape and magnitude of positive and negative topographic changes and faults slip directions throughout Lebanon. Furthermore, this simulation supports the hypothesis that the formation of the Anti-Lebanon Range was influenced by the intersection of the DST with the older Palmyrides belt, resulting in failed restraining bend. In contrast, the structure of Mt. Lebanon is similar to laboratory experiments of a restraining bend without inheritance. In addition, our simulation presents an approach of how strike-slip structural models may be validated in areas where subsurface data are limited.

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