The Crustal Structure Of The Dead Sea Transform

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Journal Title, Volume, Page: 
Geophysical Journal International, Volume 156 Issue 3, Pages 655 - 681
Year of Publication: 
2003
Authors: 
DESERT Group
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
M. Weber
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
K. Abu-Ayyash
Natural Resources Authority, Amman, Jordan
A. Abueladas
Natural Resources Authority, Amman, Jordan
A. Agnon
H. Al-Amoush
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
A. Babeyko
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
Y. Bartov
M. Baumann
University of Potsdam, Germany
Z. Ben-Avraham
G. Bock
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
J. Bribach
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
Radwan J. El-Kelani
Earth Sciences and Seismic Engineering Center (ESSEC), An-Najah National University, P.O. Box 707, Nablus, Palestine
A. Förster
H.-J. Förster
University of Potsdam, Germany
U. Frieslander
Z. Garfunkel
S. Grunewald
H. J. Götze
Free University of Berlin, Germany
V. Haak
Ch. Haberland
M. Hassouneh
S. Helwig
University of Köln, Germany
A. Hofstetter
K.-H. Jäckel
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
D. Kesten
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
R. Kind
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
N. Maercklin
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
J. Mechie
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
A. Mohsen
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
F. M. Neubauer
University of Köln, Germany
R. Oberhänsli
University of Potsdam, Germany
I. Qabbani
O. Ritter
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
G. Rümpker
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
M. Rybakov
T. Ryberg
F. Scherbaum
University of Potsdam, Germany
J. Schmidt
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
A. Schulze
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
S. Sobolev
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
M. Stiller
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
H. Thoss
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
U. Weckmann
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
K. Wylegalla
GeoForschungsZentrum, Potsdam, Germany
Preferred Abstract (Original): 

To address one of the central questions of plate tectonics—How do large transform systems work and what are their typical features?—seismic investigations across the Dead Sea Transform (DST), the boundary between the African and Arabian plates in the Middle East, were conducted for the first time. A major component of these investigations was a combined reflection/refraction survey across the territories of Palestine, Israel and Jordan. The main results of this study are: (1) The seismic basement is offset by 3–5 km under the DST, (2) The DST cuts through the entire crust, broadening in the lower crust, (3) Strong lower crustal reflectors are imaged only on one side of the DST, (4) The seismic velocity sections show a steady increase in the depth of the crust-mantle transition (Moho) from ∼26 km at the Mediterranean to ∼39 km under the Jordan highlands, with only a small but visible, asymmetric topography of the Moho under the DST. These observations can be linked to the left-lateral movement of 105 km of the two plates in the last 17 Myr, accompanied by strong deformation within a narrow zone cutting through the entire crust. Comparing the DST and the San Andreas Fault (SAF) system, a strong asymmetry in subhorizontal lower crustal reflectors and a deep reaching deformation zone both occur around the DST and the SAF. The fact that such lower crustal reflectors and deep deformation zones are observed in such different transform systems suggests that these structures are possibly fundamental features of large transform plate boundaries.