Geology and Evolution of the Southern Dead Sea Fault with Emphasis on Subsurface Structure

Abstract

The Dead Sea Fault is an active transform fault linking opening in the Red Sea with collision in the Taurus/Zagros Mountains. Motion is left-lateral and estimated at approximately 5–7 mm year−1. The fault is seismically active, and can be divided into two distinct structural segments. This study focuses on the southern segment based mainly on the wealth of geophysical data. Owing to transtention caused by oblique-slip and the overlapping of en-echelon fault strands, a series of pull-apart basins were formed along the fault's length. These basins are long and deep-reaching in places more than 10 km deep. They are characterized by extensional, compressional, and asymmetrical structures varying in size from large-scale (defining the general structure of the Dead Sea fault valley) to small-scale (defining the internal structure). This study examines the internal structure of these basins from south to north and summarizes the state of knowledge to date.