Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences Zvi Garfunkel Zvi Ben-Avraham Elisa Kagan Editors Dead Sea Transform Fault System: Reviews Dead Sea Transform Fault System: Reviews Modern Approaches in Solid Earth Sciences VOLUME 6 Series Editors Yildirim Dilek, Department of Geology and Environmental Earth Science, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA Franco Pirajno, Geological Survey of Western Australia, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia M.J.R. Wortel, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, The Netherlands For further volumes: http://www.springer.com/series/7377 Zvi Garfunkel • Zvi Ben-Avraham Elisa Kagan Editors Dead Sea Transform Fault System: Reviews Editors Zvi Garfunkel Zvi Ben-Avraham The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Department of Geophysical, Atmospheric Institute of Earth Sciences and Planetary Sciences The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Tel Aviv University Jerusalem , Israel Tel Aviv , Israel Charney School of Marine Sciences Elisa Kagan University of Haifa Department of Geophysical, Atmospheric Mount Carmel, Haifa , Israel and Planetary Sciences Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv , Israel Responsible Series Editor: Y. Dilek ISSN 1876-1682 ISSN 1876-1690 (electronic) ISBN 978-94-017-8871-7 ISBN 978-94-017-8872-4 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-8872-4 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg New York London Library of Congress Control Number: 2014943516 © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifi cally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfi lms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. Exempted from this legal reservation are brief excerpts in connection with reviews or scholarly analysis or material supplied specifi cally for the purpose of being entered and executed on a computer system, for exclusive use by the purchaser of the work. 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The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein. Credit Cover Figure: buabone/stockphoto.com Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com) Pref ace The ca. 1,000 km long Dead Sea Transform is a prominent geologic-physiographic feature, including the topographically lowest land area on Earth. It has attracted geol- ogists’ attention for more than 150 years, as it offers an excellent opportunity to study a variety of important topics. It is one of the largest and most accessible zones of strike slip faulting, associated with spectacular pull-apart basins which are some of the largest on earth. As well, the Dead Sea Transform has transpressional structures, which allow the studying of how such fault lines and associated secondary structures devel- oped. The Dead Sea Transform was formed by the mid-Cenozoic breakup of a region with a long stable history; therefore, the breakup processes are uncomplicated by previous modifi cations of the lithosphere. It also offers an opportunity to study how seismic shaking affects sediments and contains a high- resolution paleoseismic archive. The sediments that accumulated continuously in the land- locked pull-apart basins also provide a detailed archive of paleoclimate variations and how they infl uenced the water chemistry of the lakes. The Dead Sea Transform also offered a major pathway for human migration out of Africa, evidenced by many prehistoric remains, thus providing an understanding of the ancient geographic and environmental settings as recorded by sediments and ancient structures. These are important for understanding the history of mankind. Because of these and other research opportunities, the Dead Sea Transform was, and still is, the object of extensive research in many directions. As geologic studies advanced, many papers and several collections of review articles on various geological aspects of the Dead Sea Transform were published. The present collection of papers includes updated summaries of recent advances in the study of major aspects of the Dead Sea Transform. The need for this summa- rized review arose in view of the signifi cant expansion and diversifi cation of research in the last 10–20 years. There have been major advances in the understanding of previously studied topics, and also new vistas have opened on topics that were only modestly studied before. This book is intended for the use of those interested specifi cally in the Dead Sea Transform, particularly in geologic-geodynamic aspects, as well as for those who view the Dead Sea Transform in the broader framework of major strike-slip fault zones and continental breakup processes dominated by lateral motion, including other aspects such as environmental and seismic hazards. v vi Preface The aim is to review and synthesize the present state of knowledge of some major topics in which signifi cant advances were achieved. Obviously, a single vol- ume cannot do justice to all the relevant directions of research; therefore, due to the limitations of space, this book includes only studies that are based on observations along the Dead Sea Transform. Within this framework, it is not possible to include studies regarding its relations with the bordering areas, the role of large-scale regional processes, and achievements in theoretical interpretations. The papers represent the recent major increase in the application of geophysical and related methods, such as seismic, paleomagnetic, and GPS studies, as well as absolute dating and geochemical studies to the research of the Dead Sea Transform and the surrounding regions. The results greatly expanded the database regarding the deep structure along the Dead Sea Transform, its history, and the ongoing dynamic processes along it that supplement past and ongoing geological studies. Also represented are recent advances in the analysis of the historic and the paleo- seismic record, one of the longest available on Earth, and on the development of the present-day Dead Sea Lake and of precursor lakes that existed along the transform. The fi ndings of these studies provide important and unique insights into these issues which are not only of great scientifi c interest but are also important for the assess- ment of environmental and geological hazards which are of great signifi cance to the population living near the transform. The papers collected in this book summarize and synthesize the major achievements of these studies. We are very grateful to Y. Dilek who realized the signifi cance of recent research and prompted us to undertake a compilation of papers reviewing some of the major advances. Special thanks go to Petra van Steenbergen, her staff, and Springer for the encouragement, advice, and guidance during the preparation of this book. Givat Ram, Jerusalem , Israel Zvi Garfunkel Ramat Aviv, Tel Aviv , Israel Zvi Ben-Avraham Tel Aviv , Israel Elisa Kagan Contents 1 Geophysical Studies of the Crustal Structure Along the Southern Dead Sea Fault ...................................................... 1 Zvi Ben-Avraham 2 Geophysical Studies of the Lithosphere Along the Dead Sea Transform .............................................................. 29 Michael Weber , Khalil Abu-Ayyash , Zvi Ben-Avraham , Sungchan Choi , Jaser Darwish , Radwan El-Kelani , Zvi Garfunkel , Hans-Jürgen Götze , Abraham Hofstetter , Ivan Koulakov , Gabi Laske , James Mechie , Uwe Meyer , Ayman Mohsen , Alexei Petrunin , Ernesto Meneses Rioseco , Trond Ryberg , Georg Rümpker , and Stephan V. Sobolev 3 The Seismogenic Thickness in the Dead Sea Area ............................... 53 Freddy Aldersons and Zvi Ben-Avraham 4 The Dead Sea Transform and the Volcanism in Northwestern Arabia .......................................................................... 91 Yishai Weinstein and Zvi Garfunkel 5 Lateral Motion and Deformation Along the Dead Sea Transform .............................................................. 109 Zvi Garfunkel 6 Pleistocene Strain Partitioning During Transpression Along the Dead Sea Transform, Metulla Saddle, Northern Israel ........................................................................................ 151 Ram Weinberger 7 Review of On-Fault Palaeoseismic Studies Along the Dead Sea Fault ....................................................................... 183 Shmuel Marco and Yann Klinger vii viii Contents 8 Pre-Instrumental Earthquakes Along the Dead Sea Rift ...................